80's Duets: Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder- "Good-Bye Bad Times"

In 1985 Philip Oakey took a break from the Human League and teamed up with Giorogio Moroder to record a collaborative album. The album is most notable for containing the song "Together in Electric Dreams", which was the title track for the movie Electric Dreams and a major hit single. "Good-Bye Bad Times" was released during the same year, never reached the success of the first single, but the video for the song was quite a high budget production filmed in black and white, directed by Steve Barron set in 19th century London.

 

Belouis Some- Imagination

"Imagination" was released in 1985. The video for the single was another 80's light erotica which featured nude women who were appearing in the dream sequence. The video was edited for the daily airplay while the extended version remained still contained the nudity.

Note: The content contains scenes of nudity! 

 

Instant Hit: Baltimora- Chinese Restaurant

Baltimora was an Italian dance outfit which scored a big hit in both Europe and the USA with the song "Tarzan Boy". The album Living in the Background which was released in the same year, was not as successful as the first single and charted only moderately by entering the Top 20 album charts in only a few countries in Europe. "Chinese Restaurant" is another fine track from the album which was released as their debut single in 1985.

Vitamin Z Reissue

The long awaited debut album by Vitamin Z, 'Rites of Passage' has been released on CD. You will probably remember them by their biggest hit "Burning Flame" which was released in 1985. The track listing also includes the remix version of the songs "Burning Flame" and "Circus Ring". The album is available through Amazon, Renaissance and CD Universe.

More about Vitamin Z

Belouis Some- 'Some People' Reissue

Almost 25 years after the original release of 'Some People' by Belouis Some , the album has been reissued on CD by Cherry Red Records. 'Some People' was a debut album for Neville Keighley, originally released in 1985. Three singles were released from the album including "Round and Round" which was featured in 'Petty in Pink' soundtrack as well as 'Imagination' which remained his biggest hit.

'Some People' Reissue

Instant Hit: Clan of Xymox- Stumble and Fall

'Stumble and Fall' was a third track from Clan of Xymox' s/t debut album which was released in 1985 on 4AD. There was another 4AD release which featured the remix version of the single "A Day" as well as the remix version of the song "Stranger". Wish I premiered it back in the day.

Instant Hit: The Room- New Dreams For Old

"New Dreams For Old" was the last single release for the English group from Liverpool, before they disbanded in 1985. They released three albums and five singles. Most of their music was released on Red Flame label including the 7" and the 12" inch versions of this song.

Instant Hit: Shriekback- The Big Hush

In 1985, Shriekback released their third studio album Oil and Gold which featured one of Shriekback's best song ever recorded and our absolute favorite tune by the band. Sadly, it was never released as a single, but it was featured in Michael Mann's 1986 film Manhunter.

Retrovision: Propaganda- Dr Mabuse

Instant Hit: East Wall- Eyes of Glass

East Wall released their only single "Eyes of Glass" in 1985 through ZYX Records. The single was issued as 12" only and included the vocal and instrumental version of the song. It was recorded in at the Master Studio 33 in 1984 and produced by Ray Masola. The duo recorded one album in 1981, entitled Silence.

Instant Hit: Fiction Factory- Ghost of Love

"Ghost of Love" was the second release for the British group Fiction Factory. This single was released in 1983 on CBS and appeared as both 7" and 12" record. The band didn't last long and disbanded soon after the album release in 1985.

Instant Hit: Telekin- Imagination (Extended)

Telekin (originally les enfants terribles) was a Los Angeles based group formed in 1982.  They released their only single "Imagination" in 1984/85 through Pick Up Records and Metronome. Their master recordings were remixed and released in the Netherlands and their single was produced by Craig Leon. Unfortunately, this was their only official release. They disbanded a year later. 

Instant Hit: This Island Earth- Take Me to The Fire

"Take Me To The Fire" was one of the two singles released by the five-piece band This Island Earth during their brief existence in the mid-80s. The single was available in both 7" and 12" formats and featured "Pearl of Love" as its B-side. Released in 1985 by Magnet, the track received regular airplay on WLIR radio during the summer of 1985.

Instant Hit: Informatics- Accident In Paradise

Australian band Informatics released "Accident in Paradise" in 1985 as their second single on Last Chance Records in Germany. The same song was reissued in 2003 by Punx.

Instant Hit: Hard Corps- Je Suis Passee

"Je Suis Passee" was one of the few singles Hard Coprs released during their brief career between 1984-1987. At the time they released their compilation album, they split already. The lead singer Regine Fetet died of cancer in 2003 while the other members are still busy with creating music under different names. In 2012, we did an in depth interview with one of the members of the group Clive Pierce. To read the whole interview, follow the link.  Clive Pierce Interview

Instant Hit: De Film- Cuba Libra

There's limited information available about the band that released two LPs during the 80s, with variations in the artist name spelling such as De Film, De-Film, DE-FILM, and DeFILM. They seem to have been a six piece from Copenhagen Denmark. A recent discovery is the music video for their song "I Saw You Dream," which is now available on YouTube. The track "Cuba Libra" is one of our favorite tracks on their self-titled album.