Winter's Cityside

Happy Friday the 13th to ya! Today's band enjoyed a resurgence a few years ago with a song featured in the film "Napoleon Dynamite." Recently, rapper Jay Z featured the chorus on one of his songs. Of course the song and video for "Forever Young" were posted here back in 2008. But today, we bring you the other minor hit for the German synthpop band known as Alphaville. Here is "Big in Japan"...




Lyrics | Alphaville lyrics - Big In Japan lyrics

"Big in Japan"
Single by Alphaville
from the album Forever Young
B-side "Seeds"
Released January 1984
Format 7" single, 12" maxi
Recorded 1984
Genre Synthpop
Length 3:52 (single edit)
4:43 (album version)
Label WEA
Writer(s) Bernhard Lloyd
Marian Gold
Frank Mertens
Producer Orlando

U.S. Billboard Hot 100 peak: #66
U.S. Hot Dance Club peak: #1

I Don't Want Half-Hearted Love Affairs

Today's "UK Thursdays" hit from the 80's is the first single by a British pop acoustic band called Fairground Attraction. The song went on to be a #1 hit in the UK in 1988 and remains the band's biggest hit. They signed a record deal in 1987 with RCA, but by 1990 they were broken up. So, enjoy the highlight of their short career, here is vocalist Eddi Reader and the band Fairground Attraction with "Perfect"...




Lyrics | Fairground Attraction lyrics - Perfect lyrics

"Perfect"
Single by Fairground Attraction
from the album The First of a Million Kisses
Released March 31, 1988
Format CD single, Cassette single, 7" single, 12" single
Recorded January 1988
Genre Soft rock, folk
Length 4:50
Label RCA
Writer(s) Mark E. Nevin
Producer Fairground Attraction

UK peak: #1

The Grabbing Hands Grab All They Can

Anytime you can lead into a song with some xylophone and have it sound cool, then you know you have a pretty good song. From 1983, here is the video to the Depeched Mode song "Everything Counts." And, if you don't like the weird video version, you can check out the live perfomance from the 101 Concert in 1988 below...




Lyrics | Depeche Mode lyrics - Everything Counts lyrics



"Everything Counts"

Single by Depeche Mode
from the album Construction Time Again
B-side "Work Hard"
Released 11 July 1983 (1983-07-11)
Format Vinyl record (7" and 12")
CD (1991 box set)
Recorded 1983
Genre Synthpop, industrial, New Wave
Length 3:58 (7"/single version)
4:19 (album version)
7:18 (12" version)
Label Mute
Writer(s) Martin Gore
Producer Depeche Mode, Daniel Miller, and Gareth Jones
Certification Silver (BPI)[1]

U.S. Dance Club Hot Singles peak: #17
UK peak: #6

I Found a Picture of You, oh

Today's hit from 1982 features a lot of men in suits slaving away on a chain gang in an interesting little video from The Pretenders. The song was the highest charting single for The Pretenders in the U.S. peaking at #5. Also, congratulations seem to be in order for Chrissie, because apparently her daughter Yasmin (Simple Minds' lead singer Jim Kerr is her dad) is set to have a baby making Chrissie a grandma and Jim a grandpa.




Lyrics | Pretenders lyrics - Back On The Chain Gang lyrics

"Back on the Chain Gang"

Single by The Pretenders
from the album Learning to Crawl
B-side "My City Was Gone"
Released November 12, 1982
Format 7", 12"
Recorded 20 July 1982, AIR Studios, London
Genre Rock
Length 3:51
Label Sire
Writer(s) Chrissie Hynde
Producer Chris Thomas

U.S. Billboard Hot 100 peak: #5
UK peak: #17

You're Not Sure What You Want to Do With Your Life

Check out the crazy, high-tech animation from today's Heart video. I guess those animations are supposed to be "Bad Animals." From the album, "Bad Animals," here is the top 10 Heart hit "Who Will You Run To?"...




Lyrics | Heart lyrics - Who Will You Run To lyrics

"Who Will You Run To?"

by Heart
from the album: Bad Animals
released: 1987

U.S. Billboard Hot 100 peak: #7

80's Movie Weekend

Last weekend we brought you the fourth installment of the Dirty Harry series from 1983 called "Sudden Impact," which brought us the memorable phrase "Go ahead. Make my day." Well, today's fifth and final installment in the series entitled "The Dead Pool" and brings in co-stars who went on to bigger fame that included crazy-haired Jim Carrey in his first non-funny role, Liam Neeson, and Patricia Clarkson.

Here is the trailer to "The Dead Pool"...



here is the aforementioned Carrey doing "Welcome to the Jungle" during the movie...



