This week in 1987, the Suzanne Vega LP “Solitude Standing” debuted on the UK Albums Chart at #2 (May 3)
Singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega’s second studio album is her most commercially successful and critically acclaimed, going all the way to #1 in Sweden and New Zealand, #2 in the UK and Norway, #3 in Austria and Finland, #5 in Canada, #6 in Germany, #7 in Australia, #8 in Switzerland, #11 in the US, #14 in the Netherlands, and #18 in France.
Two very popular songs on “Solitude Standing” are “Tom’s Diner” and “Luka”.
"Tom's Diner" was included twice on the album; the a cappella version was the first track, and the instrumental version was the last track.
"Tom's Diner" became a huge hit in 1990, having been remixed by two British dance producers under the name DNA.
The track was originally a bootleg, until Vega allowed DNA to release it through her record company, and it became her biggest hit.
Vega revealed many years later that “Luka” dealt with the abuse she herself had suffered from her stepfather.
The song "Gypsy" from the album is mentioned in the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, in which the main character Charlie includes it on one of his mixtapes.
Vega once stated she wrote "Gypsy" when she was only 18 years old (which would be 1977) which means the song was written 10 years before it was first released…
Click on the link below to watch “Gypsy”:
On this day in 1979, The Warriors Soundtrack Album debuted on the Billboard 200 Album Chart at #171 (May 5)
The action thriller film directed by Walter Hill, and based on Sol Yurick's 1965 novel of the same name, became an absolute cult classic of its day.
My mates and I were in Grade 11 when it came out, and we loved it…
The album features music by Barry De Vorzon, Joe Walsh, Arnold McCuller and others, as the Warriors try to get back to Coney Island…
The album peaked at #48 in Australia, and #125 in the US.
Click on the link below to watch “In The City” by Joe Walsh”:
This week in 1986, the Huey Lewis single “The Heart of Rock and Roll” debuted on the UK Singles Chart at #56 (May 4)
The single from their hugely successful 1983 album “Sports” was inspired by a gig the band played in Cleveland, Ohio.
After playing the Lewis commented to the band “The heart of rock and roll is in Cleveland", but he changed it to "The heart of rock and roll is still beating" when he wrote the song…
At the first annual MTV Video Music Awards, which aired on September 14, 1984, the song was nominated for "Best Group Video", losing to ZZ Top's "Legs".
The song was also nominated for Record of the Year at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards, losing to Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do with It".
In the charts it peaked at #6 in the US, #8 in Canada, #21 in New Zealand, #58 in Australia, and #71 in Germany.
Click on the link below to watch:
Australian singer, songwriter and guitarist Grant McLennan passed away on this day in 2006 (May 6)
Born in Rockhampton, and co-founder of Aussie and Brisbane indie rock legends The Go-Betweens with Robert Forster, McLennan was a prolific songwriter and performer.
The Go-Betweens released their first single “Lee Remick" in September 1978.
In May 2001, the Australasian Performing Right Association listed their single "Cattle and Cane" (1983), written by McLennan, as one of their top 30 Australian songs of all time.
In addition to his work with the Go-Betweens (1977–89, 2000–06), he also put out four solo albums: Watershed (1991), Fireboy (1992), Horsebreaker Star (1994) and In Your Bright Ray (1997), and collaborated with a variety of other artists.
McLennan passed away after suffering a heart attack, aged just 48.
Following McLennan's death, the Queensland Government established the Grant McLennan Lifetime Achievement Award, presented at the Queensland Music Awards.
Among so much more, click on the link below to watch one of the truly Australian legacies he left....
Singer songwriter and musician Andy Durant passed away on this day in 1980 (May 6)
Inspired by The Band's debut album “Music from Big Pink”, in 1972 on lead guitar Durant founded a group, Astra Kahn, in Adelaide which included Mal Eastick on guitar and vocals.
By 1974 the group disbanded when Durant left Australia to travel overseas.
Meanwhile Eastick went on to form a hard rock covers band, Flash, which in May 1975 became the country rock band, Stars.
In August 1976 Durant was back in Australia and joined Stars, becoming the major songwriter in the group.
He wrote their third single, "Mighty Rock" (August 1977), which peaked at #47 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart.
