80s Music Video Flashback

Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls

Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasionally guitar and Chris Lowe on keyboards and occasionally backing vocals.

They have sold over 100 million records worldwide and are listed as the most successful duo in pop music history. Since 1986, they have had 42 Top 30 singles and 22 Top 10 hits in the UK, including four Number Ones: "West End Girls", "It's a Sin", "Always on My Mind" and "Heart".

At the 2009 BRIT Awards, Pet Shop Boys received an award for Outstanding Contribution to Music presented to them by Brandon Flowers.

"West End Girls" is a song by British pop duo Pet Shop Boys. Written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, the song was released twice as a single. It is a synthpop song, influenced by hip hop music. The lyrics focus on class, and inner-city pressure, and were inspired by T.S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land. It was generally well received by contemporary music critics and has been frequently cited as a highlight in the duo's career.

The first version of the song was produced by Bobby Orlando and was released in April 1984, becoming a club hit in the United States and some European countries. After the duo signed with EMI, the song was re-recorded with producer Stephen Hague, for their first studio album, Please. In late 1985, the song was re-released, reaching number one in the United Kingdom and the United States in 1986. In 1987, the song won for Best Single at The BRIT Awards, and Best International Hit at the Ivor Novello Awards. In 2005, 20 years later after its release, the song was awarded Song of The Decade between the years 1985 and 1994, by the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters.

The video: directed by Andy Morahan and Eric Watson, and consists of shots of the duo around London. At the beginning of the video, noises from the city can be heard, a camera passes Lowe on the street, and focus on two vintage dolls in a shop window. Then appears a sequence of quick cuts with shots of the city's different sub-cultures, the video freezes and cuts to Tennant and Lowe, who walk through an empty Berwick Street in Soho. They stand in front of a red garage door, Tennant is in front dressed with a long coat addressing directly to the camera, Lowe stands behind him with a blank expression.

Then the video shows shots of people walking into the London Underground metro system, and as the chorus starts the duo appears on the boarding platform. In slow motion, the camera passes through a shopping mall in central London, followed by the duo walking along the concourse at Waterloo Station. It cuts to a brief shot of a red double-decker bus, and black and white shots of the Tower Bridge, Westminster and the Big Ben from the sky. The duo poses on the South Bank of the River Thames in a pastiche of a postcard image, with the Houses of Parliament as a background.

The camera shows shots of young women, and passes through arcades and movie theaters in Leicester Square. The camera now passes the South Africa House, showing protestors in an anti-apartheid vigil. The video cuts to a closeup of Tennant singing the chorus, with a purple neon sign passing across his face. At the end the camera passes again through Leicester Square, where people queue to see Fletch and Desperately Seeking Susan. The video was nominated for Best New Artist in a Video at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards, but lost to a-ha's "Take on Me".

On the Web:
Pet Shop Boys Official website

80s Music Video Flashback

Donald Fagen - New Frontier

Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the co-founder, lead singer, and the principal songwriter of the rock band Steely Dan (along with Walter Becker). Fagen is known for his use of jazz harmonies, elaborate arrangements, and attention to detail. Fagen launched a successful, if sporadic solo career in 1982, spawning three albums to date.

After Steely Dan's breakup in 1981, Fagen released his critically acclaimed solo debut album, The Nightfly, in October 1982. It reached #11 on the Billboard Album Chart and was certified Platinum for sales of over a million copies in the United States alone. Its premiere single was I.G.Y. (What A Beautiful World) - aka International Geophysical Year. The song hit the Adult Contemporary Top 10 and peaked at #26 on the Billboard Hot 100. The follow-up single, "New Frontier" peaked at #34 AC and #70 Pop but was aided by a popular MTV music video. The Nightfly was nominated for several Grammy awards including Album Of The Year. It was significantly more jazz based than Fagen's Steely Dan work. RHINO Records released a special DVD Audio version of The Nightfly in honor of the album's twentieth anniversary in 2002.

