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My patchwork, patched-up, taped-up tape deck heart
I've been doing some tidying up recently, and trying to sort through a massive stack of unlabelled tapes. Some have been easily dismissed as blank, or not things I recognise as mine. Some turn out to be taped-off-the-radio tapes from the late 80s/early 90s. Which has been fascinating, even as it has confirmed that my early teenage self had flippin' awful taste in music.
The most recent tape appeared to feature me inadvertently leaving the tape recording until it fell off the end, capturing me a fascinating slice of local radio. I think the overal quality of songs actually went up without my curation, despite it taking in Male Stripper. And it includes one of the fabulous "The one you've got to come back for" McEwan's Best Scotch adverts. The cars advertised were G-reg, meaning I can place it as somewhere between 1 August 1989 31 July 1990 (thank you, Wikipedia).
Anyway, I'm on to another one and I thought I'd have a little go at live-blogging it as I listen[**]. I have absolutely no idea what's on it. This may turn out very dull :)
Side A
What is this? Sounds very 80s... Ah yes.
Eurythmics - Angel
Well, that's a mildly more credible beginning than I might have expected. Hang on a minute... this is followed by a patch of silence and then a song starting in an orderly manner. I'm not sure this is a taped-off-the-radio job after all.
Eurythmics - Revival
Aerosmith - Love In An Elevator
OK, this isn't going to be a Eurythmics album after all. Why don't they play Love In An Elevator at the WGW 80's night, anyway?
Wow, outbreak of flamenco guitar... what's all this about? I have no idea, we seem to have segued into some more Aerosmith. Oh no, my mistake.
Poison - Unskinny Bop
This is definitely not from the radio, the songs have beginnings and ends and everything. No idea where they did come from, though. Ah, I'd recognise this intro anywhere!
Alice Cooper - Poison
Well, it's all gone a bit hair-metal, but overall the quality is considerably better than the last few tapes.
All About Eve - Martha's Harbour
Uh-oh... the rather abrupt beginning suggests we're now in radio territory. I know the song, but who is it? Ah yes...
Freddie Mercury - Living On My Own
Um. Right.
Wham! - Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
Oh. Now I'm confident we're in the summer of 1991, when you couldn't move without hearing this guy whistling. I was in Germany, where it was massive.
Scorpions - Wind of Change
A long pause. I wonder why. And a rather chirpy drum machine. Sounds firmly back in the 80s. Blimey, I've got so used to the Manuskript cover I'd almost forgotten what the original sounded like.
A-Ha - The Sun Always Shines on TV
A-Ha isn't half going on, is this some sort of extended remix? It's finally come to an end, and I'm really not sure what this is. Some rather wanky guitar... which gets curtailed by tape ending.
Side B
Wow, I know this, but I'm going to have to google to find out who it is.
London Beat - I've Been Thinking About You
And again...
Bobby Brown - She Ain't Worth It
Definitely a radio tape now, because we break straight into the next song several bars in. This one definitely belongs on the guilty pleasures list.
Bonnie Tyler - Holding Out For A Hero
Had to look up the artist again, and I'm quite surprised. I'd no idea A-Ha could do a song as slow as this. Or as wet. In every sense.
A-Ha - Crying in the Rain
Oh. Dear. I have a horrible idea I know who this is. Oh. Look away now, would you?
New Kids On The Block - Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)
I really cannot remember a version of me that would have wanted to tape NKOTB. Especially not that song.
Well, at least this is a bit of a step up. And even if it's not high-brow, at least it's something I still like.
Pet Shop Boys - It's a Sin
Ouch. Worryingly, I don't need to look the following up.
Ram Jam - Black Betty
Well. That was unexpected...
Elvis Presley - Blue Suede...
No wait, it was some ghastly medley that was rapidly interrupted.
4 Non Blondes - What's Up?
Assuming most of this was taped in 1991, then this is the first song that I think sounds like the 90s. It's not like everyone had their drum machines taken away at midnight on 31st Dec '89, y'know. Sadly :)
Ugh, and something ghastly. Oh wait, no, that's just an accidental snippet of a Dr Fox chart jingle.
And another dreadful-medley of rock'n'roll. Oh hell, I do remember this one.
Status Quo - The Anniversary Waltz (Part I)
Oh, and this is going to be Robert Palmer and UB40 because a transatlantic female voice just told me so. Was I listening to Atlantic 252 at this point?
Robert Palmer and UB40 - I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
Well, that foray into the 90s was short-lived, wasn't it? What was I thinking?
Status Quo - Marguerita Time
Well, well. At Walter Wilson's you can buy four large cans of Carlsberg Special Brew lager for just £3.69[*]. I don't remember a chain called Walter Wilson's - but it's apparently "the name for good food". And a number to call in Middlesbrough if you wanted to join the Enterprise Allowance Scheme (was that even still running then?)
Looks like I'm firmly back listening to TfM, and was so excited about Status Quo I forgot to stop recording.
