Time to leave the 1990s behind, where we spent the last two weeks, and head back a decade to the 1980s. Back then, there was a certain trio by the names of Stock, Aitken and Waterman who were going to start making their move on the music industry. No, we won’t be meeting them today, but let me introduce you to the song that started it all off for them.
Here we are in the year 1984, where Mr Stock, Mr Aitken and Mr Waterman were about to produce their first number one single with a band by the name of Dead Or Alive. It was November, and they sat back and waited, and waited, and waited. While we wait with them, let’s check out the song.
Incredible as it may seem, You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) took 17 weeks to reach the number one spot on the UK charts. Now, it may not hold the record (excuse the pun) for taking the longest time to get there but, back in those days, songs took a lot longer to reach the top of the charts compared to how they do today. Getting to the number one spot the week a record was released, was very rare.
Pete Burns, the lead singer of Dead Or Alive, also had to fund the recording of the song as the record company were not convinced it was going to be a hit. £2,500 later, Pete Burns and the group were delighted with the success of the song, given that they also had to pay for the video production. Of course, they made the money back with interest and left some staff at the record company with egg on their faces.
The song went on to become a worldwide hit, also making it to the number one spot in Canada, Switzerland and Ireland. In the U.S.A, it peaked at number 11 on the billboard hot 100.
Do you have a favourite song that was in some way a first for somebody? Share a link to that song in the comments section.
Thank you to everyone who left a link to a favourite song in the comments section of last week’s post. And a big thank you to Kat and Barbara, who joined in with publishing a blog post of a favourite song, and to Terri for linking a post to this weekly feature.
Want to join me in building up your 51 favourite songs from the past? Leave a link in the comments section below and showcase your next song.
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Lovely.
My ‘favorite songs” were written in the 1880s, not the 1980s.
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Oh, I hope you’ll showcase some of them for us. I’d love to know what they are. 😀
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Oh, I remember that song so well. I was 15 and we all played it all the time. I still have the single. It was such a big hit!!
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A huge hit, Erika. And to think that the record company were not convinced it was going to be a hit and made Pete Burns pay to have it recorded in their recording studio.
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That’s crazy! But just look at J.K. Rowling!
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True. I bet there are a lot of people who banged their heads after turning down her first book.
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For sure!!! A whole lot of people…lol!!
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Oh Hugh! I’m in the nail shop and now I want to spun around in my chair! I loved this song and remember watching them on Top Of The Pops!!!!
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I always seem to catch you when you’re in the nail bar, Ritu 😁 Keep ‘spinning’.
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I remember that one – truly dreadful!
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Oh, I loved it, Andrew. And so did much of the world it seems.
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Just checked the charts for that year and there is some really bad stuff in there. Mid eighties I was a big fan of Chris Rea. Still am.
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‘Driving Home For Christmas’ is coming up in this feature in December. I also loved ‘On The Beach.’
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‘On the Beach’ always makes my all time Top 10 also ‘Wired to the Moon’ which makes me think of my daughter when she was born in 1985. Not sure about ‘Driving Home for Christmas’ as one of his best.
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That is one cool song! I always liked it, and in fact, I just heard it on the radio the other day. Of course I had to sing along! 🙂
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Thanks, Barbara, glad you enjoyed it. It always gets me singing as well. 🎤
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That was a really fantastic song, and I sstill love listening to it now. How sad to look at Pete Burns and remember how good looking he was before all the plastic surgery, and of course, now he is no longer with us.
This group caused a sensation with their first hit! I LOVED it, but especially loved Paul Rutherford, I thought he was gorgeous!
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Didn’t they just, Judy. I remember that it was banned from being played on the radio and on TV. Still made it to the top of the charts, though. Sometimes, us British public have the power. 😀
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Yes, it doesn’t happen often, but we do!! 🙂
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A brilliant song and I have the original 12 inch single, still. After all these years. My friends and I used to dance to this before we went out. Happy days.
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Lovely memories, Belinda. Here’s one I danced to before going out on a Saturday night.
https://hughsviewsandnews.com/2017/03/07/51-weeks-51-songs-from-the-past-week-10-whigfield-saturday-night/
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Ah yes, I remember this song. It used to be a favourite of mine but no so much anymore.
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Thanks, Robbie. I had to fish your comment out of my WordPress spam folder. Not sure why it ended up in there.
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Haha ok THESE songs I know!
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Good to hear, Anne.