Durant also wrote "Look After Yourself" (November), which became Stars' highest charting single at #30.
The group's debut album, “Paradise” was released in December, and Durant wrote seven of its ten tracks, including two further singles, "Back Again" (April 1978) and "West is the Way" (June).
In June 1979 they issued their second studio album, “Land of Fortune”, but by that time Durant had been diagnosed with melanoma.
Stars' last gig on 18 October 1979, at the Bombay Rock Hotel, was recorded for their live album, “1157”.
Andrew Durant sadly passed away from his cancer on 6 May 1980, aged just 25.
“1157” appeared in July and was dedicated to Durant.
Eastick organised a tribute performance on 19 August 1980 at the Palais Theatre in his honour; lead vocalists included Jimmy Barnes, Renée Geyer, Ian Moss, and Broderick Smith; musicians included the likes of Eastick on guitar and Don Walker on piano.
A live double-album recorded by various artists, Andrew Durant Memorial Concert, was released on 9 March 1981.
All but three tracks were written by Durant.
It peaked at #8 in Australia and profits from the album's sales went to the Andrew Durant Cancer Research Foundation.
Aside from Stars, Durant was a session and backing musician for a range of artists.
He provided rhythm guitar for Richard Clapton's seventh album, “Dark Spaces” (August 1980), which was dedicated to Durant…
Click on the link below to watch “West Is The Way”:
This week in 1977, the Police released their debut single “Fall Out” (May 1)
The single was recorded before the Police had done any live performances, using a budget of £150 borrowed from Paul Mulligan, and is the only Police recording featuring original guitarist Henry Padovani.
Due to nervousness in the studio, Padovani only played the guitar solos for both tracks, with songwriter and drummer Stewart Copeland playing the other guitar parts.
Sting recalled:
"This was one of the first songs Stewart played me. What they [the songs] lacked in sophistication they made up for in energy. I just went along with them and sang them as hard as I could. No, it wasn't false punk. I mean what's a real punk? Our first record was entirely a tribute to Stewart's energy and focus. The band wouldn't have happened without him."
It failed to make the charts on its 1977 release, but still sold enough to create a groundswell of interest in the band.
Stewart Copeland, in Melody Maker, September 1979, suggested:
"It sold purely on the strength of the cover, because of the fashion at the time.
Punk was in and it was one of the first punk records – and there weren't very many to choose from. The average punk had every punk record that was available and when the next one came out which was the Police record, he bought that, too.
But still I think it was a good record, so it did more than the average punk single."
Click on the link below to watch it live:
On this day in 1977, the Stranglers released the single “Peaches” (May 6)
One of my favourites…
The track from the album “Rattus Norvegicus” only achieved chart success in the UK where it peaked at #8, but remains a punk classic thanks to the sparse arrangement, great production, periodic guitar stabs, and above all, that iconic bass and keyboard riff, with singer Hugh Cornwell’s half-spoken, snarling vocals running over the top.
"Peaches" was controversial because of its anarchist, non-conformist, "sexual" content, primarily aimed at shaking up the establishment.
The radio cut, however, had to be re-recorded with less explicit lyrics.
“Peaches” went on to become one of The Stranglers signature songs.
Click on the link below to watch this punk era classic:
On this day in 1978, the Ian Dury LP “New Boots and Panties!!” debuted on the US Billboard 200 Album Chart at #189 (May 6)
Arguably Ian Dury’s finest album, and praised by the critics, but was a slow burner in the charts, eventually peaking at #5 in the UK, #7 in New Zealand, #13 in Australia, #29 in Germany, #40 in Sweden, and #168 in the US.
It’s choc-full of typically brilliant Ian Dury tracks like “Wake Up and Make Love with Me”, “Sweet Gene Vincent”, and Billericay Dickie”.
Dury and future Blockhead Chaz Jankel wrote the majority of the album, and while recording the demos at Alvic Studios, Wimbledon, they hooked up with two more future Blockheads stalwarts in bass player Norman Watt-Roy and drummer Hugh "Charley" Charles, who were working as session musicians to earn extra money.