The Dead Pool

Theatrical poster by Bill Gold
Directed by Buddy Van Horn
Produced by David Valdes
Written by

* Steve Sharon
* Durk Pearson
* Sandy Shaw

Starring

* Clint Eastwood
* Patricia Clarkson
* Liam Neeson
* Evan C. Kim
* David Hunt
* Jim Carrey

Music by Lalo Schifrin
Cinematography Jack N. Green
Editing by Ron Spang
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) July 13, 1988 (1988-07-13)
Running time 91 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Don't Wanna Wait Til You Know Me Better

After a couple of days of some music from some Englishmen, it's time for some good ol' American rock n' roll! And there aren't too many bands better than the one today even though they were going through their "unmasked" phase in the mid to late 80's. Yes, it's the bad boys of Detroit themselves. Here is Kiss in their first video without the makeup from 1983 with "Lick It Up"...




Lyrics | Kiss lyrics - Lick It Up lyrics

"Lick It Up"
Single by Kiss
from the album Lick It Up
Released 1983 (US)
Format 7"
Recorded Right Track Studios,
New York City: 1983
Genre Glam metal, hard rock
Length 3:58
Label Mercury 814 671-7 (US)
Writer(s) Paul Stanley, Vinnie Vincent

U.S. Billboard Hot 100 peak: #66

They Say We're Young and We Don't Know

Every Thursday through the month of April and May, we've been bringing you "UK Thursdays" with some of the top hits and videos from the UK that didn't hit it big in the U.S. Now, today's hit might be an exception because it was a #1 hit for the duo of Sonny and Cher in 1965. The band UB40 covered it in 1985 with the help of Chrissie Hynde and put their own little reggae spin to it. The song, of course, is "I Got You Babe," and it went all the way to #1 in the UK...




Lyrics | Ub40 lyrics - I Got You Babe lyrics

"I Got You Babe"

by UB40 featuring Chrissie Hynde
from the album: Baggariddim
released: 1985

UK peak: #1
US peak: #28

Put On Your Red Shoes and Dance the Blues

Though I have four other David Bowie videos here at The Excellent 80's, I just realized I hadn't posted this hit of his yet. In fact, it was Bowie's biggest commercial success peaking at #1 on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Here is the Englishman born in 1947 playing guitar with his white gloves on in "Let's Dance"...




Lyrics | David Bowie lyrics - Let's Dance lyrics

"Let's Dance"
Single by David Bowie
from the album Let's Dance
B-side "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)"
Released March 17, 1983 (1983-03-17)
Format 7"/12" single
Recorded Power Station, New York, December 1982
Genre Dance-rock
Length 7:37 (Album version)
4:10 (Single edit)
Label EMI America Records - EA152
Writer(s) David Bowie
Producer Nile Rodgers
Certification Gold (RIAA & BPI)

U.S. Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1
UK peak: #1

She Wears a Long Fur Coat of Mink

Today's Prince protege' scored a few big hits of her own in the 80's. If today's top 10 hit has a Prince feel to it, it's because Prince was the producer on the song. From 1984, here is the hot female drummer from Oakland known to all as Sheila E. with a song originally intended for the short lived girl group Vanity Six. Instead Sheila E. was the beneficiary of "The Glamorous Life"...




Lyrics | Sheila E. lyrics - Glamorous Life lyrics

"The Glamorous Life"

U.S. 7" single
Single by Sheila E.
from the album The Glamorous Life
B-side "The Glamorous Life" (Part II)
Released May 12, 1984
Format 7" single
12" single
Recorded March 1984
Genre Funk, dance-pop
Length 8:58 (Album)
3:41 (7" single)
6:33 (Club Edit)
Label Warner Bros.
Writer(s) Prince
Producer Sheila E., Prince (as The Starr ★ Company)

U.S. Billboard Hot 100 peak: #7

The Old Man Said To Me

I don't know if Howard Jones purposely wanted to permanently destroy this video and this song. It's a decent song, but the video producer and/or Howard thought it would be funny to put in faulty video, and bleed audio into it. Instead, he just makes a mess of this video and it's really annoying. Rest assured this will be the only time this video is ever featured in "The Excellent 80's"...




Lyrics | Howard Jones lyrics - Life In One Day lyrics

"Life in One Day"
Single by Howard Jones
from the album Dream Into Action
Released 29 June 1985 UK
8 July 1985 US
Format 7", 12"
Genre New wave, Pop
Length 3:40
Label WEA
Writer(s) Howard Jones
Producer Rupert Hine

U.S. Billboard Hot 100 peak: #19
UK peak: #14

80's Movie Weekend

Today's movie flashback gave us the memorable catch phrase "Go ahead. Make my day." That's right, today's movie is actually the fourth film in the Dirty Harry series starring the one and only Clint Eastwood. "Who's we, sucka? Smith and Wesson, and me." Classic.

the trailer...



Here is the coffee scene... that is a lot sugar...



Sudden Impact

Directed by Clint Eastwood
Produced by Clint Eastwood
Screenplay by Joseph Stinson
Story by

* Charles B. Pierce
* Earl E. Smith

Starring

* Clint Eastwood
* Sondra Locke
* Pat Hingle
* Paul Drake

Music by Lalo Schifrin
Cinematography Bruce Surtees
Editing by Joel Cox
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) December 9, 1983 (1983-12-09)
Running time 117 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Gross revenue $67,642,693 (USA)