POLL: The Face's 50 best singles of 1986

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too far gone... ain't no way back

Poll Results

OptionVotes
2. Prince - Kiss 13
23. The Smiths - Panic 9
50. Bananarama - Venus9
10. Oran ‘Juice’ Jones - The Rain 7
43. Talking Heads - Wild Wild Life 5
6. The Smiths - Ask 5
5. The Real Roxonne & Howie Tee - Bang Zoom 5
4. Cameo - Word Up 4
46. Sheila E - A Love Bizarre 3
38. Steve Hurley - Jack Your Body 2
32. The Source featuring Candi Staton - You Got The Love (Source) 2
19. Van Halen - Why Can't This Be Love 2
34. Taffy - I Love My Radio 2
1. Run DMC - Walk This Way 2
40. Farley Jackmaster Funk - Love Can't Turn Around 1
41. LL Cool J - Rock The Bells 1
31. Janet Jackson - What Have You Done For Me Lately 1
28. Prince - Mountains 1
7. Davis/Pickney Project - You Can Dance (if You Want To) 1
45. Original Concept - Can You Feel It 1
26. Madonna - Live To Tell 1
25. George Clinton - Fries Go With That Shake? 1
48. Epic B - Eric B Is President 1
22. Wham - Edge Of Heaven 1
3. Gwen Guthrie – Ain’t Nothing Going On But The Rent 1
13. Janet Jackson - When I Think Of You 1
8. Paul Simon - You Can Call Me AI 1
9. Beastie Boys - She's On It 1
16. Big Audio Dynamite - E= MC2 1
24. Heay D & the Boys - Big Stuff 0
14. Half Pint - Greetings 0
42. Trouble Funk - Good To Go 0
12. Kurtis Blow & Trouble Funk - I'm Chillin' 0
11. James Brown - Living In America 0
47. Simply Red - Holding Back The Years 0
49. Duke Bootee - Broadway 0
39. ZZ Top - Sleeping Bag 0
15. Diana Ross - Chain Reaction 0
37. Marshall Jefferson - Move Your Body 0
21. Prince - Anothedoverholeinyouhead 0
27. SOS Band - The Finest 0
18. Joyce Simms - All And All 0
29. Willie Colon - Set Fire To Me 0
30. Robert Cray - Guess I Showed Her 0
17. The Junkyard band - The Word 0
20. Billy Bragg - Levi Stubbs'Tedrs 0
33. Shirly Jones - Do You Get Enough Love 0
35. Leo Sunship - Give Me The Sunshine 0
36. Ultimate 3 - Ultimate 3 live 0
44. Michael MacDonald - Sweet Freedom 0


banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:09 (eighteen years ago)

Suprisingly solid list there, not too much "OMG, what were they thinking?" stuff.

Probs a Janet tune for me, I love that album.

Bodrick III, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:15 (eighteen years ago)

excellent list

blueski, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:19 (eighteen years ago)

this has a real "made down the pub after 5 pints" vibe, the way it should be

blueski, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:21 (eighteen years ago)

Simply too many great songs here: "Jack Your Body," the parade of Parade singles, "Live to Tell," Gwen Guthrie, "Eric B is President." Where are the Pet Shop Boys???

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:21 (eighteen years ago)

32. The Source featuring Candi Staton - You Got The Love (Source)

amazing, never knew about this

blueski, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:22 (eighteen years ago)

Gotta be "Mountains" for me, especially if we're talking about the 12" single mix.

Tuomas, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:23 (eighteen years ago)

Though many of the house singles on the list are equally deserving.

Tuomas, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:24 (eighteen years ago)

PSBs never got much Face love -- no entry for 'west end girls'!!!

banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:24 (eighteen years ago)

It's tempting to go for Epic B but I went with "Kiss".

Euler, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:26 (eighteen years ago)

the 'you got the love' story is helltime complex, isn't it? involves adonis's 'no way back'?

banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:26 (eighteen years ago)

Kurtis Blow & Trouble Funk - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBkggb7MdYM

Oran ‘Juice’ Jones - The Rain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8utL-XzOp6g

Michael MacDonald - Sweet Freedom: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_e5UjZaRQo

Quite a "fun" dance-orientated year for the mag, I guess. Sick of post-punk tension/miserablism?

Bodrick III, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:31 (eighteen years ago)

According to Wikipedia:

You Got The Love is a dance single by The Source and Candi Staton. The track is essentially a bootleg combining the Frankie Knuckles/Jamie Principle house song "Your Love" with an obscure Candi Staton track which she had recorded for a video-only 1980s documentary about an obese man who was trying to lose weight. When approached by The Source, Candi said she couldn't remember her having recorded a song called "You Got the Love". It was only later when she realised she had performed the song years earlier for the documentary, although no recording had ever been released other than the original videotape.

Tuomas, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:32 (eighteen years ago)

still haven't heard the "Mountains" remix.

