Timeslip moment again [to round off another delightful day's pottering in the sunny garden]...
Our Winnebago spaceship Eagle 5 has dropped us off in this week thirty years ago! In the news in late August 1987: the Hungerford massacre committed by Michael Ryan continued to engross the nation, as the death toll reached sixteen; the AIDS crisis was sweeping the UK; mass rallies in Estonia began its path towards full-scale rebellion against the USSR; the Order of the Garter was opened to women; in the ascendant were Michael Jackson (whose new album Bad went on to sell 35 million copies worldwide) and Lovastatin (the first of the cholesterol-reducing statins to be licensed for sale and use); but former "media darling" politician David Owen was in the doldrums (he had resigned as leader of the SDP after the party's decision to merge with the Liberals, and formed a breakaway party to limited success). In our cinemas: Lethal Weapon, Blind Date and An American Tail. On telly: The Ruth Rendell Mysteries; The Cook Report; sitcom Watching; and 24-hour telly began in the London and East Anglia ITV regions.
But what was in the charts this week in 1987? Hitting the the top spot for the first time was that eternal fave Rick Astley and Never Gonna Give You Up. Also in attendance in the Top Ten were such diverse talents as Sinitta, New Order, Linda Ronstadt & James Ingram, Def Leppard, Wet Wet Wet, Michael Jackson and Spagna.
But, held off the #1 position (and ultimately denied the honour by Rick's long reign) was this one [a song that, remarkably, I have never featured on this blog before, despite the fact we adore all the artists concerned] - this sublime collaboration between Pet Shop Boys and Dusty Springfield:
You always wanted a lover
I only wanted a job
I’ve always worked for my living
How’m I gonna get through?
How’m I gonna get through?
I come here looking for money
(Got to have it)
and end up leaving with love
Now you’ve left me with nothing
(Can’t take it)
How’m I gonna get through?
How’m I gonna get through?
I bought you drinks, I brought you flowers
I read your books and talked for hours
Every day so many drinks
such pretty flowers, so tell me
What have I, what have I, what have I done to deserve this?
What have I, what have I, what have I done to deserve this?
What have I, what have I, what have I…
Since you went away I’ve been hanging around
I’ve been wondering why I’m feeling down
You went away, it should make me feel better
but I don’t know how I’m gonna get through
How I’m gonna get through
You always wanted me to be something I wasn’t
You always wanted too much
Now I can do what I want to forever
How’m I gonna get through?
How’m I gonna get through?
At night, the people come and go
They talk too fast and walk too slow
Chasing time from hour to hour
I pour the drinks and crush the flowers
What have I, what have I, what have I done to deserve this?
What have I, what have I, what have I done to deserve this?
What have I, what have I, what have I...
Since you went away I’ve been hanging around
I’ve been wondering why I’m feeling down
You went away, it should make me feel better
but I don’t know how I’m gonna get through
How I’m gonna get through
We don’t have to fall apart, we don’t have to fight
We don’t need to go to hell and back every night
We could make a deal
What have I done to deserve this?
Thirty years?! Where did they go?
Oh! "Watching" was screened out here, too and we loved it.
ReplyDeleteI can't recall ever seeing it.
DeleteBut then again, thirty years ago I had a rather busy social life... Jx
I remember "Watching" - I quite liked it, as I recall (I didn't have a social life back then as I - or rather, the Host - was twelve...).
DeleteLove "What have I done to deserve this" though. But not "Spaceballs". I tried watching it last week - the only thing that kept me going until the end was Bill Pullman. My gods, he's a handsome man!
Was, methinks. Time's a terrible thing. And no, I have never seen Spaceballs. Wise move, it seems. Jx
Delete