Bideodromage
Formed in 1976 by guitar maestro Andy Gill, vocalist Jon King, drummer Hugo Burnham, and bassist Dave Allen, Gang of Four produced some of the most crucial music of the late 70s-early 80s. Acerbic, satirical lyrics that were extremely socially aware were the group’s calling card, as was Gill’s formidable guitar work. The rhythm section generally laid down hard funk grooves, yet the music was spare, angular, jagged. A critical assemblage.
Badfinger, a Welsh/English group primarily known for their early 70s work, were led by Pete Ham, and featured also Tom Evans and Joey Molland. A truly great, and too-oft forgotten band.
Mr. Harry Nilsson was unquestionably one of the premier songwriters of his generation. Witty, trenchant lyrics, frequently concerning isolation, accompanied wonderful melodies. When asked who his favourite American band was, John Lennon unhesitatingly replied “Nilsson”. As did Paul McCartney, for that matter.
Gifted with one of the most magnificent voices ever to be heard, Linda Ronstadt knew how to use it, as well. A vibrant performer with great presence, as is well-documented in the above vids. Can’t fault her material, either; she covered the likes of Emitt Rhodes, Warren Zevon, and Buddy Holly, to name just a few. A remarkable vocalist.
An introduction to some of the musical goings-on way back in the 1980s. We have: The Vapors, Falco, Eddy Grant, Dead or Alive, XTC, Pete Shelley, Lene Lovich, Echo and the Bunnymen, Fiction Factory, Crowded House, Split Enz, Squeeze, Tears for Fears, The Housemartins, and Gang of Four. Some of these performances are not, strictly speaking, from the 80s, but that decade claims all of the hits above during the time it held sway.
The extraordinary, powerful, and, upon its 1965 release, highly controversial compositionΒ Eve of DestructionΒ is performed live by vocalistΒ Barry McGuireΒ on the Hullabaloo show. McGuire, after being introduced byΒ Jerry Lewis, delivers an emotionally charged rendition that made ripplesβmore like tsunamiβacross the US.
ComposerΒ P.F. SloanΒ recalls a few fascinating and unlikely (as in, almost credulity-strainingβ¦yet not) details:Β during the studio recording session, βBarry was reading it for the first time off a piece of paper I had written the lyric on! Okay. McGuireβs record is released but βEveβ is the B-side. Somewhere in the Great Midwest of America a DJ played the wrong side by mistake!β.
Banned and denounced as unpatriotic,Β EveΒ only became more and more popular, most likely benefiting from all the wild, incorrect accusations and censure. Its creator and performer were not so fortunate, however;Β Sloan:Β βIt ruinedΒ Barryβs career as an artist and in a year I would be driven out of the music business too.β.
A number of further One {approx.} Hitters from the 1970s. I cannot emphasize enough that some artists represented herein are responsible for more than 1 “hit”, somewhere in the world. Right. So, we’ve got The Blues Image, Ocean, Norman Greenbaum, The Sanford-Townsend Band, Wild Cherry, Climax, and Sniff ‘n’ The Tears, this time around. Enjoy.
A soupçon of personal favorites, from a decade rich in great material. In order, we have: Edison Lighthouse, Pilot, Lee Michaels, Zager and Evans, Daddy Dewdrop, The Fortunes, The Ides of March, King Harvest, Hurricane Smith, Clint Holmes, Jigsaw, Walter Egan, John Stewart, Looking Glass, Tee Set, and JD Souther.
The Scottish band Pilot emerged in 1974 with {arguably…} the greatest pop single ever recorded. Written by lead vocalist David Paton, and produced by Alan Parsons {with whom Paton and two other members were to later join forces}, “Magic” became a monster hit for the group. The first and last videos are live; the 2nd is lip-synched, to the studio version of the song.