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:33 (eighteen years ago)

is there really no mix of 'The Rain' longer than 5 minutes? i am desperate for a 7-8 min version where you get to hear more of his increasingly deranged ranting at the end.

blueski, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:34 (eighteen years ago)

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,1737687,00.html

Having played concerts in Britain since, she now knows what a massive impact her voice made when the Source's version of You Got the Love went top 10 in 1991, but at the time she had no idea she had even recorded such a song. "They were calling my house saying I had a number one record in England, and I said, 'What song? I haven't released any song.' When they told me it was You Got the Love, I said I'd never made a record called that. Then I got off the phone and realised - it was the one from the diet video! Which was never supposed to be put on a record at all." Staton's laughter grows the more she explains it. The soundtrack to a thousand raves, with its spiritual lines, "Sometimes I feel like saying Lord I just don't care/ But you've got the love I need to see me through" was recorded as the anthem for a film about the world's fattest man on his conquest to shed a tonne.

"He was the biggest guy I ever saw. He couldn't wear underwear, he had to wear tents. When he lost a couple of hundred pounds he was so proud, he called me and said; 'Candi, I've bought my first pair of drawers!' When they took him to Nassau, to go on this Bahamian diet, they had to clear the front row of first class just to get him on the plane. They had to forklift him into it."

Staton agreed to record a song the programme-makers had planned for her and, as they couldn't afford to pay her, they gave her half the publishing and copyright - a move she would come to appreciate when the royalty cheques started rolling in years later. She says she still didn't get all her dues when it first entered the UK charts, and she had to involve an attorney. "The English releases can't rip me off any more - hopefully," she says now. She still has that diet video somewhere in her basement, and her eyes glow wildly at the suggestion that it could make her a fortune on eBay.

Tuomas, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:35 (eighteen years ago)

how can we stop geir posting to this thread?

blueski, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:35 (eighteen years ago)

lol/wow

xpost

Bodrick III, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:37 (eighteen years ago)

The "Mountains" 12" mix is basically just the album version of the song with 5 more minutes of the band jamming. It's not the best of Prince's 12" mixes, but it's hella funky.

Tuomas, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:37 (eighteen years ago)

This is unpossible.

Noodle Vague, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:38 (eighteen years ago)

kurtis blow/trouble funk is o_O

banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:39 (eighteen years ago)

I held my breath and voted for Steve Hurley.

Noodle Vague, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:41 (eighteen years ago)

held my nose and voted for Oran

blueski, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:43 (eighteen years ago)

waht is this ---> Davis/Pickney Project - You Can Dance (if You Want To)

banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:44 (eighteen years ago)

Hip Hop track. Doesn't ring a bell.

Noodle Vague, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:46 (eighteen years ago)

35. Leo Sunship - Give Me The Sunshine

is actually from 1978. i guess this is the face's 'rare groove' phase.

banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:46 (eighteen years ago)

One of these four:

Willie Colon - Set Fire To Me
Janet Jackson - What Have You Done For Me Lately
Marshall Jefferson - Move Your Body
Farley Jackmaster Funk - Love Can't Turn Around

Eric H., Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:55 (eighteen years ago)

"Reagan gave the Pentagon the food stamp money!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCn9QSW0W4A

Bodrick III, Sunday, 30 March 2008 15:58 (eighteen years ago)

about 15 of these on the NME singles list for that year

blueski, Sunday, 30 March 2008 16:01 (eighteen years ago)

Funkin 4 Dukakis

Bodrick III, Sunday, 30 March 2008 16:02 (eighteen years ago)

If "Back and Forth" had made the list instead of "Word Up", I'd've been even more torn. Apparently "Candy" wasn't released until 87.

Noodle Vague, Sunday, 30 March 2008 16:06 (eighteen years ago)

i voted the real roxanne -- maybe because i thought it'd get slept on, but also coz it's great.

banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 16:07 (eighteen years ago)

Several fantastic singles, but in the end went for Taffy's continent devouring slab of Eurocheese. Would probably vote for something different tomorrow.

Billy Dods, Sunday, 30 March 2008 16:14 (eighteen years ago)

Jeez, I own 39 of this 50 on vinyl and a further 2 on CD; evidently The Face and I were in sync in 86. Superb list!

