Voyage Voyage, Visage, Alphaville, Gazebo...

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I'm compiling a Europop CD for a friend and need some suggestions. I'm aiming for a certain naff European sophistication: performers trying too hard to be cool and getting it just slightly wrong - but then wasn't that the 80s all over?

Voyage Voyage by Desireless, Fade To Grey by Visage, Masterpiece by Gazebo, The Captain Of Her Heart by Double, Obsession by Army Of Lovers. Possibly Bette Davis Eyes; Europe After The Rain; Cambodia.

The songs don't have to be from the 80s: the new project by the bloke from Army Of Lovers - Bodies Without Organs - have released a great single called Living In The Fantasy. They don't even have to European - Lonely Days by Future Bible Heroes would be perfect.

Just kinda cool and louche and spohisticated, but ever so slightly ridiculous.

― davidsim, Friday, 14 May 2004 12:48 (twenty-two years ago)

Ryan Paris - Dolce Vita

― NickB (NickB), Friday, 14 May 2004 12:51 (twenty-two years ago)

I seem to remember Fra Lippo Lippi being right up this street. I think it was the earlier band of one of the blokes from Supersilent.

― noodle vague (noodle vague), Friday, 14 May 2004 12:52 (twenty-two years ago)

The bloke who runs Rune Grammafon was in them. Started the label with the pots of cash that they made in the Philipines, where they were huge.

― NickB (NickB), Friday, 14 May 2004 12:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Thanks Nick. I remember one single getting a lot of play in the UK in the 80s. Would like to get the compilation some time when I'm back in gainful employment.

― noodle vague (noodle vague), Friday, 14 May 2004 12:56 (twenty-two years ago)

They don't even have to European

Then you MUST have Taco on there!

― NickB (NickB), Friday, 14 May 2004 13:01 (twenty-two years ago)

Falco - Jeanny
Francesco Napoli - Balla Balla
Camouflage - The Great Commandment

― Siegbran (eofor), Friday, 14 May 2004 13:08 (twenty-two years ago)

The Europeans - Recognition

― NickB (NickB), Friday, 14 May 2004 13:10 (twenty-two years ago)

getting it just slightly wrong

But wait, didn't Fade To Grey get it just right? I mean it IS really cool.

― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, 14 May 2004 13:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Vanessa Paradis 'Joe Le Taxi'
Opus 'Live Is Life'
JT & The Big Family 'Moments In Soul'
Ace Of Base 'Happy Nation'
Addis Black Widow 'Innocent'
Galleon 'One Sign'

― stevem (blueski), Friday, 14 May 2004 13:38 (twenty-two years ago)

"Tarzan Boy" Baltimora

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Friday, 14 May 2004 13:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Fiction Factory - Feels Like Heaven

― NickB (NickB), Friday, 14 May 2004 13:44 (twenty-two years ago)

Fiction Factory? Of course! Thank you.

― davidsim, Friday, 14 May 2004 13:52 (twenty-two years ago)

I've just downloaded The Great Commandment by Camouflage. Omigod. I'd forgotten this - it was my absolute favourite for a while back in the 80s, and is perfect for my CD. Thank you Siegbran.

More!

― davidsim (davidsim), Friday, 14 May 2004 14:16 (twenty-two years ago)

I've been on a mission to promote that song for a few years now. It has everything you'd ever want from an 80s synthpop tune: German accents, fantastic chorus, pompous delivery, archetypical synths & drumsound.

― Siegbran (eofor), Friday, 14 May 2004 14:44 (twenty-two years ago)

the band that did "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades".
Oh, and "Bette Davis Eyes" is the greatest song ever, so make sure you use it in the non-ironic portion of the mix.

― Barry Bruner (Barry Bruner), Friday, 14 May 2004 15:03 (twenty-two years ago)

Weird, I was just in the middle of downloading Gazebo's first album.

― Patrick South (Patrick South), Friday, 14 May 2004 15:31 (twenty-two years ago)

performers trying too hard to be cool and getting it just slightly wrong

My favorite thing in the world.

Sounds like a great compilation!

― El Diablo Robotico (Nicole), Friday, 14 May 2004 17:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Plastic Bertrand- Tout Petit La Planete

― lawrence kansas (lawrence kansas), Friday, 14 May 2004 17:43 (twenty-two years ago)

there's a song by furniture that might work. i can't remember what it's called, but it's synthy with the singer pretentiously intoning, "i'm at the stage where everything i thought meant something seems so unappealing."

― lauren (laurenp), Friday, 14 May 2004 18:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Lauren, you must be out of your mind. Your brilliant mind, of course.

― davidsim (davidsim), Saturday, 15 May 2004 01:32 (twenty-two years ago)

I was about to say, El Diablo is spot on -- there's nothing wrong with this proposed comp at all!

Furniture, IIRC, contained future MM scribes Jim Arundel and Sally Margaret Joy.

Alphaville was invoked but somehow no song was named COME ON. So "Forever Young" is great if obvious but I'd actually say "Big in Japan" would be a better choice (or "Jerusalem," the secret brilliant song from Afternoons in Utopia).

There's some song Tim Finney recently mentioned by an Australian band of the time that apparently sounds like "Take On Me" crossed with the Durutti Column. This song must by definition be utterly brilliant.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 15 May 2004 01:35 (twenty-two years ago)

Regarding Alphaville, I was thinking Sounds Like a Melody, but shall investigate Jerusalem. Tim's song sounds genius - I HAVE to have it. Tim? Tim?

― davidsim (davidsim), Saturday, 15 May 2004 01:59 (twenty-two years ago)

"World of Lust & Crime" by Peter Schilling maybe.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 15 May 2004 03:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Whoops, that "The Different Story (World of Lust & Crime)" by Peter Schilling (he's German, you know). It's a very ridiculous bit of synthy Europop.

Also, for maximum Euroridiculosity, seek ye anything/everything off of this record by Mysterious Art.

http://eurokdj.free.fr/covers/cov_mysterious_art.jpg

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 15 May 2004 03:33 (twenty-two years ago)

"codo," döf

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Saturday, 15 May 2004 03:43 (twenty-two years ago)

Okay, after some months trying to get enough Neue Deutsche Welle and other hard to find tunes, a few recommendations:

Grauzone - Träume Mit Mir
Kiz - Die Sennerin vom Königsee
Joachim Witt - Tri Tru Trullala
Hubert Kah - Rosemarie
(I'll second Codo by Döf)

Non-German tunes:
Hitmen - Ouija
Tik Tok - Screen Me, I'm Yours
Alexander Robotnick - Les Grands Voyages de L'Amour
Naked Lunch - pretty much anything
Pink and Black - Sometimes I Wish
Anne Clark - Sleeper in Metropolis, Our Darkness, Wallies (obvious, but classics nonetheless)

― Guymauve (Guymauve), Saturday, 15 May 2004 16:38 (twenty-two years ago)

"Scherbenlilli" by Claudia Robot!

― OleM (OleM), Saturday, 15 May 2004 16:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Maybe a tad too good for this but...

"Duel" by Propaganda

― JP Almeida (JP Almeida), Saturday, 15 May 2004 16:51 (twenty-two years ago)

aiming for a certain naff European sophistication

Oh right, sophistication; disregard my C. Robot suggestion above (and BY ALL MEANS disregard "Live Is Life", mentioned by somebody). Anne Pigalle, maybe?

― OleM (OleM), Saturday, 15 May 2004 16:59 (twenty-two years ago)

"Juste une mise au point" by Jackie Quartz

"Femmes du Congo" by Raft

― Etienne (Etienne), Sunday, 16 May 2004 22:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Blancmange - "Living on the Ceiling"

Kajagoogoo - "Too Shy"

Blue Mercedes - "I Want to Be Your Property"

ACT - "Snobbery and Decay"

Belvedere Kane - "Never Felt as Good"

― Otis Wheeler (Otis Wheeler), Sunday, 16 May 2004 23:26 (twenty-two years ago)

Carmel - "Hot dog"

Carmel went for "jazzy" sophistication and got it horribly wrong...

― Jacob (Jacob), Monday, 17 May 2004 00:27 (twenty-two years ago)

How about these:

Finzy Kontini - Cha cha cha
Valerie Dore - The Night
Muriel Dacq - Tropique
Lucia - Marinero
Pet Shop Boys - Paninaro
Falco -Vienna Calling

― daavid (daavid), Monday, 17 May 2004 02:53 (twenty-two years ago)

"I Like Chopin" - Gazebo
"C'est la Ouate" - Caroline Loeb
"You" - Boytronic
"25 Years" - The Catch
"Jenseits von Eden" - Nino de Angelo
"Major Tom" - Peter Schilling
"Not The Loving Kind" - Twins ("You know you can't succeed / in feeding cocks with chicken feed / why don't you just admit defeat?")
"Dancing In The Dark" - Kim Wilde

― mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Monday, 17 May 2004 08:03 (twenty-two years ago)

...and "Der Kommissar" - Falco

― mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Monday, 17 May 2004 08:04 (twenty-two years ago)

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. For those who may be interested, this was the final listing of the (well-received) CD:

1 : Desireless : Voyage Voyage
2 : Visage : Fade To Grey
3 : Gazebo : Masterpiece
4 : Double : The Captain Of Her Heart
5 : Kim Wilde : Cambodia
6 : Kim Carnes : Bette Davis Eyes
7 : Bodies Without Organs : Living In The Fantasy
8 : Mylene Farmer : Desenchantee
9 : John Foxx : Europe After The Rain
10 : OMD : Souvenir (Moby remix)
11 : Future Bible Heroes : Lonely Days
12 : Duran Duran : The Chauffeur
13 : Alphaville : Sounds Like A Melody
14 : Camouflage : The Great Commandment
15 : Assembly : Never Never
16 : Blancmange : Waves
17 : Fancy : Flames Of Love
18 : The Twins : Face To Face, Heart To Heart

― davidsim (davidsim), Tuesday, 25 May 2004 13:57 (twenty-two years ago)

two years pass...

You missed "You're In The Army Now" by Bolland.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Tuesday, 22 August 2006 10:54 (nineteen years ago)

four months pass...

Masterpiece by Gazebo, The Captain Of Her Heart by Double

Ha ha, my father-in-law (!) just burned me CDs (which he had apparently converted from vinyl) by both of these bands. He was playing them in Texas over the holidays, and they both sounded great. The CD-Rs just came in the mail yesterday. I know very little about either act -- Gazebo are briefly mentioned in the liner notes of that Confuzed Disco Italodisco comp last year, and I just looked up their AMG profiles and discovered that Double are Swiss jazz fusionists connected with Yello who apparently had a Top 20 hit (the song mentioned above) in the U.S. in 1986 -- How come I never heard of it before? Or did I, and I just wasn't paying attention at the time? Any more thoughts on these acts would be much obliged.

― xhuxk (xheddy), Sunday, 7 January 2007 14:57 (nineteen years ago)

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