Touch by Secession simply an Synth Pop New Wave masterpiece

Simply a Synth-Pop new wave masterpiece.  Produced by the likes of the brilliant John Rocca from Freez. The Scottish group had a string of dance hits in a short period from 1983 to 1987.  They released only one about called A Dark Enchantment in late 1987. TOUCH ZIP

There is actually even another version with the female handling the leads.  But I prefer the guy.  In my zip I've got four versions including the super long Hot Tracks edit.

Touch (Part 3)

Spend my life without your touch, I cannot satisfy

All my dreams
Simple as can be
Just to see us
Walking side by side
It won't be easy
But even I can see
If we're to survive
We'll have to compromise our pride
I really need your touch
I never hurt so much
I really miss your touch
Give your affection to me
I really need your touch
I never hurt so much
I really miss your touch
Give your affection to me
Spend my life without your touch, I cannot satisfy
I can tell
By the look in your eyes
That I'm wasting your time
Don't turn your back on me
Turn your back on me
What can I say
What can I do
To keep from losing you
I really need your touch
I never hurt so much
I really miss your touch
Give your affection to me
I really need your touch
I never hurt so much
I really miss your touch
Give your affection to me
I really need your touch
I never hurt so much
I really miss your touch
Give your affection to me
I really need your touch
I never hurt so much
I really miss your touch
Give your affection to me
Spend my life without your touch, I cannot satisfy
All my dreams
Simple as can be
Just to see us
Walking side by side
It won't be easy
But even I can see
If we're to survive
We'll have to compromise our pride
I really need your touch
I never hurt so much
I really miss your touch
Give your affection to me
I really need your touch
I never hurt so much
I really miss your touch
Give your affection to me
I really need your touch
I never hurt so much
I really miss your touch
Give your affection to me
I really need your touch
I never hurt so much
I really miss your touch
Give your affection to me
I really need your touch
I never hurt so much
I really miss your touch
Give your affection to me
I really need your touch
I never hurt so much
I really miss your touch
Give your affection to me



A LIST OF SYNTH POP NEW WAVE GROUPS

How Classy was Scritti Politti? My 80's idol

  REFRESHEDGreg Wilson Edit LINKS FROM A 2010 BLOG, REFRESHED EVEN FURTHER JULY 2016

                                                                                                         photo credit Steve Elm






photo credit Furio Andreotti

CABARET TIME!
AN ABSOLUTE ZIP
BIG SCRITTI ZIP
I'll admit I've always had a weakness for a falsetto, from the soulful Stylistics to the disco pop of the Bee Gees. But there was one singer that took it to the max for me and became my idol in the process.

Wales born, Paul Julian Strohmeyer recorded under the alias Green Gartside as the lead vocalist for Scritti Politti. Scritti began recording in 1978 as a post punk band and reached their peak in 1984 as a synth heavy, sampling and midi-sequencing electronic dance pop act. They were active even as  recently as 2006 with the l.p. White Bread and Black Beer. Though only Green Gartside remained from the original incarnation.


Scritti Politti seemed to have their hands in many bags, influenced by many genres of music from soul and reggae to disco, funk and synth. Using super high quality experimental production techniques and getting a hand from the legendary Arif Mardin (Bee Gees and Chaka Khan to name a few) they were able to capitalize on the Synth Pop that was hot in the early 80's and still hold onto to enough of a disco sound to make music that was supremely danceable.

They also featured superb graphics and marketing. A new Scritti Politti 12" was bound to have a beautiful picture cover and many of their fans became collector's who wanted to have the latest pressing even if they already had the song in their collections. Not unlike the rabid Smiths fans of the time.

They broke in a big way with their double A side of Wood Beez (pray like Aretha Franklin) and Absolute. What does it mean that each night he goes to bed he prays like Aretha Franklin? Damned if I knew but it sounded great. The song also includes one of my favorite lines from a song:

"there's nothing I wouldn't do including doing nothing."

Green's voice was just perfect. It seemed to caress the music.  Falsetto but not fem. Lyrics full of irony and mock philosophy. Intelligent pop.

The music was synth but not techno. Danceable but not agressive. Kraftwerk meets Abba.

Fred Maher of the band Material joined Scritti Politti as a drummer and this is when they catapulted to fame.
Cupid and Psyche 85 sold as an l.p. in America because Perfect Way became a pop hit in 1985. It went all the way to #11 pop and for two seconds a few people knew who Scritti Politti were. The mix by the legendary Francois K. didn't hurt. Though this sort of disappointed me cause they felt so English import to me and furthermore Perfect Way was one of the worst songs on the l.p. But alas it coined them a one hit wonder destined for inclusion in one of those VH1 run-downs on whatever happened to thems.

They should have made it big with Hypnotize.  But at least it was their most attractive 12" cover.  The Word Girl is also genius, pure reggae in falsetto.

By this time I was growing out my hair to look more like my idol Green. At one point I succeded though I had more of a natural wave that made my locks fall into curls at the bottom. By the time I moved to New York City in 1988 and became a club monster I started incorporating extensions and what had been curly interspersed with straight hair became more like dread locks. Hey the look worked for a while there. Now it kind of looks silly in retrospect but doesn't everything twenty years later?

By the time Provision came out in 1988 I didn't care about Scritti Politti much anymore. But once in my heart always in my heart so here I post a more recent picture of Green Gartside and I can always wish for some major triumphant come-back that will make me worship at the temple of Green once again.

