"If You Leave" by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

Top 10 Alert!

Song#:  2649
Date:  03/08/1986
Debut:  81
Peak:  4
Weeks:  20
Genre:  Synthpop, Soundtrack



Pop Bits:  After OMD broke through in the US with their more pop-oriented album Crush, featuring the #26 Pop entry "So in Love," film director John Hughes asked the band to supply a song for an upcoming feature that he was writing and producing titled Pretty in Pink. After some last minute changes (see below), the band came up with this track that would play during the last scene of the film. Hughes was known at the time for developing song soundtracks to his films featuring edgy, new artists and Pretty in Pink would be another timely compilation that featured artists like INXS, Psychedelic Furs, Suzanne Vega, New Order, The Smiths, and Echo & the Bunnymen. OMD's track would be the first single issued out from the soundtrack album. Thanks to the film being a hit, the track took off and ended up reaching the Pop Top 10. It also got to #24 at AC. The hit would help the soundtrack album reach #5 and go gold. It would end up being OMD's biggest hit in the US.

ReduxReview:  The band was fortunate enough to get a second chance to supply a song (see below) because the original tune was not hit material. The new track ended up working out very well for the band, the movie, and the soundtrack. It was serendipitous. I like this song, but it's not without its annoyances; mainly that syncopated synth part. It starts in the second verse in the background and during a break before the last section it comes to the forefront. It just makes me anxious and jittery. I mean, they couldn't come up with something else to fill that section? It's also weird that the title of the song is not in the chorus. Luckily, the tune was hooky enough that it didn't matter. I still like the tune, but it's not a big favorite.

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  When OMD was first approached to write a song, they came up with one titled "Goddess of Love." It was used over the closing scene for the original ending of the film. However, test audiences disliked the movie's ending and that prompted a change. The final scene was rewritten, but then Hughes realized that OMD's song didn't fit the new ending. The band was asked to quickly write a new song for the scene. Within a short two days, they wrote and did a rough version of "If You Leave." Hughes loved the track and the new tune was finished off and used. It would become OMD's biggest US hit. "Goddess of Love" wasn't left on the shelf. OMD would include it on their next LP, The Pacific Age. It would not be one of the album's singles.

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"Feel It Again" by Honeymoon Suite

Song#:  2648
Date:  03/08/1986
Debut:  86
Peak:  34
Weeks:  18
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  The Canadian band's debut single, "New Girl Now," was a #7 hit on the US Rock chart and it did well enough to reach #57 at Pop. Subsequent singles didn't chart at Pop, but their associated self-titled album tallied enough sales to reach #60. With a foundation built, the band set out to record a follow-up with their new producer Bruce Fairbairn. The subsequent LP, The Big Prize, was issued out along with this first single. Again, the band did well at Rock with the song reaching #8. The crossover action was much better this time and the single got near the Pop Top 30 before retreating. It would end up being their biggest hit in the US. The album was a hit in Canada and it earned them a Juno award for Group of the Year while The Big Prize was nominated for Album of the Year.

ReduxReview:  Taking cues from bands like Foreigner, Honeymoon Suite perfected their commercial arena rock sound with this track. The verse is solid and it builds well to an explosive, hooky chorus. Of course, the production is top notch and certainly helped the song along. The tune had muscle, but it didn't overwhelm its pop radio viability. It really should have done better than just the Top 40.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  Of course the success of the album had mainly to do with the band's songs and performances, but some also cite the production/engineering as a highlight. It was produced by Bruce Fairbairn who was having solid success with fellow Canadians Loverboy. On board as engineer was Bob Rock. Their work was noticed by many including members of a US band that was still attempting to break through. Bon Jovi had two albums under their belt with a few charting songs, but they needed far better results in order to keep their label happy and to alleviate some financial issues. While getting ready to record their third album, Jon Bon Jovi happened to hear Honeymoon Suite's album and loved the sound that Fairbairn and Rock had created. The band decided to bring the team on board and they all worked together to create what would be the mega-hit LP Slippery When Wet. Bob Rock's work would later attract another major band. Metallica hired him on to produce their 1991 self-titled album (also known as "The Black Album"). It would go on to be a 16-million selling #1 LP.