Davis/Pickney Project - You Can Dance (if You Want To)

Not hip hop, Noodle; this was DC go-go, with vocals provided by "Go Go Lorenzo", who quotes freely from "The Safety Dance". I have fond memories of it, as it was a floor-filler at the first club night I ever DJ-ed, in December 1986 (see also Heavy D, Steve "Silk" Hurley, Marshall Jefferson, Gewn Guthrie, Run DMC, Prince, Cameo, Oran 'Juice' Jones, Kurtis Blow/Trouble Funk, Real Roxanne, Joyce Sims). The US-only follow-up "Say No To Drugs" was almost as good, but the third single "Top Bottom Side & Rear" was a pointless carbon copy of the first.

mike t-diva, Sunday, 30 March 2008 16:18 (eighteen years ago)

Voting for "The Rain," though it has lots of competition. Amazing list (and it's kind of cool that they snuck in those underrated Van Hagar and ZZ Top songs. And that Real Roxanne song -- her go-go move -- is indeed great.) (Did go-go have more chart success in the U.K. that in the States? Because, with two Trouble Funks and a Junkyard Band, that looks like pretty a go-go-intensive list.) (And yeah, Taffy's tune is great, too. I've played both that and the Real Roxanne one in DJ sets this year!)

Don't think I've ever heard of these before, or if I did, I wasn't paying attention, because they don't ring a bell (the Diana Ross one apparently never got higher than #66 in the States, and that was a remix; original version peaked at #95. Joyce Sims's song I used to own on a Sleeping Bag compilation once, I think, but I must have been in another room whenever it started playing. SOS Band title isn't familiar, either, though maybe I've heard it; it went to #44 in the U.S. -- which makes it their second biggest pop chart hit, bizarrely. I would've assumed they were a much bigger crossover act, weird):

7. Davis/Pickney Project - You Can Dance (if You
12. Kurtis Blow & Trouble Funk - I'm Chillin'
14. Half Pint - Greetings
15. Diana Ross - Chain Reaction
18. Joyce Simms - All And All
27. SOS Band - The Finest
29. Willie Colon - Set Fire To Me
30. Robert Cray - Guess I Showed Her
32. The Source featuring Candi Staton - You Got The Love (Source)
33. Shirly Jones - Do You Get Enough Love
35. Leo Sunship - Give Me The Sunshine
36. Ultimate 3 - Ultimate 3 live
49. Duke Bootee - Broadway

Does "You Can Dance (If You Want To)" have anything to do with Men Without Hats? And does Shirly Jones have anything to do with the Partridge Family? No idea who Leo Sunship or Ultimate 3 are, either, probably because I'm not British, but I'm curious.

xhuxk, Sunday, 30 March 2008 16:18 (eighteen years ago)

Ha, XP! (And Mike T-Diva expanded on my go-go point, too.)

xhuxk, Sunday, 30 March 2008 16:19 (eighteen years ago)

As far as I remember Go-Go was widely touted in the media but never did that much in clubs - but I was still living in a one-horse Midlands pit village in 86 and could be wrong about that. My copy of "Bustin' Loose" is still lost at mom and dad's house somewhere.

Noodle Vague, Sunday, 30 March 2008 16:22 (eighteen years ago)

my hunch is that these go-go records were not chart hits, and i think they were lumped in with the very trendy, very media london 'rare groove' scene that reynolds says dominated soho before house came along. (the face a few years earlier was all about the 'jazz revival' and robert elms etc.) not having been there, you're more struck with how great the records were.

i'm not even convinced that all of them were strictly released as singles in 1986. represses, possibly.

ah xpost

banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 16:27 (eighteen years ago)

Go-go was huge in Nottingham in 1986; Graeme Park at The Garage played loads of it, even after jumping on the Chicago house bus with both feet in June/July. All of the go-go records on this list were available on UK 12", as well. The one I'd add to the list above all others: "War On The Bullshit" by Osiris.

Shirley Jones "Do You Get Enough Love" was one of the last releases on Philadelphia International; beautiful smoky slow-burning Southern soul, in the Shirley Brown/Betty Wright mould.

The original gospel-flavoured version of "You've Got The Love" wasn't that obscure; I picked it up as a 12" on Streetwave in 1986. Always preferred it over the subsequent versions, and could never quite get my ears round the "Your Love" mash-up in particular... it just sounded wrong.

mike t-diva, Sunday, 30 March 2008 16:29 (eighteen years ago)

I'm also fairly certain that none of these go-go tracks were re-presses, either. Proper 1986 tunes, all of them. Ah, the Junkyard Band, Def Jam's sole flirtation with the genre I think...

mike t-diva, Sunday, 30 March 2008 16:31 (eighteen years ago)

I love "Your Love" but the Candi Statton version just draaaaaaaaags.

Noodle Vague, Sunday, 30 March 2008 16:32 (eighteen years ago)

Is there really no mix of 'The Rain' longer than 5 minutes?

