Sparks – Tips For Teens

Russell Mael – American singer, Sparks

Some Kind of Wonderful – Opening Credits

Mary Stuart Masterson, American actress

Some Kind of Wonderful – Opening Credits

Mary Stuart Masterson, American actress

JoBoxers – Is This Really the First Time

Dave Collard, Brit keyboardist with JoBoxers, turns 47.

Biography by William Ruhlmann
[Bio & Info © allmusic.com]

For a short time in 1983, JoBoxers looked like they would be a successful British pop band in the soul-dance style popular at the time. By the end of the year, however, the group’s appeal had begun to fade. Four of the five band members, all natives of Bristol, England, came together in 1981 as a new backing band for singer Vic Goddard called, like his previous units, Subway Sect: guitarist Rob Marche (b. Oct 13, 1962); keyboardist Dave Collard (b. Jan 17, 1963); bassist Chris Bostock (b. Nov 23, 1962); and drummer Sean McLusky (b. May 5, 1961). Goddard and the band made one album together, Songs for Sale… Read More…

Kajagoogoo – Kajagoogoo

Jez Strode, Brit drummer with Kajagoogoo, turns 50.

Album Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
[Bio & Info © allmusic.com]

“Too Shy” was one of the flimsiest singles of the new wave era, a cloying and catchy bubblegum tune disguised as synth pop. And yet, Kajagoogoo never quite matched those heights again — in fact, they rarely even came close. Their debut album, White Feathers, is filled with similarly lightweight synth pop like “Magician Man,” “Ooh to Be Ah,” “Ergonomics,” “This Car Is Fast,” and the theme song “Kajagoogoo.” All of these are pleasantly danceable in a sub-Duran Duran fashion, but they are also frequently inane and ridiculous, and are of no use to anyone but hardcore new wave fetishists.

Missing Persons – Destination Unknown

Terry Bozzio, American drummer for Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa, and Missing Persons, turns 57.

Kajagoogoo – Too Shy

Nick Beggs, Brit bassist with Kajagoogoo, turns 46.

The Fixx – Are We Ourselves?

Cy Curnin, Brit vocalist with The Fixx, turns 50.

Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Relax

Paul Rutherford, Brit backing vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood fame, turns 48.

Psychedelic Furs – The Ghost In You

Tim Butler, Brit bassist with Psychedelic Furs, turns 49.

Song Review by Bill Janovitz
[Bio & Info © allmusic.com]
One of the many gorgeous pop songs from Mirror Moves (1984), a record that gave the band great commercial success but is largely underrated. Part of this assessment may have to do with the very heavy-handed production from Keith Forsey, a colleague of 1970s disco king Giorgio Moroder. Decades later, the listener might recoil at the extremely dated, cheesy synthesizer-driven sound of “The Ghost in You,” but all is forgiven by the time the song reaches the first chorus; these sections of the song are a breathtaking lattice-work arrangement of layered vocal and keyboard parts that capitalize on the sweet melody of the verses, breaking the song open with a modern-day variation of Phil Spector’s wall of sound. It is a 1980s version of that producer’s “teenage symphonies to God.”

Forsey wisely leaves Richard Butler’s vocals relatively natural sounding, with a little doubling and delay effect here and there. But most of the vocal’s effectiveness comes from the intrinsic beauty of the natural melody — a tune that could carry the song no matter how it was produced and arranged — as well as crafted of counter-melodies and harmony. Butler sings a romantic lyric written with his singular ear for word combinations and eye for imagery: “A man in my shoes runs a light/And all the papers lied tonight/But falling over you/Is the news of the day/Angels fall like rain/And love — is all of heaven away/Inside you the times moves and she don’t fade/The ghost in you she don’t fade.” After an instrumental break that follows the second verse, Butler ramps it up into a melodic variation for the dramatic “Don’t you go it makes no sense/When all your talk and supermen just take away the time.” It is a beautiful song under all the breathy and busy production. A little grounding in some organic guitar sounds from John Ashton would have been nice. “The Ghost in You” no doubt could shine as a stripped-down folk/ pop song, as it has been covered by roots-rockers Counting Crows in live situations — a recording of which was included on the 1995 soundtrack Clueless.

Haircut 100 – Fantastic Day

Les Nemes, Brit bassist with Haircut 100, turns 47.

Billy Idol – White Wedding

Billy Idol, Brit hard rock guitarist and vocalist, turns 52.

JoBoxers – Just Got Lucky

Chris Bostock, Brit bassist with JoBoxers, turns 45.

Kim Wilde – Kids in America

Kim Wilde, Brit pop music singer, turns 47.

Thompson Twins – You Take Me Up

Joe Leeway, Brit percussionist for Thompson Twins, turns 50.