song of the day – “Sometimes A Fantasy” | BILLY JOEL | 1980.

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, 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.  On June 30, 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!”

A few posts back, I complained about how certain (or all?) commercial radio programmers, over the course of time, have “determined” what songs are deemed important enough to keep going into radio immortality and how other songs are just left behind, to be merely forgotten. 

Billy Joel’s “Sometimes A Fantasy” is one of those mostly-forgotten gems that got passed over in Radio Immortality Land for overrated songs like “Big Shot” (sorry, Billy, just not a fan of that one).  “Sometimes A Fantasy” was the fourth of four singles released from his No. 1 album, GLASS HOUSES. 

With Punk already established and New Wave on the rise, for GLASS HOUSES, Billy Joel took on a more edgier Rock approach than his other albums, and it worked.  The first single, “You May Be Right,” reached No. 7, the second single, “It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me” was Billy’s first No. 1 single in America, and the laid back “Don’t Ask Me Why” (another mostly-forgotten gem) reached the Top 20. 

I loved “Sometimes A Fantasy” from the first listen.  Sure, the other singles from the album were great, and I owned each one of them, but “Sometimes A Fantasy” struck a chord the other ones didn’t for whatever reason.  And, the single version had something the album version didn’t – a longer version. 

It was rare for single versions to be extended over their album counterparts, usually it was the other way around.  But, with “Sometimes A Fantasy,” as the album version faded out after 3 minutes and 40 seconds, the 45 version continued on for another 40 seconds with a kick-ass guitar and instrumental solo, until Billy Joel laughs at the end and wails, “I’ve got blisters on my blisters!” (paying homage to Ringo Starr’s outburst of “I’ve got blisters on my fingers!” at the end of The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter”).  I loved it! (and still do…)  (And, to date, for whatever reason, outside of posts on YouTube, this version continues to NOT be available in any other form.)

“Sometimes A Fantasy” – a song about a lonely, horny man who calls his significant other on the phone and tries to get her to have phone sex with him – debuted on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in mid-October 1980, just as “Don’t Ask Me Why” was finishing up its run in the Top 40.  It only took four short weeks for “Sometimes A Fantasy” to reach No. 40, and it looked like it was going to be another big hit for the New York City native.

But, somehow, radio programmers across the country collaborated on this one, and decided that “Sometimes A Fantasy” wasn’t the hit they thought it was, and the song spent a quick two weeks at No. 36 on the Hot 100 in mid-November 1980.  It was off the Hot 100 after just nine surprising weeks.  I was so disappointed because it’s such a great song, one of my all-time favorite Billy Joel songs.

If my memory serves correctly, I believe GLASS HOUSES was the third non-soundtrack album (following Fleetwood Mac’s RUMOURS and Michael Jackson’s OFF THE WALL) to generate four Top 40 singles from one album.  It’s been more commonplace and then some since then.  In fact, three albums released in the 80s had seven singles released –  Michael Jackson’s THRILLER, Bruce Springsteen’s BORN IN THE U.S.A., and Janet Jackson’s RHYTHM NATION 1814 – and even more impressive, all seven hits from each of those historic albums reached the Top 10.  And RHYTHM NATION 1814 remains the only album in history to have seven commercially-released singles reach the Top 5.

SCRUBS, my third-favorite show of all-time, was thankfully notorious for keeping the 80s alive with mentions and song selections (and incorporating the amazing Colin Hay into many episodes), and in a Season 6 clip episode, “Sometimes A Fantasy” was used.  And, it was nice that I wasn’t the only one who remembered this awesome song.

Well, “Sometimes A Fantasy” didn’t reach the Top 5, or even the Top 35, though I wish it had.  I could fantasize that it charted higher than it did, but it’s not the real thing.  Still, though, I’ve always contended that “Sometimes A Fantasy” is one of the coolest things Billy Joel ever did, even if radio programmers of the day didn’t think so…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhJg1finpyU

song of the day – “Telephone Operator” | PETE SHELLEY | 1982.