• 1982 The Nightfly – #11 US; #44 UK
• 1993 Kamakiriad – #10 US; #3 UK
• 2006 Morph the Cat – #26 US; #35 UK
• 2007 Nightfly Trilogy
• 2010 untitled fourth solo album

80s Music Video Flashback

Swing Out Sister - "Breakout"

Swing Out Sister is a British "sophisti-pop" group best known worldwide for their 1986 song "Breakout". Though their album sales in the U.S. and Europe have leveled off since the 1980s, they continue to attract a loyal fanbase. The group is also very popular in Japan.

Although Swing Out Sister are currently a duo, they began as a trio in the UK. The group was formed by Andy Connell (keyboards) and Martin Jackson (drums), and were later joined by Corinne Drewery (vocals). The name came from a 1945 movie starring Arthur Treacher, called Swing Out, Sister, and they claim they chose the name because it was the only thing the band could agree on, in that they all hated it. Both Connell and Jackson had been playing in other bands prior to forming SOS, while Drewery was actually a fashion designer and model before she became the band's lead vocalist.

In late 1986, the single "Breakout" was released. It reached the number four position on the UK Singles Chart in November 1986 and number six on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States in November 1987.

Consequently, when they released their debut album, It's Better to Travel, on 11 May 1987, it reached number one on the UK Albums Chart.

On the Web:

Swing Out Sister's MySpace Page; SOS's Web Site

80s Music Video Flashback

The Bangles - "Eternal Flame"

The Bangles are an American all-female band that originated in the early 1980s, scoring several hit singles through much of the decade. Susanna Hoffs joined sisters Vicki and Debbi Peterson to form a band in Los Angeles in December, 1980. The trio briefly christened itself The Colours, then renamed itself The Supersonic Bangs, and shortly afterwards The Bangs. The band was part of the Los Angeles Paisley Underground scene, which featured groups that played a mixture of 1960s-influenced folk-rock and jangle pop with a more modern punkish/garage band undertone.


"Eternal Flame that " is a song by The Bangles which became a hit single in 1989, peaking at number one in the charts in six countries, including Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It was written by popular songwriters Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly and the Bangles' own Susanna Hoffs. The song was inspired by two eternal flames: one for Elvis Presley and one at a local synagogue in Palm Springs.

80s Music Video Flashback

When In Rome - "The Promise"

When in Rome is an English New Wave trio, originally consisting of vocalists Clive Farrington and Andrew Mann, and keyboards player Michael Floreale. They are best known for their 1988 single, "The Promise" from their self-titled album.

The song made the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1988 and is the band's biggest commercial hit. More recently, it gained publicity after being featured over the end credits of the 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite. "The Promise" was initially released as a 12" record and reached the top of the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. After the release of the group's self titled debut the song was re-released and peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100.

80s Music Video Flashback

Simple Minds - "Don't You (Forget About Me)"

Simple Minds are a rock band from Scotland, who had their greatest worldwide popularity from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. The band, from the south side of Glasgow, produced a handful of critically acclaimed albums in the early 1980s.

Simple Minds have secured a string of successful hit singles, the best known being their number 1 worldwide hit single "Don't You (Forget About Me)", from the soundtrack of the John Hughes move The Breakfast Club. The lyrics recall the theme of the movie - people who were strangers before an encounter, revealing their inner selves to each other and becoming intimate. The music video, directed by Daniel Kleinman takes place on a dancing floor in a dark room with a chandelier, a rocking horse and Sony televisions, whose screens are displaying scenes from The Breakfast Club. Jim Kerr, the band's lead singer, dances in many scenes.

Links:
Simple Minds Official Website
Simple Minds on MySpace
Simple Minds on Facebook

The Breakfast Club Trailer

80 Music Video Flashback

Toto - "Africa"


"Africa" is a song by the band Toto, a multi-Grammy Award winning American Rock Band founded in 1977 by some of the most popular and experienced session musicians of the era. The song was included on their 1982 album Toto IV, and scored number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 1983 and number three on the UK Singles Chart the same month. The song was written by the band's keyboardist David Paich and drummer Jeff Porcaro.