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"Great Gosh A'Mighty! (It's a Matter of Time)" by Little Richard

Song#:  2647
Date:  03/08/1986
Debut:  87
Peak:  42
Weeks:  10
Genre:  R&B, Rock 'n' Roll, Soundtrack



Pop Bits:  Rock 'n' roll pioneer and legend Richard Penniman, aka Little Richard, first became a star following the release of his 1955 classic "Tutti Frutti" (#2 R&B/#21 Pop). A string of hits would follow throughout the 50s including "Long Tall Sally" (1956, #1 R&B/#13 Pop), "Lucille" (1957, #1 R&B/#27 Pop), and "Good Golly, Miss Molly" (1958, #4 R&B, #10 Pop). In all, Little Richard would score fourteen R&B Top 10's including three #1's. But as the 60s approached, the hits dried up and he turned to gospel music. A 1962 European tour brought him back around to rock music and his popularity soared overseas. At home his career floundered, but around 1968 he got back on track thanks to appearances on TV and at some major music festivals. It culminated in his 1970 album The Rill Thing, which featured the minor hit "Freedom Blues" (#28 R&B/#47 Pop). The remainder of the 70s was up-n-down for Richard and by the end of the decade he once again left behind rock for gospel. Then in 1985, he was offered a role in the upcoming Paul Mazursky comedy Down and Out in Beverly Hills, which was to star Nick Nolte, Bette Midler, and Richard Dreyfuss. Richard accepted the role and then also wrote this faith-based theme song for the film with Billy Preston. The film would be a big hit and the theme song would be issued out as a single. While the song would not reach the R&B chart, it did become his first solo entry on the Pop chart since 1970. The song stopped just short of making the Top 40. While not a huge hit, the song and his appearance in the film revived his career and he has remained a popular musician and entertainment personality since then. Little Richard was among those chosen to be the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when it first opened in 1986.

ReduxReview:  Every now and then an old school rock 'n' roll tune catches folk's attention and Little Richard was able to grab some listeners with this track. It probably helped quite a bit that it was featured in a hit film and that Richard got some great notices for his performance in it. The lyrics are very, very vaguely religious and probably most people didn't pick up on that as they were concentrating on Richard just rockin' out. It is definitely a throwback to what Richard always did best and he demonstrated that he could still easily do it thirty-one years after his first hit.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) Two future music stars were once members of Little Richard's band. Billy Preston became a band member in 1962. He wouldn't stay for long, but the two remained friends and occasionally worked together, as they did co-writing this song. Preston would score five Pop Top 10 hits in the 70s including two #1's. He was also well associated with The Beatles, whom he met when the new band opened a few dates for Little Richard's European tour in 1963. In 1964, guitarist Jimi Hendrix joined Richard's band. It was a tumultuous relationship and after about 6 months, Hendrix left the band (or by some accounts was fired). Hendrix would later be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with his band in 1992.  2) Down and Out in Beverly Hills is basically an American remake of a 1932 Jean Renoir French film titled Boudu sauvé des eaux (or translated Boudu Saved from Drowning), which itself was adapted from a 1919 play by the same title. It was the first film from a Disney studio (Touchstone) to receive an R rating. It was Bette Midler's first hit after her Oscar nominated role in 1979's The Rose. She would spend the remainder of the decade doing five more successful films for Disney/Touchstone including the popular 1988 weepie Beaches, which spawned a hugely successful soundtrack thanks to Midler's #1 hit "Wind Beneath My Wings."

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"I Can't Wait" by Nu Shooz

Top 10 Alert!
Gold Record Alert!

Song#:  2646
Date:  03/08/1986
Debut:  92
Peak:  3
Weeks:  23
Genre:  Synthpop, Dance-Pop, Blue-Eyed Soul



Pop Bits:  Valerie Day and John Smith were teenagers when they happened to meet at a Portland, Oregon, area commune in 1975. A love of music connected them and they eventually started to hone their skills in clubs. At the time their focus was on Latin jazz, but then before the turn of the decade they formed a four-piece band whose focus was more soul oriented. As the band grew in size (to at least nine members), so did their popularity around Portland. They recorded and released an indie soul/jazz album titled Can't Turn It Off, which didn't do much to advance the band's career. After that, the band trimmed down in size and Smith began to work on new material for an EP titled Tha's Right. A local radio station began to play "I Can't Wait" from the EP and soon the track was in the station's Top 10. Yet despite the local success, no major labels were interest in the band. Then they got a lucky break. A Dutch DJ happened upon the track and he decided to do a remix. It started to get attention and soon the import vinyl of the remix became popular in the US. This finally prompted Atlantic Records to sign Nu Shooz. The label issued out the new version of the song, known as the Dutch Mix, and it quickly headed to #1 at Dance. The song then slowly gained momentum at Pop and it finally peaked at #3. It also made it to #2 at R&B and #38 AC. The crossover hit eventually went gold as did their associated Atlantic debut album Poolside (#27). It did well enough to earn the band a Grammy nod for Best New Artist.