LIME gets a bad rap, classic HI NRG from Canada

Lime was the most influential Hi Nrg act of all time, followed by Bobby O in all his incarnations.

  

ON THE GRID

SO MUCH LIME
Vocals on helium and a full-stop embrace of HI NRG.  Lime really gets a bad rap.  Do they really deserve it?  If you were going to judge them on success alone you wouldn't.  In fact on the Billboard Dance Charts they had a string of hits including their debut single Your Love/You're my Magician which hit #1 in January 1981 right on up to Unexpected Lovers which peaked at #6 in 1985.  At the bottom of the post is a very recent effort to download. 

My 2 favorites were Babe, We're Gonna Love Tonite which peaked at #6 on the U.S. Dance Charts in the summer of 1982 and the aforementioned Unexpecte Lovers which also peaked at #6 in the summer of 1985.   Babe for the incredible sing along hook and how much it meant to me and Unexpected Lovers for it's Latin beat which is danceable yet manages to also be melancholy at the same time.

AN UNEXPECTED ZIP

They worked hard and had a lot of releases.  A married couple from Montreal, Denis and Denyse Le Page generally never toured or performed in public choosing to send Joy Winter and Chris Marsh who lip-synched the tracks.  They figured that they were younger and more attractive so why the hell not?

One of the distinctive features of Lime was their record cover art work.  It was real bright and neon influenced, usually with yellows and greens.  A lot of it looks real cheesy in retrospect, but that could be said about a lot of disco era photography as well.  Which was often sexy just for the sake of being sexy.  Some would say tacky for the sake of trying to be sexy.

What they were able to do was to provide a distinct sound and look.  Lime was lime and a soundalike would only sound like a rip-off.  But then again for some people listening to Lime was like nails on a chalk board.  I was not one of the haters.  To me Lime is simply the soundtrack to those years for me.  A time when I felt young and free and hadn't a care in the world.  The Lime sound always brings back favorable memories.

Some of their releases were under the name of Lepage rather then Lime, Kat Manudu and even one was listed as Mother (F) Hot Wax and a couple others using that moniker.  Joe La Greca was part of this act as well as the writer and producer of all the Lime stuff.

Some of the Almighty remixes updated Lime to a House sound

One of the Almighty Records remixes

In 2002 they released a CD called Love Fury.  They have modernized their sound but I don't think they got any new fans in the process.  The label Almighty however has had some success updating the sound on a lot of their classics.

Tracklist :

01. Guilty (07:34)
02. Angel Eyes (08:36) 
03. Come & Get Your Love (07:34) 
04. Your Love (05:15) 
05. On The Grid (04:28) 
06. Babe We're Gonna Love Tonight (Instrumental) (06:46) 
07. Guilty (Instrumental) (07:32) 
08. Angel Eyes (Instrumental) (08:36) 
09. Come & Get Your Love (Instrumental) (07:35) 
10. On The Grid (Instrumental) (04:24) 

Kroma Sexy Films

Enrica Maldini is Kroma. She had a one off Italo Disco/Synth Pop/New Wave hybrid release in 1984.

Sexy Films

Originally based out of Rome her release came out on DJ Claudio Casilina's label Jumbo.  Later she moved to the Cote d'Azur in France and became a fashion designer.

Too Much HongKong Syndikat

This is just a bit off my typical theme.  But what can I say I just love it.  When it came out in 1986 I had just graduated from university and was pretending that I wanted to start my career in Rome.

 I brought my photography portfolio with me.  But I don't think I showed it to anyone but my friends. All I wanted to do was go out clubbing and go to the beach.

Too Much

Too Much by Honkong Syndikat, a German Synth Pop band got a lot of play on the radio and every time it caught my ear.  The harmonies, the instrumentation and the simple message was pleasing to me.

The dance remix got a little play in clubs early in the night.  But I don't think of this as a song for dancing in clubs.

Your Heart Keeps Burning Blind Date

Blind Date was a Synth Pop/Euro Disco group from Germany.  They put out an album and three maxi singles.  The second of which was the catch Your Heart Keeps Burning in 1985 was a favorite at The Saint and on Fire Island.

A 1992 remix got the record play again.  It also kind of made it sound less outdated.  Though still on a true Euro tip.  They did not house it up.

It's a light and airy ditty.  It fits into the mood of my blog.  I hope you enjoy it too.

Blind Date

CCCan't You See Vicious Pink SYNTH POP FANTASTIC

Vicious Pink Phenomena later known as Vicious Pink were the epitome of Synth Pop New Wave.  When their debut single came out in 1984 the scene was ripe for their sound and CCCan't You See was a alternative dance club smash.  I especially love the French version which I provide for you in the deluxe zip.

Since CCCan't You See has been the most played song on my iTunes list on my iMAC for ages I figured I should honor it in some way.  It was a WBMX classic so you know they loved this record in Chicago.

The follow-up Fetish was pretty good too but just not quite as infectious.

Vicious Pink was formed in Leeds in 1981.  They broke up in 1986.  Originally they sang back-up for Soft Cell.  That's when they were called Vicious Pink Phenomena.  

 They were sure cool looking!  Josie Warden was able to sing equally well in French or in English though this didn't help the band to chart in France.

LIKE THEM ON FACEBOOK if you wanna be old school they have a MY SPACE TOO.

So Vicious