Today, English singer / songwriter / guitarist Pete Shelley turns 61 – Happy Birthday!  Pete is prolly best known for his five-year stint with the Greater Manchester, England Punk Rock band, Buzzcocks, which he co-formed with Howard Devoto in 1976 (Howard would leave the band a year later).  Buzzcocks released three studio albums in 1978 and 1979, and the SINGLES GOING STEADY compilation album (released in 1979 on I.R.S. Records) was the first album by the band released in North America. 

From the amazing SINGLES GOING STEADY collection and their second studio album, LOVE BITES, was THE song Pete and Buzzzcocks will be forever known for – “Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve).”   The 1978 gem was a No. 12 hit on the U.K. singles chart and a No. 14 hit in Ireland, and has been immortalized for nearly 40 years on college and community radio, through numerous appearances in films and in TV shows like SCRUBS, and because of an even bigger 1986 / 1987 cover version by Fine Young Cannibals.

Pete Shelley is also prolly best-known for his first solo hit, 1981’s controversial “Homosapien,” a No. 4 hit in Australia and a No. 14 hit on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart.  The BBC banned the song for its “explicit reference to gay sex” from the lyrics “homo superior / in my interior.”  Regardless of being banned by the BBC, “Homosapien” still found its way to dance clubs around the globe.

I’m sure at some point, I’ll highlight both of those memorable gems on the blog, but the song by the birthday boy on my mind today was “Telephone Operator” (from his 1983 solo studio album, XL1), co-produced by Pete Shelley and the late Martin Rushent, who also produced albums for Buzzcocks, Human League, Altered Images, The Go-Go’s, The Stranglers among many others.

Pete Shelley met Howard Devoto in 1975 at the then-Bolton Institute of Technology (now the University of Bolton), and, in a groundbreaking and unusual move prolly not unrelated to his time spent at BIT, the original release of Pete’s XL1 album included a computer program for the ZX Spectrum computer, and featured graphics and lyrics that displayed in time with the music, which is commonplace with media players today, but in 1982 was pretty rare.

“Telephone Operator” was the first of two singles released from XL1, and it ended up being Pete’s biggest U.K. hit, reaching a should’ve-been-higher No. 66 peak.  It fared better on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart, where it reached No. 22.

After releasing his last studio album, HEAVEN AND THE SEA, in 1986, Pete Shelley re-formed Buzzcocks, and since 1989, the band has released six studio albums (including 2014’s THE WAY), four live albums, and 10 compilations (including my favorite, the brilliant 25-track 1991 comp, OPERATORS MANUAL: BUZZCOCKS BEST).

In 2016, Pete and Buzzcocks celebrated their 40 years together with a tour called Buzzcocks 40.  On May 29, 2017, they will play at the 18th Annual Punk Rock and Bowling Music Festival in Las Vegas, and headline a show in Denver on June 2nd.  Wish I could be there.

I think another reason I wanted to share the awesome “Telephone Operator” today is because it tends to get overshadowed by the also awesome “Homosapien” and “Ever Fallen In Love.”  For me, though, “Telephone Operator” is three minutes and 15 seconds of pure, edgy New Wave / Dance perfection.  Go ahead, put the phone down and prove me wrong.  I double dog dare ya.

“Telephone Operator / You’re my aural stimulator…”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DGvjdZGyrI

song of the day – “Never Tear Us Apart” | INXS | 1988.

This year has hit the music world and music fans like me especially hard.  And not just a hard punch like my 4-year-old niece punching me in the arm kind of hard.  The amount of notable passings of music royalty this year (spanning all genres), unlike any other year to my recollection, has felt more like a repeated punch in the stomach and the head and the heart.

When John Lennon was tragically murdered on December 8, 1980, I was just 13 years old, so my love for John Lennon at nearly 14 was not the same as the love I have for John and his music at nearly 50.  As an adult, for me, the first artist whose death really hurt was the loss of Michael Hutchence, the charismatic and gifted lead singer of INXS, who passed away on this date (November 22) in 1997.  I was 30 and living in Portland, Maine at the time, and it was less than three months after the high-profile death of Princess Diana.  With the Internet still a bit young and not as accessible as it is today, I remember being heavily disappointed that Michael’s death wasn’t being covered as much on television as I thought it should be.  I think I saw something on MTV and maybe on the national news that night, but not much else. 

