Sardonicus reviews a bunch of old 45s

Alla said:
That's why they're bops, it was someone else singing. They were too busy sexually harrasing Cathy Dennis and other girls.

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Had know idea about that story. Poor Cathy. That interview was pretty awkward all over.
 
Jive Bunny & The Mastermixers - That's What I Like b/w Pretty Blue Eyes (1989)

UK chart peak - Number 1

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:basil: :basil:

OK so first things first - this record sleeve has to be seen to be believed. I know 1989 may have been a less CULTURALLY SENSITIVE time, but who at the record company thought, I know, let's get this cartoon rabbit that appeals to little kids & have him being rowed by a bunch of JOLLY BLACK SLAVES on the sleeve, get on the phone to the CARTOONIST. It BOGGLES THE MIND.

Jive Bunny, to the best of my knowledge, are still the most successful (only?) musical act to emerge from SUNNY ROTHERHAM. A father & son DJ duo who put together megamixes of old rock & roll standards for weddings & the like, one thing led to another & they topped the charts WORLDWIDE in summer 1989 with "Swing The Mood", even hitting the American top 20. Quintessential one hit wonder you'd think, but no. They not only became one of the musical phenomenons of the year in the UK, they became only the 3rd act at the time to top the UK charts with their first 3 singles, after Gerry & The Pacemakers & Frankie Goes To Hollywood.

This was the follow-up, staying at Number 1 for 3 weeks with a megamix glued together by the theme to "Hawaii 5-0". I loved it, & the cartoon rabbit itself back then, but TIME HAS NOT BEEN KIND. Apart from various old standards being given the whiff of NOVELTY thanks to the bunny, the mixing itself sounds so hastily put together & AMATEUR, the songs just don't flow into each other well at all. Jive Bunny itself is a cheap & nasty animation, the whole thing just screams a THOUGHTLESS way to make a cheap buck, which it almost certainly was, of course.

Jive Bunny topped the charts one more time with the execrable Christmas themed "Let's Party" which gets no airplay these days, partly as it samples renowned paedophile Gary Glitter & partly because it is UTTER DRECK even by their standards.

Astonishingly, they kept reaching the top 10 throughout 1990 & continued charting minor hits into 1991. God knows who was buying them, even at 6 years old the novelty had WORN OFF by single number 4.

The B side is a big band number performed by The John Anderson Big Band, who did the "Hawaii 5-0" bits on "That's What I Like". Not that I've ever given this ANY THOUGHT before, but it was probably difficult working out what to put on the B side. You couldn't really do a remix of the A side or anything. Just think, record company people were having MEETINGS in 1989 of WHAT DO WE PUT ON THE JIVE BUNNY B SIDE.
 
Jive Bunny is something that I don’t know if I actually remember it from back in the day or if it’s just something I learned about on the internet and think I remember.

Swing The Mood went to #11 so I assume I heard it back in 1989 but I really can’t recall any talk about it at school or anything.

That said, it’s pissdribble as is this follow up :D
 
Joseph said:
Jive Bunny is something that I don’t know if I actually remember it from back in the day or if it’s just something I learned about on the internet and think I remember.

Swing The Mood went to #11 so I assume I heard it back in 1989 but I really can’t recall any talk about it at school or anything.

That said, it’s pissdribble as is this follow up :D
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Thank God you were ONE & DONE in the USA with them. The first one is by far the best one, they get more & more SHODDY with each release.
 
I don't care who was singing, that Milli Vanilli song remains an absolute classic!
 
I hated Jive Bunny with every fibre of my being. Absolute lowest common denominator shite.
 
Sardonicus said:
Jive Bunny & The Mastermixers - That's What I Like b/w Pretty Blue Eyes (1989)

UK chart peak - Number 1

View attachment 33691

:basil: :basil:

OK so first things first - this record sleeve has to be seen to be believed. I know 1989 may have been a less CULTURALLY SENSITIVE time, but who at the record company thought, I know, let's get this cartoon rabbit that appeals to little kids & have him being rowed by a bunch of JOLLY BLACK SLAVES on the sleeve, get on the phone to the CARTOONIST. It BOGGLES THE MIND.

Jive Bunny, to the best of my knowledge, are still the most successful (only?) musical act to emerge from SUNNY ROTHERHAM. A father & son DJ duo who put together megamixes of old rock & roll standards for weddings & the like, one thing led to another & they topped the charts WORLDWIDE in summer 1989 with "Swing The Mood", even hitting the American top 20. Quintessential one hit wonder you'd think, but no. They not only became one of the musical phenomenons of the year in the UK, they became only the 3rd act at the time to top the UK charts with their first 3 singles, after Gerry & The Pacemakers & Frankie Goes To Hollywood.