Wow, in the Sunday Post you can read the revelations about Diana After Dark. Apparently "the princess lets her hair down and becomes a royal rocker".
And so the next song is just what comes next... I take no responsibility (and had to get Shazam to identify it for me).
Innocence - Matter of Fact
And a TfM jingle, but not one I really remember.
Amazulu - Too Good To Be Forgotten
Wow, you can read about Gary Glitter, through the years in Echoes, the magazine which comes with the Northern Echo. "For the person who's acquired <coy pause> a few memories in life".
And it's panto season! Little & Large are appearing at Darlington Civic Theatre in Goldilocks and the 3 Bears.
Oh, wow...
Patrick Macnee & Honor Blackman - Kinky Boots
I had to look up who that was, because I never knew. I remember wanting to know, but there wasn't any internet! It was really, really hard to know anything.
Um. But. Um. It sounds like I've caught up with the tape and stopped it. Meaning I voluntarily recorded the next thing.
Michael Bolton - How Can We Be Lovers
... which is mercifully chopped off by side B ending.
Well, I think we can safely conclude that I was a person of limited discrimination in the early 90s. It was probably around that time that Penny started force-feeding me Pixies and the Smiths and the Cure, for which I must remember to thank her.
[*] £7.05 on Ocado today, if you're interested. Also, Ocado sells Special Brew!
[**] If you accept "typing it into a text file at the time then forgetting to post it for a few days" as a reasonably definition of 'live-blogging'.
The most recent tape appeared to feature me inadvertently leaving the tape recording until it fell off the end, capturing me a fascinating slice of local radio. I think the overal quality of songs actually went up without my curation, despite it taking in Male Stripper. And it includes one of the fabulous "The one you've got to come back for" McEwan's Best Scotch adverts. The cars advertised were G-reg, meaning I can place it as somewhere between 1 August 1989 31 July 1990 (thank you, Wikipedia).
Anyway, I'm on to another one and I thought I'd have a little go at live-blogging it as I listen[**]. I have absolutely no idea what's on it. This may turn out very dull :)
Side A
What is this? Sounds very 80s... Ah yes.
Eurythmics - Angel
Well, that's a mildly more credible beginning than I might have expected. Hang on a minute... this is followed by a patch of silence and then a song starting in an orderly manner. I'm not sure this is a taped-off-the-radio job after all.
Eurythmics - Revival
Aerosmith - Love In An Elevator
OK, this isn't going to be a Eurythmics album after all. Why don't they play Love In An Elevator at the WGW 80's night, anyway?
Wow, outbreak of flamenco guitar... what's all this about? I have no idea, we seem to have segued into some more Aerosmith. Oh no, my mistake.
Poison - Unskinny Bop
This is definitely not from the radio, the songs have beginnings and ends and everything. No idea where they did come from, though. Ah, I'd recognise this intro anywhere!
Alice Cooper - Poison
Well, it's all gone a bit hair-metal, but overall the quality is considerably better than the last few tapes.
All About Eve - Martha's Harbour
Uh-oh... the rather abrupt beginning suggests we're now in radio territory. I know the song, but who is it? Ah yes...
Freddie Mercury - Living On My Own
Um. Right.
Wham! - Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
Oh. Now I'm confident we're in the summer of 1991, when you couldn't move without hearing this guy whistling. I was in Germany, where it was massive.
Scorpions - Wind of Change
A long pause. I wonder why. And a rather chirpy drum machine. Sounds firmly back in the 80s. Blimey, I've got so used to the Manuskript cover I'd almost forgotten what the original sounded like.
A-Ha - The Sun Always Shines on TV
A-Ha isn't half going on, is this some sort of extended remix? It's finally come to an end, and I'm really not sure what this is. Some rather wanky guitar... which gets curtailed by tape ending.
Side B
Wow, I know this, but I'm going to have to google to find out who it is.
London Beat - I've Been Thinking About You
And again...
Bobby Brown - She Ain't Worth It
Definitely a radio tape now, because we break straight into the next song several bars in. This one definitely belongs on the guilty pleasures list.
Bonnie Tyler - Holding Out For A Hero
Had to look up the artist again, and I'm quite surprised. I'd no idea A-Ha could do a song as slow as this. Or as wet. In every sense.
A-Ha - Crying in the Rain
Oh. Dear. I have a horrible idea I know who this is. Oh. Look away now, would you?
New Kids On The Block - Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)
I really cannot remember a version of me that would have wanted to tape NKOTB. Especially not that song.
Well, at least this is a bit of a step up. And even if it's not high-brow, at least it's something I still like.
Pet Shop Boys - It's a Sin
Ouch. Worryingly, I don't need to look the following up.
Ram Jam - Black Betty
Well. That was unexpected...
No wait, it was some ghastly medley that was rapidly interrupted.
