Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
***
Baseball has never been what you could call big news in the United Kingdom; even though one of our soccer clubs - Derby County - used to play in a stadium called The Baseball Ground, despite it being a venue blatantly not spacious enough to accommodate a game of baseball.
However, I've no doubt the sport was receiving plenty of coverage in the United States in this week in 1981.
And that's because it was the week in which the Major League Baseball strike ended and the sport returned with the All-Star Game in Cleveland's Municipal Stadium.
What was big news in Britain was the wedding of Charles and Di, even though it had happened the week before.
That was because flying to Number One on that week's UK LP chart was The Official BBC Album of the Royal Wedding. By crikey, the thing was selling so well it even managed to keep ELO's Time off the top spot.
Call me clueless but isn't a royal wedding primarily a visual thing; all about flowing dresses, big hats and golden carriages? Doesn't that make an LP a rather poor way in which to experience one?
But you know what there's never been a poor way to experience?
The musical career of Shakin' Stevens.
And that's good news, for, that very week, he was still Number One on the British singles chart, thanks to his version of Green Door. In his case, he was keeping Hooked on the Classics off the top spot, which I remember being an attempt by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to jump on the Stars on 45 bandwagon.
Apart from the infinite majesty of Shaky, tracks I approved of on that week's UK singles chart were:
Love Action - The Human League
Ghost Town - The Specials
Water on Glass - Kim Wilde
Show Me - Dexy's Midnight Runners
Tainted Love - Soft Cell
Sat in Your Lap - Kate Bush
Arabian Knights - Siouxsie and The Banshees
Wordy Rappinghood - Tom Tom Club
and
Tempted by Squeeze.
For any who wish to study the issue, in depth, the full details of that week's UK singles chart can be found here.
They have to face the nightmare peril that is The Owl!
You know, the foe Daredevil regularly beats up, on his own, with no help from anyone else.
I would assume the Hulk's still on Easter Island and having to confront a noticeably unstable Absorbing Man.
But all of that, doubtless, pales into insignificance against the news that, this issue, we can win 9 Kodak 400 Extralite cameras.
A quick Googlé tells me they were the ones that used to lie on their side and required film cassettes instead of rolls.
This is the kind of drama we demand from Marvel, as Thor must battle with Blastaar, a man who makes Ulik look even-tempered.
Come to think of it, he also makes Ulik look like Blastaar. Did they have the same mother, or something?
I can shed no light upon the activities of Captain America, Iron Man and the Dazzler in this week's issue.
However, once again we're offered the chance to win those cameras!
Daredevil's gone to the docks to seek out the secret HQ of Crime-Wave, which I believe to be in an illegal casino ship parked just outside American jurisdiction.
Needless to say, DD soon shuts down the villain's operations - but that doesn't mean he's not still missing Karen Page.
The Panther's activities, this week, are a mystery to me.
And those cameras are still up for grabs.
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19 comments:
Tempted by Squeeze featured Paul Carrack on vocals, of course. Just like The Living Years by Mike & The Mechanics and How Long by Ace. Top, top vocalist.
dangermash - I thought 'Don't Shed a Tear' was a good Paul Carrack song.
Phillip
Funny.. I was youtubing Love Action yesterday, on repeat, driving to me soccer game about 10 minutes away. Always dig me some Love Action by Human League. Always dig playing some old-man's soccer too!
What is exciting (seriously so!) and I'm sure Steve is already penning his homage to it, is next month Penthouse and Pavement turns 40 with its slew of hits like "Fascist Groove Thing!"
In the meantime, I'm sure y'all are waiting for the Premiere League to kick off like we are over here.
You know... this is a total aside and perhaps best discussed next month when SDC surely talks about Fascist Groove Thing...
They say in Wiki that the song did not get up the charts b/c the BBC banned it. But many of you have mentioned that a ban by the BBC often seemed to be a catalyst for success. Thoughts?
And puh...leeze! Don't tell me it's b/c Fascist Groove Thing isn't great!
Charlie, I recently discovered that the BBC banned 'Monster Mash' by Bobby 'Boris' Pickett & The Crypt Kickers because it was too morbid! But the ban was eventually lifted in the early '70s apparently.
I'm definitely NOT waiting for the return of football by the way.
Sitting in Your Lap-"some say that knowledge is something that you never have"
If that ain't Zen, I dunno what is, grasshoppers.