Suffering from depression and under the influence of alcohol and drugs, Michael Hutchence sadly took his own life in a hotel room in Sydney at the far-too-young age of 37 (exactly two months shy of his 38th birthday).  Five days after his death, his coffin was carried out of St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney, carried by the remaining five members of INXS and his younger brother, Rhett.  As his coffin was being carried out of the church, the song which played in the background was “Never Tear Us Apart.” 

The cover for the excellent 1997 INXS album, ELEGANTLY WASTED.

Earlier that year, INXS released their tenth studio album, ELEGANTLY WASTED.  I thought it was the best thing they had done since 1987’s KICK, and I was so excited for the future direction of the band.  In 1997, way back in the second year of my (now-20-year-old) little radio show, STUCK IN THE 80s (on WMPG community radio in Portland, Maine), ELEGANTLY WASTED was the first album I played on the show that contained new music by an 80s artist, and I’ve featured new music by 80s artists on my show ever since. 

 

Before Michael died, I had a chance to see INXS in Boston on the ELEGANTLY WASTED tour, which would have been the second time I had seen INXS (the first being at Colby College in Waterville in 1987, just as the momentum for “Need You Tonight” was building).  I opted instead to see the band Luna, featuring Galaxie 500 alum (and New Zealand native) Dean Wareham, a decision I don’t regret, because it was a really great show.  But, how was I to know…

Released in early August 1988, “Never Tear Us Apart” was the fourth single released worldwide from KICK, the sixth studio album for INXS (released in October 1987).  Like the videos for “New Sensation” and “Guns In The Sky,” the video for “Never Tear Us Apart” was filmed throughout the gorgeous city of Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic.  I hope to get there one day.  The video, directed by Richard Lowenstein (who directed many memorable INXS videos) even had a beautiful extended intro that, to my knowledge, has never made it onto any audio recording.

Just five days after its release, “Never Tear Us Apart” (co-written by Michael Hutchence and keyboardist / primary songwriter Andrew Farriss) debuted on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 at No. 86, while the band’s No. 3 U.S. hit, “New Sensation,” was still in the Top 40.  “Never Tear Us Apart” found its way to the Top 40 of the Hot 100 by mid-September 1988, and in early November 1988, the lush ballad spent a week at No. 7, becoming the fourth consecutive Top 10 American hit from KICK.  It spent a total of 23 weeks on the Hot 100, and departed from the chart in January 1989.  “Never Tear Us Apart” also reached No. 5 on BILLBOARD’s Mainstream Rock chart, and No. 28 on BILLBOARD’s then-new Modern Rock chart.

Around the globe, “Never Tear Us Apart” may not have been as big a hit as its three KICK predecessors, but it did reach the Top 10 in Belgium and Holland, No. 18 in Canada, No. 21 in New Zealand, No. 24 in the U.K., and a No. 14 peak in Australia, which changed in 2014 after an Australian miniseries called INXS: NEVER TEAR US APART prompted a return for the single, and it reached a new peak of No. 11.

The song has been covered by the likes of Tom Jones (featuring fellow Sydney recording artist, Natalie Imbruglia), the late, great Joe Cocker, Beck and St. Vincent (which I now have to hear), Carrie Underwood, the Los Angeles Indie Rock singer / songwriter Cary Brothers (you prolly heard several of his songs on my third-favorite TV show, SCRUBS), and a beautiful 2012 cover by English singer / songwriter / actress Paloma Faith, which I was turned on to earlier this year, I think.  It reached No. 16 in the U.K. and was certified Silver there.

In 2001, a remixer by the name of Tall Paul (real name Paul Newman; no, not that one) created several remixes using a heavy sample of “Never Tear Us Apart” on a song called “Precious Heart” (named after a line from the song).  It reached No. 14 in the U.K. and No. 27 in Australia.

In the years since Michael Hutchence’s passing, many folks have considered “Never Tear Us Apart” to be an anthem-of-sorts for Michael.  Well, anthem or not, I can safely say it’s my favorite song off of KICK, and one of my all-time favorite songs from my all-time favorite band.  And, 19 years later, what I know is true, is that I still miss you, Michael, wherever you are…

Michael Hutchence, from the “Never Tear Us Apart” video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIBv2GEnXlc

song of the day – “Space Age Love Song” | A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS | 1983.

