Just Who Is This Danny Wilson Guy?

When first I bought the vinyl 45 for the single ‘Mary’s Prayer’ by Danny Wilson early in 1988, I wondered that very thing, well briefly anyway. Danny Wilson was not one single person, but rather the collective name for a pop trio hailing from the city of Dundee in Scotland. When they formed in the 1984 (originally as ’Spencer Tracy’) they soon took a new name from the title to a 1952 film starring Frank Sinatra called ‘Meet Danny Wilson’. The three that called themselves after one were brothers Gary Clark (vocals/guitar) and Kit Clark (keyboards/percussion) and Ged Grimes (bass).

‘Mary’s Prayer’ reached as high as #23 in the U.S. in mid ‘87 (#64 in Australia early ‘88), but initially the song only ascended to #42 in the group’s native U.K. Eight months later it had been remixed and was re-released to a much better reception from the British record buying public. Danny Wilson’s prayers were answered as ‘Mary’s Prayer’ rocketed to #3 in the U.K. at the second attempt. ‘Meet Danny Wilson’ the album was released but wasn’t as well received stalling at #65, though in years to come it became a cult favourite of sorts. Danny Wilson’s sound/style shared much with contemporaries such as Deacon Blue, Hothouse Flowers, Wet Wet Wet, Prefab Sprout and Johnny Hates Jazz, and owed much to the likes of Steely Dan - strong melodic hooks coated in lush acoustic harmonies with ‘Mary’s Prayer’ their best example of this.

The Scottish trio returned a year later with a new album ‘Beebop Moptop’ and single ‘The Second Summer Of Love’. Both tapped into the British summer vibe and reached the top 30, but missed the U.S. charts completely. Regrettably Danny Wilson’s stocks plummeted and save for a minor chart register (UK#54) for their third album ‘Sweet Danny Wilson’ in 1991 fans stopped asking what might be and started lamenting what might have been. Singer and songwriter Gary Clark went on to record a solo album in 1993 (‘Ten Short Songs About Love’), then played in the bands King L and Transister during the 90s. In 2001 in worked with Natalie Imbruglia on her album ‘White Lilies Island’. According to Wikipedia Kit Clark now has a band called ‘The Swiss Family Orbison’, whilst Ged Grimes composes music for computer games.

The song ‘Mary’s Prayer’ enjoyed a mini-revival through its inclusion on the soundtrack to the motion picture ‘There’s Something About Mary’ in 1998. But I was thankful I got to know the song a decade earlier.

Check out the Danny Wilson MySpace page (official) here:
http://www.myspace.com/dannywilsonofficial

Jacksons Final Victory Over The Charts

By the time The Jacksons - Tito, Randy, Marlon, Jackie, Jermaine & Michael - released the album ‘Victory’ in 1984, they had nothing left to prove to critics or record buyers. ‘Victory’ was the 13th album (not including live and compilation efforts) released by arguably the most famous family in pop music history. And it came at an interesting time in the career of The Jacksons, both as a group and individually.

It had been four years since the release of their last studio album with 1980’s ‘Triumph’ which had yielded the US#12 hit ‘Lovely One’ and the UK#6 hit ‘Can You Feel It’ which was backed by one of the most innovative music videos of the era. In the intervening period the youngest of the Jackson brood Michael released a quaint little album entitled ‘Thriller’. In point of fact ‘Thriller’ not only redefined Michael Jackson as the new ‘king of pop’ but arguably reset the bar for every major pop act to follow - it was more than just an album, it was a watershed in pop music. And where as The Jacksons still retained a higher collective profile than Michael when ‘Triumph’ was released after Michael’s ‘Off The Wall’ (1979), 1984’s ‘Victory’ was doomed to a degree to labour under the shadow of ‘Thriller’.

