Sadly the Vancouver winter Olympics are over and there’s nothing left to do but count the cash and clean up the mess. I do have to say that the whole event ran pretty smooth with the exception of a few technical glitches, lack of snow and a couple of deaths – other than that, it was mint.
Seriously though it was sad to see a young athlete lose his life though it was while doing something he loved – how many of us will be lucky to die doing something we love? As a tribute to him and all the athletes who competed, here’s a retro classic from 1983 by Spandau Ballet that takes it’s title from the one thing everyone strives for during the Olympics – Gold.
Category: retro video
R.I.P. Doug Fieger from The Knack (1952-2010)
It’s a sad day in Retroville with the news of the passing of Doug Fieger, the American lead singer of new wave group The Knack and the co-writer of the number one track from 1979 “My Sharona” after a six year battle with cancer. Doug died on Valentine’s day.
Doug formed the band with three other musicians in 1978 after a few failed attempts at having a successful band. The Knack teamed up with producer Mike Chapman who was responsible for some hits by Blondie, Nick Gilder and Exile. They cut all the tracks for their first album in pretty much one take and that was what gave the album that energetic live feel. The whole album was done and ready to press in eleven days at a total cost of $18,000. It was one of the cheapest albums to ever go Platinum. It went gold just thirteen days after its release.
Their biggest hit was the catchy if not annoying My Sharona from their first album. It spent six weeks at number one on the Billboard’s Hot 100 in the U.S. while the album spent five weeks at number one.
Rather than giving you My Sharona which you’ve heard atleast three thousand times, here’s one of their followup hits that isn’t as well known but still pretty cool.
Retro Funk Double Shot of the Day
After a hard week of school or navigating through cubicle hell, it’s nice to know you can reach back to the classics of a simpler time to get you into the right mood for the coming weekend. Allow me to create that mood for you right now.
First up, Rene & Angela’s “I’ll Be Good” which is the embodiment of all things good about 80’s R&B. Released in 1985 by this former husband and wife duo, it peaked and number 4 on the U.S. R&B charts but remains one of my prized possessions on pristine 12″ vinyl.
Next up is a classic from 1979 by the Brothers Johnson. This band was made up of a bunch of brothers and a cousin who had originally played for the likes of Billy Preston, The Supremes and were Quincy Jones main go to guys for a time.
“Stomp” was released in 1979 and shot to number 1 on both the U.S. Dance and R&B charts. The group had an on again off again relationship over the years and still perform from time to time and recently teamed up for a tour with Ray “Ghostbuster” Parker JR and Cherrelle. Interesting note, Louis Johnson played bass on Michael Jackson’s Thriller album – I told you they were Quincy’s go to guys didn’t I?
Retro Video of the Day – My First, My Last, My Everything
Man the news is full of depressing stuff and the weather (in most parts of the world – at least my part of the world) currently blows. This makes it tough to inspire yourself to get out of bed in the morning rather than curl up in a corner sobbing in the fetal position.
With that in mind, here’s a way back track that always puts a smile on my face and was (and is) a sure fire crowd pleaser to all the retro lovers and even the non-believers. How can you go wrong with the late, great Barry White? Even his worst track was pretty damn good! This gem is from 1974 and still holds up well.
Happy Friday everyone – spring is just around the corner!
Retro Video of the Day – Don’t Forget Me When I’m Gone
In keeping with the whole Tiger’s Wood theme (I mean Tiger Woods), let’s go back and visit a Canadian tiger from back in the 80s.
Glass Tiger’s breakout hit from 1986, “Don’t Forget Me When I’m Gone” featured Bryan Adams doing some backup work many classic hallmarks of cheesy 80’s videos. Big hair – check, pastels and shoulder pads – check, gimmicky sets – check, children pretending to play instruments – check, loose story line featuring other children – check?!?! Not sure what the connection with the kids would be but…. there you go.
The song went number one in Canada (naturally) and number 2 in the U.S. (surprisingly) and also charted pretty good in many other countries as well. The band originally called themselves Tokyo which confused some so they changed their name to Glass Tiger and succeeded in confusing everyone else.
This song is pretty much Elin Woods anthem at the moment.
For an unrelated Tiger experience, click the picture below to play the Tiger Woods Outrun flash game. Hope all those girls were worth it Tiger – somehow, I doubt it.
Retro Video of the Day – Land of Hunger
In keeping with the space invaders theme from the previous post, I thought I’d jog your retro memories with a vintage one hit wonder from 1984 by the Earons. Their hit “Land of Hunger” was an interesting fusion of the electronic Euro sound from the era similar to Kraftwerk and Visage mixed with a bit of a reggae beat and vocal style – or stylie.
