song of the day – “Caravan Of Love” | THE HOUSEMARTINS | 1986 / 1987.

Happy Winter Solstice and Happy Holidays everyone!

As a proud singles chart nerd, I have loved singles chart info from all over the globe ever since I can remember.  One chart phenomenon I wasn’t really aware of until well into my adulthood was this phenomenon over in the U.K. and Ireland, a tradition that started back in 1952 and is known as the Christmas No. 1. 

The Christmas No. 1 is prolly the most-coveted piece of chart nerdiness for everyone (artists and fans alike) during the entire year over in the U.K. and Ireland.  Artists rush out to release singles, many of them Christmas singles, in hopes to reach the top of the charts the week in which Christmas falls.  It’s a big deal.

Since 1952, The Beatles hold the record as the act with the most Christmas No. 1’s.  Band Aid’s original 1984 version of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” (the Christmas No. 1 for that year) is not only the biggest-selling Christmas song of all-time in the U.K., it’s also the second biggest-selling U.K. single of all-time (behind Elton John’s “Candle In The Wind 1997”).  Two other incarnations of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” were Christmas No. 1’s in 1989 and 2004.  The third-biggest selling U.K. single of all-time is Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which is the only song to hold the title of Christmas No. 1 twice – during its original 1975 release, and in 1991, following the passing of singer Freddie Mercury a month before.

There are also many popular Christmas singles that didn’t become the coveted Christmas No. 1, including “Last Christmas / Everything She Wants” by Wham! (released the same week as “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” and itself is one of the biggest-selling U.K. singles ever), and in 1987,  the beloved “Fairytale Of New York” by The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl, the most-played Christmas song of the 21st century and oft-regarded as the best Christmas song of all-time.  It was denied the Christmas No. 1 spot by the Pet Shop Boys’ cover of “Always On My Mind.”

In 1986, the race for the U.K. Christmas No. 1 was between a couple of non-holiday songs: a posthumous re-release of “Reet Petite,” a 1957 single by Jackie Wilson, who died in early 1984, and an a cappella cover of “Caravan Of Love,” the third U.K. Top 40 single by Hull, England’s The Housemartins.

“Caravan Of Love” was a song originally by Isley-Jasper-Isley, one-half of the famous Isley Brothers lineup dating back to the 1970s.  The song was a huge R&B hit, spending three weeks at No. 1 on BILLBOARD’s R&B chart in late 1985, and reaching No. 51 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 (it was climbing the Hot 100 this week in 1985).

A year after the popularity of the Isley-Jasper-Isley original version of “Caravan Of Love,” The Housemartins released their version, a non-album single and a cappella cover.  With this cover, The Housemartins scored their second Top 10 U.K. single in a year (1986’s “Happy Hour” went to No. 3), and a month after its release, “Caravan Of Love” went to No. 1 on December 20, 1986.  It was only the second a cappella single in U.K. singles chart history to reach No. 1 (the first was the Christmas No. 1 from 1983, “Only You” by The Flying Pickets, a cover of the 1982 Yaz gem).

Jackie Wilson’s re-release of “Reet Petite” reached No. 1 in the U.K. on December 27, 1986 (thanks to a popular claymation video created for the song, which aired on a BBC Two documentary series called ARENA), and stayed there for four weeks.

The 1986 re-release of “Reet Petite.”

Now, even though “Reet Petite” reached No. 1 two days after Christmas 1986, it was No. 1 the week Christmas fell that year (Christmas was on a Thursday that year; the charts were dated for that Saturday, 12/27/86), and therefore won the race for the U.K. Christmas No. 1 for 1986.

“Caravan Of Love,” meanwhile, was a huge hit throughout the globe, reaching No. 2 in Germany, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland, No. 3 in The Netherlands, No. 4 in Spain, No. 5 in Belgium, No. 7 in Austria, No. 24 in Australia, and spent eight weeks at No. 1 during 1987 in Sweden.

From the “Caravan Of Love” video.

Though the quartet lost out on the U.K. Christmas No. 1, The Housemartins could take solace in the fact that they claimed the Christmas No. 1 in Ireland, as “Caravan Of Love” spent four weeks on top over the holiday season.

