(real) one-hit wonder of the week – “Black Stations / White Stations” | M+M (MARTHA AND THE MUFFINS) | 1984.

Between late 1979 and the end of 1989, there were nearly 500 (real) one-hit wonders of the 80s that reached the BILLBOARD Hot 100 just one time, a list that includes Soft Cell, Gary Numan, Timbuk 3, The Church, Bronski Beat, Nik Kershaw, The Buggles, The Waitresses, Ultravox and two different bands named The Silencers.  Once a week or so, I’ll highlight a (real) one-hit wonder for you.

In a way, it’s kind of funny to go back and think about all of the “controversial” songs from the 80s, many of which wouldn’t be anywhere in the same vicinity as controversial today.  For example, George Michael’s “I Want Your Sex” (a song written as a response to the AIDS epidemic and exploring monogamy), was so “controversial” in 1987, that one of the local Central Maine radio stations, the Top 40 station called 92 MOOSE (I’m not kidding, that’s their name), reworked their own censored version, where the word “sex” was replaced by the word “moose.”  JFC.  And Casey Kasem didn’t even mention the title on AMERICAN TOP 40 until well into the song’s chart run (it peaked at No. 2).  Now you have songs on the radio with the word “FUCK” in the title, and it’s a big hit (albeit edited for radio, but still).

But not all (then) “controversial songs” like “I Want Your Sex” or Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s “Relax” (famously banned by the BBC) go on to become big hits.  “Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)” by Eurythmics (from the film they scored, based on George Orwell’s 1984) is an incredible song with an amazing beat, was the 15th biggest Dance song of 1985 on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart, and a Top 10 hit all over the world.  But, since it had the word “SEX” in it, American radio wouldn’t play it, and it stopped at No. 81 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100, despite the word “sexcrime” being used in George Orwell’s book, which, too, has been banned over the years.

In 1984, radio wasn’t even ready for songs about interracial couples, despite the fact that one of the biggest TV shows on at the time, THE JEFFERSONS, had an interracial married couple on the show.  But, it’s true — I can name at least two songs from 1984 that struggled on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 because of that very subject matter. 

The first song that comes to mind is the brilliant “Original Sin” by INXS, from their album, THE SWING.  In a 1986 interview, Michael Hutchence had said “Original Sin” was about “kids and conditioning.  Growing up.  How you grow up through other people’s ideas or your own.”

Nile Rodgers, who produced “Original Sin,” had the idea to lean the lyrics in a more interracial direction: “The original lyrics were ‘Dream on white boy, dream on white girl.’  I said, ‘Why not make it ‘black boy white girl’?’  I come from an interracial couple.  Psychologically that makes it a bigger statement.” 

But, despite killer producing by Nile Rodgers, and backing vocal help from Daryl Hall, some radio stations weren’t too jazzed about the lyrics (and maybe even the title) and “Original Sin” stopped at No. 58 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100.

Another “controversial” song which had a similar attempt (and result) that year was “Black Stations / White Stations” by M+M (Martha And The Muffins). 

The band from Toronto, Canada started out as a six-member New Wave / Art Rock / Dance-Pop band in 1977, but by the time their fifth album, 1984’s MYSTERY WALK, was released, they were down to just two members — lead singer, guitarist and keyboardist Martha Johnson and band founder, keyboardist and guitarist Mark Gane.  So, they whittled Martha And The Muffins down to M+M (as a play on their first names).

Getting producing help again from the brilliant Daniel Lanois, who had co-produced their earlier albums THIS IS THE ICE AGE (from 1981) and DANSEPARC (from 1983), “Black Stations / White Stations” took a step away from New Wave and a step closer to Dance and Funk.

“Black Stations / White Stations” is based on a true story about radio stations and racism.  Martha Johnson knew about a radio station that refused to play a song about an interracial relationship (“Original Sin,” perhaps?), and it prompted her and Mark Gane to write the song, with lyrics calling radio stations out to “Stand Up and Face The Music / This Is 1984.”  And, being involved with radio for most of the past 35 years, I’ve learned that radio stations don’t like to be pissed on, especially in song, even if they know their policies are wrong, and even if the song itself is a protest song against racism.

The Canadian 12″ single cover art for “Black Stations / White Stations.”

So, suffice it to say, as awesome and funky and kickass as “Black Stations / White Stations” is, radio stations did not dig the title or the lyrics, and it was not well-received on the singles charts.  A couple of Canadian singles charts, The RPM Top 100 and the Toronto radio station CHUM, did chart the single at Nos. 26 and 11, respectively, but the on official Canadian singles chart, THE RECORD, it didn’t even chart in the Top 40.