No, the 12" fades just after the "you're just a squirrel trying to get a nut" section...

mike t-diva, Sunday, 30 March 2008 16:38 (eighteen years ago)

Didn't think I knew Half Pint's "Greetings", but it turns out that I do. Not that dissimilar to Barrington Levy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAuNMGBuoLg

mike t-diva, Sunday, 30 March 2008 16:44 (eighteen years ago)

Oh, SWEET: here's the full length version of Shirley Jones' "Do You Get Enough Love", which I haven't heard in years (as my 7" fades out early in the spoken section).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_t6MYyIhoo

And here's one of my other favourite 1986 slow jams: Lonnie Hill's "Galveston Bay".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_t6MYyIhoo

mike t-diva, Sunday, 30 March 2008 17:02 (eighteen years ago)

No, the 12" fades just after the "you're just a squirrel trying to get a nut" section...

v sad, and strange to me. i think the very last thing you hear is "DON'T TOUCH THAT COAT".

blueski, Sunday, 30 March 2008 17:07 (eighteen years ago)

I think NME/Face soul boys were much more comfortable with Go Go rather than House even as late as 87/8

Stevie T, Sunday, 30 March 2008 17:13 (eighteen years ago)

that wiki re 'you got the love' is wrong; it *is* adonis's 'no way back' -- also a release on trax c. 1986.

banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 17:18 (eighteen years ago)

Where's Mylene Farmer? Or Indochine? Or Daniel Balavoine? Or... Oh Sorry - I thought that said "The France's 50 best singles of 1986."

Kevin John Bozelka, Sunday, 30 March 2008 17:20 (eighteen years ago)

What did these Go-go lovin' hipsters dress like? The Style Council or something?

Bodrick III, Sunday, 30 March 2008 17:21 (eighteen years ago)

Bandannas were big. Lot of dudes looking like pirates.

Noodle Vague, Sunday, 30 March 2008 17:21 (eighteen years ago)

Wasn't bandannas an acid house thing as well? I think most 80s hipster photos have been destroyed out of shame.

Bodrick III, Sunday, 30 March 2008 17:23 (eighteen years ago)

this poll came out of looking into maceo and the macks' 'cross the tracks (we gotta go back)', which was like the face's tenth best tune of 1987 and sampled on tons of things -- only it was actually from 1974!!

banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 17:25 (eighteen years ago)

**** Uni Ents Woman in 1987: "Why are you wearing that stupid thing on your head?"
**** Uni Ents Bloke: (Straight Faced) "Oh everyone's wearing them at the Wag"

Noodle Vague, Sunday, 30 March 2008 17:26 (eighteen years ago)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51XSAG72JYL._AA240_.jpg

Nice jumpers.

Bodrick III, Sunday, 30 March 2008 17:29 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.dexys.org/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/.pond/dont_stand_me_down.jpg.w300h300.jpg

This is how you do that shit

Noodle Vague, Sunday, 30 March 2008 17:31 (eighteen years ago)

the wag, when you read about it, does sound like complete hipster hell -- still. nice tunes.

banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 17:32 (eighteen years ago)

Dexy's Midnight legal practice.

Bodrick III, Sunday, 30 March 2008 17:35 (eighteen years ago)

So, did other Brit magazines that Neil Tennant had never written for hold it against the Pet Shop Boys when they first showed up? Because, yeah, "West End Girls" seems like an extremely notable omission.

And is that #50 placement for Bananarama (a cover version) some kind of token grudging acknowledgement of them? Because they were HUGE in England, right? Did the music papers generally like them, hate them, ignore them, or what? (Rock critics in the States barely seemed to know they existed, but this list makes critics in England seem smarter than that.)

Also: no Teena Marie or Stacey Q (both of whom put out possibly their greatest singles in '86, and seem like they would have fit with the dancey aesthetic above, but maybe they had no presence in the U.K.)

Nocera's "Summertime Summertime" was '86 too, right? (Again, not nitpicking about the list; it just seems like it would fit with the sort of music above. I always thought the Brit zines loved Mantronix, too. But maybe they didn't get a UK release 'til later.)

xhuxk, Sunday, 30 March 2008 17:36 (eighteen years ago)

"West End Girls" doesn't have congas on it.

Bodrick III, Sunday, 30 March 2008 17:37 (eighteen years ago)

Maybe Mantronix didn't get a look in 'cause electro is sooo '84, darling.

Bodrick III, Sunday, 30 March 2008 17:38 (eighteen years ago)

weirdly only mantronix's 'king of the beats' ever made a face chart.

also, on a rival-rock-hack tip, art of noise only got one entry, for 'moments in love'.

can't imagine that bananarama were too hip with the face crowd.

banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 17:41 (eighteen years ago)

in fact, so far as i can see, 'venus' is the one and only SAW track in any face chart!

banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 17:53 (eighteen years ago)

the Robert Cray song is pretty good. Diana Ross' "Chain Reaction" (also pretty good) is her Brothers Gibb collab.

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Sunday, 30 March 2008 17:53 (eighteen years ago)

thought bananarama would be cut more slack given their origins and relative pre-SAW belle starsy coolness

blueski, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:02 (eighteen years ago)

that wiki re 'you got the love' is wrong; it *is* adonis's 'no way back' -- also a release on trax c. 1986.

what's the connection? the Staton vocal was originally put over Adonis?

blueski, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:04 (eighteen years ago)

Voted Smiths because of the lyrics along (particularly one sentence towards the end) and as an act of protest against a way too R&B/dance-biased list. 1986 wasn't a particularly good vintage, but it was better than this.

