Time once more, methinks, for another timeslip moment - back thirty years again, to the heady days of power-dressing and androgyny-as-artform, to a Very Gay Week indeed in the UK charts. Most appropriate for our continuing countdown to Gay Pride this Saturday!
As I mentioned way back at the beginning of the year, 1984 was destined to be "The Year of Frankie Goes To Hollywood", the band whose in-yer-face gayness knocked many of the more coy gay popstrels out in a cloud of poppers-infused smoke. This week alone, Two Tribes was at Number 1 and Relax was climbing back up the charts again (it had been there since January!) to Number 5.
Still-closeted George Michael was at Number 2 with Wham's Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go; Bronski Beat was at Number 3 with Smalltown Boy; High Energy by Evelyn Thomas and Hazell Dean's Searchin' were banging their 140 beats-per-minute rhythms in the Top 20; and both Jump and Automatic by the Pointer Sisters were still hovering in the lower reaches of the chart.
And speaking of sisters... The marvellous Sister Sledge were in at Number 11, with the camp-but-cool Thinking of You!
Everybody let me tell you 'bout my love
Brought to you by an angel from above
Full equipped with a lifetime guarantee
Once you try it, I am sure that you'll see
(Without love) There's no reason to live
(Without you) And what would I do with the love I give
(All my lovin') To you I'll be giving
And I promise, yes I'll do, as long as I'm living
I'm thinking of you and the things you do to me
That makes me love you, now I'm living in ecstasy
Hey, it's you and the things you do to me
That makes me love you, now I'm living in ecstasy
All the time he makes me glad that I'm alive
Together we will survive
What do you think brought the sun out today
It's my baby, oh, help me sing
(Without love) Without love there's no reason to live
(Without you) Oh, what would I do with the love I give
(All my lovin') To you I'll be giving
And I promise, yes I'll do, as long as I'm living
I'm thinking of you and the things you do to me
That makes me love you, now I'm living in ecstasy
Hey, it's you and the things you do to me
That makes me love you, now I'm living in ecstasy
I'm in love again
And it feels so, so good
Hey, it's you and the things you do to me
That makes me love you, now I'm living in ecstasy
Yeah, it's you (You and the things you do to me) and I
(That makes me love you) That makes me love you (Now I'm living in ecstasy), oh
It's you, you, you (And the things you do to me), yeah
(That makes me love you) That makes me love you (Now I'm living in ecstasy), ey...hey...
Makes me want to wear satin stretch-pants... Again.
About those satin stretch-pants...
ReplyDeleteWhat is it they say?
"If you remember it the first time around, you're too old to wear it again."
Bah! Jx
DeleteSo true. An odd look here is young mothers sporting tattoos from their earlier days and now they're pushing prams in the suburbs.
DeleteIsn't that a lyric by The Jam? Jx
DeleteNow, that is a chart!!!
ReplyDeleteI was just posting the video for "Smalltown Boy" over on my other site - it remains one of the most important records/videos of the decade, IMO, and I am still thrilled that it did so well in the charts!
How you were able to pick just one of the songs from that week to post a video for is a small miracle - but a fantastic choice, I have always loved that track.
Oh, yes! The music of 1984 was certainly a very formative influence upon little moi... Jx
Deletealways fascinating, what works in the UK & what works in the US. though furthest from expert, i don't recall this tune that did as well as you say.
ReplyDelete1984. i turned 30. you know what this means, right? and real fucking soon too.
At that time, then, you were already more in the demographic (gawd I hat that word) that was supposed to listen to Sade, Terrence Trent Darby, Simply Red and such "adult-orientated music" rather than the ephemera of the pop charts.
DeleteYou have my deepest sympathies for your forthcoming milestone... Jx