This Is Not Retro - This Is the Eighties Up to Date
Encyclopedia
This Is Not Retro - This Is the Eighties Up to Date is a compilation
of new and recent material from some of the Eighties
' most enduring acts. It is a limited edition, presented in DVD
-style packaging, with a 24-page booklet, released in 2005
, in UK
. Of the 19 tracks totally featured in the collection, 8 are commercially available here for the very first time, while in 8 cases, the related song is interpreted by he/she who was the lead vocalist
of the given band at the time.
Two peculiar cases are represented by Peter Cox
from Go West
, either featuring as solo
singer (for the song called "Broken") and as member of the Go West duo (for the tune entitled "All Day All Night"), and by Kajagoogoo
(here present with the previously unreleased "Tears"), who feature in a reduced line-up as a trio
, but in the meantime have reunited with the other two original members, lead singer Limahl
and drummer
Jez Strode
, and are currently promoting what then became a double A-side single, featuring "Rocket Boy" and "Tears", within some live
festival
s in Europe
, in the complete five-piece line-up, along with other famous tracks of theirs, and jointly with others acts of the decade when they formed, such as, for example, Kim Wilde
, as well as other participants in the compilation, such as Howard Jones
(whose track "Revolution of the Heart", opens the current collection).
The title of the compilation itself is self-explanatory as for the general sense of the operation, which wants to differentiate itself from other kinds of commercial operations, usually oriented to just reproposing old songs from the Eighties, without offering nothing new to the musical landscape of a decade, which was often criticized and heavily dismissed in the recent past, and lately instead abused in the other direction, especially since when, in 1998
, the so-called 'Eighties Revival' started, which saw numerous acts of the time come back to the scenes, often, but not necessarily, obtaining little or no success at all, above all as concerns the try on their part to present new songs, possibly very different, as for musical genre, to that those same acts were mostly famous for.
N.B. (*) marks those tracks which are commercially available here for the very first time.
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
of new and recent material from some of the Eighties
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
' most enduring acts. It is a limited edition, presented in DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
-style packaging, with a 24-page booklet, released in 2005
2005 in music
-Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:...
, in UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Of the 19 tracks totally featured in the collection, 8 are commercially available here for the very first time, while in 8 cases, the related song is interpreted by he/she who was the lead vocalist
Lead vocalist
The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
of the given band at the time.
Two peculiar cases are represented by Peter Cox
Peter Cox (musician)
Peter John Cox is an English singer-songwriter, currently the lead singer in Manfred Mann's Earth Band, but is best known as one half of the 1980s blue-eyed soul duo Go West.-Early career and Go West:...
from Go West
Go West (band)
Go West is an English pop duo, formed in 1982 by lead vocalist and drummer Peter Cox ; and guitarist and vocalist Richard Drummie...
, either featuring as solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
singer (for the song called "Broken") and as member of the Go West duo (for the tune entitled "All Day All Night"), and by Kajagoogoo
Kajagoogoo
Kajagoogoo are a British pop band, best known for their hit single, "Too Shy", which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 5 on the U.S...
(here present with the previously unreleased "Tears"), who feature in a reduced line-up as a trio
Trio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
, but in the meantime have reunited with the other two original members, lead singer Limahl
Limahl
Christopher Hamill better known by his stage name Limahl is an English pop singer. He rose to fame as the lead singer of the 1980s pop group Kajagoogoo, before embarking on a briefly successful solo career, which reached its peak with the 1984 hit "The NeverEnding Story", taken from the film of...
and drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Jez Strode
Jez Strode
Jeremy "Jez" Strode is best known as the drummer for the British pop band, Kajagoogoo.Strode began his musical career in a band called Art Nouveau, with future Kajagoogoo bandmates Nick Beggs, Steve Askew and Stuart Croxford Neale....
, and are currently promoting what then became a double A-side single, featuring "Rocket Boy" and "Tears", within some live
Live Music
Live Music is a reggaeton company owned by DJ Giann.-Artists:* Jowell & Randy* Tony Lenta* Watussi* De La Ghetto* Guelo Star* Galante "El Emperador"-Producers:*DJ Blass*Dexter*Mr. Greenz*DJ Giann*Los Hitmen*Dirty Joe*ALX...
festival
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
s in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, in the complete five-piece line-up, along with other famous tracks of theirs, and jointly with others acts of the decade when they formed, such as, for example, Kim Wilde
Kim Wilde
Kim Wilde is an English pop singer, author and television presenter who burst onto the music scene in 1981 with the number 2 UK Singles Chart new wave classic "Kids in America". In 1987 she had a major hit in the United States when her version of The Supremes' classic "You Keep Me Hangin' On"...
, as well as other participants in the compilation, such as Howard Jones
Howard Jones (musician)
Howard Jones is a musician, singer and songwriter. According to the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums, "Jones is an accomplished singer-songwriter who was a regular chart visitor in the mid 1980s with his brand of synthpop. Jones, who was equally popular in the U.S., appeared at Live...
(whose track "Revolution of the Heart", opens the current collection).
The title of the compilation itself is self-explanatory as for the general sense of the operation, which wants to differentiate itself from other kinds of commercial operations, usually oriented to just reproposing old songs from the Eighties, without offering nothing new to the musical landscape of a decade, which was often criticized and heavily dismissed in the recent past, and lately instead abused in the other direction, especially since when, in 1998
1998 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998.-Events:*January 28 – "Weird Al" Yankovic gets LASIK surgery to cure his myopia...
, the so-called 'Eighties Revival' started, which saw numerous acts of the time come back to the scenes, often, but not necessarily, obtaining little or no success at all, above all as concerns the try on their part to present new songs, possibly very different, as for musical genre, to that those same acts were mostly famous for.
Track listing
- "Revolution of the Heart" - Howard JonesHoward Jones (musician)Howard Jones is a musician, singer and songwriter. According to the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums, "Jones is an accomplished singer-songwriter who was a regular chart visitor in the mid 1980s with his brand of synthpop. Jones, who was equally popular in the U.S., appeared at Live...
- "Tears" - KajagoogooKajagoogooKajagoogoo are a British pop band, best known for their hit single, "Too Shy", which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 5 on the U.S...
(*) - "Broken" - Peter CoxPeter Cox (musician)Peter John Cox is an English singer-songwriter, currently the lead singer in Manfred Mann's Earth Band, but is best known as one half of the 1980s blue-eyed soul duo Go West.-Early career and Go West:...
(Go WestGo West (band)Go West is an English pop duo, formed in 1982 by lead vocalist and drummer Peter Cox ; and guitarist and vocalist Richard Drummie...
) - "Scar" - Katrina LeskanichKatrina LeskanichKatrina Leskanich is an American singer and musician, long time resident of the United Kingdom. She is best known for being the lead singer and namesake of the pop band Katrina and the Waves.-Early life:...
(Katrina & The Waves) - "Close" - The AlarmThe AlarmThe Alarm are an alternative rock band that emerged from North Wales in the late 1970s. They started as a mod band and stayed together for over ten years. As a rock band, they displayed marked influences from Welsh language and culture...
- "American Beauty" - Peter Coyle (The Lotus Eaters) (*)
- "Let It All Fall" - T'PauT'Pau (band)T'Pau was a 1980s British Rock group led by singer Carol Decker. They had a string of Top 40 hits in the UK, and several hits in the United States and Europe...
- "Pussywhipper" - Sigue Sigue SputnikSigue Sigue SputnikSigue Sigue Sputnik were a British new wave band created in 1982 by the former Generation X bassist Tony James. The band had three UK Top 40 hit singles, including the song "Love Missile F1-11".-Early years:...
(*) - "Why So Rude" - Neville Staple (The SpecialsThe SpecialsThe Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups...