Geir Hongro, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:08 (eighteen years ago)

damn

blueski, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:10 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.megomuseum.com/teevee/images/robot.jpg

Noodle Vague, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:10 (eighteen years ago)

what's the connection? the Staton vocal was originally put over Adonis?

-- blueski, Sunday, March 30, 2008 7:04 PM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

the 1997 version is staton + adonis, that's for damn sure. 'your love' is a big piano tune and i don't think any version of 'you got the love' uses it.

banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:11 (eighteen years ago)

isn't the 97 version just a big rip on 'Clubbed To Death'?

blueski, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:15 (eighteen years ago)

Where are these Face end of year charts online anyway? I bet they get more rock/indie friendly with the arrival of Nirvana and lumberjack/hobo-chic.

Bodrick III, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:16 (eighteen years ago)

isn't the 97 version just a big rip on 'Clubbed To Death'?

-- blueski, Sunday, 30 March 2008 19:15

This is the one I remember. There's probably loads of mixes, though.

Bodrick III, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:17 (eighteen years ago)

isn't the 97 version just a big rip on 'Clubbed To Death'?

-- blueski, Sunday, March 30, 2008 7:15 PM (50 seconds ago) Bookmark Link

i know what u mean but the arpeggio and bass is adonis. the funny percussive sounds do sound ripped from 'clubbed to death'.

xpost

banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:18 (eighteen years ago)

Voted Smiths because of the lyrics along (particularly one sentence towards the end) and as an act of protest against a way too R&B/dance-biased list. 1986 wasn't a particularly good vintage, but it was better than this.

-- Geir Hongro, Sunday, March 30, 2008 7:08 PM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

'panic' is kind of schaffel i guess.

banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:19 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYO7RfpMVm8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7yn6spOAFI&feature=related

Noodle Vague, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:19 (eighteen years ago)

ahh what the fuck? that's 'no way back'!! my compilation 'the house that trax built' has both, um, tracks ('your love' and 'no way back' and, well 'your love' sounds... not like that!!).

banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:21 (eighteen years ago)

i was gonna say you must've got wrong labelling/tagging here

blueski, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:22 (eighteen years ago)

A lot of those Trax comps are badly labelled.

Noodle Vague, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:23 (eighteen years ago)

although i have a vocal of 'no way back' that sounds completely different, on another compilation -- but that's actually marshall jefferson!!!!!!!!

the lyrics are similar on the trax compilation 'no way back', but not the same.

jesus.

banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:24 (eighteen years ago)

wonder if gracenote or trax themselves have fucked the dog here.

banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:25 (eighteen years ago)

i wanna see the original 'you got the love' video with the various faces direct to camera miming the song - doesn't seem to be on YT

blueski, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:26 (eighteen years ago)

TBF there were so many versions with different titles of early House tunes it must've been a pig to keep on top of.

Noodle Vague, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:27 (eighteen years ago)

oh wait here it is: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=o5a22_75rWE

blueski, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:27 (eighteen years ago)

Still got no love for "You Got the Love". Gets slower every time I hear it.

Noodle Vague, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:30 (eighteen years ago)

Where are these Face end of year charts online anyway?

http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/theface.htm#1981

History has not been quite so kind to their 1992 albums list.

Stevie T, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:40 (eighteen years ago)

ha ha their '97 list is OK Computer and Homework as joint #1 - it's the ILM 00-04 list all over again!

blueski, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:45 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah, I found them and 1991 doesn't feature "Teen Spirit", suprisingly enough. Oasis' "Live Forever" is #1 in '94... forgot that they were quite trendy around the time of the first album.

87 is better than 86, imo: http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/theface.htm#1987

Bodrick III, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:49 (eighteen years ago)

we should do more of these, but the face in the 1990s does seem less distinctive, less... face-y. the 1994 britpop moment feels... wrong.

banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:50 (eighteen years ago)

Probs because Oasis have been very untrendy since "Be Here Now" or maybe even "What's The Story..."

Bodrick III, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:52 (eighteen years ago)

The late 80s (86-88 in particular) were generally a lousy time for music. In a lot of ways even worse than the 90s.

Geir Hongro, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:53 (eighteen years ago)

they were never *that* trendy, just too big to ignore.

xpost

thanks great post

banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:54 (eighteen years ago)

Oasis weren't particularly untrendy around "What's The Story". Even "Be Here Now" received rave reviews and it wasn't until two weeks later that the writers listened to the actual album and found out it was indeed rubbish.

