SotD82 - Part 8
Find Jimmy's other SotD82 articles here
And here starts a collaboration of several years and several very successful records. Mike Oldfield with Maggie Reilly seemed like an unlikely combination at the time, given that the singer had been plucked from obscurity by an already hugely accredited and successful musician, and the girlfriend of a band member. I, for one, am very thankful it happened. Now, there are some at AlbieMedia Towers who dislike any female vocal if it’s not opera(tic) [*stares* - Ed] and though Reilly’s voice may lack substance and volume, it floats over the music delightfully. Granted, on this record she’s almost a backing singer and it’s very different to the follow-ups, but I like it. I like it very much. [Listen to the HQ music only version here then watch the Live performance below - Ed]
Chipmunks. [WHAT????!!!! - Ed]. Chéri was a Canadian female dance music duo from Montreal, consisting of American Rosalind Hunt and Canadian Lise Cullerier. In 1982 they had their only Billboard Hot 100 entry, "Murphy's Law", which peaked at #39. The song also hit number-one on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart and is widely remembered for its speed-up vocal chorus ("got it all together, dontcha baby").
Hunt is the daughter of Geraldine Hunt (who had her own #1 dance hit in 1980 with "Can't Fake the Feeling") and the sister of singer Freddie James (who hit #5 on the dance chart in 1979 with "Get Up and Boogie"). No, the line-up didn’t last long but I do remember this as being very popular on the dance floor.
12” extended version:
This record (and its follow-up) brings back many memories. Having gained some fame being part of the cast of Grange Hill, Sheila Chandra took her first steps into the music industry as part of Monsoon and the first single was a huge hit. Ever So Lonely seemed to capture the (music listening) public’s imagination and interest which I think was rather poetic, given that at the time a couple of the more virulent racist organisations were on the rise. It has a fabulous melody by way of traditional Indian instruments which in turn created a fantastic sound. You can also listen to the extended (album) version here and there's even a Hindi version.
But here's the TOTP clip [complete with random camel - Ed]:
Jim Diamond and his two pals from Ph.D. have quite the CV. He formed his first band in the mid ‘60s and his bandmate went on to join the Sensational Alex Harvey Band. His pals in Ph.D. came from the Jeff Beck Group, so no novices here. Synth-pop through and through, it has a catchy (repetitive) chorus, but you can hear different styles coming through in his singing. Although a top 3 hit in the UK, it had been quite a significant hit across Europe the year before when released with the album from whence it came. Sadly, nothing more was heard from the band. Diamond had a solo hit a couple of years later and sadly died aged 64 in 2015.
I’d never heard of Joan Jett until March 1982. Dad had been to Canada and his pals’ daughter got some records for me, and I Love Rock ’n’ Roll was one of them. It hadn’t, yet, had any airplay in the UK but that didn’t last long and very quickly it became a top 5 hit. There was something about this bassline and guitar work that I loved. And as a 17 year old myself, I’d already cast a glance at several other (handsome) 17 year olds “standing at the record machine” so I knew what she was going on about.
Listen to the HQ music only version here And almost 40 years later, here she is live in New Jersey:
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