ReduxReview:  The band's original version of this song was quite solid on its own, but the remix took it to a whole other level. It modernized the tune for the 80s and gave it hooks galore. Given the chance, there was no way this song was gonna miss. I remember back in the day all it took was that opening riff and folks ran for the dance floor. It's a great jam and no 80s playlist should be without it. The big joke around our house is that if anyone mentions they need new shoes, someone immediately goes "ba-dum-dum-dum-dum-dum, ba-dum-dum-dum-dum-dum." An everlasting gem from the decade.

ReduxRating:  9/10

Trivia:  The DJ who came up with the remix for the song was Peter Slaghuis. He felt that the track really needed a hook of some kind and used a sampler on Valerie Day's voice to create the stuttering effect. Slaghuis did many remixes, but this one remained his most famous. In 1984, Slaghuis had his own unusual hit. He along with singer Bianca Bonelli formed the Euro disco duo VideoKids. Their song "Woodpeckers from Space" would be a left-field hit in Europe that got to #1 in Spain and Norway. It would have been a major hit for them in South Africa, but due to the political issues of the country they refused to let the single be released there. A producer named Costa Anadiotis jumped at the chance to do the song and got his studio group Café Society to record a cover version. It would end up topping the South African music chart for eight weeks.

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"Shelter Me" by Joe Cocker

Song#:  2645
Date:  03/08/1986
Debut:  95
Peak:  91
Weeks:  4
Genre:  Pop, Rock



Pop Bits:  The career-reviving #1 duet "Up Where We Belong" with Jennifer Warnes provided Joe Cocker with an opportunity to re-establish himself as a viable solo artist. Unfortunately, his first album after the hit, Civilized Man, failed to generate a single chart entry and the album quickly disappeared.  Undeterred, Cocker went back into the studio to record a follow-up. The album, simply titled Cocker, would be a mix of originals and remakes helped along by five different producers. The song selected to be the first single was this more rock-oriented track and indeed it would do well at Rock reaching #11. It was his first entry on that chart. Despite doing well there, the song just couldn't make any inroads at Pop and it fell off the chart after a month. However, the action at Rock helped the album sell much better than his previous effort and it ended up getting to #50.

ReduxReview:  This track has Cocker outfitted in a full-on 80s rock production and it kind of works. There's not a lot to this song. Both the verse and chorus have minimal melodies and chords so it's the kind of tune that needs to be committed to and sold by the band, the production, and the vocalist. I think all parties involved do the job very well, yet it's a song that just doesn't have the right stuff to make it as pop hit. That was the problem Cocker was having at the time. After the AC balladry of "Up Where We Belong," he seemed to be having a hard time trying to decide which audience to play to. Should he keep along the AC lines? Should he go back to his blues-rock? Should he do more modern 80s pop? He ended up doing a mishmash of them and in doing so kind of lost his audience. "Shelter Me" was a good stab and 80s rock, but it wasn't going to endear him to the masses. Actually, the best parts of the song are the guitar and sax solos on the album version. Those are worth tuning in for.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  Also included on the Cocker album was a song that would become quite famous even though it would not be a hit single. For the LP, Cocker chose to record the Randy Newman-penned tune "You Can Leave Your Hat On." Newman originally wrote and recorded the song for his third album, 1972's Sail Away, which was his first to reach the album chart (#163). It was not issued out as a single, but the song would be picked up and recorded by a few artists including Etta James and Three Dog Night. After Cocker recorded his version, it was decided that the track was perfect for a scene in a film. Director Adrian Lyne used the tune for the famous striptease scene in his erotic drama 9 1/2 Weeks, which starred Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger. The movie was a box office dud when released in 1986, but it gained a cult following later on home video. It was a hit in other countries and in the end made over $100 million worldwide. Cocker's song was released as a single, but it failed to hit the Pop chart in the US. It did get to #35 at Rock. In countries where the film was a hit, the song fared much better on the charts. Although the song was not a hit in the US for Cocker, it did become one of his most recognizable and popular tracks thanks to the movie.

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