Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin "Seperate Lives"

"Seperate lives" from Phil Collins ?!? Was that a n°1 hit? Yes, 20 years ago it was n°1 in the United-States! I guess that for once, Belgium was really too far away from the States, because I can hardly remember that song ever reached Europe! :-)

I'm almost sorry to have to talk about that song for the first time that I'm talking about Phil Collins on this blog! Though I'm not a real Phil Collins' fan, there are several songs from him that I like very much... ( and also others that I hate!)

Anyway, even if that last only 1 week, that song was n°1 and I'm going to tell you a bit more about it... Obviously there were people who liked it and maybe you're part of those! ;-)

This song was written to be part of the soundtrack of the movie "White Nights" from Taylor Hackford, starring Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines.

No need to say that this movie is for dance lovers only, Baryshnikov is certainly a dance genius, but that doesn't make him an actor! And don't expect to be thrilled by the "political/thriller" part of the movie!! :-)

Before she sang this duet with Phil Collins, backing vocalist Marilyn Martin had performed with Joe Walsh and Stevie Nicks, and had performed on Kenny Loggins' n°1 hit "Footloose"... which was the main song from... a dance movie!!! Is there any kind of "singer for dance movies" diploma out there?!? :-))

Ok, enough said... if you liked that song or if you don't have a clue anymore what it was, you can watch the entire video above...

But I suggest you rather click on the cover below, and listen to some samples of Phil Collins' greatest hits...

Wham! "I'm your man"

Today, back to London where Feargal is not the charts' leader anymore, but they needed to be two to replace him... They? I'm talking about Wham! that reached n°1 in the UK charts with their hit single "I'm your man".

Wham! it's of course (are you an eighties music fan or not?!?) George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. I've already talked about them in that post, so just click if you don't remember! ;-)

By clicking on the cover above, you'll be able to listen to samples of the best songs from Wham!

"I'm your man" is the second track but there's also a '96 remix... That is ... how to say... "different"! This remix is probably not the best idea they ever had... I'll let you judge by yourself but of course I still prefer the 85's version...

If you checked my previous post about George Michael, you saw that I had said that I'll let you know more about Andrew Ridgeley in my next post about Wham!... So, it should be today... but since then, I've changed my mind about what this blog would be about... So, I'll keep the updated information about Andrew for my "to come" website about singers from the eighties... Sorry!;-)

Jefferson Starship "We Built This City"

Ok, let's see for once what was n°1 in the US charts...while Feargal Sharkey was entertaining the UK...

In November 1985...yes that's 20 years ago! ;-)... the number one song was "We Built This City" by Jefferson Starship, also known as Starship alone... Starship is a band formed by Paul Kantner who previously built the band Jefferson Airplane. So for his second band, he kept the name Jefferson, but today we talk about them sometimes as Jefferson Starship, sometimes as just Starship... whatever! :-))

Was "We Built This City" a big hit ? Is there any reason for it to be "famous"?

Actually there's a very "funny" reason for it to be "famous" but probably a reason that Paul Kantner doesn't like much...

In April 2004, Blender, a US music Magazine, listed the "The 50 Worst Songs Ever" and guess who hit the first place: "We Built This City" ! Not really the kind of first place singers are looking for, is it? :-)

According to editor Craig Marks "It purports to be anti-commercial but reeks of '80s corporate-rock commercialism. It's a real reflection of what practically killed rock music in the '80s."
Also sealing the song's fate were Starship's steep fall from grace as the admired Jefferson Airplane and "the sheer dumbness of the lyrics," Marks says...

Note for all of you 80's music fans, 6 songs from the eigthies are in the top 10 of 50 worst songs EVER!!! Here they are:

• Wang Chung's "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" at n°3
• Huey Lewis & The News' "The Heart of Rock & Roll" at n°6
• Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy" at n°7
• Eddy Murphy's "Party All the Time" at n°8
• Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder's "Ebony and Ivory" at n°10

Note that I almost forgot that Eddy Murphy pretended to be a singer! :-))

Find more information about Starship on their official website: Jefferson Starship

Feargal Sharkey "Good Heart"

On 10th November 1985 (yes, 20 years ago...) Feargal Sharkey reached the first place in UK charts with his song called "Good Heart".

Too bad for Feargal, that song will be his first but also almost his lonely hit ever...

So, how come that a new singer with a new song made such a success? Well, actually Feargal Sharkey had already had some success with the irish punk-pop band The Undertones. But the band split in 1983. So, his voice (very "special") was already known by the audience... Moreover, the song is actually a cover of Maria McKee's "A Good Heart" and so, was maybe already in the audience's memories... And last but not least, the song was produced by Dave Stewart the famous guitarist of Eurythmics.

Feargal public career was not very long, but he stayed in the music business first as an A&R Manager (controlling the artists and choosing the material) for Polydor Records. He was then a member of the Radio Authority (part of the UK's communications regulator) for 5 years from 1998 to 2003.

Jennifer Rush "The Power of Love"

Ok, back to work! ;-)

Twenty years ago the N°1 in UK hits was "The Power of Love" performed by Jennifer Rush.

This is for sure the biggest hit of Jennifer Rush. It stayed number one in the UK charts for more than 1 month long! This was the first single by a female soloist to sell a million copies in the UK, and is among the UK's best-selling singles of all-time!

Too bad for Jennifer, she didn't hit the american top 40 with it, but the song did!!! The versions of the song by Laura Branigan and also by Celine Dion reached the american top 40. Celine Dion's version was even nominated for a 1995 Grammy Award.

There's even more to tell about the song title "The Power of Love"...

Actually, there are 3 different songs each called "The Power of Love" and the 3 of them were hits in 1985. That's for sure the only year in which three different songs of the same name have been in the UK charts...

The first was released by Frankie Goes to Hollywood a bit before 1984's Christmas.

The second, released by Huey Lewis and the News, was written for and featured in the film "Back from the Future" starring Michael J.Fox. That song was nominated for an Academy Award at the 1986 Oscars.

Then Jennifer came out with her unforgettable song.

Ok, that's it about that song... and as promised, you'll find more about Jennifer Rush on my new website, coming out soon (?) ... ;-)