Early punk from Irland . The vocals sounds as much sixties as they sound punk-ish , a nasal enthusiastic whine that is just bound to put u in a good mood . It also sounds very naive and its full of energy , usually that can be quite irritating (newer bands like The Offspring comes to mind ) but this is just impossible to not like.
18 Aug 03 ·chris kane: wow. impossible not to like. that's just made me think, i've never met anyone who doesn't love that song! 13 Jul 04 ·mattypenny: A great song, rightly highly rated. But does anybody else prefer the follow-up, '(I just can't) Get over you'? 04 Feb 05 ·shakeahand: John Peel said it was like being on a roller coaster... and I know what he means. This pure energy, pure pop, simply marvelous.
Mind-blowing late-60s girl-group sound with very odd lyrics...words really can't describe it. Suffice to say, it's a strange song. This group started out as a very typical girl group of the early 60s mold, but kept plugging away long after those groups had gone out of style. This cut from '68 is very psych-y and "groovy", as was the fashion at the time. They eventually transformed into Barry Manilow's backup singers, but please don't hold that against them.
from Best From Bell (Bell UK BLLP-111) available on CD - Magical Musical History Tour (Mo-Banana)
22 Apr 04 ·jeanette: I agree - absolutely fantastic. Even its use in the Muller yoghurt commercial couldn't harm its basic genius.
The fact that it's sampled by Betty Boo in Doin' The Do is another plus point! 05 Apr 05 ·shakeahand: I first heard this song on the Muller ad! - which led me to hunt out the original. Great pop!
Swiss post-punk that really cheers me up. Certainly one of my favourite singles of all time, this. Five women (formerly named the corporate-baiting Kleenex) weave ununderstandable lyrics through a backing as tight as anything The Fall have ever produced. I first heard this in a Brighton record shop 5 or so years ago and nearly ripped it off the turntable in my anxiety to have it for my very own.
from the single Split (Rough Trade RT 047) available on CD - LiLiPUT (Kill Rock Stars)
08 Apr 05 ·shakeahand: Kleenex were great - this (and its b-side Die Matrosen) were Liliput's greatest moments. Their entire output Kleenex + Lilipt is available on a double CD. Also listen to 'Hitchhike'... and When The Cat's Away.
This is my favorite song and is very close to a Christmas carol,especially "Walking in the air"
It appeared on the Indie charts in early 1983 peaking at No.5,sharing the chart with no end of punks.
Virginia Astley had little to do with Rock,never mind Punk
03 Feb 06 ·shakeahand: Yes quite beautiful, and then so easy to forget how dark and uncomfortable the lyrics are - being in a loveless relationship with, it seems, no way out. See also Some Small Hope, a duet with David Sylvian, another etherial mix of beauty and sadness. 05 Feb 06 ·thefamilycat: Only a few of Virginia Astley's songs related to her own life.Her pet subjects were "having someone" or "almost having someone",tales of childhood or ideas from World War 1 poetry.
"Tree Top Club" is actually set in thre village where her family lived at the time":Stanmore North London.The "ruined church" referred to can be seen in the churchyard where it was left after burning down.
Her 90s songs continued the poetic and religious imagery she was so fond of and scenes from Alice in Wonderland are quite obvious
From the minor key trombone intro to the teenage angst of the lyrics, this is a classic song of the 60's that totally encapulates the innocent era of the UK beat boom. Sandie Shaw was probably the best selling UK female singer from 64 to 69, slightly outselling her contemporaries Dusty, Cilla and Lulu and although she possessed a weaker voice than the others, what she lacked in volume she made up in style and interpretation. Sweet and slightly soulful with a quasi tuneless ache to her voice which epitomised a teenager stood up by some beatnik no hoper, she was only 17 and showed the ways of a woman several years older. In the UK it was the follow up to the massive UK No 1 ''Always Something There To Remind Me'' and was a massive Top 3 hit that should have gone all the way to the top.
I love this record - it sums up an era, it is the beginning of a suit of girl singers who changed then style of singing, from 50's twee to 60's ''dolly bird'' and it remains a classic pop single from a girl who held the record for the most No 1 hits for a ssolo female for 19 years
03 Feb 06 ·shakeahand: Quite agree. One of my first LPs as a teen was a greatest hits - and for me she summed up the 60s female vocal. For big, brassy and emotion-laden power pop, see also Long Walk Home. 03 Feb 06 ·Swinging London: It was initially released as the 'B' side of the much weaker: 'I'd Be Far Better Off Without You'. Someone, probably a DJ, flipped it over.
I love the arrangement on this. It's full of atmosphere. It seems to completely capture the time.
Another of her songs that has a similar effect is 'You've Not Changed', which wasn't as big a hit and seems to have been forgotten and is often excluded from Greatest Hits Comps.