On the BILLBOARD Hot 100, “Black Stations / White Stations” debuted at the end of June 1984 at No. 82, had one big week a couple of weeks later in mid-July, and the following week, climbed to its peak of No. 63 (with a bullet), before falling out of the Hot 100 four weeks later.  It was the only time M+M or Martha And The Muffins would grace the Hot 100.

The Netherlands 7″ single cover art for “Black Stations / White Stations.”

Over in the U.K., “Black Stations / White Stations” fared a little better, reaching No. 46, but the song found its biggest audience in the American dance clubs, and it reached No. 2 on the BILLBOARD Dance chart.

Today (1.20.2020) is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day here in the United States, and there’s an amazing quote about racism he said that I wanted to share in this post:

“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality… I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.”

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

It’s so unfortunate that radio and TV back in the 80s was so limiting as to what folks could sing or say to get their message out (even about racism).  I remember it being a big deal when Alan Alda said “son of a bitch” on the last episode of M*A*S*H in 1983 — “OMG a swear on TV!”  Today, however, songs about monogamous sex (or sex in general), the term “son of a bitch,” or talk of interracial couples won’t even raise an eyebrow.  In some respects, I love how far we’ve come in terms of what’s allowed and embraced on radio and TV (network TV is even forking catching up), but I still really wish radio had embraced songs like “Sexcrime” and “Original Sin” and “Black Stations / White Stations” back in 1984…

“A voice inside of my car told me today / there was a song of a love they would not play / She was black, he was white / A voice inside of my car told me today… Black stations, white stations / Break down the door / Stand up and face the music / This is nineteen eighty-four!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os4eWX88OxA

M+M: Martha Johnson and Mark Gane.

song of the day – “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” | MICHAEL JACKSON | 1983.

On June 15, 2014, Casey Kasem, host of the longtime countdown program, AMERICAN TOP 40, passed away at the age of 82.  From my first blog post (and prolly some more inbetween then and now), I explained how, in 1979, I was a geeky, lanky and somewhat lost 12-year-old living in Central Maine, had a few friends and not a lot of interest in much of anything, but at some point early that year, I discovered AMERICAN TOP 40, and was glued to it every weekend.  Not only could I hear the 40 biggest songs in the country every week, but also Casey’s cool trivia and facts about the songs and the artists, a trait I treasure to this day.  For me, the show was No. 1 with a bullet.  And still is (thanks to the re-airing of broadcasts of AT40 on iHeart Radio).

In honor of my radio hero, Casey Kasem, for the entire month of June (and now through July), I will be highlighting a song each day (some days will have two songs!) that peaked in the Top 40 of the BILLBOARD Hot 100 (including five (real) one-hit wonders of the 80s), and with every blog post, just like on AMERICAN TOP 40, the hits will get bigger with each post.  On June 1, 2017, I featured a song that peaked at No. 40.  Sometime here in July, I’ll feature a “song of the day” that went all the way to No. 1. 

As Casey used to say on AT40, “And on we go!”

Well, we’re finally into the Top 5!  Normally it would have taken Casey Kasem three-and-a-half hours to reach this point, but he had a script, a chart already set up courtesy of BILLBOARD magazine, and he didn’t have to write everything out.  Not that I mind.  While it’s taken me quite a bit longer than I had hoped, I have really been enjoying this series, and hope you have too.

The songs that peaked at No. 5 between 1979 and 1989 are, so far, in a class all by themselves.  More than 100 songs reached that position, including some memorable cover songs, like “Respect Yourself” by Bruce Willis (originally by The Staple Sisters), “Cum On Feel The Noise” by Quiet Riot (Slade), “Once Bitten, Twice Shy” by Great White (Ian Hunter) and “Pink Cadillac” by Natalie Cole (Bruce Springsteen, who also had three No. 5 hits of his own).

One of three singles to reach No. 5 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 for Bruce Springsteen between 1979 and 1989.

Many artists had more than one No. 5 hit, including Pat Benatar, Gloria Estefan (with and without the Miami Sound Machine), Exposé, Lou Gramm (with and without Foreigner), Daryl Hall (solo and two with John Oates), Janet Jackson (solo and with Herb Alpert), Madonna, Sade, Willie Nelson (solo and a duet with Julio Iglesias), George Michael (solo and as a guest vocalist for (real) one-hit wonder, Deon Estus), Olivia Newton-John, Eddie Rabbitt, Rolling Stones, Bob Seger and Rod Stewart.  Australia’s Air Supply had four No. 5 hits.

