Fixx - Less Cities, More Moving People

The Fixx is a British new wave band formed in 1980. The group was formed by college friends Cy Curnin (vocals) and Adam Woods (drums). The pair placed an ad for additional members. Jamie West-Oram (guitar), Rupert Greenall (keyboards) and Charlie Barret (bass) joined the band as a result. Barret left just after the recording of the first album and was replaced by Alfie Agius. However, Agius' stint in the band was short-lived, as he left in the middle of sessions for the following album. His bass work is featured on the album's two hit singles "Saved By Zero" and "One Thing Leads to Another" though. The bass spot was then filled by Dan K. Brown, who remained with the band until 1994.

The band is best known for the smash hit, One Thing Leads to Another. Todays post is one of the lesser known songs. Taken from their third LP, the 1984 release Phantoms. This has to be one of my favorite Fixx songs along with Red Skies.

Taken from the original 12" single on MCA 1230
Less Cities, More Moving People - 7:10
Song charted on November 24, 1984. Spent 3 weeks on the chart and reached #68

Bonzo Goes To Washington - 5 Minutes

While I was searching through my classic vinyl, for something to post today, I came across this little classic jem. I thought that I lost this song a long time ago. I was so excited when I found it that I thought it would be great to share it with everyone.

This group was a one-time collaboration of Jerry Harrison (of the Talking Heads) and Bootsy Collins of Parlament. This song contains several samples of President Ronald Reagan's infamous joke statement: "My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes."

Taken from the original 12" single on Sleeping Bag 13
5 Minutes (C-C-C Club Mix) - 5:33
Song charted on December 8, 1984. Spent 10 weeks on the chart and reached #36

Level 42 - Micro Kid

Level 42 is a popular Pop-Rock-Dance group from Manchester, England. The group had a number of worldwide and UK hits during the 80's & 90's.

The band gained fame for its high calibre musicianship, especially that of Mark King, whose percussive slap bass guitar technique provided the driving groove of many of the band's hits.

They are also known for the combination of King's lead vocals and keyboard player Mike Lindup's falsetto backing vocals. After originally disbanding in 1994, they reformed in 2001. Level 42 have sold more than 30 million albums worldwide.

"Micro-kid" is a song, released in 1983, by the british musical group Level 42. It was from their fourth studio album "Standing In The Light".

This was their second appearance on the Dance/Disco Chart in the US and faired well reaching #25.

Taken from the original 12" single on A&M 12091
Micro-Kid (Special Remixed Version) - 7:36
Song charted on June 9, 1984. Spent 8 weeks on the chart and reached #25

Martha & The Muffins - Black Stations-White Stations

The rock group, out of Toronto, consisted of Martha Johnson and Mark Gane. The name, Martha & The Muffins, was chosen to distance themselves from the aggressive names of many punk bands of the era. According to Mark, it was to be a temporay name until they could agree on something better, but, it ended up sticking for over 7 years.

Over the years, they had numerous personel changes. One member, Jocelyn Lanois, is the sister of Daniel Lanois who is a noted producer of U2 & Peter Gabriel.

In 1984, Martha & the Muffins shortened their name to M+M and released Mystery Walk. This LP gave them their biggest hit. (which is todays post.) It is an anti-racist anthem whose first verse took radio stations to task for refusing to play songs about mixed-race romances. It is ironic that radio stations of the time banned the song from being played on the airwaves. Clubs, however, kept playing the song over and over and it eventually reached #2.

Song taken from the original 12" single on RCA 13802
Black Stations/White Stations (Remix) 6:22
Song charted on May 12, 1984. Spent 16 weeks on the chart and reached #2

Alisha - All Night Passion

With confidence, maturity and an indisputably powerful voice, Alisha stands out as one of music's most dynamic artist. She became a pioneer in the music industy by achieving a successful music career by the age of fifteen. By doing this, Alisha has inspired and paved the way for many of today's young female artists.

This US electronic dance music singer hailed from Brooklyn, New York. In self-titled debut, produced by Mark Berry, was released in 1984. This LP has got to be her best LP to date. It sold over 2 million copies, produced 3 dance floor hits, yet, failed to reach the Top 200 LP chart. Don't ask me how this could be, but it's true.

Today's post is the first release from this LP. "All Night Passion" reached the whopping #103 spot on Billboard's Bubbling under chart. The dance floor had a better reception however, reaching the top 10 during the spring of '84. This was the first of seven hits by Alisha to reach the dance chart, 5 of which reaching the top 10.

Today, Alisha is trying to make a comeback after she took time off to raise a family. Most recently, she has re-recorded this single and released a Hi-NRG version.

Song taken from the original 12" single on Vanguard 72
All Night Passion (Club Mix) - 6:45
Song charted on March 10, 1984. Spent 14 weeks on the chart and reached #4

Rodney Dangerfield - Rappin Rodney

Rodney Dangerfield was born Jacob Cohen on 11/22/21 in Babylon, Long Island, New York. He was a popular stand-up comedian/actor who coined the phrase "Gets no respect".

He did, however, get lots of respect, with his stand up routine. (He always get me laughing with his one-liners.) He took his stand-up routine to the dancefloor in 1984. Todays post is all about his one liners and just makes me laugh.

I've never seen anybody post this song on the internet. Maybe they just forgot about it. Maybe they never heard it. Well what ever the reason, I'm posting it today in the entire 12" version. Enjoy

Taken from the original 12" single on RCA 13657
Rappin' Rodney (Long Version) - 5:06
Song charted on January 7, 1984. Spent 3 weeks on the chart and reached #70

Prince - Let's Go Crazy / Erotic City

Prince sure was one in the eighties. Everything he seemed to touch turned to gold. If it was acting, writing songs, production work or releasing his own music, it was a sure hit. This post is no different.

Taken from one of the best movies of 1984, the second single from Purple Rain, spent a whopping 20 weeks on the chart and eventually peaking in the #1 spot. The flip side, a single only release until the A-side B-side greatest hits package, is still a dance floor filler to this day and one that people will be requesting for many years to come. A true party song.

You can check out the video for Let's Go Crazy here

Billboard listed both songs as one listing and I'm posting both today.

Taken from the original 12" single on Warner Bros. 20228
Purchase the original 12" single here

Let's Go Crazy (Special Dance Mix) - 7:35
Erotic City (Make Love Not War Erotic City Come Alive) 7:24

Both songs charted on August 18, 1984. Spent 20 weeks on the chart and peaked at #1

EBN/Ozn - Bag Lady (I Wonder)

Purchase the original 12" single here

Bag Lady (I Wonder) (Extended Version) 6:35
Charted on March 3, 1984. Spent 8 weeks on the chart and reached #36
P.S. - Contact me if anyone has the Late Nite Version