New Listings 11-3-09

Hey all,

Here's my latest listings for Ebay -

BILLY IDOL - VITAL IDOL CD 8 TRACK 1987 REMIXES KROQ 250524329741 Store 1 $4.99 11/2/2009

BOOK OF LOVE - S/T CD 1986 NEW WAVE
KROQ 250524329759 Store 1 $4.99 11/2/2009

DEAD OR ALIVE - RIP IT UP CD 1987 - PETE BURNS KROQ 250524329781 Store 1 $3.99 11/2/2009

DEPECHE MODE - MUSIC FOR THE MASSES CD M.GORE 1987
250524329798 Store 1 $4.99 11/2/2009

ERASURE - RAIN (PLUS) CD 1997 VINCE CLARKE 250524329808 Store 1 $2.99 11/2/2009

ERASURE - THE TWO RING CIRCUS CD 1987 VINCE CLARKE 250524329817 Store 1 $3.99 11/2/2009

ESSENTIAL NEW WAVE HITS - VARIOUS ARTIST CD 1997 KROQ 250524329829 Store 1 $5.99 11/2/2009

MIDNIGHT OIL - 10, 9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 CD 1982 KROQ 250524329844 Store 1 $4.99 11/2/2009 0.03

ON THE CHARTS - IRS RECORDS 1979-1994 CD VARIOUS KROQ 250524329853 Store 1 $4.99 11/2/2009

THE B-52'S - S/T DEBUT CD 1979 FRED SCHNEIDER KROQ 250524329866 Store 1 $4.99 11/2/2009

THE BEATLES - PAST MASTERS CD 1988 EDITION JOHN LENNON 250524329881 Store 1 $7.99 11/2/2009

U2 - ACHTUNG BABY CD 1991 - BONO - THE EDGE - KROQ 250524329895 Store 1 $10.99 11/2/2009

U2 - BOY CD 1980 - BONO - THE EDGE - KROQ EARLY U2 250524329909 Store 1 $4.99 11/2/2009

ALISON MOYET - ALF CD 1985 YAZOO - 9 TRACKS KROQ 250524746050 Store 1 $4.99 11/3/2009

BERLIN - PLEASURE VICTIM 1982 TERRI NUNN KROQ 250524746069 Store 1 $5.99 11/3/2009

BRYAN FERRY - BETE NOIRE CD 1987 ROXY MUSIC KROQ 250524746104 Store 1 $4.99 11/3/2009

CAPTAIN AND TENNILLE - GREATEST HITS CD 1977 250524746152 Store 1 $4.99 11/3/2009

DEPECHE MODE - SOUNDS OF THE UNIVERSE CD 2009 M. GORE 250524746172 Store 1 $6.99 11/3/2009

MIDNIGHT OIL - RED SAILS IN THE SUNSET CD 1984 KROQ 250524746186 Store 1 $4.99 11/3/2009

PET SHOP BOYS - DISCOGRAPHY SINGLES COLLECTION CD 1991 250524746209 Store 1 $6.99 11/3/2009

REM - EPONYMOUS GREATEST HITS CD 1988 M. STIPE KROQ 250524746226 Store 1 $6.99 11/3/2009

TALKING HEADS - SAND IN THE VASALINE 2 DISC CD SET 1992 250524746238 Store 1 $10.99 11/3/2009

THE BEATLES - BEATLES FOR SALE CD 1987 JOHN LENNON 250524746252 Store 1 $7.99 11/3/2009

THE BEATLES - PLEASE PLEASE ME CD 1987 JOHN LENNON 250524746263 Store 1 $7.99 11/3/2009

THE BEATLES - SGT. PEPPERS CD 1987 JOHN LENNON 250524746276 Store 1 $7.99 11/3/2009

THE BEATLES - WITH THE BEATLES CD 1987 JOHN LENNON 250524746293 Store 1 $7.99 11/3/2009

THE SMITHEREENS - 11 GREATEST HITS CD 1989 KROQ 250524746311 Store 1 $5.99 11/3/2009

THE SMITHS - SINGLES CD 18 TRACKS MORRISSEY 1995 KROQ 250524746322 Store 2 $5.99 11/3/2009

New Ebay Items

Hey all,

Here are the first of my new listings on Ebay.


New item #250523011341 - BATTLESTAR GALACTICA - TV SERIES OST -1979 LORNE GREENEhttp://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250523011341
New item #250523011342 - LUSCIOUS JACKSON - IN SEARCH OF MANNY - 1992 - CD -KROQhttp://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250523011342
New item #250523011343 - GIN BLOSSOMS - NEW MISERABLE EXPERIENCE - 1992 CDhttp://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250523011343
New item #250523011344 - JUST SAY DA - SIRE VARIOUS ARTIST SAMPLER - 1990 - KROQhttp://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250523011344
New item #250523011369 - THE THREE O'CLOCK - SIXTEEN TAMBOURINES CD 1986 USA http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250523011369
New item #250523011370 - DEPECHE MODE - SPEAK & SPELL - STUMM 5 - 1988 - CD IMPThttp://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250523011370
New item #250523011382 - WHATEVER - S/T - NEW WAVE - 1998 - CD - VARIOUS ARTISThttp://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250523011382
New item #250523011390 - BURL IVES - ALL MY BEST COLLECTION - CD - FOLK SONGShttp://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250523011390
New item #250523011393 - ALL IN THE FAMILY - 2ND ALBUM LP - ARCHIE BUNKER 70'STVhttp://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250523011393
New item #250523011404 - U2 - Under a Blood Red Sky: Live at Red Rocks (VHS)http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250523011404

See you later ~~

I'm back

Hey, What's happening?? Sorry for the long absence - bloggers block (that's what the doctor says). I think I'm going to switch it up a little. I was getting a little bored with the way things were going. What I would like to do is give updates on my new items on Ebay, and also give some insight into the music I have been playing on my BLIP.FM channel. I haven't really listed too much lately, but newly played items on blip are Soft Cell -"It's a Mugs game" / ABC - "The look of Love (Extended mix)" / The Damned - "Grimly Fiendish" / Electronic - "Patience of a Saint" / New Order - "Subculture" / Gang of Four - "I Love a Man In Uniform" / A Flock of Seagulls - "Modern Love is Automatic" / Depeche Mode - "Enjoy the Silence" / Eels - "The trouble with Dreams" / Echo and the Bunnymen - "Bring on the Dancing Horses (Extended mix)" / and The Smitherees - Sniff N The Tears - The Cult - Wall of Voodoo - Romeo Void - Howard Jones. Go To my Blip.fm station to hear these and many other songs.

http://blip.fm/FLASHBACKFREDDIE

Check out my updated blog to see some of the new music I have listed on my Ebay store in a day or so.

Song of the Day - Tears For Fears 6/27/09

Tears For Fears - Way You Are
#22 On My Player

Tears for Fears are a British pop rock duo formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.
Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the New Wave synthesizer bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into mainstream rock and pop, which led to international chart success.
The band have sold more than 22 million albums worldwide (including over 8 million in the United States alone).

Orzabal and Smith met as teenagers in their home city of Bath, England. The duo became session musicians for the band Neon, where they first met future Tears For Fears drummer Manny Elias. Neon also featured Pete Byrne and Rob Fisher who went on to

become Naked Eyes. Smith and Orzabal's professional debut came with the band Graduate, a Mod Revival/New Wave act. In 1980, Graduate released an album, Acting My Age, and a single "Elvis Should Play Ska" (referring to Elvis Costello, not Presley). The single just missed the Top 100 in the UK, though it performed well in Spain and in Switzerland.
By 1981, Orzabal and Smith were becoming more influenced by artists such as Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel and Brian Eno. They departed from Graduate and formed a band called History of Headaches, a moniker which was then changed to Tears for Fears. The plan was for Orzabal and Smith to form the nucleus of the group and bring in surrounding musicians to help them complete the picture.
The band's name was inspired by Primal Therapy, developed by the American psychologist Arthur Janov, which gained tremendous publicity after John Lennon became Janov's patient in 1970. In a 2004 interview with VH1 UK, Orzabal and Smith said that when they finally met Janov in the mid-80s, they were disillusioned to find that he had become quite "Hollywood" and wanted the band to write a musical.
Tears for Fears were signed to Phonogram Records, UK in 1981 by A&R manager Dave Bates. Their first single as Tears for Fears, "Suffer the Children" (produced by David Lord), was released on that label in November 1981, followed by the first edition of "Pale Shelter" (produced by Mike Howlett) in March 1982.

The band's third single "Mad World" reached no.3[1] in the UK in November 1982. Their first album, The Hurting, was released in March 1983. For this LP (and the next), keyboard player and composer Ian Stanley and drummer Manny Elias were considered full members of the band, though Smith and Orzabal were still essentially the frontmen and public face of the band.
The album, produced by Chris Hughes and Ross Cullum, showcased synthesizer-based songs with lyrics reflecting Orzabal's bitter childhood and upbringing. The Hurting may be considered Tears for Fears' only true concept album, as references to emotional distress and primal scream therapy are found in nearly every song. The album itself was a big success and had a lengthy chart run (65 weeks) in the UK, where it reached no. 1 - also reaching the Top 20 in several countries and yielded the international hit singles "Mad World" (top 5 hit in South Africa), "Change" (top 40 hit in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands and South Africa), and a re-recorded version of "Pale Shelter" (all of which were Top Five in the UK).
Towards the end of 1983 the record company released a new, slightly more abstract single, "The Way You Are", to keep the band in the public eye while they worked on their second album. The single was a top 30 hit in the UK, but did not come close to matching the success of their three previous hits, despite a national concert tour in December of that year (captured on the "In My Mind's Eye" live video release). The single, which heavily featured sampling and programmed rhythms, led to a departure in Tears for Fears' musical approach. In the liner notes to their 1996 B-sides album Saturnine Martial & Lunatic they wrote that "this was the point we realised we had to change direction", although the somewhat experimental style of the single continued to be reflected to some extent in their forthcoming B-sides.

A change of direction was initially instigated as they began working with a new producer, Jeremy Green, on their new single "Mothers Talk" in early 1984, but the band were ultimately unhappy with the results and so producer Chris Hughes was brought back into the fold and the "Mothers Talk" single reproduced for release in August 1984. A distinct departure from their earlier works, the single became a top 20 hit in the UK, but it was the follow-up single "Shout" (released in the UK in November 1984) that was the real beginning of the band's international fame.
This top 5 hit paved the way for the second album Songs from the Big Chair (released in February 1985), which entered the UK album chart at no.2 and remained in the upper reaches of the chart for the next 12 months. They did away with the predominantly synth-pop feel of the first album, instead expanding into a more sophisticated sound that would become the band's stylistic hallmark. Anchored around the creative hub of producer Hughes, Stanley and Orzabal, the new Tears for Fears sound helped to propel Songs from the Big Chair into becoming one of the year's biggest global sellers, eventually being certified triple-platinum in the UK and quintuple-platinum in the U.S. (where it remained the #1 album for five weeks in the summer of 1985)[2]
The album's success was in conjunction to the array of hit singles it yielded: "Mothers Talk" (the first to be released in the UK, but the last to be released in the US in a completely re-recorded form), "Shout" (#4 UK, #1 in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, etc., and a huge hit in other territories, in fact one of the biggest of the 1980s), "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", (their biggest UK and Irish hit at #2 and another #1 in the U.S. and in Canada), "Head over Heels" (UK #12, US #3, Ireland #5, Canada #8) and "I Believe (A Soulful Re-Recording)" (UK #23 and Ireland #10). Some territories even saw the release of limited edition 10" singles for these hits, in addition to the regular 7" and 12" formats.
Following the album's release, the band went on a world tour that lasted most of the year. During this tour, Orzabal and Smith discovered an American female singer/pianist, Oleta Adams, who was performing in a Kansas City, Missouri hotel bar, and whom they invited to collaborate on their next album.
The album's title was inspired by the book and television miniseries Sybil, the chronicle of a woman with multiple personality disorder who sought refuge in her analyst's "big chair", Orzabal and Smith stating that they felt each of the album's songs had a distinctive personality of its own. The band had a song entitled "The Big Chair" which they had put on the B-side to "Shout" but decided not to include on the album. They also released a video collection/documentary entitled "Scenes from the Big Chair" the same year, while their first two earliest singles were re-released, both reaching the UK Top 75. In 1986, upon completion of the lengthy and exhausting Big Chair world tour, Manny Elias left the group.
In 1986, Orzabal and Stanley collaborated together on a side project named "Mancrab". They released one single, "Fish for Life", which was written for the soundtrack of the film The Karate Kid, Part II. The track was written and produced by Orzabal and Stanley, and featured vocals by US singer/dancer Eddie Thomas.

It was 1989 before the group released their third album, The Seeds of Love (on which Ian Stanley appeared for the last time as a TFF member), at a reported production cost of over a million pounds. The album was written largely by Orzabal along with keyboardist Nicky Holland, who had toured with the band on their global 1985 "Big Chair" tour. Moving from various studios and using various sets of producers over many months, the band ultimately decided to scrap that previous work and take the reins themselves with assistance from engineer David Bascombe. Much of the material was recorded in jam sessions and later edited down. The length of the production left the band with towering debt and a record company eager to cash in on lost earnings. The album retained the band's epic sound while showing increasing influences ranging from jazz and blues to The Beatles, the latter being evident on the hit single "Sowing the Seeds of Love" the first record ever played on Atlantic 252, the UK and Ireland longwave radio station. The second single from the album was "Woman in Chains" (a Top 30 hit in the UK, in France, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden and Top 40 in the US), on which Phil Collins played drums and Oleta Adams — whom Orzabal would later guide to a successful solo career — shared vocals. The album was a worldwide success, entering the UK album charts at no. 1, making the Top 10 in the US (though charting lower there than its multi-platinum predecessor) and in numerous other countries, eventually going on to sell millions of copies worldwide. The band set out on an extensive "Seeds of Love" world tour sponsored by Philips to start recovering the debt incurred. The show would be captured on the "Going To California" video as the singles "Advice For The Young At Heart" and "Famous Last Words" delivered modest chart success.
A 64-page companion book, simply titled "Tears for Fears - The Seeds of Love", was released by Virgin Books in 1990 and offered extensive insight from Orzabal, Holland and Adams into the songwriting and production process for the album, as well as the musical scores for each track and rare promotional photographs from the era.

After The Seeds of Love, Orzabal and Smith had an acrimonious falling out and parted company in 1991. The split was blamed on Orzabal's intricate but frustrating approach to production and Smith's desire to slow down the pace of their work. Prior to The Seeds of Love, Smith had also been deeply affected by the breakdown of his marriage to Lynn Altman, whom he had met in his teens. Orzabal kept the band name alive by releasing the 1992 hit single "Laid So Low (Tears Roll Down)" in order to promote the greatest hits collection Tears Roll Down (Greatest Hits 82-92) which featured every single to reach the Top 20 either in the UK or internationally, apart from the Sport Aid fundraiser.
Smith relocated to New York City, and in 1993 he released his first solo album, Soul On Board. The album was a commercial failure and Smith himself has said on numerous occasions that he despised it, alleging that he only made it in order to fulfill his recording contract. In 1995 he met local songwriter and producer Charlton Pettus. The two formed a self-described "organic" partnership, writing simple, melody-based songs and recording them at home on vintage analogue equipment. The result was released under the name Mayfield and a short US tour followed.

In 1993, Orzabal (still under the name Tears for Fears) released the album Elemental together with longtime collaborator Alan Griffiths and co-producer Tim Palmer. It yielded the international hit "Break It Down Again" (Top 20 in the UK, France, Italy, etc.) and was supported with another successful world tour, including a college tour of the U.S. where "Break It Down Again" reached #25.
The album was a Top 5 hit in the UK and France, and Top 30 in several other countries. Although it charted considerably lower in the US than the previous two studio albums (#45), it was still earned a Gold disc there for sales of over half a million copies. The singles "Cold (Tears for Fears song)Cold", "Elemental" and "Goodnight Song" met with minor chart success in certain territories.
Orzabal, still working with Griffiths and Palmer, released another Tears for Fears album in 1995, Raoul and the Kings of Spain. This was a more contemplative work that delved into his own Spanish heritage and showed a new Latin musical influence (Raoul was originally the name Orzabal's parents wanted to give him, and is also the name of his own first son). Orzabal stated that it was not a concept album but that there was a theme, namely that of familial relationships. The album was not a commercial success by Tears for Fears standards, though minor chart success came via the single release of the title track (top 40 in the UK) and (to a lesser extent) the single "God's Mistake". Raoul and the Kings of Spain also included a reunion with Oleta Adams who collaborated with Orzabal on the track "Me and My Big Ideas".
A worldwide tour, which included a frenzied welcome in Latin America, had the effect of straining Orzabal's energies rather than supporting them. Conspicuously, Orzabal declined to tour his native UK this time but performed a single show in London. The release of Raoul was delayed for nearly a year due to a last-minute label switch from Mercury to Epic, and the ensuing confusion (Mercury had already begun promotion) did not help the album's chances either. Although the tracklisting for the album had been changed at the record company's request, Sony did not extend Tears for Fears' contract following the album's release.
In 1996 a B-sides collection, Saturnine Martial & Lunatic, was released on Mercury, which included B-sides and some rare tracks from the successful 1982-93 period. The liner notes, written by Orzabal and Chris Hughes, gave fans an insight into the songwriting process as well as a rare glimpse of self-deprecating humour regarding the tracks which they would rather forget.

In 1999, Mercury Records released remastered editions of Tears for Fears' first three albums which included B-sides, remixes, and extended versions. Supervised by producer Chris Hughes it proved to be a meticulous effort bringing new clarity to the recordings. As with Saturnine, the new liner notes for each album provided rich background details and new insights into the music for even longtime fans. The remasters also had the effect of establishing Tears for Fears as definitive artists, helping them to escape the dreaded "80s band" stereotype.
Due to record company mergers and acquisitions in the late 1990s, Tears for Fears' back catalogue was eventually placed into the Universal Music fold.
After undertaking production work and some songwriting for Icelandic singer/songwriter Emiliana Torrini on her 1999 album Love in the Time of Science, Orzabal reteamed with Griffiths and released the album Tomcats Screaming Outside, released on Eagle Records as a solo project under his own name. Whereas Tears for Fears' work had become guitar-based, Tomcats Screaming Outside showcased a predominantly electronic style and a darker approach. The album was released in April 2001 in the UK and Europe, but had the unfortunate coincidence to be released on September 11, 2001 in the US, the same day the United States experienced its 9/11 terrorist attack, and ultimately drew little notice outside the group's core fan base.

In 2000, routine paperwork obligations[citation needed] led to Orzabal and Smith's first conversation in almost a decade. The two patched up their differences and Orzabal flew to Smith's home in Los Angeles for what they assumed would be a hesitant attempt at songwriting.
The songwriting sessions, which included Charlton Pettus, Smith's collaborator since the mid-1990s, went so well that fourteen songs were written and recorded in less than six months. The ensuing album, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending, is similar to The Seeds of Love, featuring vibrant Beatlesque melodies, solid songwriting, and turns of phrase.[citation needed]
The twelve-track album was scheduled for release on Arista Records in late 2003, but a change in management at Arista led to a last-minute label switch to New Door, a new offshoot of Universal, and delayed the release until September 14, 2004. Two U.S. tours followed, and the 2004 tour included an unrehearsed guest appearance by Oleta Adams at the Kansas City show for a performance of "Woman in Chains". The song "Who Killed Tangerine?" was used in the movie Fever Pitch.
Everybody Loves a Happy Ending was released in the UK and Europe in March 2005 on Gut Records, shortly after the comeback single "Closest Thing To Heaven" became the first Tears for Fears UK Top 40 hit in a decade. The promo video for the single was a colourful fantasy, featuring Hollywood actress Brittany Murphy riding in a hot air balloon. The European releases of the album contained all fourteen tracks written and recorded during the ELAHE sessions. A brief tour of larger UK venues followed in April.
In 2005, the band began discussions for the release of a comprehensive anthology of their work to date, including a new track entitled "Floating Down The River". However, the subsequent release was a compilation issued as part of Hip-O's generic "Gold" series.
A performance at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, recorded in June 2005, was released on CD and DVD in France and Benelux. Entitled Secret World - Live in Paris, it was released on the XIII Bis label in early 2006 and became a bestseller, with over 70,000 physical copies sold in addition to downloads. The CD contained the aforementioned new studio song, "Floating Down the River", and a remastered Mayfield track, "What Are We Fighting For?". The relationship with XIII Bis proved so successful that Smith chose the comparatively small French label to release his 2007 solo album, Halfway, Pleased.
In 2006, the Songs from the Big Chair album got the deluxe treatment with additional B-sides and rarities added, expanding further than the 1999 remastered version. The release did not include the lyrics as the artists had intended with the original release, but came with a 24 page booklet including rare photographs and newly written liner notes. The two-disc set contained four sections, including one with the album taken from the original remasters from 1999[citation needed]. It also included the piano version of "The Working Hour" which had previously only been available as a rare promotional item, as well as numerous B-sides and the 7" versions of the singles (including the aforementioned "The Way You Are" and the 1986 U.S. remix of "Mothers Talk"). The last section highlighted the true effect of five remixes, a common practice in the mid 1980s, heavily reliant on sequencers, sampling and programming.

