Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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You know, many times, over the years, people have asked me if I have any regrets in life.
And the one thing I always tell them is, "Yes. You see, I've been to paradise but I've never been to Leeds."
And I'm not the only one because neither had American singer Charlene and, in June 1982, her lament on the matter led her to have one of that month's three UK Number Ones.
That spell kicked off with Adam Ant's Goody Two Shoes in top spot before it was removed by the aforementioned Charlene. But Charlene herself was soon extracted from that position by the power and majesty of Captain Sensible's cover of Happy Talk.
But, wait. What's this Google is telling me? There was no mention of Leeds in that song and Charlene's complaint was actually, "I've been to paradise but I've never been to me."?
Well, I've never been to her, either, and you don't hear me complaining.
And I doubt she's as exciting as Leeds.
And there were no complaints from Madness either because their Absolute Madness entered June by ruling the British album chart. However, Roxy Music's Avalon soon reclaimed the pinnacle from it, before quickly losing it to ABC's The Lexicon of Love.
It was clearly a busy month on the music charts but it was also a jam-packed time at the cinema, for that month saw the release of a whole host of memorable movies.
Most famously, we got ET: The Extra-Terrestrial which soon became the biggest box-office smash of the decade.
But that wasn't all. Hollywood also gave us, Tron, Rambo: First Blood, 48 Hrs and Tootsie.
And sport was clearly determined not to be left behind because that month saw the start of the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
On more serious matters, it was the month in which the Argentine forces in the Falklands' capital Stanley surrendered to the British military.
As if all that wasn't enough excitement, the galaxy's greatest comic was still around and giving us the adventures of Robo-Hunter, Rogue Trooper, The Mean Arena, Tharg's Future Shocks, Judge Dredd and Ace Trucking Co.
Dredd was still fighting the Apocalypse War where it seems he got to teach the Russians a lesson or two in law-enforcement.
Robo-Hunter, meanwhile, was involved in a thing called The Filby Case. Whether this was named in honour of the supporting character in the first movie adaptation of The Time Machine, I could not say.
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21 comments:
Ahhhh Steve..... you are now really getting into the heart of that New Wave sound, which Sheffield contributed mightily too! I'm feeling nostalgic!
FWIW - Three Dog Night has never been to Spain, England, Vegas, or heaven. So, don't feel bad if you've never been to Leeds cause a lot of folks haven't been to a lot more places than Leeds!
Adam Ant: "I switched from Punk to New Wave because there were only so many ways you could cut yourself or spit on the crowd before it would become boring." Very astute!
Grud on a greenie Steve, have you really never been to Leeds?
No reason you should I suppose - why leave the workers paradise of South Yorkshire? - but its a pleasant enough city, and I can confirm its more interesting than Charlene, or at least the video of her on Top of the Pops I just checked after reading your post (having not remembered her at all).
Just compare it to the BBC footage of the 1980 Leeds Futurama festival, which includes Sheffield electronic noise wonks Vice Versa (who were shortly to become ABC).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGP7QLgguTE
How much more early 80s can you get than that?
-sean
Aw.. Come on Charlie!
Rolling in broken glass, impaling yourself with pencils, diving off a high landing from the top of a set of stairs into a group of friends (my favorite), the possibilities are endless!
Steve mentioned Adam Ant. You know what? I liked his music. It's that weird tribal drumming. And I'm a sucker for anything with a horn section. Like James Brown or the Spinners.
If I was a big-shot music star I would have an army of horn players.
Not just three guys like Chicago. I'm thinking maybe ten or so. Like that "Living in America" video.
But I guess that could get pretty expensive...
M.P.
MP, Charlie and KD, I must confess that Adam's music kind of bypassed me.
Sean, thanks for that link. ABC certainly changed very dramatically in a very short period of time.
Charlie, that Three Dog Night news is genuinely a surprise to me.
Wasn't the Goody Two Shoes video the one that featured the lovely Caroline Munro?
I've Never Been To Me was first released in the '70s but it was a flop.
Happy Talk is a song from the musical 'South Pacific' (I suppose everyone knows that).
Tim, Caroline Munro was indeed in that Adam Ant video - and also the video for Meatloaf's If You Really Want To.
Colin, I do feel that, in Charlene's case, the record-buyers of the 1970s demonstrated better taste than those of the 1980s.
Steve and you UK chaps!
I just looked up "Never Been to Spain" by 3 Dog Night. Though charting 5 in the USA and charting well enough in Australia and New Zealand, no joy in the UK!
This makes me wonder if you ever heard the song? Are you familiar with 3 Dog Night? They probably had the most hits from 68 - 72 of any band here.
