7_Songs: Jimmy Somerville

In 1984 the documentary Framed Youth: The Revenge of the Teenage Perverts was awarded with the Grierson Award for Best Documentary. The aim of this documentary was to raise awareness about homosexuality to a wider audience. Jimmy Somerville was part of this project, and his very emotional performance of "Screaming" in the documentary sure helped Somerville in further propelling his career in music. Richard Coles with whom he would form The Communards in the second half of the 80s was also part of this project and at this time, Jimmy already knew and used to hang out with Steve Bronski and Larry Steinbachek which will eventually turn into a Bronski Beat formation. A base and frame for Somerville's music career in the 80s was set. 

His body of work, counting in his international success with both Bronski Beat and the Communards, makes 9 studio albums and almost 30 singles. This includes some of the most selling singles of 1984, "Small Town Boy" and "Don't Leave Me This Way" from 1986.
On top of this, Jimmy Somerville remains as one of the early advocates for LGBT rights and freedoms of the 80s who proved that pop music is more than just for commercial selling and that it can be used as a vehicle to revolutionize certain ideas.

Small Town Boy (Bronski Beat) 

"Smalltown Boy" is Bronski Beat's signature song, which gained huge success all over the world in 1984. Different from the usual trend with pop songs, this one had a profound meaning that meant an empowerment of gay liberation driven on the wings of seminal synth-pop instrumentation. In fact, the synth riff became a classic and has ever since the original release been borrowed and remixed in each decade, most notably by Groove Armada "History" in 2010 and Brandon Flowers "I Can Change" in 2015.

Why (Bronski Beat) 

"Why" was released as the second single and even though it could not follow the steps of its predecessor, it still managed to enter the charts in most of the countries in the world. Yet again, a song was dealing with anti-gay sentiment, feed even more by the growing anti AIDS hysteria and stigmatization. The music video was sort of a multi-stage drama in a supermarket and portrays heroism against sentence and sin. Musically, on the opposite, "Why" was even more energetic and among the dance floor killers in clubs across Europe.

Ain't Necessarily So (Bronski Beat) 

With the third single "Ain't Necessarily So", Bronski Beat took a different turn by covering a song that was originally written for George Gershwin's opera in 1935. Since its original release, the song has received many different treatments, mostly jazz or rock, but Bronski Beat’s was the first band to deliver a pop interpretation. The cover sleeve art was a parody of The Wizard of Oz with Dorothy having the head of the devil.

Don't Leave Me This Way (The Communards) 

Jimmy Somerville, now under the Communards flag with Richard Coles, has had his second career peak in the 80s with yet another cover version and their take of “Don’t Leave Me This Way”. Joined by the jazz singer Sarah Jane Morris, the band delivered a version that was more tuned to hiNrg dance pop. The song was again a huge success in Europe and, even 30 years after its original release, it was voted by the British public as one of the favorite 80s Number ones in UK history.

For A Friend (The Communards) 

The Communards' opus is mostly remembered by wider audiences for their hiNrg and synth pop hits. In 1987 however, the duo released “For a Friend” which was a real standout in tempo and form. The song was written in the memory of the gay activist Mark Ashton, a friend of Jimmy Somerville and Richard Coles, who died of AIDS aged 26. A following dedication appears on the album:

"Mark Ashton, 1961-1987...it is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees."

Read My Lips (solo)

After Somerville and Cole parted their ways, Jimmy went on to pursue his solo career and released his debut solo album Read My Lips in 1989 and the single of the same name followed in 1990. It was not such a big chart success like the previous singles with the Communards, but again it was  a call for action as the song discussed the need for increased funding to fight HIV/AIDS.

Some Wonder (solo)
In 2015, Jimmy Somerville returned with his sixth solo album titled Homage. It's probably Jimmy's best solo album in terms of musical production, which pays tribute and goes back to the roots of disco music and celebrates the diversity of styles the genre had to offer. There was not an official single release, but Emanuel Franzel directed the official video for the song "Some Wonder".

For the complete Jimmy Somerville discography, as documented in music videos, please check the following the playlist below.

Jimmy Somerville / Bronski Beat / The Communrds Playlist

WAW: Fontaines D.C. - A Hero's Death

After the big success last year with their debut album Dogrel, the Fontaines D.C. will return with a brand new album this year. The album is entitled A Hero's Death and the video for the first single of the same name has been premiered on YouTube. The video stars the actor Aidan Gillen and was directed by Hugh Mulhern.

WAW: Protomartyr - Worm in Heaven

The Detroit based Protomartyr are returning with a new studio album in July. The album is titled Ultimate Success Today and it is their first release since 2017. They have already revealed two singles "Processed By The Boys" in March and the current one "Worm in Heaven" for which the video was premiered on April 28th. The video was directed and Photographed by Trevor Naud.

Retrovision: The Adventures of Stevie V - Dirty Cash (Money Talks)

Thirty years ago, in early May 1990, the producer Steve Vincent and his team had their biggest hit with "Dirty Cash (Money Talks)". Martha Washington provided a very soulful vocal against the euro dance style house track to a great result. The song reached No.2 in the UK and No.1 on the US Dance floor charts.

April Singles Roundup

April seems to be the first month this year that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as there has been far less releases than this time this time in the previous years. However there are still some fine tunes here and there. We already wrote about the Gorillaz Song Machine series and SOKO  in addition to these releases the Strokes adopt even more synth for a very playful "Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus". The Dears and Porcelain Raft announce new albums with first single outputs. What else was on our radar, check below.

The Strokes - Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus

Porcelain Raft - Come Rain

The Dears - The Worst in Us

Angelo De Augustine - Santa Barbara

Car Seat Headrest - Hollywood

Declan McKenna - The Key to Life on Earth

The Magnetic Fields - (I Want to Join A) Biker Gang

Washed Out - Too Late

Desire - Black Latex

Perfume Genius - On The Floor

7_Songs: Bow Wow Wow

Bow Wow Wow, an English New Wave band, was formed in 1980 by Malcolm McLaren, who recruited members from Adam and the Ants to support 13-year-old Annabella Lwin as the lead vocalist. The original lineup featured Leigh Gorman on bass, Matthew Ashman on guitar, and Dave Barbarossa on drums. Their debut single "C’30, C’60, C’90 Go" and the EP 'Your Cassette Pet' were released in 1980, but the band achieved international success with "I Want Candy" in 1982.

Despite their early successes, Bow Wow Wow faced internal tensions, leading to the departure of Annabella Lwin in 1983. This decision was abrupt, and Lwin discovered her dismissal through an article in NME. The band had planned a world tour after the release of their last single, "Do You Wanna Hold Me?"

The band reformed in 1997 for a 'Barking Mad' Tour. Their songs "Aphrodisiac", "I Want Candy" and "Fools Rush In" were included on the soundtrack of the 2006 Sofia Coppola film Marie Antoinette.

In December 2012, Gorman began performing under the name "Bow Wow Wow" without original lead singer Lwin's consent, hiring a new singer, whereas Annabella performs billed as "Annabella Lwin of the original Bow Wow Wow". On 25 May 2018, Cherry Red Records released the three-disc set Your Box Set Pet (The Complete Recordings 1980–1984)

C’30, C’60, C’90 Go

Bow Wow Wow released their debut single “C’30, C’60, C’90 Go" in 1980, and in fact, it was the first single ever to be released on a cassette, paying a little tribute to the format itself at the same time. It was dealing with piracy and home taping. The latter was popular in the 80's and that everyone sure did at a certain age and time.

Chihuahua

As you may remember when the lead singer Annabella Lwin started with Bow Wow Wow she was 13 years old and their marvelous song "Chihuahua" could have been a bit biographical and telling her story in music. It was also the first single to be taken from their debut album See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang Yeah, City All Over! Go Ape Crazy!.

Baby, Oh No

In 1982 Bow Wow Wow released “Baby, Oh No” in Australia and the USA. This song was not under such strong influence of the Burundi beat and tribal rhythms which was the band’s trademark, but more sort of could have been a New Wave classic in a Blondie manner.

Go Wild in The Country

In 1982, the band also released their most successful hits to date. One of them was “Go Wild in The Country” which was written by Malcolm McLaren in collaboration with the band. The single sleeve was the same as for their debut album and caused controversy as Lwin was posing nude on it and she was just 14 years old at the time. The single was a success in the UK and went silver.

I Want Candy

“I Want Candy” followed during the same year and Bow Wow Wow gave new life to a song that was originally performed by the Strangeloves and released in 1965. Although this song did not have a huge impact on the charts outside the UK, it remains as one of the true New Wave classics. To this date, this is the band’s biggest success where the cover version certainly has outlived the original.

Mario
In 1983, Bow Wow Wow released their second album When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going which in a way also changed the band's musical direction more into surf rock but still remaining New Wave. "Mario" one of the songs from the album had great bass, cool guitars but remained as one of BWW obscurities in every sense and it was only released in the Netherlands.

Do You Want to Hold Me?
In 1983 Bow Wow Wow released two more singles before disbanding. Their last single was "Do You Want To Hold Me" proved to be a mad catchy farewell that could have been a bigger hit, but New Wave itself was already in the fade out. Besides "I Want Candy", this one certainly remains as band's biggest hit to date.

Below is the YouTube playlist with the above mentioned singles, plus the complete discography of single releases, in chronological order, as documented by their music videos and live performances.

The Dears to Release their Eight Studio Album in May

The Canadian indie rock outfit The Dears have returned this year with a new single and also announced the release of their eight studio album Lovers Rock. The album will be released in Mid May and is currently promoted with the single "The Worst in Us".

Gorillaz Release Series of EPs / Episode 3 with Peter Hook

Gorillaz have returned this year with a series of EPs entitled 'Song Machine'. Structure wise, each EP consists of a lead track and "Machine Bitez". EP 3 in particular caught our attention as the lead track "Aries" has been done in collaboration with Peter Hook and Georgia. The New Order bass line is very evident here and if this was not a Gorillaz track, one could guess that Damon Albarn has provided guest vocals on a New Order track.

WAW: SOKO - Are You a Magician?

The Los Angeles based SOKO returns this month with a brand new album, her third, entitled 'Feel Feelings'. Two singles have already been released as singles including "Are You A Magician" for which the video was directed by Gia Coppola. 

March Singles Roundup

We are going through a difficult piece of history at the moment that affects us all. In this tough times music remains our best companion. Beside the already featured releases in single posts, here are some interesting tune that will hopefully make stay at home easier. This month we see the return of The Killers, Bright Eyes and Lebanon Hanover.

The Killers - Caution


Chromatics - Famous Monsters


Vundabar - Out of It


Black Lips - Get it on Time


Bright Eyes - Persona Non Grata


Lebanon Hanover - The Last Thing


The Orb - Daze (Missing & Messed Up Mix)


Oh Wonder - How it Goes
 

The Radio Dept. - You Fear the Wrong Thing Baby