One of two singles to reach No. 5 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 for Madonna between 1979 and 1989.

The late, great John Lennon and his son, Julian Lennon, both hit No. 5 within a two-year period of each other, and some of my favorite 80s songs peaked at No. 5, like Thomas Dolby’s “She Blinded Me With Science,” “When Smokey Sings” by ABC, “In Your Room” by The Bangles, The Dazz Band’s “Let It Whip,” “What You Need” by INXS, “Stand Back” by Stevie Nicks, “Sister Christian” by Night Ranger, “I’m Coming Out” by Diana Ross, “(She’s) Sexy + 17” by The Stray Cats, “On The Radio” by Donna Summer, “Master Blaster (Jammin’)” by Stevie Wonder, and “All Through The Night” by Cyndi Lauper, which set a BILLBOARD Hot 100 record for Cyndi as she was the first female recording artist who would reach the Top 5 with four chart hits from a debut album.  And she wouldn’t be the last.

Another of my favorite No. 5 hits belongs to the man who was not only the biggest recording artist of the 1980s, the entire year of 1983 belonged to him.  Of course, I’m talking about the late, great Michael Jackson.  The THRILLER album spent a massive 37 weeks at No. 1 on BILLBOARD’s album chart.  THRILLER was so big, in fact, that it was the No. 1 album in America for two consecutive years.

By now, everyone and their mother (and grandmother) knows all about the Quincy Jones-produced THRILLER album and the success it has had.  It’s still the biggest-selling, non-compilation album of all time.

The first song on the THRILLER album was the fourth (of seven) singles released from the album – “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’.”  What a heluva way to start off an album!  From the opening drum beats, you just knew Michael Jackson had something special with this album.

“Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” (a song about strangers – i.e. the press – spreading rumors to start arguments for no apparent reason), was released in early May 1983 and didn’t waste any time debuting on the BILLBOARD Hot 100.  It debuted on the chart at No. 41, three weeks after its release, and with “Billie Jean” still on the chart (at No. 42) and “Beat It” at No. 3. 

The following week, “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” roared to No. 22, looking like a third No. 1 hit in a row from THRILLER (the album’s first single, “The Girl Is Mine,” with Paul McCartney, peaked at No. 2).  After a few slow chart weeks, it reached the Top 10 by early July 1983, and a couple weeks later, spent a quick two weeks at No. 5.  THRILLER’s fifth single, “Human Nature,” had already reached the Top 40 while “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” was still in the Top 10.  It was one of five singles from THRILLER to finish the year in the Top 100 here in the U.S. in 1983.

Around the globe, “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” spent two weeks at No. 1 in the Netherlands, and reached No. 3 in Belgium, No. 5 in Ireland, No. 8 in the U.K., No. 11 in Canada, No. 14 in Spain and No. 16 in Germany.

“LET’S ALL GO TO COURT, LET’S GO MAKE SOME LAW NOW” FACT:  As talented as Michael Jackson was, he had a bad habit of “borrowing” other people’s music for his own songs – without their consent.  At the “We Are The World” recording in 1985, he confessed to Daryl Hall that he used the beat of “I Can’t Go For That” for the beat in “Billie Jean.”  Daryl Hall didn’t seem to mind, but for “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,” that catchy vocal bit near the end, you know the one – “Mama-say mama-sah ma-ma-coo-sah” – was actually taken directly from a 1972 Disco song by Manu Dibango called “Soul Makossa” (Manu Dibango is a saxophonist from Cameroon, and Makossa is a type of music and dance in that country), and the bit was used without permission. 

For years, there was no lawsuit about this, but when current Pop star, Rihanna, used the bit in one of her songs from 2007, both she and Michael Jackson were sued.  In early 2009, just months before Michael Jackson died, Michael had admitted he “borrowed” the line, and he ended up settling out of court.  Apparently, when Rihanna asked Michael Jackson to see if she could use the line in her song, that’s when the fit hit the shan, and once again, Manu Dibango was not contacted by Michael Jackson prior to the song’s use, hence the lawsuit.