Well I never been to England
But I kinda like the Beatles...
It's a cool song as is many of their others.
WOW! I'm having a meta moment.
Charlene sings in the late 70s "I've never been to me."
3 Dog Night sings, "I've never been to heaven" (and spain and england and vegas) in 1971
The Bible says Heaven is within each of us (i.e, within me).
Thus could we say Charlene is plagiarizing 3 Dog Night?
This is certainly on par with Flash Gordon saves the Universe because Ming thinks by conquering whatever he has conquered the known universe and thus all of it.
KD - Who in the hell is going to roll around in glass or stick pencils in themselves on stage?
I mean, even Wrestling doesn't do stuff that stupid (i think).
Lastly, is there something special about Leeds? I only know the name of town from the Who Album Live at Leeds.
I think the Who
What else is going on in Leeds?
(Just don't ask me about the Dakotas, only M.P. can answer that, as only about 6 - 7 folks live there.)
Charlie, the only Three Dog Night song I've ever heard is Mama Told Me Not to Come. Overall, they only had 2 singles make the UK Top 100.
As far as I'm aware, there's nothing special about Leeds, although I'm sure it's very nice.
Wow. Charlie is stunned that 3 Dog Night didn't penetrate the UK. They had numerous songs here in the top 40 and several number 1s. I am guessing every USA-er recalls:
- Jeremiah was a bullfrog!
- The ink is black, the page is white...
- Mama Told me not to Come...
- One is the loneliest number...
- Liar! Liar! Liar, Liar...
- In the Halls of Shambala...
- Just an old fashioned love song, playing...
- Well I never been to England... But I kinda like the Beatles!
- How can people be so heartless (also featured in the movie/play Hair)
- Before the breathing air is gone... before the sun... is just a bright spot in the night.
Anyhow it's worth a listen on youtube!
Yeah, I've always liked those guys.
My favorite is "Out in the Country", but there were quite a few good ones.
Y'know what? I just watched "Clash of the Titans" for the first time all the way through. I'm talking about the 1981 version. I've seen parts of it, like the Medusa scene, but I never sat down and watched the whole thing before.
I wouldn't say it's the best movie Ray Harryhausen ever worked on (I have a special fondness for the Sinbad movies, one of which features the aforementioned Caroline Monroe in a blouse that's ready to split open at any moment) but it's not without it's charm.
Burgess Meredith is always entertaining. There's a lotta good U.K. actors in it, as well. That elevates it from being something you might see on MST3000 to a pretty decent flick.
M.P.
Its that f****** mechanical owl that spoils Clash of the Titans for me M.P.
You just know some eejit on the finance side of the film insisted on an irritating robot because Star Wars had been a hit. As if Ray Harryhausen didn't have a track record himself.
On the subject of people who deserved better - and terrible early 80s pop music - the fragrant Caroline Munro also made a record with Gary Numan.
-sean
Charlie, the enjoyable Thought Bubble comic convention goes on in Leeds.
Or rather it did - for some reason they moved it to Harrogate this year. What else goes on in Harrogate? Good question. Maybe Steve knows, because I don't.
Personally, I don't understand why if its now a Yorkshire rather than specifically Leeds event they didn't move it to Sheffield, home of the world's greatest comic blog.
-sean
It never occurred to me that the robot owl was stuck in there because of Star Wars, Sean, but I think you're probably right about that.
There ain't no robot owls in Greek mythology, as far as I know.
Also, Perseus never rode Pagasus, it was some guy named Bellerophon.
And the "Kraken" is from Norse Mythology, and it's basically a giant squid.
I think here Harryhausen used the same clay model from 1957's "20 Million Miles From Earth" with a few touch ups.
And an extra set of arms for good measure.
M.P.
Sean, Harrogate has a sizeable convention/conference centre and is quite posh. I assume those are the reasons the convention was moved there.
The 2010 remake of Clash Of The Titans starred Sam Worthington as Perseus who had a buzz-cut throughout the film. When it was pointed out to Sam Worthington that they didn't have buzz-cuts in ancient Greece he replied "They didn't have f*cking flying horses either".
Wow, 1982 was a musical bounty! "Lexicon of Love" spent hours and hours spinning on my turntable. Man, I loved that lp.
As for Charlene, I remember the song, but also remember being pretty unimpressed.
And yes Charlie, Three Dog Night loomed large 'over here' in the first half of the 70s. "Shambala" and "Liar" were my favorites, along with "Black and White". We sang "Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog" all over summer camp back in 1971 (while making our lanyard headbands in the Crafts cabin).
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