Without a doubt Toto’s most recognizable song, "Africa" was almost omitted from the Toto IV record prior to its release. Having spent a great amount of time producing the tune, the band became so tired of the song that they didn’t want it on the album. The song itself was very different from anything the band had done before, and some members felt that it didn’t sound like Toto.

The initial idea for the song came from David Paich, playing on his piano. Jeff explains the idea behind the song: "... a white boy is trying to write a song on Africa, but since he's never been there, he can only tell what he's seen on TV or remembers in the past."

David Paich says the following: "At the beginning of the 80's I watched a late night documentary on TV about all the terrible death and suffering of the people in Africa. It both moved and appalled me and the pictures just wouldn't leave my head. I tried to imagine how I'd feel about if I was there and what I'd do." The music video was directed by Steve Baron.

80s Music Video Flashback

Huey Lewis & The News - "Heart and Soul"

Huey Lewis and the News - an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually scoring a total of 19 Top Ten singles across the Billboard Hot 100, Adult Contemporary and Mainstream Rock Charts. Their greatest success was in the 1980s with the No. 1 album, Sports, coupled with a series of highly successful MTV videos.

Sports slowly became a number-one hit in 1984 and multi-platinum success in 1985, thanks to the band's frequent touring and a series of clever, funny videos that received heavy MTV airplay. Four singles from the album reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 - one of them was "Heart and Soul" (No. 8) - which was also their first No. 1 single on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The album has sold over 10 million copies to date in the U.S. alone.

80s Flashback

Heart - the rock band whose founding members came from Seattle, Washington, USA in the early 1970s. Going through several lineup changes, the only constant members of the group are sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. The group rose to fame in the 1970s with their music being influenced by hard rock as well as folk music. After diminishing in popularity by the mid-1980s, the band created a major comeback in 1985 experiencing further success with their power ballads throughout the rest of the decade. By the mid-1990s, Heart left their 1980s' sound and went back to their hard rock roots which they continue to play today. They have sold over 30 million albums worldwide.

Heart was ranked #57 on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock".

The Wilson sisters grew up in Southern California and Taiwan before their Marine Corps father retired to the Seattle suburbs. After Ann graduated from high school, she joined Roger Fisher in the band Hocus Pocus where she met Roger's brother Mike in 1971and followed him back to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Meanwhile, Nancy finished high school then went to college where she majored in art and German literature. She then played solo gigs until 1974 when she quit college and moved to Canada to join Heart.

Alone was given to Heart and released as the first single from their ninth studio album Bad Animals. Heart's version is a power ballad which begins with a piano line and a subdued vocal from Ann Wilson, only to build to a dramatic love song. "Alone" is Heart's biggest hit, spending three weeks at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It is also their most successful single in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart. Paula Abdul was choreographer for the video.

80s Music Flashback

What could be more appropriate for Halloween than these two videos?
'Cause busting makes me feel good....

The film score of Ghostbusters! was composed by Elmer Bernstein, notable for its use of ondes martenot (a staple of Bernstein's 1980s work) and also the Yamaha DX-7 synthesizer. Orchestrators contributing to the film were Peter Bernstein, David Spear and Patrick Russ. The first film sparked the catchphrases "Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!" and "I ain't afraid of no ghost(s)". Both came from the hit theme song written and performed by Ray Parker, Jr. The song was a huge hit, staying #1 for three weeks on Billboard's Hot 100 chart and #1 for two weeks on the Black Singles chart. The song earned Parker an Academy Award nomination for "Best Original Song".

The music video produced for the song is considered one of the key productions of the already booming music video industry, and was a #1 MTV video. Directed by Ivan Reitman, produced by Jeffrey Abelson, and conceptualized by Keith Williams, the video integrated footage of the film in a specially designed, haunted house made entirely of neon. Film footage was intercut with a humorous performance by Parker, and featured cameo appearances by celebrities who joined in the call and response chorus, including Chevy Chase (who was considered for the role of Egon), Irene Cara, John Candy (who was considered for the role of Louis Tully), Nickolas Ashford, Melissa Gilbert, Jeffrey Tambor, George Wendt, Al Franken (Yuck! Forgive me fellow Conservatives), Danny DeVito, Carly Simon, Peter Falk, and Teri Garr. The video ends with footage of the four main Ghostbusters actors in costume and character, dancing in Times Square behind Parker, joining in the singing.