That said the album as a stand alone recording was still a fine piece of work. Following on from a successful reunion appearance on the Motown 25 television special, a full scale U.S. tour unfolded to accompany the release of the ‘Victory’ album. The album reached #4 in the U.S. and generated two hit singles, ‘State Of Shock’ with Mick Jagger (US#3, UK#14, OZ#10) and ‘Torture’ (US#17, UK#26, OZ#32). ‘Torture’ is one of my favourite Jacksons tracks, second only to ‘Can You Feel It’. It was accompanied by an appropriately expensive promo clip featuring all of the Jacksons save Michael, who by that time had effectively split to resume focus on his solo empire (or maybe his hair was on ice following that Pepsi commercial mishap).

The following is an rare 12 inch vinyl extended remix of the song ‘Torture’, the swansong to The Jacksons epic career:
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Coconut Rough - More Than Just A Chocolate Bar

Yet another quality act hailing from New Zealand in the mid 80s were Coconut Rough - the band, not the popular variety of chocolate - though it was from the confectionary that the new wave pop act took their name when they formed in 1982.

Vocalist Andrew Snoid (AKA Andrew McLennan), after a short stint with The Swingers ('Counting The Beat') , returned to his native New Zealand in 1982. He joined forces with old friend and former bandmate Mark Bell (guitar) who had played with Snoid in thePlague and the Whizz Kids. They recruited bassist Dennis 'Choc' Te Whare, keyboardist Stuart Pearce and drummer Paul Hewitt to form Coconut Rough.

The band set up base in Auckland and soon gathered a strong following on the club circuit. They signed a recording deal with Mushroom Records and their first single would prove to be a considerable success, though sadly their only one. 'Sierra Leone' reached the top 5 in New Zealand, though it barely registered on the Australian charts (2 weeks with a peak position of #99). On the back of 'Sierra Leone's success, Coconut Rough were awarded Most Promising Group Of 1983 by Recording Industry Artists New Zealand.

The bands synth pop sound in combo with a strong guitar/bass rhythm section seemed to be in line with so many other popular acts around the same time; think Real Life, Kids In The Kitchen, Sunnyboys, Models, Machinations, INXS; but Coconut Rough's fame lasted about as long as a block of the chocolate variety - perhaps there were just too many acts of that ilk vying for attention in the relatively small Australasian market.

Coconut Rough released another single 'As Good As It Gets' which flopped completely and contributed one half to the live LP 'Whistle While You Work'. The band then began work on their studio album debut during 1984, but by that time label support from Mushroom Records was on the wane, as was the bands popularity. Towards the end of Coconut Rough's tenure a new bass player was recruited in Bones Hillman (also formely of The Swingers) and later to be the bass player with Midnight Oil (from 1987). Soon after the band went their separate ways before the end of '84. Their self titled album was released around the same time (following a protracted dispute of various remixes in the recording process), and another EP of previously recorded work was recorded ('It Takes Two To Tango') but both disappeared without a trace. Guitarist Mark Bell do go on to work with the reformed Pop Mechanix, then became a guitar for hire touring with Jenny Morris, Jan Hellreigel and Greg Johnson.

The last time the track 'Sierra Leone' was available on CD was via a 1995 CD compilation released in New Zealand entitled 'Bliss' - but it is a long time since that was commercially available. So in lieu enjoy this rare Coconut Rough treat here:
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Something Special On Record

In 1989 singer Clive Young scored his one and only top 40 hit in Australia with the song 'Something Special'. The single only climbed as high as #39 but did spend 17 weeks in the top 100 overall. I purchased the vinyl 45 originally and then later bought the CD compilation 'Hits Of '89 Vol.2' which included 'Something Special' in its tracklist.

I haven't been able to uncover much information on Clive Young the singer (not to be confused with Clive Young the author), but there are a number of songwriting credits in his name, including a song called 'Last Man Standing' recorded by country artist Adam Brand. He has also written songs with vocalist Anita Spring and co-wrote the Brielle Davis track 'Serial Thriller' (with Chrissie Amphlett). I've also come across the name Clive Young in connection with producing singe Gina G's 2005 CD 'Get Up & Dance'.

