Tag Archive for 1980’s

Soft Cell* – Tainted Love

CjK Guest Post – Summer Cover #11

Tainted Love was a song composed by Ed Cobb and proved popular dance floor filler in the 80’s. It was originally recorded in 1964 by Gloria Jones, and became very popular when covered in 1981 by Soft Cell, who certainly nailed this version – in spite of a dodgy video.  Guaranteed to revive any flagging disco.

Soft Cell:

Soft Cell/CjK

*Artist #719

Cyndi Lauper* – Girls Just Want To Have Fun | (GPF)

A friend asked me to put together a mix of songs for his wedding party in a couple of months. This is something of a dream task for me because it means I get to listen to lots of cheesy songs and not feel “guilty” about it.

As part of this research I came across this track from American singer Cyndi Lauper and was reminded about what a great pop song it is.

Cyndi Lauper:

Cyndi Lauper/RjK

*Artist #718

Jennifer Warnes* – First We Take Manhattan

CjK Guest Post – Summer Cover #9

What’s not to like about a song that seems to start with some one reading the German railway timetable? Jennifer Warnes recorded an album called the ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’ to bring her take on Leonard Cohen‘s song in 1987.

She cannot match Cohen’s low menace in ‘first we take Manhattan then we take Berlin’, which may mock German terrorist of the time, but she does rattle along well in this version.

Jennifer and Leonard:

Jennifer and Leonard/CjK

*Artist #711

Bronski Beat – It Ain’t Necessarily So

CjK Guest Post – Summer Cover #1

Summertime from Gershwin’s Porgy and Best, which has been covered on a number of occasions, might have been the obvious choice for a summer time cover to kick off ‘summer covers’.

Jimmy Somerville’s reedy voice, recorded in 1984, seems to nail this version of It Ain’t Necessarily So from the same musical. The song was controversial in appearing to openly challenge biblical stories. The video could not be farther from the stage version of the show.

Bronski Beat:

Bronski Beat/CjK