Geir Hongro, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:54 (eighteen years ago)

96 Albums list is great, Cuban Linx not as good as Supergrass = trolling

Noodle Vague, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:55 (eighteen years ago)

Sorry 95 albums I meant.

xpost Geir Hongro, authority on trendiness.

Noodle Vague, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:55 (eighteen years ago)

they were never *that* trendy, just too big to ignore.

If you look at the Cigarettes and Alcohol video: black and white, skinny models, shades indoors, fashion shoot kinda feel... Depends on your definition of "trendy", I suppose.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlI_I1fZTrg

Bodrick III, Sunday, 30 March 2008 19:01 (eighteen years ago)

(Can anyone find an online gallery of Face covers? Even the wikipedia entry for the magazine is pretty cursory. [There isn't one at all for Blitz which was my preferred style mag in the 80s])

Stevie T, Sunday, 30 March 2008 19:02 (eighteen years ago)

So, did other Brit magazines that Neil Tennant had never written for hold it against the Pet Shop Boys when they first showed up? Because, yeah, "West End Girls" seems like an extremely notable omission

Didn't it come out at the tail end of 1985 though?

Nasty, Brutish & Short, Sunday, 30 March 2008 19:04 (eighteen years ago)

At the time I bought Cameo, Oran 'Juice' Jones, Steve Silk Hurley (but I'm sure this was in early 87), and erm.....Wham.

Nasty, Brutish & Short, Sunday, 30 March 2008 19:07 (eighteen years ago)

Steve Silk Hurley (but I'm sure this was in early 87)

first #1 of that year or thereabouts so would've been picked up just in time for '86 EOYs

blueski, Sunday, 30 March 2008 19:16 (eighteen years ago)

Didn't it come out at the tail end of 1985 though?

Yeah. It would have been more natural for them to include "Opportunities" or "Suburbia".

But then, in 1986, Pet Shop Boys were seen by critics as a throwaway dance/pop act. It wasn't until around "Behaviour" that they were seen as a bit more than that. By which time their 80s work was also being critically revalued.

Geir Hongro, Sunday, 30 March 2008 19:18 (eighteen years ago)

first #1 of that year or thereabouts so would've been picked up just in time for '86 EOYs

But wasn't "Jack Your Body" actually from 1984 or 1985?

Geir Hongro, Sunday, 30 March 2008 19:18 (eighteen years ago)

not according to discogs

blueski, Sunday, 30 March 2008 19:23 (eighteen years ago)

the face would have known about it on import presumably.

banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 20:20 (eighteen years ago)

Various xposts:

"Jack Your Body" was 86, deffo - and it appeared on various UK comps during the summer. But it only charted in early 87.

"West End Girls" first came out in 84 - at which point The Face were definitely aware and interested - and charted in Nov 85, hence its omission in the 86 list. But, yeah, no "Love Comes Quickly" or "Suburbia" - or more to the point, no "Paninaro"? (The Face were all over the Paninaro phenomenon.)

Nocera's fab "Summertime Summertime" was another biggie at The Garage in Nottingham, but Mantronix aren't unrepresented - Joyce Sims' "All And All" was a Mantronix production.

Bananarama were all over The Face in 1981, right from their debut single "Aie A Mwana", but by 1986 - and the SAW re-launch in particular - their whole fanbase was changing, away from the hipsters and towards the mainstream.

Bandanas, cycling shorts and MA1s were all Big Looks for Face readers in 1987, as I recall. But as for 1986... hmm, not sure. Flat-top haircuts and black denim?

And The Wag wasn't ALL bad! Just depended on who was running the night in question.

mike t-diva, Sunday, 30 March 2008 20:31 (eighteen years ago)

cycling shorts!

thx for the joyce sims tip

banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 20:41 (eighteen years ago)

21. Prince - Anothedoverholeinyouhead
22. Wham - Edge Of Heaven

this was my tossup.. i went with wham. .. btw the prince song is spelt rong

billstevejim, Sunday, 30 March 2008 20:56 (eighteen years ago)

yeah a lot of them are.

banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 20:57 (eighteen years ago)

or were, i corrected a few and gave up

banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 20:57 (eighteen years ago)

Who spells correctly these days anyway? And also I'm so proud of myself for owning both of those records when I was in 1st grade.

billstevejim, Sunday, 30 March 2008 20:58 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah, it's Leo's Sunshipp, not Leo Sunship. But hey.

mike t-diva, Sunday, 30 March 2008 21:00 (eighteen years ago)

I've never much cared for "Anotherloverholenyohead". To me it sounds like a typical Prince rocker with nothing special in it. They should've released "Girls & Boys" as the third (or second) single from Parade. Apparently it wasn't released as a single at all in the US, which seems weird, because it is clearly the catchiest tune on the album besides "Kiss".