In October 2013 NME placed “New Boots and Panties!!” at #240 in its poll of writers past and present for The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
It is ranked #495 in the 2005 book version of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Click on the link below to watch “Billericay Dickie”:
Singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega’s second studio album is her most commercially successful and critically acclaimed, going all the way to #1 in Sweden and New Zealand, #2 in the UK and Norway, #3 in Austria and Finland, #5 in Canada, #6 in Germany, #7 in Australia, #8 in Switzerland, #11 in the US, #14 in the Netherlands, and #18 in France.
Two very popular songs on “Solitude Standing” are “Tom’s Diner” and “Luka”.
"Tom's Diner" was included twice on the album; the a cappella version was the first track, and the instrumental version was the last track.
"Tom's Diner" became a huge hit in 1990, having been remixed by two British dance producers under the name DNA.
The track was originally a bootleg, until Vega allowed DNA to release it through her record company, and it became her biggest hit.
Vega revealed many years later that “Luka” dealt with the abuse she herself had suffered from her stepfather.
The song "Gypsy" from the album is mentioned in the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, in which the main character Charlie includes it on one of his mixtapes.
Vega once stated she wrote "Gypsy" when she was only 18 years old (which would be 1977) which means the song was written 10 years before it was first released…
Click on the link below to watch “Gypsy”:
On this day in 1979, The Warriors Soundtrack Album debuted on the Billboard 200 Album Chart at #171 (May 5)
The action thriller film directed by Walter Hill, and based on Sol Yurick's 1965 novel of the same name, became an absolute cult classic of its day.
My mates and I were in Grade 11 when it came out, and we loved it…
The album features music by Barry De Vorzon, Joe Walsh, Arnold McCuller and others, as the Warriors try to get back to Coney Island…
The album peaked at #48 in Australia, and #125 in the US.
Click on the link below to watch “In The City” by Joe Walsh”:
This week in 1986, the Huey Lewis single “The Heart of Rock and Roll” debuted on the UK Singles Chart at #56 (May 4)
The single from their hugely successful 1983 album “Sports” was inspired by a gig the band played in Cleveland, Ohio.
After playing the Lewis commented to the band “The heart of rock and roll is in Cleveland", but he changed it to "The heart of rock and roll is still beating" when he wrote the song…
At the first annual MTV Video Music Awards, which aired on September 14, 1984, the song was nominated for "Best Group Video", losing to ZZ Top's "Legs".
The song was also nominated for Record of the Year at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards, losing to Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do with It".
In the charts it peaked at #6 in the US, #8 in Canada, #21 in New Zealand, #58 in Australia, and #71 in Germany.
Click on the link below to watch:
Australian singer, songwriter and guitarist Grant McLennan passed away on this day in 2006 (May 6)
Born in Rockhampton, and co-founder of Aussie and Brisbane indie rock legends The Go-Betweens with Robert Forster, McLennan was a prolific songwriter and performer.
The Go-Betweens released their first single “Lee Remick" in September 1978.
In May 2001, the Australasian Performing Right Association listed their single "Cattle and Cane" (1983), written by McLennan, as one of their top 30 Australian songs of all time.
In addition to his work with the Go-Betweens (1977–89, 2000–06), he also put out four solo albums: Watershed (1991), Fireboy (1992), Horsebreaker Star (1994) and In Your Bright Ray (1997), and collaborated with a variety of other artists.
McLennan passed away after suffering a heart attack, aged just 48.
Following McLennan's death, the Queensland Government established the Grant McLennan Lifetime Achievement Award, presented at the Queensland Music Awards.
Among so much more, click on the link below to watch one of the truly Australian legacies he left....
Singer songwriter and musician Andy Durant passed away on this day in 1980 (May 6)
Inspired by The Band's debut album “Music from Big Pink”, in 1972 on lead guitar Durant founded a group, Astra Kahn, in Adelaide which included Mal Eastick on guitar and vocals.
By 1974 the group disbanded when Durant left Australia to travel overseas.
Meanwhile Eastick went on to form a hard rock covers band, Flash, which in May 1975 became the country rock band, Stars.
In August 1976 Durant was back in Australia and joined Stars, becoming the major songwriter in the group.
He wrote their third single, "Mighty Rock" (August 1977), which peaked at #47 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart.
Durant also wrote "Look After Yourself" (November), which became Stars' highest charting single at #30.
