record collecting

80s Song of the Day: Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood

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frankie-tshirt

Oversized Frankie Says Relax t-shirts were everywhere in the 80s.

The single that launched a thousand t-shirts in the 1980s, Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood was released on October 24, 1983, with One September Monday as the B side. The group’s debut single, it was later included on their debut studio album Welcome to the Pleasuredome, released in October 1984.

I wasn’t even a teenager yet when the song was released, so I completely missed its sexual connotations and was oblivious to the controversy that surrounded it. I just associated it with the aforementioned t-shirts and figured this guy Frankie didn’t like to get too stressed out.

The sexually charged lyrics and explicit cover art for the single earned Relax a ban from the BBC, which, of course, only fueled the song’s success. It eventually reached No. 1 on the UK Singles chart and No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.

80s Song of the Day: White Wedding by Billy Idol

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White Wedding by Billy Idol was released on October 23, 1982, with Dead on Arrival as the B side. It was a single from the singer’s eponymous debut album.

The song reached No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the United Kingdom, it was re-released in 1985 for Vital Idol, a compilation album of Idol’s remixed singles. Upon its re-release, it reached No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart.

The song’s music video featured Idol’s then real-life girlfriend Perri Lister as the bride in a gothic wedding.

80s Song of the Day: Control by Janet Jackson

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To quote Ms. Jackson herself, this is a story about Control. The fourth single from her third platinum-selling album of the same name, Control was released on October 21, 1986, with Fast Girls as the B side.

The song peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Janet’s fourth consecutive Top 5 hit. The accompanying music video was choreographed by Paula Abdul and starred Janet’s Good Times costar Ja’net Dubois as her mother.

80s Song of the Day: Take on Me by a-ha

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In the “if at first you don’t succeed” category, Take on Me by a-ha was originally released on October 19, 1984, with And You Tell Me as the B side. But this was not the version – or the accompanying music video – that would become one of the most iconic of the 80s.

The original version peaked at No. 3 in a-ha’s native Norway but failed to achieve success elsewhere. Unhappy with the version, the band re-recorded the song with a new producer – Alan Tarney – and released it again in 1985, with Love Is Reason as the B side. Continue reading →

80s Song of the Day: You Keep Me Hangin’ On by Kim Wilde

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You Keep Me Hangin’ On by Kim Wilde was released on October 13, 1986, with Loving You as the B side. A cover of the Supremes’ 1966 No. 1 hit, the song was the second single from the studio album Another Step and the first single from the album to be released worldwide.

The song was Wilde’s most successful song in the United States, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also a No. 1 hit in Canada and Australia. It reached No. 2 in Wilde’s native Britain.

80s Song of the Day: My Prerogative by Bobby Brown

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My Prerogative by Bobby Brown was released October 11, 1988, with My Prerogative (Instrumental) as the B side. It was the second single from Brown’s second studio album Don’t Be Cruel.

The song reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts. An international success, it reached the Top 10 in several other countries, including Ireland, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Urban Contemporary Single.

80s Song of the Day: Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey

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Workin’ hard to get my fill
Everybody wants a thrill
Payin’ anything to roll the dice
Just one more time

dont_stop_believin

Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey was released on October 6, 1981, with Natural Thing as the B side. It was a single from the band’s seventh studio album Escape.

The song reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over a million copies in vinyl. It has re-entered the charts in recent years, notable in 2007 after its use in the last scene of the series finale of The Sopranos. In 2009, it reached No. 6 in the United Kingdom, after failing to break the Top 40 there on its original release. Continue reading →