Today (9.12.2016) was my final full day here at Seawall, nestled between the town of Southwest Harbor, Maine (where I spent the first several years of my childhood) and the Bass Harbor Head Light (one of the most photographed lighthouses in Maine), on the southwestern part of popular Mount Desert Island.

I’m still on vacation for another couple of days, but I’ll miss the view of the sea from my motel room and the natural quiet and solace and peace that Seawall gives me every time I’m here.  Today, I spent the entire afternoon at the Seawall picnic area reading (nearly half) of HANG THE DJ, a great new book by one of my first radio heroes (and from Central Maine too!), Duane Bruce.

Taken 9.12.2016 at the Seawall picnic area (part of Acadia National Park, in Maine), enjoying a Mexican glass bottle of Coca-Cola (the real thing!) and HANG THE DJ, the new book by one of my first radio heroes, Duane Bruce! (Photo by Ron Raymond, Jr.)

I started the afternoon by sitting in the late (and still quite warm) summer sun, then the shade, and found my way back to the sun again, sitting in my lawn chair facing the sea, camera at the ready, and a large boulder (a natural part of the seawall) in front of me to stretch my legs out on.

In my last hour there, before trekking to the rest room one more time, I put my camera in the car, and started reading again when I got back to my spot.  With my nose in my new book, I saw in the corner of my eye the shadow of a seagull (my favorite bird) flying over my head.  It joined another seagull (perhaps a Herring Gull) who was already situated directly in front of me.  Both of them took turns drinking water from a small pool in the boulder, then the darker-colored (maybe younger?) seagull started kissing the other by taking the upper and lower parts of her bill and wrapping it around the closed bill of the the other gull.  And yes, all of this was happening while I was without my camera for the first time today, dammit!  But, then I thought, “well, maybe I just wasn’t supposed to capture this with a camera…”

The younger gull kissing the Herring gull happened a few times, before the Herring flew off to a neighboring rock.  I don’t know if she heard me or not, but I said to her, “Go on, get over there!  Go get him!”  And, after about a minute, she did follow him there.  She tried to kiss him again, but he resisted and flew off, and she stayed on that rock even as I was driving away several minutes later.  Sure, I could have taken that shot, but if the powers that be didn’t want me to take a picture of one seagull kissing another, then I’m sure the same powers that be didn’t want me to take a picture of her waiting for him to come back.

One seagull I did manage to take a photo of today (9.12.2016) at the Seawall picnic area (part of Acadia National Park, in Maine). (Photo by Ron Raymond, Jr.)

I know what you’re thinking.  This would have been a great opportunity for me to have XTC’s wonderful “Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her” (from 1984’s THE BIG EXPRESS) as my “song of the day,” and you’re right, but it’s not the song I immediately thought of as I was leaving the picnic area tonight.  That song was A Flock Of Seagulls’ “Space Age Love Song.”

“Space Age Love Song” – forever my favorite song by the Liverpool, England quartet who brilliantly merged synthesizers with guitars – was the second single released from A Flock Of Seagulls’ self-titled 1982 debut album, and the follow-up to the worldwide Top 10 hit, “I Ran (So Far Away).” 

It debuted on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in mid-November 1982, and took two months to reach the Top 40.  “Space Age Love Song” spent seven weeks in the Top 40 itself, including two weeks at its peak position of No. 30 surrounding Valentine’s Day 1983.  Despite its chart peak, it would go on to spend 18 total weeks on the chart, one week shy of the amount of time “I Ran (So Far Away)” spent on the entire Hot 100.

Around the globe, “Space Age Love Song” was a moderate hit, also reaching the Top 40 in at least the U.K. and New Zealand.  It’s been covered by The Flaming Lips, Alt-Rock band Lazlo Bane (most famous for the SCRUBS theme song), and an awesome cover in 2009 by the Chicago Punk Rock band, The Bomb (formed by Jeff Pezzati of Naked Raygun).