The Earons describe themselves as an Astro Funk band (not too many bands in that category I assure you) from Earon Earth and get their inspiration from the cosmic mythology teachings of Sun Ra, an eccentric Jazz musician who claimed to be from Saturn and part of the Angel race that preached peace and love above all. I shit you not. You can’t make this stuff up. He also happened to be one of the first musicians to extensively use electric keyboards and synthesizers in his music.
The Earons themselves all went by numerical stage names which included .28 (vocals), .33 (keyboards), .22 (guitar), .69 (bass) and .18 (drums) which if you add it all up comes to 1.7 which is pretty much the amount of time this song remained at number 1 on the Hot Dance chart in 1984.
Retro Video of the Day – Disco Double Shot
Being Thursday and oh so close to Friday, I thought I’d treat you all to a double shot of some classic retro Disco that is a little left of the usual Disco standards you normally hear during a Disco radio show or one of those retro nights at a club.
The first is Michael Zager Band’s “Let’s All Chant” from 1978 that reached #1 on the Disco singles chart and also crossed over to the Soul singles chart and made it to #15 and #36 in the Top 100 chart. The classic chant refrain of “ooah ooah” became a popular staple in many clubs during the 90’s and can still be heard today during many a retro set.
The first is Michael Zager Band’s “Let’s All Chant” from 1978 that reached #1 on the Disco singles chart and also crossed over to the Soul singles chart and made it to #15 and #36 in the Top 100 chart. The classic chant refrain of “ooah ooah” became a popular staple in many clubs during the 90’s and can still be heard today during many a retro set.
The second track is Kano’s “I’m Ready” from 1979. It’s one of those tracks you’ve heard samples of in other tunes but could never quite put your finger on it. The most recognizable track the melody was sampled for was Tag Team’s “Whooomp! (There It Is)” from 1993.
The Kano classic was the brainchild of a couple of Italian producers that helped form the basis of the new Italo-Disco genre from that era that was basically a blending of Disco and Funk. It was also an instant Break-Dance classic that helped paved the way for what is now Hip-Hop. It peaked at #21 on the R&B charts in the U.S. Can you remember roller skating to this one? Enjoy!
Retro Video Bonus !!
Retro Video of the Day – Lips Like Sugar
There are some bands that the minute you hear their music takes you straight back to the 80s and yet their music still holds up well in this era. Echo and the Bunnymen are one of those bands. They formed in Liverpool in 1978 and the original lineup included three members and a drum machine until 1980 when they recruited a real drummer. They chose the name because they wanted something that sounded kind of stupid – mission accomplished.
They released a number of great albums all with decent critical acclaim and a few classic hits per disc but the biggest and most memorable tracks have been The Cutter, The Killing Moon, Silver, Seven Seas and Bring on the Dancing Horses which was used on the soundtrack for John Hughes’ “Pretty in Pick” which is one killer soundtrack and a must for all retro lovers.
They released a number of great albums all with decent critical acclaim and a few classic hits per disc but the biggest and most memorable tracks have been The Cutter, The Killing Moon, Silver, Seven Seas and Bring on the Dancing Horses which was used on the soundtrack for John Hughes’ “Pretty in Pick” which is one killer soundtrack and a must for all retro lovers.
Retro Video Bonus !!
Retro Video of the Day – Just an Illusion
In keeping with the whole Beatles buzz this week due to the release of their remastered CDs and video game, today’s video is from a group whose name was inspired by John Lennon’s Imagine. Imagination was a British trio from the early 80s that delivered some pretty cool R&B mostly while dressed in really retro gladiator style outfits. I’m not kidding.
Their songs charted in 28 countries and they produced three platinum records, nine gold and a dozen silver ones all in the span of three years. Not bad considering many people in North America never even heard of them. “Just an Illusion” was their highest ranked U.S. single at 27 even though it reached #2 in a few countries including the U.K.
Happy Retro Labour Day
When you think of labour day, you assume it was the brainchild of some tree huggin‘ Canadian or similar minded forward thinking country but in fact the Labour movement was born in the good ol‘ U.S.A. The idea of unions and worker’s rights was bred in the land known (and often hated by some ass backward countries) for it’s capitalists.
Samuel Gompers, an American, is the one to thank for the eight hour work days and worker’s compensation. He organized the American Federation of Labour and was their president for many years and helped make the American work force one of the highest paid in the world.
Ironically, another American named Sam, Sam Walton created an outlet for merchandise that is mainly made in non-unionized countries with low standards of living and deplorable work conditions with no benefits, which has led to some North American suppliers close their factories here and ship jobs off-shore. Go figure.
Something to think about as you chow down on chicken and tater salad at a Labour Day picnic. In honor of labour day, here’s a few videos with an obvious theme that relates to the nature of this much welcomed holiday.