Michael Jackson's Thriller is a 13-minute music video (cut down here to 9:27) for the song of the same name released on December 2, 1983 and directed by John Landis who also co-wrote the screenplay with Jackson. The mini-film music video was broadcast on MTV three weeks before Christmas 1983. It was the most expensive video of its time, costing $500,000 (USD), and the Guinness World Records in 2006 list it as the "most successful music video", selling over 9 million units.

"Thriller" was less a conventional video and more a full-fledged short subject or mini-film; a horror film spoof featuring choreographed zombies performing with Jackson. The music was re-edited to match the video, with the verses being sung one after the other followed by the ending rap, then the main dance sequence (filmed on Union Pacific Avenue, Los Angeles) to an instrumental loop, and finally the memorable finish: the choruses in a "big dance number" climactic scene. During the video, Jackson transforms into both a zombie and a werecat (although makeup artist Rick Baker referred to it as a "cat monster" in the "Making of Thriller" documentary); familiar territory for Landis, who had directed An American Werewolf in London two years earlier. Co-starring with Jackson was former Playboy centerfold Ola Ray. The video was choreographed by Michael Peters (who had worked with the singer on his prior hit "Beat It"), with significant contributions by Jackson. The video also contains incidental music by film music composer Elmer Bernstein (Ghostbusters! and Ellery Queen fame), who had previously also worked with Landis on An American Werewolf in London starring 80s heart-throb David Naughton. The video (like the song) contains a spoken word performance by horror film veteran Vincent Price. Rick Baker assisted in prosthetics and makeup for the production.

Jackson, at the time a Jehovah's Witness, added a disclaimer to the start of the video, saying:
“Due to my strong personal convictions, I wish to stress that this film in no way endorses a belief in the occult.”

Happy Halloween!

MICHELLE

80s Flashback

The music video for Mr. Mister's "Broken Wings" was directed by Oley Sassone and filmed in black & white. It features lead vocalist Richard Page driving through the desert in a '59 Ford Thunderbird convertible. There is a scene of striking imagery where Page is sitting in a church when an eagle flies in through the window and lands next to him on the pew and they exchange a gaze. The full band is also featured in performance scenes during the video. Also appearing in the video are an unknown man and woman dancing. They are only shown from the waist down and their faces are never seen.

Richard Page had formerly worked as a session musician (e.g., for Quincy Jones) and had composed for Michael Jackson, Donna Summer, Kenny Loggins, Al Jarreau, and many more, when in the late 1970s, he and his childhood friend Steve George founded the band Pages (most notable song: I Do Believe In You) in Phoenix, Arizona, from which Mr. Mister was founded in 1982. The two continued to apply their tight harmonies to background vocals on albums by successful pop artists like Laura Branigan while working to break their own material.

80s Music Video Flashback

80s Music Video Flashback

Tears For Fears - "Head Over Heels"

Tears for Fears (sometimes informally abbreviated to TFF) has sold more than 22 million albums worldwide (including over 8 million in the United States alone) and mainly consists of members Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Head Over Heels, from the album Songs From The Big Chair, topped out in the UK at #12, US at #3, Ireland at #5, and Canada at #8). The promotional clip for "Head over Heels", filmed in June 1985, was the fourth Tears for Fears clip directed by famed music video producer Nigel Dick. It is centered around Roland Orzabal's attempts to get the attention of a librarian (played by Canadian model Joan Densmore), while a variety of characters (many played by the rest of the band) take part in shenanigans in the library. The video was filmed at the Emmanuel College Library in Toronto, Canada. In 2008, Tears for Fears will perform in Germany in November and December, at the 'Night of the Proms'.