It’s hard to believe Michael’s been gone nine years already.  He was 50 at the time of his death, the age I’m at right now (don’t worry – I’m not leaving anytime soon), and I’m convinced that Michael had a big comeback in the works when his life was cut short on June 25, 2009.  While I have my own theory about what really happened with his death, I would much rather choose to celebrate his music, in this case “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,” which is six minutes of pure Post-Disco joy and dance floor gold.  Honestly, who do you know that WOULDN’T get out on the dance floor and dance to this as soon as they heard it?!

“Lift your head up high / And scream out to the world / I know I am someone / And let the truth unfurl / No one can hurt you now / Because you know it’s true / Yes, I believe in me / So you believe in you…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KWf_-ofYgI

  

song of the day – “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” | TEARS FOR FEARS | 1985.

The other night, I was at a get-together in South Portland, Maine, at the home of my friend Melissa, and there was a conversation going about The British (music) Invasion.  I chimed in and said, “Which one?”  They were talking about the one in the mid-1960s, while I was referring to the one in the mid-1980s.  When questioned about the 80s British Invasion, I then tried to remember all the big British hits in the U.S. during 1985, and had a huge gaping brain cramp.  So, I’ll properly answer that question here.

I’ve prolly said on the bloggy thing here that the New Wave era here in America started and ended with The Human League.  Their big 1982 hit, “Don’t You Want Me” spent three weeks at No. 1 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in July 1982, and for the next four years, New Wave artists were prominent on the Hot 100 singles chart.  In November 1986, their hit, “Human,” reached No. 1 on the Hot 100, and was replaced the following week by “You Give Love A Bad Name” by Bon Jovi.  I’ve also prolly said here (half-jokingly) that Bon Jovi killed New Wave.

Another interesting thing about The Human League’s two bookend reigns at No. 1 on the Hot 100 – not only did New Wave come into play (pun intended) during this time – with the tremendous help of MTV – it was also the time of the Second British (music) Invasion. 

On the BILLBOARD Hot 100 dated July 16th, 1983, British music acts shattered the record established in 1965, where 14 songs by British recording artists were in the American Top 40 at the same time.  On this July 1983 chart, HALF of the Top 40 were songs by British artists, and of those 20, seven of the Top 10 singles that week were by Brits: “Time (Clock Of The Heart)” – Culture Club (No. 10), “Is There Something I Should Know” – Duran Duran (once called The Fab Five; No. 9), “Our House” – Madness (No. 8), “Too Shy” – Kajagoogoo (No. 7), “Come Dancing” (The Kinks, who were part of the original British Invasion; No. 6), “Electric Avenue” – Eddy Grant (a Londoner from Guyana, which was known as British Guiana at the time of his birth in 1948; No. 2), and “Every Breath You Take” – The Police (for the second of eight weeks at No. 1).

In April 1984, 40 of the singles on the Hot 100 were by British acts, and on the Hot 100 chart dated May 25, 1985 (the year of the height of the Second British Invasion), a record EIGHT of the Top 10 singles that week were by Brits: “Things Can Only Get Better” – Howard Jones (No. 10), “Some Like It Hot” – The Power Station (No. 9), “Suddenly” – Billy Ocean (of British origin; No. 8), “One Night In Bangkok” – Murray Head (No. 7), “Smooth Operator” – Sade (No. 5), “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” – Tears For Fears (No. 3), “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” – Simple Minds (No. 2), and “Everything She Wants” – Wham! (No. 1).

For three months between May 18, 1985 and August 17, 1985, and starting with “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” songs by acts from Britain would rule the U.S. music world for all but two weeks – the aforementioned “Everything She Wants” and “Everybody Wants To Rule The World,” plus “Sussudio” by Phil Collins, “A View To A Kill” by Duran Duran, Paul Young’s cover of the Daryl Hall song, “Everytime You Go Away,” and “Shout” by Tears For Fears.

When Bon Jovi claimed their first No. 1 song on the Hot 100 in late November 1986, and in the process signaling the end of the reign of New Wave and the Second British Invasion, the No. 1 songs for the better part of the rest of the 80s were dominated by Glam Metal and Dance acts, though in 1988, many songs by Brits did manage to reach No. 1 on the Hot 100.

One of the British acts who had a banner year in 1985 – in the U.S. and all over the globe – was Bath, England’s Tears For Fears.  Led by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, Tears For Fears had been around since 1981, but despite a brilliant debut album (THE HURTING), they hadn’t been able to break through to the U.S. market until the success of “Everybody Wants To Rule The World,” their third single from their second album, SONGS FROM THE BIG CHAIR.