The Housemartins would go on to chart four more times in the U.K. Top 40, before splitting up in 1988.  Singer Paul Heaton, drummer / vocalist Dave Hemingway and roadie Sean Welch would go on to form The Beautiful South, which enjoyed success for the nearly 20 years they were together.  Bassist Norman Cook found some success with Beats International, but is prolly best known for his work under the pseudonym Fatboy Slim, which has given him massive success since 1996.  In January 2018, he released a remix album called FATBOY SLIM VS. AUSTRALIA.

Former Housemartin Norman Cook, AKA Fatboy Slim.

I know not everyone is a singles chart nerd like myself, but I think it’s cool that, at least once a year in at least a couple of countries across the globe, many people become singles chart nerds and then some.  I mean, c’mon, who wouldn’t want a No. 1 song for Christmas?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehfiQd7lcPY

song of the day #2 – “Relax” | FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD | 1984 / 1985.

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. 

HOORAY!  We’ve finally reached the Top 10!  Woo-hoo!  When Casey Kasem got to this point of an American Top 40 countdown, he would usually say, “We’re headed into the home stretch now!  And on we go!”

Wow, in my research for this series, no chart position so far has had nearly 90 songs reach a certain position between 1979 and 1989…until now.  Nearly 90 songs set up camp at the No. 10 position during that time, some stays as short as one week (like “Borderline” by Madonna, “Hysteria” by Def Leppard and “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough” by Cyndi Lauper), or as many as six weeks (“Muscles” by Diana Ross). 

There were only about a baker’s dozen and a half of women who peaked at No. 10 during that time, like Kim Carnes, Pat Benatar, (real) one-hit wonder Regina (with the Madonna-inspired “Baby Love”), Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac, Cher, Donna Summer, Exposé, and the aforementioned Madonna and Diana Ross (the latter of which reached No. 10 twice).

It was pretty much a boys club for the rest of the songs that reached No. 10 on the Hot 100 between 1979 and 1989, including songs by David Bowie, Culture Club, Pet Shop Boys, Asia, Wham!, Steely Dan, ELO, Golden Earring, Prince, Phil Collins, Duran Duran and Stevie Wonder, and for some, one No. 10 song wasn’t enough.  The Police had two No. 10 hits, Heart had two, plus the Little River Band had three, as did Michael Jackson and Billy Joel.  And Kool & The Gang had four No. 10 hits – “Get Down On It,” “Misled,” “Stone Love” and “Victory.”

For me, though, there was one No. 10 hit that stuck out more than any other.  And, as a singles chart nerd, it’s a big one.  It’s also what I call a “second-chance single,” and that historic single is “Relax” by Frankie Goes To Hollywood.

Formed in Liverpool, England in 1980, Frankie Goes To Hollywood was a five-man  New Wave / Dance-Pop band who was a thorn in the BBC’s side (the British Broadcasting Corporation, that is) in 1984, with their debut single, “Relax.”  I’ll come back to that. 

Producer and ZTT Records co-founder, Trevor Horn, saw Frankie Goes To Hollywood perform on a television show called THE TUBE, when an early version of “Relax” was played.  He thought it was “more a jingle than a song,” and he wanted to “fix it up” in his own way. 

Another co-founder of ZTT, Paul Morley, had a great campaign lined up for Frankie Goes To Hollywood: “a strategic assault on pop.”  This was a brilliant marketing move.  His plan was to also tackle certain a trilogy of themes in the band’s single releases – sex, war, and religion.  “Relax” was first, followed by “Two Tribes” (about the Cold War), and “The Power Of Love” (a video which features the birth of Christ).

Trevor Horn and especially Paul Morley were really going for the shock value when it came to Frankie Goes To Hollywood.  They released a series of provocative advertisements introducing Frankie to the U.K., and one advertisement even said, “Frankie Goes To Hollywood are coming…making Duran Duran lick the shit off their shoes…”  Wow. 

One of several provocative ads ZTT released for Frankie Goes To Hollywood and “Relax.”

When “Relax” finally reached the U.K. singles chart in November 1983, it wasn’t really a big deal.  But, when Frankie performed “Relax” on the BBC flagship television show, TOP OF THE POPS, people went nuts.  The following week, it soared to No. 6 on the U.K. singles chart. 