Tuomas, Sunday, 30 March 2008 21:03 (eighteen years ago)

I think that's the b-side.

billstevejim, Sunday, 30 March 2008 21:04 (eighteen years ago)

And apparently "Paisley Park" from the previous album too was only released as a single in Europe, even though it's the best song on the whole album. Weird.

Tuomas, Sunday, 30 March 2008 21:06 (eighteen years ago)

(x-post)

Well, they should've switched sides.

Tuomas, Sunday, 30 March 2008 21:06 (eighteen years ago)

I mean, "Anotherloverholenyohead" only got to number 63 on the US chart and number 36 on the UK chart, whereas "Girls & Boys" made it to number 11 on the UK chart.

Tuomas, Sunday, 30 March 2008 21:09 (eighteen years ago)

in 1986, Pet Shop Boys were seen by critics as a throwaway dance/pop act. It wasn't until around "Behaviour" that they were seen as a bit more than that.

Sounds like a moronic generalization to me, but who knows, maybe this was true in the UK. Not in the US:

The 1986 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll
Singles
16.Pet Shop Boys: "West End Girls" (EMI America) 18

The 1987 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll
Albums
22. Pet Shop Boys: Pet Shop Boys, Actually (EMI-Manhattan) 159 (12)

The 1988 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll
Albums
32. Pet Shop Boys: Introspective (EMI-Manhattan) 149 (15)

xhuxk, Sunday, 30 March 2008 21:15 (eighteen years ago)

maybe this was true in the UK

It wasn't.

Noodle Vague, Sunday, 30 March 2008 21:15 (eighteen years ago)

Torn between 'Kiss' and 'Panic'. Kiss is the perfect pop tune, but Panic has the perfect ILX thread. Eventually I went for 'Kiss' to cancel out Geir's vote, which was a good reason I think. I also like the way they've sneaked in Paul SImon and Simply Red.

But the real question is: how come The Face went bust but Dazed & Confused survived?

Ismael Klata, Sunday, 30 March 2008 21:19 (eighteen years ago)

FWIW I went for Jack Your Body, which I still love.

Nasty, Brutish & Short, Sunday, 30 March 2008 21:20 (eighteen years ago)

But then, in 1986, Pet Shop Boys were seen by critics as a throwaway dance/pop act

OK, this is horseshit, sorry.

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Sunday, 30 March 2008 21:27 (eighteen years ago)

I voted for The Real Roxanne and Howie Tee's Merrie Melodies version of go-go.

Kevin John Bozelka, Sunday, 30 March 2008 21:30 (eighteen years ago)

E=MC2.
Easy.

And Panic, just for the 'Humberside' reference

The rest is turd - oh apart from 'Live to Tell'

Fer Ark, Sunday, 30 March 2008 21:34 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.drmcdougall.com/images/store/ebook_cso_front_200.jpg

Noodle Vague, Sunday, 30 March 2008 21:39 (eighteen years ago)

quite impressive lack of new order in the face throughout its existence -- this year they missed 'bizarre love triangle', 'shellshock', and 'state of the nation'. the latter two divide people but BLT has to be a condender.

also happy mondays' 'freaky dancin', while we're talking factory.

banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 22:38 (eighteen years ago)

Of course there was a problem about hipsters in 1986, as all the good stuff from the 80s had long since not only become mainstream but also obviously detoriated in quality. And the new stuff from the late 80s that was different from the stuff of the early 80s wasn't worth checking out anyway.

Geir Hongro, Sunday, 30 March 2008 22:41 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.bigbadugly.com/StanleyUnwinIndex_files/image022.jpg

Noodle Vague, Sunday, 30 March 2008 22:42 (eighteen years ago)

Has anyone ever learned anything from Geir or have you just spent valuable seconds of your lives arguing with a shut-in aspie nazi?

-- JW, Monday, 7 May 2007 06:02 (4 months ago) Bookmark Link

banriquit, Sunday, 30 March 2008 22:43 (eighteen years ago)

Posting geirbot.jpg is never a waste of valuable seconds.

Noodle Vague, Sunday, 30 March 2008 22:48 (eighteen years ago)

how the hell did someone with the surname 'colon' have a hit?

electricsound, Sunday, 30 March 2008 22:51 (eighteen years ago)

that'sracist.gif

Noodle Vague, Sunday, 30 March 2008 22:54 (eighteen years ago)

good year for music.

titchyschneiderMk2, Sunday, 30 March 2008 22:58 (eighteen years ago)

Anyway, the correct answer here would be either "Grass" by XTC, "My Girl And Me" by Gangway or "Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House.

Sadly, neither is present.

