Today's feature song is Dance the Way I Feel by British synth-pop group Ou Est Le Swimming Pool. Ou Est Le Swimming Pool (which means 'where is the swimming pool' in French) originate out of Camden, London UK and consisted of members Charles Haddon (ex-lead singer, is now deceased), Joe Hutchinson, and Caan Capan. This song was the first debut single by the group, and it was initially released in September 2009 as a limited edition 7" vinyl, until November 2009 when it was released in 3 other formats. It was then re-released on the the band's debut album titled The Golden Year in October 2010. The release of that album was delayed from its original release date when the lead vocalist Charles Haddon tragically committed suicide on August 20th, 2010 following a performance in Belgium, and so I dedicate this post in honor of his memory as well as to honor his friends and family. On another note Dance the Way I Feel clenched the #3 spot on the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2010 just last week.
Today's featured song is Fashion, by UK electro-artist Grum. Grum (Graeme Shepard) has been active on the synth-electro music scene since 2007 and he originates out of Leeds, UK. Fashion comes off of his May 2010 debut album titled Heartbeats, which I would highly recommend checking out if you are into the synth-electro scene and are fond of artists like Cut Copy, Van She, The Presets, Miami Horror, and Tesla Boy.
Ahoy! We are at #45 of the Countdown! And the song is...If You Leave, by 80's English synth-pop group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD). Also commonly abbreviated and known as OMD, this group originated out of the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside, England back in 1978, which presently consists of members Andy McCluskey, Paul Humphreys, Malcolm Holmes, and Martin Cooper. McCluskey and Humphreys were the founding members of the band and are considered the 'core members' to this very day. If You Leave was a single recorded specifically for the John Hughes classic 80's film soundtrack to his film Pretty in Pink, and it was used mainly for the final scene of the movie. It would be OMD's biggest hit in the USA, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that year, at the same time it would only reach #46 on the UK Singles Chart. I don't really have a whole heap more of information on OMD, although I do remember that they did some more soundtrack work for some other 80's John Hughes movies including the iconic Weird Science, and I haven't yet quite decided if I will feature more of their hits on this countdown, maybe, but maybe not, we shall see....
Well hello hello again! Welcome back to the Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown, and today I am bringing you #78! Now this next band got their name from the villain of an old 1968 Jane Fonda classic sci-fi movie and the song comes from the 14th James Bond film...have you guessed it yet?? Well, totally rad if you have and if you haven't here is #78 of the Countdown...A View to a Kill, by brit-synth-pop new-wave band, and no doubt one of my personal top fav bands of all time Duran Duran. As I mentioned before Duran Duran were named after Milo O'Shea's character from the sci-fi 60's movie Barbarella, and his characters name was Dr. Durand Durand. Duran Duran formed in Birmingham, England way back in the solid year of our lord 1978. According to wikipedia Duran Duran were one of the most successful band's of the 1980's and they led the "Second British Invasion" of the United States. Also a direct quote from wikipedia "Since the 1980s, they have placed 14 singles in the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart and 21 in the Billboard Hot 100 and have, according to the Sunday Mercury, sold more than 100 million records. While they were generally considered part of the New Romantic scene along with bands such as Spandau Ballet when they first emerged, they later shed this image." Band members include the ever memorable (mostly for his hair) lead singer Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes (synth and keyboards), John Taylor (bass guitar), Stephen Duffy (vocalist, songwriter and bassist), and Roger Taylor (drummer). They've had many former members but you can look those up if your really keen. A View to a Kill was a stand-alone single (the 13th single by Duran Duran) made for the 1985 release James Bond movie of the same name, and to this very day it is still the only James Bond theme song to have reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was co-written by Duran Duran and composer John Barry. Naturally the song was released with the movie in May of 1985. Well, this is one of my favorite bands of all time, so naturally that could be a hint that you might see some more of them on this countdown, but I won't spoil it for you, you'll just have to wait and see, now lets "Dance into the Fire!"
Oh my F6$#^ing Gawd, its the Fu&#$g 80's!!! Welcome back to the countdown, it has been a few days, but we are officially into the 70's now! And yes number 80 had to be an MJ hit, seeing it as the #80 of the 80's. And now, for #79...Will I Ever Understand You, by American new-wave synth pop band Berlin. I bet you thought they were German didn't you??? Was it the name or the blonde lead singer? Berlin actually formed in the late 1970's and originated in Orange County, California. As with my previous post of them, this is their second song appearing on the Top 100 and according to wikipedia there are 4 current members (Teri Nunn is the blond lead singer), and it lists about 10 former band members who were in and out of the band over the years. The core band members of the band are considered to be Teri Nunn, John Crawford , and David Diamond. Nunn left the band temporarily to pursue an acting career at one point and actually auditioned for the part of Princess Leia in the Star Wars films. Wikipedia also lists Berlin as having an inactive period between 1987 and 1998. Berlin are obviously a better known band from the 80's, and have had many hits over the years. Will I Ever Understand You was the first track appearing on their October 1986 release album titled Count Three & Pray. The song also appeared on the Inner Space soundtrack and a club scene from the movie, back when Meg Ryan was young and hot, those were the days. Enough data and repeating facts from the previous Berlin post and on with da music mahn!