) - "What Would You Do (Skin)?" - Midge UreMidge UreJames "Midge" Ure, OBE is a Scottish guitarist, singer, keyboard player, and songwriter...
(UltravoxUltravoxUltravox is a British New Wave rock band. They were one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the late 1970s/early 1980s. The band was particularly associated with the New Romantic and New Wave movements....
) - "Age of Unreason" - Spear of Destiny (*)
- "Die Laughing" - Nik KershawNik KershawNik Kershaw is an English singer-songwriter. The one time jazz-funk guitarist was a mid-1980s teen idol. His 50 weeks on the UK Singles Chart in 1984 beat all other soloists...
- "Little Tears of Love" - ToyahToyah (band)Toyah is the name of the band fronted by Toyah Willcox between 1977 and 1983. The only other consistent band member throughout this period was Joel Bogen, Willcox's principal co-writer and guitarist.-Background :...
- "Sleepsong" - Dr. Robert (The Blow MonkeysThe Blow MonkeysThe Blow Monkeys are a British new wave band that formed in 1981 as a new wave-oriented act. The first single, "Live Today Love Tomorrow" was released in 1982. They subsequently recorded more commercial pop rock hit makers, and finally became a dance group, shortly before splitting up at the...
) (*) - "This Is Not My World" - Heaven 17Heaven 17Heaven 17 are an English synthpop band originating from Sheffield in the early 1980s. The trio comprises Martyn Ware , Ian Craig Marsh and Glenn Gregory...
(*) - "All Day All Night" - Go WestGo West (band)Go West is an English pop duo, formed in 1982 by lead vocalist and drummer Peter Cox ; and guitarist and vocalist Richard Drummie...
- "So Lonely" - Tony HadleyTony HadleyTony Hadley is an English pop singer-songwriter, occasional stage actor and radio presenter who gained celebrity as the lead vocalist for the 1980s band Spandau Ballet.-Early life:...
(Spandau BalletSpandau BalletSpandau Ballet are a British band formed in London in the late 1970s. Initially inspired by, and an integral part of, the New Romantic fashion, their music has featured a mixture of funk, jazz, soul and synthpop. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s, achieving ten Top Ten singles...
) - "Blue Was Never My Colour" - Leee JohnLeee JohnLeee John of St Lucian descent, is a British musician and actor. He was educated in New York, later studying drama at the Anna Scher Theatre School.-Career:...
(ImaginationImaginationImagination, also called the faculty of imagining, is the ability of forming mental images, sensations and concepts, in a moment when they are not perceived through sight, hearing or other senses...
) (*) - "Mi Chica Latina" - Modern RomanceModern Romance-Cast:* Albert Brooks .... Robert Cole* Kathryn Harrold .... Mary Harvard* Bruno Kirby .... Jay-Plot:Robert Cole is a Hollywood film editor right in the middle of cutting a new science fiction film with George Kennedy. His relationship with very patient bank executive Mary Harvard is caught...
(*)
N.B. (*) marks those tracks which are commercially available here for the very first time.
Related pages
- Gone to the MoonGone to the MoonGone to the Moon is an album by British pop rock / new wave band Kajagoogoo. It was recorded in 2007 and early 2008, by the Kaja trio shortly before the original band was officially reunited. The tour for the album featured the entire original band...
(forthcoming KajagoogooKajagoogooKajagoogoo are a British pop band, best known for their hit single, "Too Shy", which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 5 on the U.S...
albumAlbumAn album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
- within 20082008 in music2008 was a huge year in music history with the emergence of pop superstars Lady Gaga and Katy Perry into the mainstream. Also, this is the year that is widely agreed upon by critics as the start of the fall of hip hop from the mainstream and the rise of Synthpop into the mainstream due to acts such...
- including Tears, commercially available here for the very first time)
External links
- Official Website of RememberTheEighties.com: Website/label of the compilation.
- The Ideal Copy: page dedicated to the compilation, with cover art, track listing and product info.