Frankie’s performance of “Relax” on Top Of The Pops.

About a week later, BBC Radio 1 DJ Mike Read expressed his offense towards the cover art for “Relax” and especially these lyrics – “Relax, don’t do it / When you want to suck it, do it / Relax, don’t do it / When you want to come…”, and he announced his refusal to play the record.  Unbeknownst to him at the time, the BBC had already decided it couldn’t be played on the BBC anyway. 

A couple of days later, the BBC officially banned the single from its airwaves, though radio heroes – like the brilliant John Peel – continued to play it throughout 1984.  Don’t people know when you ban a record, it only increases its popularity?!  And that’s what happened with “Relax.”  It reached No. 1 by late January 1984 and stayed on top for 5 weeks.  Apart from “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” by Band Aid, it was the biggest-selling single of the year in the U.K.

Since the BBC ban also applied to TOP OF THE POPS, which, like SOLID GOLD here in the U.S., did a countdown of the country’s biggest hits during the show.  When “Relax” was No. 1, all they did was put up a picture of the band during its big No. 1 announcement.  For five weeks.  Boo.

If “Relax” going to No. 1 didn’t piss off the BBC enough, “Relax” took its time falling down the U.K. singles chart.  And by the time the Cold War Classic “Two Tribes” had started its nine-week run at No. 1 in June 1984, “Relax” was right back behind it at No. 2.  Hot damn.

“Relax” remained on the U.K. Top 75 singles chart for 48 consecutive weeks, and returned in February 1985 for another four, giving “Relax” an entire calendar year on the U.K. singles chart.  Pretty impressive.  The BBC ban on “Relax” proved to be a huge embarrassment, and eventually the ban was lifted sometime during 1984, but the damage was done, and Frankie and ZTT prevailed. 

Speaking of embarrassments, I was sometimes embarrassed about how the U.S. didn’t pick up on some huge U.K. singles, and they didn’t do much here, if they were released at all.  Back in the early 00s, on my STUCK IN THE 80s radio show, I did a show called U.K. 1, U.S. O, highlighting songs that reached No. 1 in the U.K. but did nothing here.  Featured on the show were “Ashes To Ashes” by David Bowie, “Pipes Of Peace” by Paul McCartney (relegated to a B-side here), and songs by The Jam and The Flying Pickets, among others.  I think “Two Tribes” was also on the playlist.

Well, “Relax” eventually made its way to American shores and debuted on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 early April 1984 at No. 84.  And, similar to the initial U.K. release, it received little fanfare here, maybe because radio stations had heard all about the song’s controversy in the U.K. and thought it was too obscene to play.  Irregardless, it spent a week at No. 67 in early May 1984, and fell off the chart after just seven weeks.

My original copy of the “Relax” 12″ single, purchased in July 1984, many months before it became a big hit here in America.

Somewhere along the line, I caught wind of “Relax,” and in a rare move, bought the 12” single (sans fancy cover art) in July 1984 BEFORE it was a radio hit here in America.  And I loved it from the start, and kept wondering, “Why exactly wasn’t this a huge hit here?”

In late October 1984, just nine days before the release of the band’s brilliant double-album debut, WELCOME TO THE PLEASUREDOME, “Two Tribes” debuted on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 at No. 79, on its way to a respectable No. 43 peak in mid-December 1984.  I will forever credit “Two Tribes” as the song that re-ignited interest in “Relax” here in America.

And “Two Tribes” was still on the chart in mid-January 1985 when “Relax” made its re-entry onto the Hot 100.  In only its third week back, “Relax” debuted in the Top 40, and rose to No. 10 for a quick two weeks in March 1985.  It fell out of the Hot 100 by mid-May 1985 after a combined total of 23 weeks on the chart. 

Outside of North America between 1983 and 1985, “Relax” was one of the biggest hits of the decade.  It reached No. 1 in the aforementioned U.K., plus Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Thailand, and the Top 10 in at least 11 other countries.