If anyone out there can offer some info. regards Clive Young's career pre. or post 'Something Special' I'd really appreciate it :)

STOP PRESS: Clive Young the author has kindly posted a comment related to correspondence he had with Clive Young the singer back in the 90s - many thanks for the info Clive. Clive Young the author now runs an ultracool website at the following address:http://www.cliveyoung.com/

The quest for more info on Clive Young the singer continues...

Note: A big thanks to blog reader Garry who played with Clive Young in a band back in the 80s and has provided some additional info. on Clive's background during this period. Please see comment below.

In the meantime have a look at the promo video here:

Tune That Dial To 23FM

One of the most talented and creative comedy ensembles to emerge out of Australia in the 1980s and 1990s were the D-Generation. They were a group of Melbourne University graduates, who after honing their craft in stage productions were offered their own sketch comedy series on the ABC in 1986. Their cutting edge and oft irreverent humour (not unlike Monty Python) was rewarded with a second ABC series, followed by a number of TV specials on the Seven Television Network during 1988 and 1989. At the core of the group initially were Rob Sitch, Santo Cilauro, Marg Downey, Magda Szubanski, Michael Veitch and John Harrison, and the late 80s saw the addition of Tom Gleisner, Jane Kennedy, Tony Martin, Mick Molloy and Jason Stephens to the lineup.

It was in late 1989 that the D-Generation released the comedy album ‘The Satanic Sketches’, and from that the single ‘Five In A Row’. The single was a comic take on FM commercial radio and featured Rob Sitch playing the part of a hip DJ playing a medley of popular hits, well mock versions, with a comic twist on the lyrics and delivery. Those artists songs to undergo the D-Gen ‘treatment’ were John Farnham, Jimmy Barnes, Little River Band, Kylie Minogue and James Reyne (my personal fav). The song appealed to listeners funny bones as much as their ears, reaching #12 on the singles chart.









About twelve months later a follow up ‘Five More In A Row’ was released. This time the D-Gen crew took aim at INXS, Dragon, Daryl Braithwaite, Kate Ceberano and Midnight Oil, and in the process scored their second top 40 hit (#37). Both songs were served well by hilarious promo clips - well we were dealing with the brilliantly irreverent D-Generation after all. John Farnham even made a cameo appearance as himself in the clip to 'Five In A Row', while Shirley Strachan and Daryl Braithwaite joined in the fun on the clip for 'Five More In A Row'.

Several members of the original D-Generation went on to other projects including the ‘Fast Forward’ sketch show. The D-Gen went on to write and star in two very successful series of ‘The Late Show’ on the ABC during ‘92 and ‘93. Various members went on to create the critically acclaimed series ‘Frontline’ and also ‘Funky Squad’. Martin and Molloy hosted a hugely popular syndicated radio show. Sitch, Cilauro, Gleisner and Kennedy went on to be at the heart of Working Dog Productions, and fronted ‘The Panel’ during the late 90s, not to mention writing, directing and producing the motion pictures ‘The Castle’ and ‘The Dish’. But honestly it would require a whole other blog to do justice to the career of achievements of the D-Generation and its alumni.

Runners Post Race

Singer/guitarist Mark Edwards fronted one of Melbourne’s most popular rock bands in the early to mid 80s. The Runners started life in 1980 as the backing band for 60s pop singer Ron Charles (ex-Groop). Rounding out the field in The Runners were lead guitarist Trevor Reading (who had also been in the band City with Edwards), Lester Price (keyboards), Paul McNaughton (bass) and Grant Hamston (drums). 1981 saw The Runners out playing on their own and attracting a loyal following on the pub circuit. Mark Greig replaced Lester Price and soon after the band signed with Mushroom Records.

The Runners’ debut single ‘Sure Fire Thing’ reached #16 in Melbourne and #43 nationally (mid ‘82) - the song was produced by ex LRB member Beeb Birtles. A debut album ‘Hitting The Wall’ followed in March ‘83, from which the only single to chart was ‘Endlessly (Hitting The Wall)’ (OZ#57). From July ‘83 Mark Edwards focused just on his singing duties with The Runners, and the band experienced numerous lineup changes over the following year, but by July ‘84 had run their race and split up.