“Everybody Wants To Rule The World” (with vocals by Curt Smith) was the first single released here in the U.S., and for awhile in the Spring and Summer of 1985, Tears For Fears did rule the world with their incredible hit.  It spent a couple of weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in June 1985, as well as reaching No. 1 on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart for two weeks.  The love for this song was felt through many different genres, and it reached No. 2 on BILLBOARD’s Rock and Adult Contemporary charts – no easy feat.  Here in America, it rightfully ranked at No. 7 for all of 1985.

Around the globe, it reached No. 1 in Canada and New Zealand, and the Top 10 in the U.K., Australia, Belgium, Holland and Ireland.  A year later, Roland and Curt returned to the Top 10 of the U.K. and Ireland charts with a rework of their big hit, titled “Everybody Wants To RUN The World,” in support of Sport Aid, which was a sports-themed offshoot campaign of Live Aid, to aid in the effort to help the famine problem in Africa.  The highlight of this campaign was the Race Against Time, a 10K fun run simultaneously held in 89 countries.  $37 million was raised for Live Aid and UNICEF.

For many years, Roland Orzabal kept performing under the Tears For Fears name while Curt Smith had left the band, but they have been together again since 2000, released an album in 2004 (EVERYBODY LOVES A HAPPY ENDING) and are currently on the last dates of their rescheduled U.S. and Canada tour. 

Though overall Tears For Fears may not be the household name they were in 1985, it’s great to see them still together and so wonderful to hear their songs like “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” on the radio.  It’s one of those songs I have always loved from the start and a song I always love driving to.  One of the lyrics of the song goes, “Nothing ever lasts forever.”  Clearly, Roland and Curt aren’t referring to their own song, as this song will live on in radio eternity, and as I’ll love this song forever…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST86JM1RPl0

song of the day – “Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes” | PAUL SIMON | 1986 / 1987.

Today (8.25.2016) marks the 30th anniversary of the release of Paul Simon’s seventh solo studio album and masterpiece, GRACELAND.  After Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel parted ways in 1970, Paul embarked on a successful solo career in the 1970s, picking up multiple Gold and Platinum albums, five Top 10 hits on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 – including two No. 2 hits (1973’s “Kodachrome” and “Love Me Like A Rock”), and a No. 1 single (1975’s “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover”). 

The first half of the 80s were not as good to Paul Simon – his 1980 film and soundtrack for ONE TRICK PONY did not fare well (though “Late In The Evening” reached the Top 10), nor did his follow-up album, HEARTS AND BONES.  Paul’s marriage to Carrie Fisher (HEARTS AND BONES was about their relationship) lasted less than a year (they had dated for six years before that).

Sometime after the divorce, Paul Simon became interested and intrigued by the music of South Africa.  Before leaving with his co-producer, Roy Halee, for a two-week trip to Johannesburg, South Africa, to work with musicians there, he was talked into contributing to the historic recording of “We Are The World” (Paul was the third person to sing on the song). 

From the day “We Are The World” was recorded: Clockwise from left: Lionel Richie, Daryl Hall, Quincy Jones, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder.

At that recording, Paul asked the charity song’s organizers, Quincy Jones (who produced the song) and Harry Belafonte, if he should make the trip (it was right around the time of the Apartheid backlash and “Sun City”), and they both encouraged him to go.  Personally, I don’t think Paul Simon broke any “cultural boycott” in recruiting South African musicians for the recording of GRACELAND.  If anything, I think he just wanted to share what he discovered with the rest of the world.  And share he did.

GRACELAND would win the Grammy Award for Album Of The Year, it would reach No. 3 on BILLBOARD’s album chart and has sold more than 16 million copies worldwide since its release.  In 2007, GRACELAND was added to the National Recording Registry, for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically important.”

The response to GRACELAND was unbelievable – it was universally loved by fans and critics alike.  ROLLING STONE’s Rob Tannebaum called GRACELAND “lovely, daring and accomplished.”  The magazine would later say that GRACELAND is “an album about isolation and redemption that transcended ‘world music’ to become the whole world’s soundtrack.”  High praise indeed.

Musicians were also mesmerized by GRACELAND.  The late, great Joe Strummer of The Clash brilliantly said this about the album in a 1988 interview: “I don’t like the idea that people who aren’t adolescents make records.  Adolescents make the best records.  Except for Paul Simon.  Except for GRACELAND.  He’s hit a new plateau there, but he’s writing to his own age group.  GRACELAND is something new.  That song to his son [“That Was Your Mother”] is just as good as ‘Blue Suede Shoes’: ‘Before you were born dude when life was great.’  That’s just as good as ‘Blue Suede Shoes,’ and that is a new dimension.”