This was the follow-up, staying at Number 1 for 3 weeks with a megamix glued together by the theme to "Hawaii 5-0". I loved it, & the cartoon rabbit itself back then, but TIME HAS NOT BEEN KIND. Apart from various old standards being given the whiff of NOVELTY thanks to the bunny, the mixing itself sounds so hastily put together & AMATEUR, the songs just don't flow into each other well at all. Jive Bunny itself is a cheap & nasty animation, the whole thing just screams a THOUGHTLESS way to make a cheap buck, which it almost certainly was, of course.

Jive Bunny topped the charts one more time with the execrable Christmas themed "Let's Party" which gets no airplay these days, partly as it samples renowned paedophile Gary Glitter & partly because it is UTTER DRECK even by their standards.

Astonishingly, they kept reaching the top 10 throughout 1990 & continued charting minor hits into 1991. God knows who was buying them, even at 6 years old the novelty had WORN OFF by single number 4.

The B side is a big band number performed by The John Anderson Big Band, who did the "Hawaii 5-0" bits on "That's What I Like". Not that I've ever given this ANY THOUGHT before, but it was probably difficult working out what to put on the B side. You couldn't really do a remix of the A side or anything. Just think, record company people were having MEETINGS in 1989 of WHAT DO WE PUT ON THE JIVE BUNNY B SIDE.
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On first glance, the optics do look a bit suspect (and please don’t think I’m supporting the evil bunny here). They aren’t slaves in the picture, but rather Hawaiian canoeists - I suspect mostly to tie in with the ‘Hawaii 5-0’ theme.

IMG_3108.jpeg

Full disclosure

I also owned this on 7”.
 
jyxz said:
On first glance, the optics do look a bit suspect (and please don’t think I’m supporting the evil bunny here). They aren’t slaves in the picture, but rather Hawaiian canoeists - I suspect mostly to tie in with the ‘Hawaii 5-0’ theme.

View attachment 33699
Full disclosure

I also owned this on 7”.
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That's somewhat less SCANDALOUS then. You'd think someone might have considered how it looked before sending it to press though :D

And I can only hope you didn't buy the ATROCIOUS "Let's Party" as well!
 
Billy Joel - We Didn't Start The Fire b/w House Of Blue Light (1989)

UK chart peak - Number 7

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I've never been much of a fan of the SIGNATURE HITS of Billy Joel like "Uptown Girl" & "Just The Way You Are", & this one, his last US chart topper, very much seems like a NOVELTY HIT.

I'm not entirely sure how or why Billy Joel decided that listing out a whole ARRAY of significant 20th century political events & cultural moments would make a hit single - did he decide that THE KIDS needed a history lesson while listening to the charts? I'm sure The Reynolds Girls had something to say about THAT.

I think I've seen a video on YouTube somewhere with Billy Joel discussing his dislike of this song. He essentially backs himself into a musical corner with how overly wordy it is (it's quite difficult trying to keep up with the verses) so it basically just repeats the same note over & over while he pelts through it all before it reaches the singalong chorus. Once you take notice of it you realise just how MUSICALLY DULL this song is.

Nonetheless, like it or not, EVERYONE seems to remember it. It certainly feels like it was a bigger hit in the UK than number 7, although I imagine it's been much MALIGNED over the years.

I had no recollection of the B side but it's a funky bluesy number that was actually quite :disco: & certainly a much more interesting sounding song.

Billy Joel continues to RAKE IT IN as a touring legacy act, but I was surprised to see that he hasn't released an album of original material since "The River Of Dreams" in 1993. Not sure if record company shenanigans or if the creative SPARK just buggered off.
 
I remember coming from a holiday in France in 1989. We;d taken the overnight ferry and were back in the UK. We were listening to Radio 1, early morning. They were running through the charts, I think it might still have been Mike Smith but I wouldn't swear to it. Jive Bunny had done some major jump up the charts and it may have been the week they got to number one but I still remember thinking "what's this SHIT? I turn my back for FIVE MINUTES...."
 
Not a massive fan of Billy Joel either, but he has his moments. We Didn't Start The Fire also felt like it was EVERYWHERE at the time.

Alcazar's re-reading did their old classic of just stealing the good bits and removing the silly, and yes, overly wordy, verses to a disco beat:

 
octophone said:
I remember coming from a holiday in France in 1989. We;d taken the overnight ferry and were back in the UK. We were listening to Radio 1, early morning. They were running through the charts, I think it might still have been Mike Smith but I wouldn't swear to it. Jive Bunny had done some major jump up the charts and it may have been the week they got to number one but I still remember thinking "what's this SHIT? I turn my back for FIVE MINUTES...."
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I skim-read that as Mike Smith broadcasting ‘what’s this SHIT…..’
 