Following the split Mark Edwards signed with WEA Records and released one album in 1986 entitled ‘Land Of The Living’. His only foray into the Australian singles chart was with the advance single ‘Worlds Away’ (#70, early ‘86). Several other singles were released including the title track and my favourite track from the album ‘Somebody Like You’. Also featured on that brilliant track were acclaimed session man Ricki Fataar and legendary backing singer Venetta Fields (ex-Boz Scaggs, John Farnham). Sadly, the album failed to sell well and Edwards never recorded a follow up.

The other former Runner to release a solo album was former bass player Paul McNaughton, who launched his solo career under the name Paul Norton (having played a while with Wendy & The Rocketts). Norton experienced a far greater reception to his music than had Edwards. Norton’s debut single ‘Stuck On You’ struck #3 on the Australian charts in May ‘89. Two more top 40 singles followed with ‘I Got You’ (#34) and ‘Southern Sky’ (#32), both from Norton’s debut album ‘Under A Southern Sky (1990). A second album ‘Let It Fly’ was released in 1992 but yielded only a minor hit single with ‘When We Were Young’ (#80). Norton has gone to work in country music, and as musical director with the Australian Shakespeare Company, and still tours regularly. He runs his own website as well, with details of his career and current work.

Check out the promo clip for Mark Edwards' single 'Worlds Away', via the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nddtSiTsy1c

Dave Dobbyn Cuts Another Slice Of Heaven

Throughout the history of pop music in Australia, the quality of local artists has been supplemented amply by a regular influx of class acts from New Zealand. Think Dragon, Split Enz, Sharon O'Neill, Noiseworks, Koo De Tah, Jenny Morris, La De Das, Ray Columbus & The Invaders, and you're still only scratching the surface of Kiwi talent.

New Zealander Dave Dobbyn had already enjoyed considerable success at home during the late 70s with The Dudes, then DD Smash whose debut album went straight to #1 on the N.Z. charts upon its release. DD Smash enjoyed several major N.Z. hits but their only foray into the Australian charts came with 1984's 'Whaling' (#70).

Dobbyn's biggest commercial success would come in 1987 in the form of the theme song from the animated motion picture version of 'Footrot Flats: A Dog's Tale". 'Slice Of Heaven' spent a mammoth eight weeks at #1 in N.Z. and four atop the OZ charts. It's hard to know whether 'Slice Of Heaven' increased the popularity of the film or vice versa. The song was credited to Dave Dobbyn with Herbs.

Dobbyn released another single from the soundtrack 'You Ought Be In Love', an exquisite ballad that sadly was to a degree washed away in the wake of 'Slice Of Heaven's success. Dobbyn released his first solo album shortly after entitled 'Loyal'. The title track was another example of Dobbyn's burgeoning talent as a ballad writer. The first single released though was 'Love You Like I Should', a rocking little electric-acoustic number, and one of my personal favourites to come out of 1988. The backing vocals on the track were by one Margaret Urlich, who scored several top 50 hits including 'Escaping' (1990).

Dobbyn has released another six solo albums since, from 1993's 'Lament For The Numb' (credited to Dave Dobbyn & The Stone People) to 2005's 'Available Light'. In between he contributed to Eddie Rayner's Enzso projects, and recorded a live concert album with fellow Kiwi's Tim Finn and Bic Runga. He also released a retrospective best of entitled 'Overnight Success', which as his website points out only took 25 years worth of hard work.

As testament to the high regard in which Dave Dobbyn's work is held by his peers, in 2001 APRA (Australasian Performing Rights Association) invited its members to vote on New Zealand's alltime top 100 songs. Dave Dobbyn eight times in the top 50 as performer and/or writer. Interestingly his 1988 ballad 'Loyal' rated #3, higher than his mega #1 Australasian hit 'Slice Of Heaven' (#7). In the same year 2001 Dobbyn was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the New Zealand Recording Industry.

Check out the world of Dave Dobbyn at his official website: http://www.davedobbyn.co.nz/