“Relax” has been featured in a ton of films and TV shows for more than 30 years, including POLICE ACADEMY, BODY DOUBLE, MIAMI VICE, GOTCHA!, ROCK STAR, ZOOLANDER and ZOOLANDER 2, THE PROPOSAL, CALIFORNICATION, and 2017’s T2 TRAINSPOTTING.

A number of covers of “Relax” have been released over the years as well, including “Weird Al” Yankovic, Richard Cheese, The Dandy Warhols, Germany’s Tech-Death Metal band Atrocity, and most recently, a brilliant cover by Blondie from their incredible 2014 album, GHOSTS OF DOWNLOAD, which includes a clever sample of the original within their cover.  I love it when artists do that.

In 1987, Frankie Goes To Hollywood ended up disbanding after just seven singles and two albums (though, somehow they manage to have 11 compilation albums), but honestly, it sure wouldn’t have been the 80s without them…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCp2h5jslKY

(real) one-hit wonder of the week – “Tainted Love” | SOFT CELL | 1981 / 1982.

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 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, I’ll highlight a (real) one-hit wonder for you.

It occurred to me this past weekend (4.8-9.2017) that it’s been nearly three months since I shared a (real) one-hit wonder from the 80s with you!  So, I thought I’d share one of THE biggest – “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell.

When “Tainted Love” came to my attention around Xmas 1981, there was nothing tainted about it.  I really loved that song from the start.  Soft Cell’s Synthpop / New Wave sound was unique, not to mention very cool.  And, strangely enough, it took me years, right up through adulthood, to realize “Tainted Love” was NOT written by Soft Cell, but was in fact a cover of an R&B song from 1964.

Written and produced by Ed Cobb, “Tainted Love” was first recorded by R&B singer / songwriter Gloria Jones, who was in her late teens at the time.  Ed Cobb, who was with the popular quartet, The Four Preps (who had a couple of big hits back in the late 1950s), discovered Gloria Jones, and she signed with his production company.

NERDY FUN FACT: The baritone member of The Four Preps, Glen Larson (who passed away in 2014), would be best known as a television producer, writer and creator of some of the favorite shows of my youth – including BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25th CENTURY, MAGNUM, P.I. and KNIGHT RIDER. 

Gloria Jones, the original voice of “Tainted Love,” joined the Glam Rock band, T. Rex, in 1973, and was the girlfriend of the band’s charismatic leader, Marc Bolan.  Gloria and Marc also had a child in 1975.  Sadly, early in the morning of September 16, 1977, she was driving the car that crashed and killed Marc Bolan.    It was ruled an accidental death. 

T. Rex’s Marc Bolan and the original voice of “Tainted Love,” Gloria Jones.

While Gloria Jones had some success here in her American homeland, in Northern England, she was incredibly popular, and she was labeled as the “Northern Queen Of Soul.”  Marc Almond, the vocal half of Soft Cell, once heard the original “Tainted Love” in a nightclub in Northern England, and was inspired to rework it.

The duo of Soft Cell was formed in Leeds, England in 1977, consisting of singer Marc Almond and multi-instrumentalist David Ball.  Like many bands and recording artists early in their careers, Soft Cell’s first few years were not successful.  They twice-released their memorable song, “Memorabilia,” in the first part of 1981, but the best they could muster was a No. 35 ranking on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart with the second release.  When Marc and David decided to record a cover of “Tainted Love,” however, the music world as they knew it would change forever.    

For Soft Cell’s version of “Tainted Love” (which appears on their debut album, NON-STOP EROTIC CABARET), they reworked the song from a Soulful, fast arrangement to a slower tempo, replacing horns, bass, drums and guitars with synthesizers.  Soft Cell’s record label released “Tainted Love” in the U.K. on July 7, 1981, and would have been their last single if it didn’t do well.  Suffice it to say, it was NOT their last record.

“Tainted Love” was so popular, in fact, that it reached No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart about two months after its release, spending two weeks on top, and was the biggest-selling song in the U.K. for all of 1981.

Around the globe, “Tainted Love” was a monster hit, reaching No. 1 in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, and South Africa, and reaching the Top 10 in Austria, France, Holland, Ireland, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

The U.S. singles chart history for “Tainted Love” is like chart nerd heaven, especially for this chart nerd.  “Tainted Love” debuted on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 at No. 90 in mid-January 1982.  Less than a month in, it started losing steam, and by the end of February 1982, it fell from a peak of No. 64 all way down to No. 100.