Geir Hongro, Monday, 31 March 2008 01:18 (eighteen years ago)

how does xhuxk not know 'the finest'???

deej, Monday, 31 March 2008 04:45 (eighteen years ago)

noodle how long have you been waiting to unleash that jpg

J0rdan S., Monday, 31 March 2008 04:46 (eighteen years ago)

Top 6 (in no order)

Prince - Kiss
Big Audio Dynamite - E= MC2
Prince - Anothedoverholeinyouhead
Prince - Mountains
LL Cool J - Rock The Bells
Epic B & Rakim - Eric B Is President

nicky lo-fi, Monday, 31 March 2008 07:26 (eighteen years ago)

Epic B! Damn Straigt!

nicky lo-fi, Monday, 31 March 2008 07:28 (eighteen years ago)

Damn Straight!

nicky lo-fi, Monday, 31 March 2008 07:28 (eighteen years ago)

Anothedoverholeinyouhead

wtf

nicky lo-fi, Monday, 31 March 2008 07:43 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah I'm astonished that Chuck doesn't know "The Finest", given he's probably forgotten reviewing more music than I've heard in my lifetime.

It's really good Chuck!

Tim F, Monday, 31 March 2008 07:52 (eighteen years ago)

noodle how long have you been waiting to unleash that jpg

Which one?

Noodle Vague, Monday, 31 March 2008 08:06 (eighteen years ago)

challenging opinion one

J0rdan S., Monday, 31 March 2008 08:08 (eighteen years ago)

Just GISing on the fly. Couldn't find one for "STFU You Stupid, Stupid Man".

Noodle Vague, Monday, 31 March 2008 08:09 (eighteen years ago)

loving the joyce sims track -- all mixes available from itunes

banriquit, Monday, 31 March 2008 09:54 (eighteen years ago)

This is like the iPod soundtrack from heaven. Scarcely a bad track in there (the only one I really can't abide is #19).

But in the end I plumped for #5 - "The bucket kicked the rabbit"!

Dingbod Kesterson, Monday, 31 March 2008 10:10 (eighteen years ago)

Real Roxanne was my pick as well. "Innnn the place to beeee"

DavidM, Monday, 31 March 2008 14:36 (eighteen years ago)

Just because "Kiss" is an obvious choice doesn't mean it's not perfect.

kenan, Monday, 31 March 2008 15:35 (eighteen years ago)

If only Tom Jones hadn't ruined it.

Dingbod Kesterson, Monday, 31 March 2008 15:36 (eighteen years ago)

You mean Art of Noise featuring Tom Jones? No, not ruined.

kenan, Monday, 31 March 2008 15:37 (eighteen years ago)

You're right. I meant "destroyed."

Dingbod Kesterson, Monday, 31 March 2008 15:42 (eighteen years ago)

Kiss feat. Tom Jones, Peter Gunn feat. Duane Eddy, Paranoimia feat. Max Headroom, the Theme from Dragnet. That really is losing your mojo.

Billy Dods, Monday, 31 March 2008 15:46 (eighteen years ago)

isn't bagging on Art of Noise grounds for having your 80's stripes taken away?

xpost, ok mistakes were made. :(

kenan, Monday, 31 March 2008 15:48 (eighteen years ago)

lol creme

blueski, Monday, 31 March 2008 16:02 (eighteen years ago)

Tom Jones killed it (as in a bad thing) on Jonathan Ross' show back in 1987, Arthur Noise just volunteered to do the spadework afterwards.

Mark G, Monday, 31 March 2008 16:22 (eighteen years ago)

Half Pint - Greetings

wha?

Mark G, Monday, 31 March 2008 16:22 (eighteen years ago)

Here's the list which I made at the time...

http://troubled-diva.com/sing86t.jpg

mike t-diva, Monday, 31 March 2008 17:59 (eighteen years ago)

Half Pint - Greetings

wha?

Probably the biggest "Ragamuffin" hit when that was the thing. It's right up near the top of a very strong list. Might be my No. 1.

briania, Monday, 31 March 2008 18:40 (eighteen years ago)

lol creme

15 years early

energy flash gordon, Tuesday, 1 April 2008 10:53 (eighteen years ago)

What a great year. No wonder Samantha Touch Me (I Want to Feel Your Body) didn't make it to number 1 here.

fantasimundo, Tuesday, 1 April 2008 14:42 (eighteen years ago)

somebody needs to compile this and ysi it

baaderonixx, Tuesday, 1 April 2008 15:07 (eighteen years ago)

#31 of mike list, of course, goes all the way to the top for me.

mark e, Tuesday, 1 April 2008 16:39 (eighteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

ILX System, Wednesday, 9 April 2008 23:01 (eighteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

ILX System, Thursday, 10 April 2008 23:01 (eighteen years ago)

To whoever was the other person to vote for Taffy - I kiss you.

Stevie T, Thursday, 10 April 2008 23:04 (eighteen years ago)

What the fuck Willie Colon song is that?

_Rockist__Scientist_, Thursday, 10 April 2008 23:23 (eighteen years ago)

Good question - after reading the hype about it in the UK press, I spent a week in New York trying to find it to no avail!

Bill E, Thursday, 10 April 2008 23:40 (eighteen years ago)


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