Rock Evolution – The History of Rock & Roll - 1984 - (page 198)

I stupidly got into hi-fi, thanks to a mate who had a separates system, so went down the audiophile rabbit hole around this time.

I won't bore you with the details, but suffice to say that some people still think that balancing your speakers on a box of cornflakes, or something equally ridiculous, makes the bass sound better, but I eventually grew out of it once I realised the folly of spending more on the equipment than the actual records!

Anyway, I read a review of Sheffield Steel by Joe Cocker in one of the h-fi magazines, who recommended it as a 'reference' (sic) disc. So at least some good came out of my habit when I bought this great album.

Sweet Little Woman (12" mix), written for Cocker by Free's Andy Fraser, features the legendary rhythm section of Sly and Robbie, Adrian Belew on guitar and Jimmy Cliff on backing vocals, so it's not surprising it sounds so good!
 
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homerdog said:
I stupidly got into hi-fi, thanks to a mate who had a separates system, so went down the audiophile rabbit hole around this time.

I won't bore you with the details, but suffice to say that some people still think that balancing your speakers on a box of cornflakes, or something equally ridiculous, makes the bass sound better, but I eventually grew out of it once I realised the folly of spending more on the equipment than the actual records!

Anyway, I read a review of Sheffield Steel by Joe Cocker, in one of the h-fi magazines, who recommended it as a 'reference' (sic) disc. So at least some good came out of my habit when I bought this great album.

Sweet Little Woman (12" mix), written for Cocker by Free's Andy Fraser, features the legendary rhythm section of Sly and Robbie, Adrian Belew on guitar and Jimmy Cliff on backing vocals, so it's not surprising it sounds so good!
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That's one hell of a scratch band.
 
We've, very sensibly, pretty much swerved Christmas number 1s on this thread so far but this years plumbed the depths in a way that deserves acknowledgement.

Some people in Sutton Coldfield bang on about not being part of Birmingham (kills them that they have B postcodes ) as if it would be a source of shame, yet they could find none of that emotion when they spawned the larger part of Renee and Renato. Next time I decide to get sniffly about our friends across the pond being stuck in a rut in the early 80s, I'll remind myself that the most popular song in the UK at Christmas was Save Your Love. Give the video a whirl B&W, you'll be impressed!
 
Black&White&BlueMoon Town said:
Removed, awaiting any substitutions.

The song itself still counts given the album came out in Nov 1982, even if the video with the single came out nearly a year later in Nov 1983. That album was certainly on the charts for a good run spanning years back then.
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So keep Kate and Jacko. I will come up with a 4th instead of CC. Thanks.
 
1982 was a very special year in my life too. Had started dating a young lady in November 1981, and by 82 it was full on love thingy. Her parents had an apartment in Spain, and we went in the May for my first foreign holiday (two day trip to Calais with school not counting)

We were both originally rock/hard rock fans (met in The Phoenix rock club) but also both loved Japan.
Then thanks to a tip off from an Aussie I met through work, we both discovered and fell for Aussie/UK band The Church. They led us the next year into the Paisley Underground band in the US.

1982 saw us both expanding our musical tastes from rock into Indie ... a very happy time in my life. Sadly I put a spoke in the wheel along the way, and we didn't stay together. Hey ho.
 
MCFCTrick said:
1982 was a very special year in my life too. Had started dating a young lady in November 1981, and by 82 it was full on love thingy. Her parents had an apartment in Spain, and we went in the May for my first foreign holiday (two day trip to Calais with school not counting)

We were both originally rock/hard rock fans (met in The Phoenix rock club) but also both loved Japan.
Then thanks to a tip off from an Aussie I met through work, we both discovered and fell for Aussie/UK band The Church. They led us the next year into the Paisley Underground band in the US.

1982 saw us both expanding our musical tastes from rock into Indie ... a very happy time in my life. Sadly I put a spoke in the wheel along the way, and we didn't stay together. Hey ho.
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I had The Church on my shortlist too, so I'm glad you posted this, despite the overall outcome.

Are there any tracks off of that year's The Blurred Crusade you'd like to put forward?

Three that come to mind to me that fit the theme you posted about include:
"Almost with You"
"When You Were Mine"
"You Took" (I saw The Church play this live as the final encore at my small show venue back in 2023, and it was amazing!)

An operator is standing by... ;-)
 
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threespires said:
We've, very sensibly, pretty much swerved Christmas number 1s on this thread so far but this years plumbed the depths in a way that deserves acknowledgement.

Some people in Sutton Coldfield bang on about not being part of Birmingham (kills them that they have B postcodes ) as if it would be a source of shame, yet they could find none of that emotion when they spawned the larger part of Renee and Renato. Next time I decide to get sniffly about our friends across the pond being stuck in a rut in the early 80s, I'll remind myself that the most popular song in the UK at Christmas was Save Your Love. Give the video a whirl B&W, you'll be impressed!
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Wow, and I cannot unsee that.

Yeah, but we had "Maneater" at #1 by Hall & Oates at that same time, so consider me not impressed by either. I can't go for.... ah nevermind...

Although I enjoyed some earlier Hall & Oates in the 70's, by the 80's, they were on the pop stations and I was not.
 
Black&White&BlueMoon Town said:
Wow, and I cannot unsee that.

Yeah, but we had "Maneater" at #1 by Hall & Oates at that same time, so consider me not impressed by either. I can't go for.... ah nevermind...

Although I enjoyed some earlier Hall & Oates in the 70's, by the 80's, they were on the pop stations and I was not.
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is

Sorry about that. In fairness even later Hall and Oats is a step up on that.

Supposedly Renato helped Sheffield Wednesday beat the rags once, by singing Nessun Dorma in the dressing room prior to the game. So not all bad.
 
Black&White&BlueMoon Town said:
I had The Church on my shortlist too, so I'm glad you posted this, despite the overall outcome.

Are there any tracks off of that year's The Blurred Crusade you'd like to put forward?

Three that come to mind to me that fit the theme you posted about include:
"Almost with You"
"When You Were Mine"
"You Took" (I saw The Church play this live as the final encore at my small show venue back in 2023, and it was amazing!)

An operator is standing by... ;-)
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All three plus Fields Of Mars and To Be In Your Eyes.
 
Can somebody remind me why "The Model" is on this playlist again, given that it was on the playlist as far back as 1978, the year it was released?
 
RobMCFC said:
Can somebody remind me why "The Model" is on this playlist again, given that it was on the playlist as far back as 1978, the year it was released?
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I'm guessing because it got to number 1 in 1982 and that was the year I think most in the UK became aware of it. Not sure who nominated but maybe they weren't around for the 78 list?

Ongoing debate I suppose do you go for release year or the year it had an impact?
 
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What do Diana Ross and Penn Jillette have in common I hear you ask ?

Well not much and perhaps this should be on another music thread but as we are munching on all things 1982 , the end of Blondie Mark 1 , the beginning of Madonna ( blah ) , The Whos' first land stand even the reformation of The Mamas and The Papas minus Cass (RIP) and Michelle and who could forget Fred Zepplin.

Well of course the answer is Abracadabra by the Steve Miller Band which I nominate along with in no particular order.

Kids Don't Follow - The Replacements

I Know What Boys Like - The Waitresses

New Frontier - Don Fagen
 
RobMCFC said:
John Landau? Manger of the Boss but finds time to direct a video by the king of pop? :)

I know you know it’s John Landis.

This is definitely not my genre but I love it. It’s such a magnificent song and video that it had to be in the playlist so glad somebody nominated it.
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thats the one. Said it wasnt my finest hour. Need to run everything through google in future as my memory is clearly defective. :-)
 
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