"One in a Million" by Eddie and the Tide

Song#:  2469
Date:  09/21/1985
Debut:  90
Peak:  85
Weeks:  2
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  This Bay area band was started up by singer/songwriter Steve Rice. Wanting to get involved in the music industry, Rice put out an ad in the local paper looking for other musicians who wanted to do the same. He rounded out the band with four other guys and initially they were called The Suburbs. Unfortunately due to another band having the same name, they were forced to make a change. After making lists of potential names, Rice went to bed and had a dream about a band named Eddie and the Tide. That ended up being the band name and Rice then became "Eddie." A club owner showed interest in the band and eventually became their manager and helped them to record an indie EP in 1982 and a full album in 1984. Both recordings became solid sellers locally and that along with their growing fan base got them signed to Atco Records. Within a year's time, the band had recorded their major label debut album Go Out and Get It. This first single was pushed out and it got some attention at Rock getting to #22. The song was able to cross over to the Pop chart, but just for a very minor two weeks. Despite the tepid results, Atco kept them on for a second LP, 1987's Looking for Adventure. Nothing happened with it and the band was dropped. They recorded two more indie albums before breaking up sometime around 1993.

ReduxReview:  This mysterious sounding track takes a couple of listens before it hooks you. The verses are the best part and they really set a cool tone. The chorus is solid, but I think it needed a little more oomph production-wise to really make it snap and stand out. This certainly could have done better on the chart. I wonder if the title was an issue as The Romantics had a Top 40 hit just the previous year with the same title. Sometimes that causes confusion especially if people think the second song is a remake of the first one. Regardless, this one was strong enough to stand on its own.

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) Their first album for Atco got a helping hand from another Bay area resident, rock star Eddie Money. Money produced the majority of the album and co-wrote three songs with Rice. Although Money had produced some of his own records and perhaps a song or two for other artists, it seems that this was Money's first gig producing a full album for someone else. Having Money's name attached to the project most likely helped draw some attention to the band.  2) Before they signed with Atco, the band submitted a video to MTV for their "battle of the bands" series MTV Basement Tapes. The show featured videos from unsigned acts that would compete for viewer votes. Six videos would be shown each episode and the one with the most votes would move on to the next stage of the competition. In 1984, Eddie and the Tide's video for their song "Running Wild, Running Free" made it to the finals and seemed to be the odds on favorite to win. But in an upset, a band called TRAK made up of the four DeRita brothers ended up winning for the video to their song "Dancin'." Although the band won some kind of recording contract with EMI, it doesn't seem like they recorded anything for the label. Their lead singer was 13-year-old Kurt. Around the same time, Kurt also appeared on another competition show, Star Search. He competed in the junior vocalist category.

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"Lover Come Back to Me" by Dead or Alive

Song#:  2468
Date:  09/21/1985
Debut:  94
Peak:  75
Weeks:  7
Genre:  Synthpop, Dance-Pop



Pop Bits:  This UK band's second album Youthquake was doing quite well thanks to its first single, the #11 Pop/#4 Dance hit "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)." This next track was selected to be the second single and it did fairly well at Dance getting to #13. However, it just couldn't make much of a dent in the Pop chart and it stalled after making it a quarter of the way up. Despite the lack of a significant follow-up, the album still sold very well and ended up being certified gold.

ReduxReview:  The production team of Stock, Aitken and Waterman (SAW) applied their studio magic to the band's excessively hooky "You Spin Me Round" and it worked out very well. SAW do the same with this track, but the song is not nearly as strong. The opening beats have the feel of an updated version of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love," yet the verse and bridge are quite weak. The chorus isn't too bad with its defiant "kick right down," but the track as a whole just doesn't stay in my mind for very long.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  Although this second single didn't go anywhere on the Pop chart, a third single was pushed out. "My Heart Goes Bang (Get Me to the Doctor)" couldn't reach the Pop chart, but it was another winner for the band at Dance getting to #15. Although their success on the Pop chart was very limited, the band did quite well filling up the dance floors. They would end up with seven Top 10's on the Dance chart including two #1's.

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"Hurts to Be in Love" by Gino Vannelli

Song#:  2467
Date:  09/21/1985
Debut:  95
Peak:  57
Weeks:  12
Genre:  Soft Rock



Pop Bits:  Although Vannelli's title-track single to his album Black Cars was a hit in his native Canada getting to #4, when it crossed the border into the States, it just couldn't do as well. The song stalled right before entering the Top 40 at #42. Hoping for something better, this next track was issued out. Once again it did fine in Canada (#14), but ended up floating around the bottom half of the Pop chart for a few months. The news was better on the AC front where the song became his third Top 10 hit (#6).