Well, after staying at No. 100 for a couple of weeks (which almost never happens, by the way), “Tainted Love” started climbing the chart again.  Two months after debuting on the Hot 100, it was back to its debut position of No. 90.  By the end of March 1982, it had climbed back up to its peak position of No. 64. 

And it continued to climb.  By mid-April 1982, it had reached No. 50, the halfway point of the Hot 100, but the following week, it lost its chart “bullet” (which notates a significant gain).  But, as it had seemed to peaked for a second time, it kept climbing, and by late May 1982, in its 19th week on the Hot 100, it finally debuted in the Top 40.  (To make a comparison, the 1983 No. 1 song by Billy Joel, “Tell Her About It,” spent just 18 weeks in its entire chart run.)

In mid-July 1982, six months and one week after debuting on the Hot 100, “Tainted Love” reached its actual peak position of No. 8, where it stayed for two weeks.  A couple of months later, in its 36th chart week, “Tainted Love” was nearly off the chart, falling to No. 99.  But, for another incredible seven weeks (or nearly two months), it continued to hang on in the lower region of the Hot 100, spending its last five weeks on the chart all at No. 97. 

On the BILLBOARD Hot 100 chart dated November 13, 1982, “Tainted Love” was finally gone after 43 weeks, setting a new (then) chart record for most weeks spent on the Hot 100, a record it would hold onto for seven years, when a 1989 re-release of Moving Pictures’ 1982 / 1983 Top 30 hit, “What About Me,” spent 17 weeks on the chart, matching the 43-week run of “Tainted Love.”  The incredibly long run for “Tainted Love” placed it quite high on the year-end BILLBOARD Hot 100 chart, and it ranked at No. 11 for all of 1982.

The current BILLBOARD Hot 100 longevity holder (and prolly will be for all time) is by the Las Vegas, NV Pop / Rock band, Imagine Dragons, and their 2012 / 2013 / 2014 hit, “Radioactive.”  It spent an unthinkable 87 weeks on the Hot 100 (well over a year and a half), and is currently THE best-selling Rock song in the history of digital downloads.

The 12” single version of “Tainted Love” featured an awesome nine-minute medley of “Tainted Love” and The Supremes’ “Where Did Our Love Go?”  I should know, because it was the first 12” single I ever bought.  Other folks seemed to like it too, as it reached No. 4 on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart.  The medley of the two covers was so popular that an edited version of the medley was serviced to radio stations, and years later, to the public.

One of the cool things about “Tainted Love” is that, despite two failed attempts at making “Memorabilia” a hit, Soft Cell put “Memorabilia” as the “Tainted Love” B-side.  So, in a way, this great song finally got its due. 

Though Marc Almond and David Ball would not chart again on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 (their No. 3 hit, “What!” came close, reaching No. 101), they would go on to have five more Top 5 songs in the U.K., and six other U.K. Top 40 hits through 2003. 

Away from Soft Cell, singer Marc Almond has released a whopping 21 solo studio albums and eight live albums between 1984 and 2015, not including compilations or EPs.  On the U.K. singles chart, he spent four weeks at No. 1 (with the late Gene Pitney) on “Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart,” a 1989 reworking of a song Gene Pitney himself released in 1967.  Marc sure had a penchant for cover songs, and another 1967 hit he covered reached No. 4 on the U.K. singles chart for him in 1992 – “The Days Of Pearly Spencer.”  Marc’s gorgeous reworking is from his 1991 album, TENEMENT SYMPHONY.

The other half of Soft Cell, David Ball, released his own album, IN STRICT TEMPO, in 1983, and has worked as a producer and / or remixer for folks like David Bowie  and Pet Shop Boys.

Soft Cell broke up in 1984, and again in 1992, and reunited for a tour in 2001.  According to Marc Almond’s website, HITS AND PIECES – THE BEST OF MARC ALMOND AND SOFT CELL, is available now and is the first comprehensive Marc Almond and Soft Cell singles album since 1991, and features a new single, “A Kind Of Love.” 