The group's debut album, “Paradise” was released in December, and Durant wrote seven of its ten tracks, including two further singles, "Back Again" (April 1978) and "West is the Way" (June).
In June 1979 they issued their second studio album, “Land of Fortune”, but by that time Durant had been diagnosed with melanoma.
Stars' last gig on 18 October 1979, at the Bombay Rock Hotel, was recorded for their live album, “1157”.
Andrew Durant sadly passed away from his cancer on 6 May 1980, aged just 25.
“1157” appeared in July and was dedicated to Durant.
Eastick organised a tribute performance on 19 August 1980 at the Palais Theatre in his honour; lead vocalists included Jimmy Barnes, Renée Geyer, Ian Moss, and Broderick Smith; musicians included the likes of Eastick on guitar and Don Walker on piano.
A live double-album recorded by various artists, Andrew Durant Memorial Concert, was released on 9 March 1981.
All but three tracks were written by Durant.
It peaked at #8 in Australia and profits from the album's sales went to the Andrew Durant Cancer Research Foundation.
Aside from Stars, Durant was a session and backing musician for a range of artists.
He provided rhythm guitar for Richard Clapton's seventh album, “Dark Spaces” (August 1980), which was dedicated to Durant…
Click on the link below to watch “West Is The Way”:
This week in 1977, the Police released their debut single “Fall Out” (May 1)
The single was recorded before the Police had done any live performances, using a budget of £150 borrowed from Paul Mulligan, and is the only Police recording featuring original guitarist Henry Padovani.
Due to nervousness in the studio, Padovani only played the guitar solos for both tracks, with songwriter and drummer Stewart Copeland playing the other guitar parts.
Sting recalled:
"This was one of the first songs Stewart played me. What they [the songs] lacked in sophistication they made up for in energy. I just went along with them and sang them as hard as I could. No, it wasn't false punk. I mean what's a real punk? Our first record was entirely a tribute to Stewart's energy and focus. The band wouldn't have happened without him."
It failed to make the charts on its 1977 release, but still sold enough to create a groundswell of interest in the band.
Stewart Copeland, in Melody Maker, September 1979, suggested:
"It sold purely on the strength of the cover, because of the fashion at the time.
Punk was in and it was one of the first punk records – and there weren't very many to choose from. The average punk had every punk record that was available and when the next one came out which was the Police record, he bought that, too.
But still I think it was a good record, so it did more than the average punk single."
Click on the link below to watch it live:
On this day in 1977, the Stranglers released the single “Peaches” (May 6)
One of my favourites…
The track from the album “Rattus Norvegicus” only achieved chart success in the UK where it peaked at #8, but remains a punk classic thanks to the sparse arrangement, great production, periodic guitar stabs, and above all, that iconic bass and keyboard riff, with singer Hugh Cornwell’s half-spoken, snarling vocals running over the top.
"Peaches" was controversial because of its anarchist, non-conformist, "sexual" content, primarily aimed at shaking up the establishment.
The radio cut, however, had to be re-recorded with less explicit lyrics.
“Peaches” went on to become one of The Stranglers signature songs.
Click on the link below to watch this punk era classic:
On this day in 1978, the Ian Dury LP “New Boots and Panties!!” debuted on the US Billboard 200 Album Chart at #189 (May 6)
Arguably Ian Dury’s finest album, and praised by the critics, but was a slow burner in the charts, eventually peaking at #5 in the UK, #7 in New Zealand, #13 in Australia, #29 in Germany, #40 in Sweden, and #168 in the US.
It’s choc-full of typically brilliant Ian Dury tracks like “Wake Up and Make Love with Me”, “Sweet Gene Vincent”, and Billericay Dickie”.
Dury and future Blockhead Chaz Jankel wrote the majority of the album, and while recording the demos at Alvic Studios, Wimbledon, they hooked up with two more future Blockheads stalwarts in bass player Norman Watt-Roy and drummer Hugh "Charley" Charles, who were working as session musicians to earn extra money.
In October 2013 NME placed “New Boots and Panties!!” at #240 in its poll of writers past and present for The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
It is ranked #495 in the 2005 book version of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Click on the link below to watch “Billericay Dickie”:
