So I am going to play every 45 in my collection.......(Part 3!!)

Taylor Dayne-Don't Rush Me/In the Darkness
A #2 hit, this continues the dance-pop sound of her first LP but it loses a bit of the fun that made "Tell It to My Heart" so great.

 

Soooo...... you liked the 80s I take it.

 

Dazz Band-Let it Whip/Everyday Love
This hit #5 on the pop charts and earned them a Grammy in 1983. I have always dug this tune...the beginning reminds me of "Beat It". Is there other stuff worth tracking down? I own and love tons of 60's and 70's soul but really never explored the 80's soul scene too much.

 

Quite a bit I'm afraid.....I guess you could say that with Dead or Alive and Def Leppard coming up......!

 

Another band I'm proud to say came from my hometown of Cleveland. They were originally known as Kinsman Dazz (Kinsman is a street). At least check out a budget Motown compilation of their stuff, with hits such as "Joystick" and "Let It All Blow." I dig their 1986 Geffen album Wild And Free as well (and was very happy when a UK label reissued it a couple years back) but it didn't do much commercially.

While I'm known here as the "new wave guy," I'm also a pretty good resource on '80s R&B, so let me know if there's any other bands you'd like to explore. I love the Morris Day singles you posted upthread (got to see both The Time and Prince at a big outdoor concert in '99 when I was living in Minneapolis!), and there's so many other great '80s R&B records (although many people here would probably malign them). I love Midnight Star, Jeffrey Osborne, Chaka Khan, Donna Allen, Gap Band, Jody Watley, Shalamar, Zapp, and many others. I managed a Sam Goody with a big clientele of R&B purchasers, so we played that music in store a lot. Oh, and I oversaw a little budget Starpoint package when I worked at Warner Music.

As for Taylor Dayne - Cherry Red UK just reissued her debut album and included a ton of remixes on it; I may have to pick that one up eventually. They also include the artwork for both versions of the album - BMG (RCA/Arista) seemed to change the artwork on a lot of albums in the '80s! Taylor Dayne and Bruce Hornsby are 2 big examples of this. In both cases, the changes were for the better!

Funny story - I saw Sam Philips a number of times (she's great); once in '94 on the Martinis And Bikinis tour. She was playing a club in Cleveland named Peabody's; they had some framed artist headshots on one of the walls near the stage. At one point, she stopped in the middle of a song and said something like "Hold on - do you see that picture of Taylor Dayne over there on the wall? I'm sorry, she looks nothing like that!" and then went right back into the song she was playing. When she signed my CD for me after the show, she wrote "I don't really look like that" on my CD cover!

 

Gee an 80s hair style. I haven't seen that since the 80s. Of course we won't rush you Taylor. Take a few minutes and think it over.

 

I remember when she was in Rude Awakening (with Sherilyn Fenn and Roger Daltrey) she looked nothing like I imagined she looked. (She must have been under 5 foot tall for one thing)

 

I'm waiting for the Duran Duran section.

Darryl

 

People don't really pay attention. A friend was talking about this years ago when she gave her then 7-year-old? an MP3 player. She'd put Roxanne on there, and was shocked when she heard her little girl singing the lyrics. Of course the mom knew the song and could probably have sang it to you, but now she finally "heard" the lyrics.

 

I will definitely hit up your 80's R&B knowledge over the course of this thread!!! The Gap Band is one I particularly enjoy as well!
That Sam Phillips story is great! Glad to see I'm not the only one who noticed the rather stark contrasts in her different looks

 

You and I both!! I actually played a few of the 12" singles a week or so ago. Great, great songs.

 

My wife has long curly hair and when she wakes up in the morning it has turned into huge, big 80's hair......and I really dig it!

 

Over the summer, I was taking my 5-year old daughter out of the car, and she was singing a familiar tune. It took me a few seconds to realize she was singing "I Know What Boys Like" by The Waitresses. I had never specifically played it for her, but I think she may have heard it randomly when I had Sirius 1st Wave on in the car. And her favorite part? It's where Patty Donahue says "sucker!" and laughs. My daughter kept walking around going "sucker!" and then giggling uncontrollably.

 

Of course you dig it. You are an 80s kind of guy. And you must be so happy in the morning because it seems like the 80s are still here. Party on like it's 1989!

 

This reminds me of an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 where they were watching a bad '80s movie. As the credits rolled, Crow and Tom Servo were yelling at Mike Nelson because the '80s was "his" generation, saying "You and your '80s! Your precious, precious '80s!" "Yeah, it would still be the '70s if it wasn't for guys like you!"

 

Gotta love stories like this! I have so much appreciation for the 50's and 60's because of my parents. Favorite family photo? Me walking around in diapers holding a spoon in one hand and a 45 in the other. I love to eat and I also love.....well....you've read the thread!

 

The Dazzlers-Phonies/Kick Out UK ISSUE
Band formed by former UK Subs members Rob Harper and Steve Slack. Tommy Ramone produced the LP. Very cool sleeve....reminiscent of the Vertigo label. This is off their only LP. A pop-punk assault. This has classic written all over it except for the fact that it has been completely forgotten! What a shame because it is a great example of Punk aggression meets New Wave pop sensibilities.
"Kick Out" easily could have been the A-Side. Great melody and it certainly ROCKS! I guarantee that I play this 45 the most out of anyone on the planet....I like it that much. A should have been classic.

 

Dead or Alive-You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)/Misty Circles
Years ago in a Las Vegas live band karaoke bar, one of my friends got called up on stage to sing this.....no easy task! As he was about to go on stage, we spied a black matchbook on the table and we all had the same flash of an idea....We shaped the matchbook so that he could squeeze it shut in one eye thus giving the illusion of wearing the eye-patch that Pete Burns sported in the video. It went over like gangbusters...All he needed was the long haired, curly wig...and a better vocal range.
Produced by Stock and Aitken...no Waterman to be found...although it is in their classic style. Damn this 45 sounds great! I am a bass player and I have always loved the synth bass parts these guys came up with! Just fantastic. What a metaphor in the title as well. Future generations might not get it but kids of the 80's certainly did! True story: One of the few times I have ever been given a sobriety test on the road was after attending a DOA concert.....I was let go to drive home.

 

Dead or Alive-Lover Come Back to Me (single mix)/Far Too Hard JAPANESE PRESSING
This only hit #75 in The States but was a much bigger hit around the globe. The chorus is great...."Kick it right down...right down!"
"Far Too Hard"...nice to hear an organic bass line on a DOA song. Burns really croons the lyric here.

 

Dead or Alive-My Heart Goes Bang (7" remix) /Cake and Eat It
A big smash on the dance floor....as it should have been. Disco lovers must have been in heaven because this is basically great ynthesized disco music. No knock here...it sounds great! At home, it is a bit of a let down but if I heard this at a club I would sweat with the best of them....notice I didn't say "dance"
"Cake and Eat It"....what is up with Brits name-checking Rudolph Valentino....Ray Davies, Pete Burns.....

 

Dead or Alive-Brand New Lover/In Too Deep (live) UK, Japanese, and USA issues
#15 in the USA is a decent showing but only #31 in the UK???? This song is an instant classic....every time I listen to it, it just gets better and better. The synth bass is off the hook.....the vocal is amazing....the background vocals by Burns during the chorus at the end are sublime. This may be the best synth rhythm section on a record ever. Maybe it is just me....nobody I play this for finds it as great as I do although my wife has recntly come to dig it when she hears it on Sirius. Any differences on the Japanese, Uk, and USA mixes? I'm about to play all three to find out!!!

 

Is Pete Burns at a hubcap shop on the USA sleeve? The three 45's are identical. The 12" single features two extended remixes plus an instrumental version.....All are worthy!

 

Dead or Alive-Hooked on Love/You Spin Me Round JAPANESE ISSUE
A minor single, this sounds correctly sounds right off of the "Brand New Lover" train. Not nearly as clever though. Still a good listen, the "Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know" LP is a quality purchase.

 

Dead or Alive-Something in My House/DJ Hit That Button JAPANESE ISSUE
A big UK hit (#12) but it only hit #85 in the USA (inexplicably) although it was a big dance club hit. Those elongated cross chains Pete wears on the sleeve must have been a generous gift from the Catholic church......