Alphaville - Big in JapanAneka - Japanese BoyAshford & Simpson - SolidBaltimora - Tarzan BoyBlue Zoo - Cry Boy CryBoy Meets Girl - Waiting For A Star To FallBruce Hornsby and the Range - The Way It IsCharlene - I've Never Been To MeClassix Nouveaux - Is It A DreamClive Dunn - GrandadDenise Lasalle - Don't Mess WIth My Toot TootDesireless - Voyage VoyageDouble - The Captain Of Her HeartFiction Factory - Feels Like HeavenFlash And The Pan - Waiting For A TrainHarry Enfield - LoadsamoneyHaywoode - RosesHollywood Beyond - The Colour Of MoneyIndeep - Last Night A DJ Saved My LifeIt Bites - Calling All The HeroesJane Wiedlin - Rush HourJohn Farnham - You're The VoiceKissing The Pink - The Last FilmLaurie Anderson - O SupermanLipps Inc. - Funky TownLiza Minnelli - Losing My MindMaria Vidal - Body RockMARRS - Pump Up The VolumeMatthew Wilder - Break My StrideMental As Anything - Live It UpMen Without Hats - The Safety DanceMezzoforte - Garden PartyModern Talking - Brother LouieMorris Minor and the Majors - Stutter RapMurray Head - One Night in BankgkokOllie and Jerry - Breakin... There's No Stopping UsOran Juice Jones - The RainOwen Paul - My Favourite Waste Of TimePebbles - GirlfriendPeter Cetera - Glory Of LovePhyllis Nelson - Move CloserPseudo Echo - Funky TownRe-Flex - The Politics Of DancingRenee and Renato - Save Your LoveRockwell - Somebody's Watching MeRyan Paris - Dolce VitaSly Fox - Let's Go All The WayStan Ridgway - CamouflageStarlight - Numero UnoTaffy - I Love My Radio (Midnight Radio)The Look - I Am The BeatThe Maisonettes - Heartache AvenueThe Mobiles - Drowning In BerlinThe Reynolds Girls - I'd Rather JackThe Timelords - Doctorin The TardisTimex Social Club - RumorsToni Basil - MickeyTrans X - Living On VideoVanessa Paradis - Joe Le TaxiWax - Bridge To Your HeartZodiac Mindwarp - Prime Mover
Now this truly is one of my
top ten favourite songs from the 80s. It sounds quite similar to
Blondie to me, although the band had nowhere near the amount of success, of course!
This
Canadian New Wave/Synthpop band (who formed in Toronto during 1977) actually had two members named
Martha! Lead singer Martha Johnson is still performing today with her
husband Mark Gane as Martha & The Muffins, and they released an
album in 2010 entitled Delicate. The other one is Martha Ladly (playing keyboards in the video above) who is now a Professor of Interactive Design, believe it or not!
Echo
Beach was an International one hit wonder (the band had several hits in
their home country), reaching #10 in 1980 and #5 in Canada. The song
featured on the album Metro Music. The closest the band got to another
hit was in 1984 with Black Stations/White Stations which peaked at #46,
although it performed better in Canada reaching #26.
Interestingly, the song was
covered by Toyah in 1987, although she wasn't very successful with it, stalling at only #54 in the UK singles chart.
Here in the UK this act is best remembered for this 80s one hit wonder,
although the duo were deservingly more successful in their home
country. Nu Shooz were husband and wife John Smith and Valerie Day from
Oregon in the U.S. and their third album Poolside reached #32 in the UK during June 1986 and #27 in the U.S. bringing the pair their first commercial success.Poolside featured eight synthpop/freestyle songs produced by John Smith and Rick Waritzsold, and sold 500,000 copies in the U.S. Three singles were released from the album, the most successful being I Can't Wait which peaked at #2 in the UK, #3 in the U.S. and #1 on the U.S. Dance Chart. The follow-up single Point Of No Return was another U.S. hit, reaching #28 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the dance charts, but it failed to break the Top 40 in the UK, peaking at #48. The third and final single, Don't Let Me Be The One peaked at #39 on the U.S. Dance Chart but failed to chart in the UK.
The duo were active between 1979 and 2002, but reformed again in 2007 as the Nu Shooz Orchestra, and now have a more cinematic style. The band released an album, Pandora's Box in 2010 and are still performing.
The clip in the playlist is from BBC
Top Of The Pops in March 1980, and the band is introduced by a very eccentric-looking DJ Steve Wright - check out the striped jacket!
It
seems that anyone who pens a song about the Japanese only manages to
get a one hit wonder! This song came out in 1980 (before Aneka's
Japanese Boy) and reached No.3 in the UK singles chart.