I am a fan of Kate Bush. There was this English nanny in Philly who turned me onto Kate back in '88. I went and got the greatest hits and a couple years later I bought The Sensual World, and I loved it. It was weird and different.
I tried to turn her onto Blue Oyster Cult, but it was no sale.
I kinda had a crush on her...Kate Bush, that is, not the nanny.
Still do!
M.P.
Charlie, I would suspect that whether a BBC ban aids or harms sales probably depends on whether the song would have been a hit in the first place. (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang was the band's first single and released in a period when the band didn't tend to make the Top 40 with any of their releases. If it had been released when the band were higher profile, the ban might have aided sales.
Dangermash and Phillip, yes, Paul Carrack is one of the great unsung singers of his generation.
Colin, the first time I ever heard The Monster Mash was on the Grumbleweeds' children's show, in the mid 1970s. It's interesting how quickly it went from being banned by the BBC to them deemning it suitable for a kids' show.
MP, good old Kate. There'll never be another. Although I don't know who's going to be brave enough to tell Tori Amos that.
Steve- love your song list! And may I join the ranks of those who like a little "Love Action". Incidentally, I rather prefer the dance version as released on " League Unlimited Orchestra". Inded, as great as Human League's "Dare" was, LUO was equally strong, imho...
On Lorde's second album 'Melodrama' (released in 2017) there's a song called 'Writer In The Dark' which is definitely influenced by Kate Bush.
Lorde's third album 'Solar Power' comes out next week but it won't be released on CD - streaming is becoming the norm in music now so is the CD dead??
Thanks, Red. :)
Colin, I shall check upon that Lorde track, forthwith.
I've now listened to that Lorde track. The high bits on the chorus are indeed very Kate Bush.
Any of you cool cats see Suicide Squad movie? Thumbs up, thumbs down? It's playing at our 100 year old theatre in town, nicely refurbished b.t.w... I got to wonder if Jack Benny played here, lol.
Steve, I like Tori Amos, but I agree with you.
When I first heard her on the radio I thought it WAS Kate Bush. It was that song about God, I think.
I kinda like Lorde too, though I've only heard two or three songs, I think she's really got something. She might be around for a while.
Being a middle-aged fart I probably miss out on a lotta good music.
M.P.
Charlie, being something of a cheapskate, I'll wait till the movie shows up on cable.
Not that cable is all that cheap, anymore.
But I'll definitely watch it, when it shows up on HBO.
The first one was almost a good movie, at least for the first half. Then there were these, I dunno, flying demons, it just turned into a big ol' mess.
But I live in hope that the sequel won't be quite as stupid.
In any case I'll watch it. I will feel compelled to, just to see what they do with Captain Boomerang and the Polk-Dot Man.
No doubt there will be some serious debate here on SDC over the artistic merits of this film, and far be it from me remain silent on such weighty matters!
M.P.
I'm currently reading the latest issue of SFX magazine which gives 'Suicide Squad' 4 stars out of 5.
The magazine also features a big article on the Shang-Chi film - apparently the film's screenwriter (who is Asian-American) had never heard of Shang-Chi so he read lots of old 'Master Of Kung Fu' comics.
All I know is the first Suicide Squad movie was terrible, to such a degree that it surprised me they decided to make another one.
And then give it the same title.
I think the second one - pedant alert! - is called The Suicide Squad, Steve.
-sean
I assume the third one will be called The The Suicide Squad.
Can't say I ever got the appeal of Ghost Town - or The Specials generally - which I'm pretty sure puts me in the minority (at least in the UK).
That whole Two Tone/ska revival just seemed odd... I never understood why an old style of Jamaican music from 20 years earlier suddenly became such a big deal, especially when reggae was at its peak at the end of the 70s.
Love Action was pretty good, particularly - as Redartz points out - in its League Unlimited remix, and I liked Wordy Rappinghood well enough.
But by this point I'd started to read one of the old weekly music papers regularly - Sounds (if anyone else remembers it) - and wasn't that interested in hit singles. The new records that had an impact on me in '81 were Red Mecca by Cabaret Voltaire, and Scientist Rids The World Of The Evil Curse Of The Vampires by the brilliant Scientist.
(In retrospect though, I now think Cabaret Voltaire sound more dated than the Human League. But Kingston beats Sheffield - sorry Steve - as Scientist was and is better than either).
-sean
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