The lead guitarist for A Flock Of Seagulls, Paul Reynolds, thought up the name of the song, once saying he suggested “Space Age Love Song” as the title because he thought it sounded like one.  So, the song title stuck.  And I’m glad it did.  Just as I’m glad to have witnessed (even if I didn’t get to photograph) one seagull kissing another out of love, with the moon in view. 

You know, that last sentence just made me think of a future “song of the day” by A Flock Of Seagulls – “Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You).”  Maybe the next time I’m here…

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

(real) one-hit wonder of the week – “Double Dutch Bus” | FRANKIE SMITH | 1981.

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

In the Spring of 1981, a song played on my radio like no other I had ever heard – “Double Dutch Bus” by Philadelphia-born Frankie Smith, who incorporated a form of slang, where “iz” is placed in the middle of a word.  From “Double Dutch Bus”: “Hizzey, gizzirls! Yizzall hizzave t’ mizzove izzout the wizzay sizzo Izzi cizzan gizzet pizzast…”

Snoop Dogg, among other rappers like Tone Lōc and Ice Cube, were inspired by Frankie Smith’s “iz” slang, and started to incorporated it into their songs and that of other Hip-Hop songs.  Even my third-favorite show, SCRUBS, used the slang frequently.  Fo’ shizzle.  So, if you ever wanted to know where that Hip-Hop slang was popularized, you can thank Frankie Smith.

“Double Dutch Bus” (from Frankie’s only album, CHILDREN OF TOMORROW) was released in late February 1981, and took awhile to motor along the radio dial and in record stores.  It finally found its way to the BILLBOARD Hot 100 about 3 months later, in mid-May 1981, debuting at No. 86.  It spent a week at No. 30 in mid-August 1981, and 19 total weeks on the chart (not bad for a song that stopped at No. 30; some No. 1 songs didn’t even stick around that long).  Despite releasing several singles through 1985, “Double Dutch Bus” was Frankie’s only Hot 100 hit.

Over on BILLBOARD’s R&B Chart, “Double Dutch Bus” spent 4 weeks at No. 1 in July and August 1981, and the song’s legacy continues today.  Even Madonna sampled it on her 2008 Sticky & Sweet Tour, during her performance of “Into The Groove.”

There’s actually a connection between “Double Dutch Bus” and “Into The Groove.”  The 12” single versions for both songs were certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).  That was an extreme rarity.  (“Into The Groove” (from Madonna’s breakout film, DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN) was the flip side of her third hit from LIKE A VIRGIN, “Angel.”) 

Even more of a rarity is that “Double Dutch Bus” was certified Gold by the RIAA for BOTH the 7” single AND the 12” single.  Despite its No. 30 placing on the Hot 100, people really dug that song.  I still do.  You should too…

“C’mon, get on, the Double Dutch Bus!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK9hK82r-AM

song of the day – “Overkill” | MEN AT WORK | 1983.

The 1981 album BUSINESS AS USUAL was an immensely huge album for the Melbourne, Australia Rock band Men At Work, so much so that the album spent 15 weeks at No. 1 on the BILLBOARD album chart, their first single, “Who Can It Be Now?” went to No. 1 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100, and their second single from the album, the No. 1 smash “Down Under,” had just dropped off the BILLBOARD Hot 100’s Top 40 the week of April 9, 1983.  Not missing a beat, Men At Work blasted onto the Hot 100 that same week at No. 28 with the first single from their second album, CARGO, “Overkill.”

“Overkill” was released a month before CARGO, and in early June 1983, it spent a week at No. 3 on the Hot 100.  “Overkill” prolly would have gone to No. 1 here in the U.S., had it not been for the stranglehold on the top 2 spots by David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” and Irene Cara’s “Flashdance…What A Feeling.”

Around the globe, “Overkill” reached the Top 10 in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy and Norway.  It would be the last global Top 10 hit for the band, though they would reach the U.S. Top 10 one more time with a Cold War Classic, “It’s A Mistake.”

Tonight (4.21.2016) I am going to see Men At Work’s Colin Hay perform for the third time since 2008.  For some reason, Colin manages to come up to Maine around this time of year, not that I’m complaining.  On the contrary.  I’d see him perform all the time if I could.