4 Non Blondes - What's Up?
Assuming most of this was taped in 1991, then this is the first song that I think sounds like the 90s. It's not like everyone had their drum machines taken away at midnight on 31st Dec '89, y'know. Sadly :)
Ugh, and something ghastly. Oh wait, no, that's just an accidental snippet of a Dr Fox chart jingle.
And another dreadful-medley of rock'n'roll. Oh hell, I do remember this one.
Status Quo - The Anniversary Waltz (Part I)
Oh, and this is going to be Robert Palmer and UB40 because a transatlantic female voice just told me so. Was I listening to Atlantic 252 at this point?
Robert Palmer and UB40 - I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
Well, that foray into the 90s was short-lived, wasn't it? What was I thinking?
Status Quo - Marguerita Time
Well, well. At Walter Wilson's you can buy four large cans of Carlsberg Special Brew lager for just £3.69[*]. I don't remember a chain called Walter Wilson's - but it's apparently "the name for good food". And a number to call in Middlesbrough if you wanted to join the Enterprise Allowance Scheme (was that even still running then?)
Looks like I'm firmly back listening to TfM, and was so excited about Status Quo I forgot to stop recording.
Wow, in the Sunday Post you can read the revelations about Diana After Dark. Apparently "the princess lets her hair down and becomes a royal rocker".
And so the next song is just what comes next... I take no responsibility (and had to get Shazam to identify it for me).
Innocence - Matter of Fact
And a TfM jingle, but not one I really remember.
Amazulu - Too Good To Be Forgotten
Wow, you can read about Gary Glitter, through the years in Echoes, the magazine which comes with the Northern Echo. "For the person who's acquired <coy pause> a few memories in life".
And it's panto season! Little & Large are appearing at Darlington Civic Theatre in Goldilocks and the 3 Bears.
Oh, wow...
Patrick Macnee & Honor Blackman - Kinky Boots
I had to look up who that was, because I never knew. I remember wanting to know, but there wasn't any internet! It was really, really hard to know anything.
Um. But. Um. It sounds like I've caught up with the tape and stopped it. Meaning I voluntarily recorded the next thing.
Michael Bolton - How Can We Be Lovers
... which is mercifully chopped off by side B ending.
Well, I think we can safely conclude that I was a person of limited discrimination in the early 90s. It was probably around that time that Penny started force-feeding me Pixies and the Smiths and the Cure, for which I must remember to thank her.
[*] £7.05 on Ocado today, if you're interested. Also, Ocado sells Special Brew!
[**] If you accept "typing it into a text file at the time then forgetting to post it for a few days" as a reasonably definition of 'live-blogging'.
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TFM! I loved their ident that was simply someone saying "TFM!" like you'd say "Wow!" or "OMG!". I listened endlessly to TFM in the summer of 1990, or 1991, can't remember which. I also remember being excited about Marguerita Time being released and taping it off the radio (I too had ... erm ... mixed taste as a youth) ... but that was waaaay earlier, surely?
And Male Stripper! Blimey, that brings back memories from the discos of my teenage years, including being desperately but sort-of pleasantly conflicted - I used to dance ... enthusiastically to it, and got a lot of attention from girls and from boys, long before I came out. It's a bloody good song and a top track to dance to. You just need to add a "wub wub wub" and a suitably raunchy drop after the "I was a male stripper in a gogo bar" bit and you could release it now as a guaranteed floor filler.
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Whereabouts were you, geographically speaking in '90/'91? I hadn't realised you were hanging around in my bit of the country :)
You were obviously much more confident as a teenager than I was! In fact, I think I only ever went to one school disco (aged 10, where they probably wouldn't have played such electro-raunch). I also think I've only ever heard the song on that tape (where, interestingly, it segues straight into Voice of the Beehive's Don't Call Me Baby), never in the wild or on a dancefloor.
I might lobby
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You were obviously much more confident as a teenager than I was!
As Reggie Perrin said, I "had an unusually sheltered upbringing in Haverfordwest and its environs". It's easier to be a big fish in a little pond. There wasn't a lot on so the discos were where it was at. I hung around with a couple of mates who were also in to computers and when sampling and Acid burst on to the local scene it was our moment. Looking back I think we were a lot cooler than we thought at the time - the dancefloor would clear when they played that sort of thing and we'd have the place to ourselves, leaping and raving around like loons until the manager came over and had a word with the DJ. We didn't really care, we just liked the music and liked dancing - which perhaps is the essence of cool. The other way of looking at it is that we were a bunch of unconventional geeks who nobody really knew what to make of.
I might lobby d_floorlandmine to get it on WGW's 80's playlist in April, though :)
I approve of this plan.
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Oooh the shame.
I am not even sure me being 11 at the time makes it forgiveable!
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I believe that Michael Jackson - Off the Wall was the first album I ever owned!
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* remembers specialist NKotB round at the Marsh Harrier quiz one time *
That certainly is a pretty patchy mix, but I don't suppose mine of the same sort of age would be any better. I didn't tape any ads off the radio, though: wish I had, yours sound like very interesting social documents!
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