The era of the ‘listing people and things’ songs.

Billy Joel (or is it Jo-el)?

Transvision Vamp - Born to be sold

Madonna - Vogue

Anything else?
 
octophone said:
I remember coming from a holiday in France in 1989. We;d taken the overnight ferry and were back in the UK. We were listening to Radio 1, early morning. They were running through the charts, I think it might still have been Mike Smith but I wouldn't swear to it. Jive Bunny had done some major jump up the charts and it may have been the week they got to number one but I still remember thinking "what's this SHIT? I turn my back for FIVE MINUTES...."
Click to expand...

My all time similar thing for that was when I lived in France. France was always behind the UK in terms of new music and so I had no idea what was going on, but one week, I remember buying Monday's paper on Tuesday to look at the charts and the top 5 was all new entries with Cher's Believe, George Michael, U2 and Culture Club. I just remember thinking how the 80s had suddenly come back out of nowhere and I had no idea why.
 
I thank the GOOD LORD for BILLY JOEL every day, for without him we would never had had THIS

 
F.A.B. featuring MC Parker - Thunderbirds Are Go Vision Mix b/w Pressure Mix (1990)

UK chart peak - Number 5

20250226_110821.jpg


:basil::basil:

The only reason I think this one was bought was because a girl down the street wanted it to dance to at her birthday party that summer. Personally, the Thunderbirds puppets, along with "Spitting Image" & the ones from long forgotten CBBC show "Dizzy Heights Hotel" freak the hell out of me to THIS DAY. I just can't with the weird jerky way they dandle about the place with their arms AKIMBO. Just LOOK at Parker on the cover here. It's HORRIBLE, they're NOT HUMAN.

Anyway I digress :D

I have no idea who "F.A.B." were, how or why this song became a hit, or what the reasoning was behind its release. I don't think there was any film or anything out & we were a couple of years away from Tracy Island being THE must have Christmas toy in the UK in 1992. It really is a BIZARRE CURIO, consisting of dialogue snippets from "Thunderbirds", "Stingray" & "Captain Scarlet & The Mysterons" set to a vaguely current dance beat. Even the record label, The Brothers Organisation, is one I've never heard of.

If anything it seems to be a PRECURSOR to the Toytown techno rave from The Prodigy, Urban Hype, Smart E's etc that hit the UK charts a couple of years later. The 2 mixes appear virtually identical to me.

What an ODD AFFAIR all around. Now, I'll probably have nightmares about the HORRIFYING EVIL puppets tonight.
 
Oh I love that one

ARE YOU GOING TO TIE ME UP?
YOU BET I AM!
OH I DON'T MIND REALLY
 
Absolute nonsense :disco:

That being said I have a soft spot for 'A Trip To Trumpton'.
 
River City People - Carry The Blame b/w California Dreamin' (1990)

UK chart peak - Number 13

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A Liverpool band I've little awareness of outside of this single & knowing that lead singer Siobhan Maher's dad, Billy Maher, used to have an afternoon show on Radio Merseyside with the most DEPRESSING jingle ever.

Clearly, the cover of "California Dreamin" is what sold this single in the summer of 1990, giving River City People their only hit single of any note. It's a serviceable soundalike that got a fair amount of airplay that summer, but adds nothing to the PEERLESS original by The Mamas & The Papas, & like so many covers of its ilk, it was long forgotten about once it left the charts.

Despite nominally being a double A side, "Carry The Blame" never got any airplay. Quite right too, as despite its wistful folky MUSINGS, it's a spiteful little anti-abortion ditty with lyrics about as subtle as a BRICK TO THE MOUTH. No compassion or exploration of the various reasons women may choose to do that from SIOBHAN & PALS. It's all "you must be guilty of murder", "would she tell my lies?" (obviously you must be a deceitful person if you have an abortion), "I'm not clean" - it's a good thing this song is so obscure, because GOD HELP US if the MAGA crowd ever got hold of it. It left me absolutely RAGING. FUCK YOU Siobhan Maher & your judgemental BALLOON JUICE. I'm glad your SHITE BAND went straight down the dumper after this single.
 
I don’t know this one but just listened and it’s a pretty decent cover but nothing different enough that I wouldn’t just go for the original.

I read they broke up not long after
 
I vaguely remember this. Was the cover just a way of getting the B-side into people's home, I wonder. Fuck 'em!
 
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