The legacy of Soft Cell continues today, with their huge cover of “Tainted Love” appearing in a number of films, TV shows and commercials (remember that cool emergency room-set, Spike Jonze-directed Levi’s commercial from 1996?).  Plus, their version of “Tainted Love” has been, in turn, covered by acts like Impedance, Marilyn Manson, Flying Pickets, Inspiral Carpets, The Pussycat Dolls, Paul Young and Straight No Chaser.  Their song “Memorabilia” has been covered by Nine Inch Nails and their “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye” has been brilliantly covered by Nouvelle Vague and David Gray (whose incredible cover – one of the best I’ve heard – clocks in at nine minutes, about four minutes longer than the Soft Cell original).

Thinking back, it may have taken me awhile to realize “Tainted Love” wasn’t originally a Soft Cell song, but thinking now, there’s no mistaking that it was indeed Soft Cell who made “Tainted Love” their own…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UARn9GLnhow

song of the day – “Road To Nowhere” | TALKING HEADS | 1985.

Tonight (8.21.2016) on STUCK IN THE 80s, my 20-year-old radio program on WMPG community radio in Portland, Maine (and what my dear friend Michelle kindly refers to as “the best little 80s show on the planet”), it’s a show called “Road To Nowhere,” inspired by the 1985 Talking Heads song of the same name.  I’ll be featuring songs about roads, streets, boulevards, avenues, highways and other destinations unknown (thank you Missing Persons). 

I’ve thought about doing a “Road To Nowhere” theme show for some time, and now that I’m officially in the last half-year of STUCK IN THE 80s, other theme shows I’ve long thought about doing will be airing on a radio or computer sometime soon. 

In the first half of 1985, the best year of my youth, I wasn’t much of a Talking Heads fan, save for “Burning Down The House.”  But, LITTLE CREATURES, released the week after I graduated from high school, changed all that.  There were no Top 40 hits from the album (although “And She Was” came close), yet the songs were everywhere, like the aforementioned “And She Was,” “The Lady Don’t Mind,” “Stay Up Late,” “Television Man” and “Road To Nowhere.”

“Road To Nowhere” was written by Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, it is the closing song on LITTLE CREATURES, and, according to the liner notes of the band’s ONCE IN THE LIFETIME set, a song David Byrne wanted to write “that presented a resigned, even joyful look at doom, at our deaths and at the apocalypse… (always looming, folks).  I think it succeeded.  The front bit, the white gospel choir, is kind of tacked on, ’cause I didn’t think the rest of the song was enough…  I mean, it was only two chords.  So, out of embarrassment, or shame, I wrote an intro section that had a couple more in it.”

Though it just missed reaching the BILLBOARD Hot 100, “Road To Nowhere” has been part of our culture’s road ever since.  The music video was co-directed by David Byrne and Stephen R. Johnson, who directed the “Sledgehammer” and “Big Time” videos for Peter Gabriel in 1986.  The video for “Road To Nowhere” was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Best Video Of The Year (losing out to Dire Straits’ “Money For Nothing”).  The song has also appeared in films like 1994’s REALITY BITES, and has been covered by many acts over the years, including Nouvelle Vague (the 80s Bossa Nova covers sensation from Paris) and Manchester’s A Cappella masters, The Flying Pickets.

Around the globe, “Road To Nowhere” reached No. 5 in New Zealand, No. 6 in the U.K., Germany and Ireland, No. 10 in Holland, No. 16 in Australia and No. 25 on BILLBOARD’s Rock chart.

In the 1985 ROLLING STONE review for LITTLE CREATURES, Rob Tannenbaum says of “Road To Nowhere”: “[David] Byrne admits that he’s lost, but wanders happily toward nowhere because he’s got company.  You can hear him smiling, and he doesn’t seem to care too much whether we follow or not.”  Well, I’ve been following Talking Heads for a long time, and while I still hold out hope for a reunion tour that will never happen, I’ll continue to follow them on that road to nowhere, or anywhere.  And baby, it’s all right…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWtCittJyr0

Talking Heads, from the 1985 SPIN magazine photo shoot.