Rock Evolution – The History of Rock & Roll - 1987 - (page 218)

BimboBob said:
I can't be doing with either of them. There, I said it. Feels good. Officer and Dirty Dancing were dog shit. As were the songs. In fact, reading the last few pages, most of this year was dog shit. Robbie Robertson? Debbie Gibson? Fucking Tiffany? And don't get me started on that Funky Town cover.

A year of mostly bland music.


(This opinion might change soon as I've not had a brew yet)
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I assume lumping Robbie Robertson in with Debbie Gibson is a deliberate bit of pre-coffee rage baiting? In which case chapeau :-)
 
BimboBob said:
I can't be doing with either of them. There, I said it. Feels good. Officer and Dirty Dancing were dog shit. As were the songs. In fact, reading the last few pages, most of this year was dog shit. Robbie Robertson? Debbie Gibson? Fucking Tiffany? And don't get me started on that Funky Town cover.

A year of mostly bland music.


(This opinion might change soon as I've not had a brew yet)
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I don't believe that Debbie Gibson or Tiffany are integral components to this being the best year in music, but they are enjoyable little earworms that round the year out.
 
RobMCFC said:
Coda Part 2 – Rock Classics

- “Hazy Shade of Winter” – The Bangles

- “Check It Out” – John Cougar Mellencamp

- “Never Tear Us Apart” – INXS

- “With of Without You” – U2

- “Little Lies” - Fleetwood Mac

- “The One I Love” - REM

- “Somewhere Down The Crazy River” - Robbie Robertson

- “Tunnel of Love” – Bruce Springsteen

- "Alone" - Heart

- “Got My Mind Set On You” - George Harrison

- “Dude Looks Like A Lady” – Aerosmith
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This coda gives me the opportunity to post this video and point out she was 63 years old at that point. Good genes or there's a hideous portrait in a loft somewhere. In fairness she has got sensible shoes on.

 
Coda Part 3 – The Final Cut

Final set of songs. I'm surprised nobody went for "Hourglass" or “Somewhere In My Heart”, but no worries, they're in now.

And to complete the playlist, as if the music from this year hasn't been the best, there's arguably the greatest Christmas song of all time to bring it home.

- "When Smokey Sings" - ABC
- “Faith” - George Michael
- “Sign Your Name” – Terence Trent D’Arby
- “Hourglass” - Squeeze
- “Somewhere In My Heart” – Aztec Camera
- “Rain In The Summertime” – The Alarm
- “I Ain’t Ever Satisfied” – Steve Earle & The Dukes
- “Snakedance” – The Rainmakers
- “What’s My Scene?” – The Hoodoo Gurus
- “Fairytale Of New York” – The Pogues & Kirsty McColl
 
RobMCFC said:
Coda Part 3 – The Final Cut

- “What’s My Scene?” – The Hoodoo Gurus
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There, finally one of my songs and artists that just missed my final cut showed up here. Well done, and I had "Good Times" also on my considerations for them. The Hoodoo Gurus, another new band I quite enjoyed in 1987. Them and The Alarm deserved a mention.

What was I thinking nominating bland music instead? ;-)
 
RobMCFC said:
Coda Part 3 – The Final Cut

Final set of songs. I'm surprised nobody went for "Hourglass" or “Somewhere In My Heart”, but no worries, they're in now.

And to complete the playlist, as if the music from this year hasn't been the best, there's arguably the greatest Christmas song of all time to bring it home.

- "When Smokey Sings" - ABC
- “Faith” - George Michael
- “Sign Your Name” – Terence Trent D’Arby
- “Hourglass” - Squeeze
- “Somewhere In My Heart” – Aztec Camera
- “Rain In The Summertime” – The Alarm
- “I Ain’t Ever Satisfied” – Steve Earle & The Dukes
- “Snakedance” – The Rainmakers
- “What’s My Scene?” – The Hoodoo Gurus
- “Fairytale Of New York” – The Pogues & Kirsty McColl
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Well done for selling 87 so well mate. Its a long, long way from being the best year though :-)
 
Saddleworth2 said:
Well done for selling 87 so well mate. Its a long, long way from being the best year though :-)
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Of course, but it's my favourite year in music, and one of the conditions you set out when we embarked on this madcap adventure was that writers should write a love letter to the year in music.

I'm more interested in the fact that Mellencamp and Midnight Oil managed to rip up the template in 1987, changing their sounds with albums of a lifetime, whilst still scoring commercial success and widening their appeal. Whatever The Beach Boys or Dylan or The Doors or Bowie or any of the greats might have done in previous years, for me, pales into insignificance next to this.
 
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RobMCFC said:
Coda Part 3 – The Final Cut

Final set of songs. I'm surprised nobody went for "Hourglass" or “Somewhere In My Heart”, but no worries, they're in now.

And to complete the playlist, as if the music from this year hasn't been the best, there's arguably the greatest Christmas song of all time to bring it home.

- "When Smokey Sings" - ABC
- “Faith” - George Michael
- “Sign Your Name” – Terence Trent D’Arby
- “Hourglass” - Squeeze
- “Somewhere In My Heart” – Aztec Camera
- “Rain In The Summertime” – The Alarm
- “I Ain’t Ever Satisfied” – Steve Earle & The Dukes
- “Snakedance” – The Rainmakers
- “What’s My Scene?” – The Hoodoo Gurus
- “Fairytale Of New York” – The Pogues & Kirsty McColl
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Glad you included that Steve Earle track: another I agonised over picking.

Sadly, I still have a few on my shortlist:

Belinda Carlisle: “Circle in the Sand”
Jethro Tull: “Budapest”
Grateful Dead: “Touch of Grey”
Whitesnake: “Still of the Night”
 
Think it would be remiss to not mention that this year saw the passing of Jaco Pastorius, who for some people's money was the greatest bass player there's ever been.

He died pretty much as he lived in a confrontational and chaotic style as a result of his addictions. Having been ejected from a Santana concert where he had snuck on stage, he kicked in the glass door of a nightclub that wouldn't let him in. Unfortunately one of the club employees was a martial arts expert and in the ensuing fight Jaco was badly injured and went into a coma that he never came out of. The employee pleaded to manslaughter and was out of prison after four months.

Only 35 years old but nonetheless one of the greatest and most influential of bass players.
 
threespires said:
Think it would be remiss to not mention that this year saw the passing of Jaco Pastorius, who for some people's money was the greatest bass player there's ever been.

He died pretty much as he lived in a confrontational and chaotic style as a result of his addictions. Having been ejected from a Santana concert where he had snuck on stage, he kicked in the glass door of a nightclub that wouldn't let him in. Unfortunately one of the club employees was a martial arts expert and in the ensuing fight Jaco was badly injured and went into a coma that he never came out of. The employee pleaded to manslaughter and was out of prison after four months.

Only 35 years old but nonetheless one of the greatest and most influential of bass players.
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Amazing bass player. I had no idea he died in such circumstances.
 
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1987
It's funny how I have easily sat here and typed every year from 1979 to 1986 without having to check online for facts and figures etc, yet here I am struggling to recall very much apart from The Greatest Band Of All Time splitting up!
So I actually had to do a little search into what songs / bands were belting out the belters to prompt me here!

Five albums to discuss - Four I loved and one, well.....

The Smiths 5 year existence ended in a manner that still isn't clear. Johnny wanted a break. He'd worked non stop touring / recording / managing the band.... managing Morrissey! Remember at this point, Johnny was 23 years of age! The rest of the band saw this as Johnny wanted out. He went to LA for that break and someone - we still don't know who - called the NME and said Johnny had left the band. Johnny denied it was him as did Morrissey deny he did it - and 38 years later we still don't know did it.....
The band released a couple of stand alone singles in 1987, "Sheila Take A Bow" and "Shoplifters of the world....." and as usual the B sides matched the A sides with the likes of "You Just haven't Earned It Yet Baby", although the Cilla Black cover of "Work is a four letter word" had Marr retorting "I didn't form a band to do Cilla Black covers..."
The fourth and final studio album was released - "Strangeways Here We Come" as the band again delivered an album with tunes such as "Last night I dreamt that somebody loved me", "Paint a vulgar picture", Unhappy birthday", and the album's ending, just Morrissey and Johnny together on "I won't share you". Was Morrissey sensing that Johnny was getting itchy feet and receiving offers to collaborate with others and was putting his feelings down inn a song?
Thank you Morrissey, Johnny, Mike and Andy for 5 great years and the music still lives on today. The pleasure, the privilege was ours......

The disappointment was Siouxsie & The Banshees. They produced a covers album called "Through The Looking Glass". Iggy's ''The passenger'' was decent enough but the other single 'This wheels on fire", just didn't do it for me despite being a successful single. Other covers included Sparks "This town ain't big enough for the both of us", The Jungle Book's snake (Kaa) song "Trust in me" and Billie Holiday's classic "Strange Fruit". I think I played it 3 times and never since. Maybe I should give it another go?

The Housemartins followed up 1986's excellent "London 0 Hull 4" with "The people who grinned themselves to death" and debuting with a new drummer, having replaced Hugh Whittaker who ended up in jail a bit later after an arson attack! The singles "Five get over excited", (Whittaker appears in the video alongside Dave Hemmingway, his replacement), "Me and the Farmer" and "Build" along with 9 other tracks, again adding social commentary to each tune and getting into trouble for bashing the royal family in the title track.
Recorded at Stockport's Strawberry Studios, the band roped in St Winifred's Choir to back them on "Bow Down" a song about the drabness of a day to day job at the hands of the bosses (Why's that man, rubbing his hands, looking at me, writing down his plans...").
The album came out and bang! The band apparently had a pact that it would be two albums and that's it. From the ashes would be The Beautiful South, Beats International and Fat Boy Slim. And a load of children's books courtesy of Stan Cullimore - that's Cullimore, not the woman beating, cottaging former Premier League player.

Julian Cope delivered "St Julian" and I went along to The International 2 to see him promote the album.
"World Shut your mouth" had been released in 1986, but follow up singles "Trampoline" and "Eve's Volcano" were, like the album, 1987 releases. I'd say this was Cope's last great album before going off his head a bit into druid stuff and the like.

The Cure just kept getting better and better.
The double album "Hot hot hot" spawned four singles: "Catch", "Why can't I be you?', "Hot hot hot" (though released as a single in 88) and my all time fave Cure song, "Just like Heaven", along with a whole load of other uplifting miserable songs!

The Wedding Present - George Best
Despite the name, what an album! Not a bad track on it and a worthy album to help get over the end of The Smiths.... "Shatner", "My favourite dress", "Everyone thinks he looks daft" and "Anyone can make a mistake" just a few of the peaches on the album.

My gig of the year was at Birmingham's NEC - Bob Dylan and Tom Petty, playing on their own and also a small set together. Great stuff. Dylan's voice wasn't too clever (has it ever been?) but I saw an absolute legend and still have the ticket today.

I think this was the year The Chart Show was aired on a Saturday morning and every 3rd week would be the Indie Charts (with rock and dance rotating alongside) and here I was introduced to The House Of Love's "Shine On", REM's "End of the world as we know it" and on The Tube I was introduced to Bristol band The Brilliant Corners, with the song "Brian Rix", who I must have seen 5 times at The Boardwalk / Hacienda in 87 / 88 / 89.
Oh and New Order matched Blue Monday with their biggest hit with "True Faith". Also, especially as I write this as it is indeed Xmas day in the UK, The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl released the timeless classic "The Fairytale of New York".
A band from Wigan were up and coming and their time is yet to come in 1987, but Factory band The Railway Children had a great single in "Brighter".

Wow reading all of that I can't believe I had to google a bit of it, just to kick my memory back a gear.

5 songs for the playlist

The Smiths - I won't share you. Was this Morrisey's ultimatum to his songwriting partner?
The Housemartins - Build. Look at Manchester city centre or around the Etihad Stadium and listen to the lyrics.
The Cure - Just like Heaven. Needs no introduction. A classic.
The Wedding Present - A million miles. The things a boy will do to try and get the attention of a local crush....
The Railway Children - Brighter. They should have been huge......
 
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