The fourth single released from GRACELAND is the gorgeous “Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes,” with guest vocals by South African choral music legends Ladysmith Black Mambazo, an act that’s been around since 1960 and still going strong today.  GRACELAND introduced the rest of the world (and yours truly) outside of South Africa to Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

While in South Africa, Paul Simon wrote this song with Joseph Shabalala of Ladysmith Black Mambazo.  Paul finished the album in New York City, but not without bringing the South African artists back with him.  And on May 10, 1986, Ladysmith Black Mambazo performed (singing in Zulu) with Paul on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE.  The Zulu to English translation is, “It’s not usual, but in our days we see those things happen.  They are women, they can take care of themselves.”  Yes they can!

Paul Simon and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, SNL, 5.10.1986.

Senegal’s Youssou N’Dour (who would also work with Peter Gabriel in 1986, notably on “In Your Eyes”) helped provide percussion on “Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes,” which wasn’t really a hit anywhere, save for a Top 30 ranking in Belgium in 1987, though it’s always been a hit with me. 

It’s hard to believe GRACELAND is now 30, and harder to believe Paul Simon is turning 75 this year, in October 2016.  But, not at all hard to believe is how GRACELAND and songs like “Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes” have aged well and both will be shining like those diamonds for a long, long time to come…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I_T3XvzPaM

song of the day – “Come Back And Stay” | PAUL YOUNG | 1983 / 1984.

English singer / songwriter / musician Paul Young just celebrated his 60th birthday in January, and there’s a couple of things you prolly don’t know about him.  The first tidbit about Paul you may or may not know is, that, back in the 80s, Paul Young was a teen idol (many of my female friends would be quick to confirm that, yes, he indeed was).  You could find him on magazine covers like SMASH HITS, MUSIC LIFE, THE RECORD, LOOK IN, TUTTI FRUTTI, HELLO! and NO. 1 magazine.

The second thing about Paul Young you may or may not know is that, over the years, he has had a penchant for cover songs.  Between 1983 and 1992, out of his 9 chart hits on the BILLBOARD Hot 100, 7 of them were cover songs, including all 5 of his Top 40 hits, led by his No. 1 song from 1985, “Everytime You Go Away” (written by Daryl Hall and first released by Daryl Hall & John Oates on their 1980 album, VOICES).

The first Top 40 hit in the U.S. for Paul Young was the wonderful “Come Back And Stay,” from his debut album, NO PARLEZ.  “Come Back And Stay” was first recorded in 1981 by the founder of the short-lived 80s Los Angeles Power Pop band, The Nerves, Jack Lee.  He also composed a longtime Blondie favorite from their 1978 album, PARALLEL LINES, “Hanging On The Telephone.”

Paul Young’s version of “Come Back And Stay” was released in late 1983, and it was an instant global hit, reaching No. 1 in Belgium (1 week), Germany (7 weeks), New Zealand (1 week) and Switzerland (5 weeks).  It also reached the Top 10 in Austria, France, Holland, Ireland, Norway, and his homeland of the U.K., where it peaked at No. 4.  Here in the U.S., it spent a week at No. 22 on the Hot 100 this week in April 1984.

There was a 12” remix issued for “Come Back And Stay,” and I found my copy on the flip side of the 12” single for follow-up single (and another cover song), “Love Of The Common People.”  When 80s 12” singles were really taking off in 1983 and 1984, at first many major labels (Sire Records comes to mind) were releasing 2 hits on the same 12”.  Another example of this is Madonna’s “Borderline” and “Lucky Star.”  Oddly enough, years later, someone felt the need to add scratching to the remix of “Come Back And Stay,” and it appears on certain 80s compilations, although no scratching was required on a song that was perfect without it.

Paul Young and his Tex-Mex band, Los Pacaminos.

In 1993, Paul Young formed a Tex-Mex band, Los Pacaminos, which released albums in 2002 and 2014, and still tour the world today.  He’s scheduled to release a new solo album this month, a collection of Memphis Soul tunes titled GOOD THING.  It’s his first Soul album in 20 years. 

If you lost touch with Paul Young over the years, perhaps you should revisit his first international hit, which I’m sure he hopes will make you, well, come back and stay…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeeJhEpeUfc