Inside, everyone hides one desire

Continuing my trip back through the 1986 album charts

19/01/86 : Go West/Bangs & Crashes - Go West


Well, this is an odd one which requires me to start with an apology to Go West - I've ignored this album on several occasions throughout the year (and I'm sure they've been wondering why). Well, the reason for this egregious omission is that the official album chart site lists this under the title Bangs & Crashes, which Wikipedia tells me is a remix album - and we obviously can't accept such things, otherwise society would just break down. However, it's actually just a remix version of their eponymous debut album, and the chart site doesn't list them separately, so we actually DO need to consider it after all (otherwise society would just break down). I'm expecting to enjoy it, but for it to sound pretty dated.

"We Close Our Eyes" is the one everyone knows (and I own the 12") and is unsurprisingly up first, but I was surprised to also recognise "Don't Look Down", "Call Me" and "Goodbye Girl". I'm not sure that "dated" is a fair description because, whilst it was all definitely of its time, it was all perfectly listenable - even if you can't help but have a sneaky suspicion it's been craftily designed to be exactly what they thought would chart, rather than a group making the music they love.

We're at #9 in the charts this week on their 42nd week of an amazingly successful 76 week run (so their plan worked), with #8 being as high as it got - quite obviously in its 48th and 60th weeks. The top five this week were Dire Straits, A-ha, Barbra Streisand, Level 42 and Sting and the highest new entry was Cherelle (#17), who I don't remember in the slightest (Google reminds me she's best known for the original version of "I Didn't Mean To Turn You On", covered by Robert Palmer later this year).

Wikipedia doesn't have an awful lot on the album - it's their debut and most successful and that's about it, except that there were some surprisingly big cheeses from the world of session musicians involved, with Pino Pallodino, Graham Broad and Mel Collins all being names I recognise. The critics were surprisingly nice about the album (it feels like something they might have enjoyed being sniffy about) and it did well in New Zealand, getting to #5 and OK in the US, getting to #60 - but I bet they were secretly disappointed not to make it over there. In fact, they weren't even secretly disappointed about it because they both moved to LA in the 90s - Peter Cox is still out there and actually released an album last year.

"Customers also listened to" Curiosity Killed The Cat, Johnny Hates Jazz, Living In A Box and Nik Kershaw - yup, all very much in the same vein there. It's not going to solve the world's problems and you have to be in the mood for it, but it's all perfectly harmless and Go West have provided a good example of the genre here.

12/01/86 - A very smooth album
26/01/86 - A somewhat peculiar album

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