Number 43 in an occasional series of reviews of my favourite 80s 12″ records.
Confession time so this is the first of the “cheats”… Although an extended version it wasn’t actually released on the original 12″ of the track as this extended version, although a 12″ was released it merely contained the normal 7” version, the “Full” version I refer to was actually included on Kim’s second album “Select” which was released some six months after the single.
Very synth driven this was the 4th single release for Kim, and is a severely (at least in my humble opinion) underrated track. Inspired by the fall out from the “Operation Menu” bombing campaign by the USA during the Vietnam War it is a quite chilling lyric, over the top of a light and bubblegum electronic track. Although only reaching number 12 in the UK charts, and oft forgotten due to not hitting the dizzy heights of Kids in America or You Keep Me Hangin’ On it proved to be hugely popular on the continent, reaching #1 in several countries.
As a bonus for my cheating, I’ve included the single video below as well
Top 50 12 Inches of the 80s What's it all about?
Inspired by all the lists you see on FaceBook saying “Post your favourite albums, but don’t say anything about them…” I thought, hell I’m gonna say a bit about them and why they’re special. As a general rule I have chosen particular extended vinyl versions of the tracks for various reasons, amongst them they extend the length I can listen to them, and they often add extra ambience to the Radio Friendly 7″ version.
Services What 1pCD can offer
Top 50 12″ Mixes of the 80s – Full list
Legendary US record producer Tom Moulton was probably one of the prime movers in developing 12-inch releases, he had discovered that the 12-inch had vastly superior sound quality, producing grooves perfect for the discotheque. It was music for hedonistic dancers – for metronomic beats, fewer vocals, stripped back instrumentation, slow-fading echo effects, sustains, slow builds in pace and intensity to maximum peaks.
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