Sad news of the departure of the dance-floor diva Evelyn Thomas for the "Rush Poppers Room" in Fabulon yesterday sent me hurtling down a time-slip-wormhole...
...back again to the year when her only major hit was everywhere - the year of strikes, of Yuppies, of Space Shuttles and of Band Aid, the year of "Frankie Say" t-shirts and Hi-NRG music, the year I came out - 1984!
For me, this year forty years ago was one of the very best for music in that (or any other) decade!
What other year can you name, dear reader, that saw the debuts in the Top 40 of a clutch of world-beating and eternally influential artists of the calibre of Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Jimmy Somerville [with Bronski Beat], Gloria Estefan [with Miami Sound Machine] or Prince, or indeed the arrival of class acts like Scritti Politti, The Smiths, ZZ Top, Nik Kershaw, Sade, Alphaville, Van Halen, Propaganda, and of course Frankie Goes To Hollywood?
Making their first foray in the upper echelons of the charts in 1984 as solo artists were George Michael [although Wham! had a great year of hits as well], Alison Moyet, Freddie Mercury [Queen also had a huge resurgence that year], Philip Oakey, Limahl, Billy Idol, Malcolm McLaren and Ray Parker Junior. It was also the year that saw massive commercial success for a number of established stars such as Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Paul McCartney, Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton, Tina Turner, Lionel Richie, Deniece Williams, Billy Joel, Pointer Sisters, Spandau Ballet, Elton John, Duran Duran, Thompson Twins, The Specials (Special A.K.A.), U2, Eurythmics, Kraftwerk, Bananarama, The Cars, Style Council, Billy Ocean, Culture Club, Bob Marley and the Wailers and Depeche Mode.
So much of the very "gay-gay-gay" theme that year - be it Boy George and Marilyn's "gender-bending", an unapologetic drag star singing You Think You're A Man on Top Of The Pops, the Age of Consent LP, Pete Burns and Dead or Alive, or Relax - was forever underpinned by the aforementioned musical genre of Hi-NRG, with the likes of Hazell Dean, Divine, Maria Vidal, Fancy, Laura Branigan, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Fun Fun, The Weather Girls and their ilk all dominating the clubs and the airwaves.
So let's conclude with Miss Thomas's mega-hit, a classic if ever there was one - I can smell the Kouros and amyl nitrite as we speak:
RIP, Ellen Lucille "Evelyn" Thomas (22nd August 1953 – 21st July 2024)
The song was a bit before I was of age to go out...it would be another 13 years till my club debut....but even then a DJ played High Energy....and loved it!!
ReplyDeleteIt's such an uplifting number! Jx
DeleteAmazing to think of all that high energy coming out 40 years ago. I remember my 12-year-old niece learning her idol, Boy George, WAS a boy. I think she loved him even more after that.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing to think that we are as far removed in time from that year as it was from the D-Day landings... {{shudders}} Jx
DeleteLike Mistress Maddie the above song was a bit before my time, however I am familiar with it as it was in my sister's record collection and she had a friend called Angie who lived nearby, when Angie walked by, my sister would open her bedroom window and squark 'Hi Angie' at her. They had a falling out when Angie's boyfriend and my sister were caught together in fragrant delecto in the bin shed.
ReplyDelete"Hi Angie, your love is lifting me high-i-igh!"
DeleteYour sister was a slag. Angie told me. Jx
I learnt a lot about the ways of men just by listening outside my sister's bedroom door.
ReplyDeleteI imagine... Jx
DeleteIt was a fab time long long ago
ReplyDeleteYou don't need to tell me, dear. The mirror does that for me. Jx
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