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Thanks for the interesting prompt, Hugh! Here’s my entry for the week! http://wp.me/p3RE1e-3zd
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Thanks so much, Barbara.
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Another one I missed! This week I pulled up “What a Swell Party This Is” for Sally Cronin’s weekend bash – from Grace Kelly’s last movie, sung by Sinatra and Crosby.
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A great duo, if ever there was one. Interesting choice, especially with what I’ve got coming for next week’s feature Noelle.
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Oh yes, now there’s a song I remember well! The good old days my friend. 🙂 xx
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Indeed, Debby. This music time machine is doing us proud. 😀
xx
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It sure is Hugh! ❤
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“Right round, baby” LOL! Oh the eighties! Such a fun decade for music and fashion and BIG hair. Yep, heard this one a LOT. Great choice, Hugh!!
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It was the best decade for music, Terri. I’d have filled up this feature with ’80s music if I could. However, maybe that’s an idea for next year when this feature comes to an end.
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There would definitely be no shortage of music for the feature!
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Hi Hugh. You have chosen one of my very favourite songs from the 1980’s. I love this one and I can’t resist a singalong. Sadly Pete Burns is no longer with us, like so many stars we grew up with.
My choice of song is “Don’t Make Me Over” by Dionne Warwick.A song written by the brilliant Burt Bacharach and Hal David. It marked the recording debut of Dionne Warwick in 1962. This song was never meant to be her first single and was in fact the ‘B’ side, but the radio stations had other ideas. She of course, went on from there to be one of most-charted female vocalist of all time.
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Hi, Chris. It was so sad when the news broke that Pete Burns had passed away. You’re so right about those stars we grew up with that are now passing on. There isn’t a week that goes by that I don’t hear the news of somebody passing away who I grew up with.
Glad you liked my choice of song for this week. Just about everyone seems to agree that it’s one of those songs high on the list of many. I remember dancing to it many a time on a flashing-light, smoke-filled dance floor.
I enjoyed your choice of song, even with the poor quality of our TV screens back in those days. Heavens forbid if our screens were like that these days. Thank you for joining in with the challenge.
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Thanks Hugh. Love your challenge. Its bringing back some fab memories. xx
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Can’t say it was a favourite at the time but, like a lot of songs do in the subsequent years, it brings back memories of the time – and what’s not to like about the ’80s? (Don’t answer that!)
Picking up on your theme of firsts, I have – inevitably – taken a lateral view on that and recalled the first time I actually heard a song from a particular band that I not only liked, but loved in spite of the dross that had come from them before…
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Gotta love that crazy opening of Crazy Horses. This was a song I’d never have dreamt that Donny and Co would ever have sung, Graeme. Given what they did sing, this was like a breath of fresh air.
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Exactly. They redeemed themselves with this song alone!
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Wow Hugh…I haven’t heard this one in a long time. Interesting facts…17. Weeks to reach the tops of the charts!
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Yes, 17 weeks seems a long time, especially given that these days a new release will go straight to the number one spot. Streaming has a lot to answer for.
Thanks, George.
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New one to me. Not my favorite. So I have stepped back into the 70s to a song that is about the last time that was the first time. 🙂 Two of my favorites, Johnny Mathis and Jane Oliver. https://3rsofretirement.com/2017/09/03/the-last-time-and-the-first-time/
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Thanks so much for joining in again, Marie.
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Have I mentioned before how much I adore this series, Hugh? You invariably introduce me to music (or a video) that I had never heard/seen before. Or, like today, you give me a great memory jog to a song that I loved but haven’t heard for ages. Thanks for all of your work that you put into this!
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So very pleased you’re enjoying this feature, Donna. I hate to think about what I’m going to do when the series comes to end in December. I’ll have to think of a new idea.
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The singer looks a bit like Boy George! Here’s a favorite of mine: Let’s Hear It for the Boy by Deneice Williams
This is the scene from Footloose where Ren (Kevin Bacon) teaches his friend Willard (Chris Penn) how to dance.
https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-mozilla-003&hsimp=yhs-003&hspart=mozilla&p=let%27s+hear+it+for+the+boy#id=2&vid=1385a79f04ba7aaf451cc75c06bc84a7&action=click
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I love the video and the song. Never seen the video before, so thank you for introducing it to us, Noelle.
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Doesn’t it just make you want to get up and dance? Glad you liked it. There was recently a remake of Footloose on TV – couldn’t begin to compare to the original!
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