ReduxReview:  This smokey track is a bit reminiscent of Foreigner's #2 hit "Waiting for a Girl Like You" with a little blue-eyed soul tossed in for good measure. It's actually a good song that is well produced, but it just couldn't seduce a broader audience outside of the AC market. I'm not all that surprised as it does have the feel of a late 70s track and that sound wasn't gonna attract the kids. At least it did well at AC.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  When a young Vannelli first set his sights on a music career in Canada, he was able to get signed there to RCA Records. For his first single, Vannelli decided to use a modified version of his last name for the credit and he became Vann-Elli. He recorded two songs for the label and a single was released in 1970. The song "Gina Bold" was the a-side that got promoted. It ended up being a tiny blip on the Canadian chart at #92. With little results coming from the single, Vannelli had to move on and three years later he was able to get signed to A&M Records in L.A. He would record seven albums for A&M before switching to Polydor for Black Cars.

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"Head Over Heels" by Tears for Fears

Top 10 Alert!

Song#:  2466
Date:  09/14/1985
Debut:  49
Peak:  3
Weeks:  20
Genre:  New Wave



Pop Bits:  After two big #1 hits from their album Songs from the Big Chair, the duo issued out this third single. Although it wouldn't reach the top of the Pop chart, it did very well getting to #3. It was also a winner at Rock (#7) and AC (#5). Back in their UK homeland, this was the fourth single from the album and it stalled just shy of the Top 10 at #12.

ReduxReview:  This song grabs you right away with a banged out piano melody that sounds regal and grand. From there it dips into verses with memorable little touches inserted along the way followed by a hooky chorus. Add to that the phased drum fill to the "la-la's" over the original piano melody and you end up with a catchy track that stood out on the radio. It was their third excellent single in a row and by this point I had to buy the album. However, for me the balance of the album didn't match the quality of the three singles and I was a bit disappointed at the time. I like the LP a bit better now, but really I all need to hear from it are the three big singles.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  When this song was originally written, it was meant to follow directly after another song titled "Broken" as sort of a two-song suite. Both songs contain the piano melody heard at the beginning of "Head Over Heels." In their concerts, the band would perform "Broken," then flow into "Head Over Heals," and then finish off with another small section of "Broken." When putting together Songs from the Big Chair they decided to keep the songs as they would do them in concert. They recorded the two main songs in the studio, but for the "Broken" tag ending, they used a live version that had been previously recorded. Therefore, when you hear the full album version of "Head Over Heals" that includes the tag ending, you hear the applause of the crowd as they finish the song. A studio version of the tag ending was recorded, but it was only used on a 12" mix of the whole medley titled the "Preacher Mix." It was titled as such due to an intro where Roland Orzabal recites lyrics to another Tears for Fears song ("I Believe") like a preacher talking through a megaphone.

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"One Night Love Affair" by Bryan Adams

Song#:  2465
Date:  09/14/1985
Debut:  56
Peak:  13
Weeks:  15
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  Adams' fourth album, Reckless, finally reached the #1 spot for a couple of weeks in August. It was helped along by the #5 showing of the LP's fourth single "Summer of '69." With the album still securely in the Top 5, it was decided that a fifth single would be released. This album opening track was selected and it would become Adams' fourth Top 10 at Rock getting to #7. At Pop, the song ran out of steam before it could reach the Top 10. Still, the hit made Adams one of only three artists to get five Top 20's from one album. The other two artists being Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen (however, all their hits were Top 10's).

ReduxReview:  The hits from Adams just kept a-rollin' along and this was another single-worthy track from an album full of radio-ready rock tunes. Adams and his writing partner Jim Vallance were really at their peak when they penned songs for this album. They even wrote a bunch of solid songs on the side that were picked up by other artists as well. Adams would go on to have bigger hits than the ones on Reckless, but I don't think he's ever been as consistent of a writer as he was during this time period.

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  Just prior to this song being issued as a single, it was used in the sci-fi comedy Real Genius, which starred Val Kilmer. It was Kilmer's second film and second starring role. His first leading role was in the spoof/action comedy Top Secret! in 1984. Real Genius received mixed reviews and was a moderate box office hit. It has since become a bit of a cult movie with certain folks debating the validity of the (fictional) scientific aspects of the film. The film's final scene which involves filling a house with popcorn that was popped by a laser was even put to the test on the popular science TV show MythBusters. Although their tests showed that perhaps a house could possibly fill up with popcorn that was popped via a laser (they used heat induction for the test), it would never bust through doors and windows or ruin a house as it did in the movie because the popcorn was too soft and could never attain the density and pressure needed to break through windows or doors.

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