The first time I saw Colin perform was in early May 2008 at a venue in my Dad’s hometown of Lewiston (the third-largest “city” in Maine).  The venue was called The Maple Room, and it was exactly what the name suggests – a 95-seat room.  The first words out of his mouth were, “I love coming to a town that’s totally fucking drunk.”  It just got better from there.  The show was intimate, just Colin and his guitar, the room’s acoustics were amazing and he was absolutely fantastic.  His song, “Waiting For My Real Life To Begin” nearly moved me to tears.  I was able to meet Colin after the show, he was very accessible and he signed my copy of BUSINESS AS USUAL. 

“Overkill” is a song Colin will most likely perform live at the show tonight; a song I’ve loved for more than 30 years, and a version I’ve heard in an acoustic setting since Colin performed this song on SCRUBS in 2002. 

I had fallen in love with SCRUBS during its first season (my third-favorite show ever), and for the second-season opening episode, I saw someone playing a guitar in the first part of the episode that resembled Colin Hay, but wasn’t sure until he started playing an acoustic version of “Overkill.” 

Guest-starring as a troubadour on that episode of SCRUBS, Colin and his music would appear on the show several more times in the show’s run.  Colin Hay also contributed a song on the soundtrack to the directorial debut of SCRUBS star Zach Braff’s 2004 film, GARDEN STATE.  The soundtrack won a Grammy Award and sold over a million copies.

In addition to his fine solo live performances, Colin Hay is also a great storyteller.  I very much look forward to seeing him again, and to see him perform “Overkill.”  To some, Colin Hay might seem like a ghost and fade away for a few years before returning to Maine again, but to me, he and his music (with or without Men At Work) will never fade away…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY7S6EgSlCI

song of the day – “A Little Respect” | ERASURE | 1988.

Before English musician and songwriter Vince Clarke became one half of one of my favorite bands, Erasure, as well as a part-time Maine resident, he was part of some other memorable bands as well.  You might have heard of them – Depeche Mode, Yaz (or Yazoo, depending on what part of the globe you’re reading this), and The Assembly. 

Vince and his Erasure partner-in-crime, Andy Bell, have been making music for 30 years, and had a Top 5 BILLBOARD Dance hit just last year, titled “Sacred.”  I didn’t hear about Erasure and their 1986 debut album, WONDERLAND, but being a club DJ in 1987 and in the confines of a chem-free nightclub in Waterville, Maine (I’ll come on to that another time), I somehow stumbled onto Erasure with their second album, THE CIRCUS, namely a remix for a song called “Victim Of Love,” which, yes, is a song I am a victim of loving to this day.

At the time of their first American hit, “Chains Of Love,” in 1988, Erasure had already charted 4 Top 10 hits in their U.K. homeland.  “Chains” stopped at a respectable No. 12 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100.  The follow-up single, “A Little Respect” (both songs featured on their third album, THE INNOCENTS), is my favorite song by Vince and Andy, and I have many favorites of theirs from over the years. 

“A Little Respect” got some radio and sales respect here in the U.S., reaching No. 14 on the Hot 100 and No. 2 on the BILLBOARD Dance chart.  It also got more respect around the world, hitting No. 4 in the U.K., No. 7 in Ireland, No. 6 in Singapore, and the Top 20 in Poland and Japan.

The song also has a connection to my third-favorite TV show of all-time, SCRUBS.  I was already digging the show after watching its first two episodes, but “A Little Respect” was prominently (and brilliantly) featured in the show’s third episode, “My Best Friend’s Mistake,” and because of it, I knew I would love this show for a long time.

Since their 80s pop heyday, Erasure has released 12 studio albums, several hits collections (including 2015’s ALWAYS: THE VERY BEST OF ERASURE), and the hugely popular, 4-song ABBA-ESQUE EP back in 1992.  I applaud Erasure and other bands from the 80s (such as Duran Duran, Pet Shop Boys, New Order and Depeche Mode) who keep on making music for the love of making music.  And, I do have a lot more than a little respect for that… 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiKVjS3gR88