Song of the Day - Oingo Boingo 6/27/09

Oingo Boingo - Grey Matter #21 on My Player

Oingo Boingo was an American New Wave band. They are best known for their influence on other musicians, their soundtrack contributions and their high energy Halloween concerts. The band was founded in 1972 as a performance art group called The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, and from 1976 it was led by songwriter/vocalist Danny Elfman, who later achieved substantial renown as a composer for film and television.
The group's format changed twice. In 1980, it changed from a semi-theatrical music and comedy troupe into a ska-influenced New Wave octet and shortened their name to Oingo Boingo.[1] In 1994, the band reshuffled its lineup, adopted an alternative rock sound and rechristened themselves Boingo. The band retired in 1995, having reverted to the name Oingo Boingo.

The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, formed in late 1972 by Richard Elfman, was a musical theater troupe in the tradition of Spike Jones and Frank Zappa, performing an eclectic repertoire ranging from Cab Calloway covers to instrumentals in the style of Balinese Gamelan and Russian ballet music. The name was inspired by a fictional secret society on the Amos 'n' Andy TV series called The Mystic Knights of the Sea. Most of the members performed in whiteface and clown makeup, and a typical show contained music ranging from the 1890s to the 1950s, in addition to original material. This version of the band employed as many as 15 musicians at any given time, playing over 30 instruments, including some instruments built by band members. Few recordings from this period exist, although they released a novelty record about kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst, "You've Got Your Baby Back."
As Richard Elfman's interest shifted to filmmaking, he passed leadership of the band to younger brother Danny Elfman, who had recently returned from spending time in Africa playing violin and studying percussion instruments. They gained a following in Los Angeles, and appeared as contestants on The Gong Show in 1976, winning the episode they appeared on with 24 points out of a possible 30 (and without getting gonged).[2] The band appeared in the 1977 movie "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden." Their appearance was in the dream sequences of the main character.
When the group began to move away from its cabaret style towards a more pop/rock format, Richard Elfman made a film about the band, Forbidden Zone, which was released in 1980. Filmed in black and white with a cast mostly made up of band members and friends, the movie's music and visuals elaborated on the spirit of the band's concerts. In one scene, Danny, as Satan, sings a version of Calloway's "Minnie the Moocher" with modified lyrics integrated into the plot of the film. In another, Richard sings the 1920s novelty song "The Yiddishe Charleston." The movie attained cult status and provided a springboard for the film and music careers of Richard and Danny.

Various reasons were given for the band's transformation from musical theater troupe to rock band, including cutting costs, increasing mobility, exploring new musical directions (such as Danny's interest in ska and New Wave), and a desire to perform music that didn't need theatrics.[3] There was some confusion about what name the band would use. In the 1978 animated short "Face Like A Frog", by Sally Cruikshank, the band's song "Don't Go In The Basement" is credited to The Mystic Knights. The name was shortened to Oingo Boingo for the Rhino Records Los Angeles rock and New Wave compilation, L.A. In, which included their song "I'm Afraid."
By this time, Richard was no longer a group member, and the band had coalesced into an octet: Danny Elfman on lead vocals; Steve Bartek on guitars; Richard Gibbs on keyboards; Kerry Hatch on bass; Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez on drums; and Leon Schniederman, Sam "Sluggo" Phipps, and Dale Turner on horns. Early success for the group came in 1980 with the song "Only a Lad" from their eponymous EP. The song aired frequently in Los Angeles on KROQ and complemented the station's then-unusual New Wave format. Although the song was classified as New Wave and was compared to Devo, Oingo Boingo defied easy categorization. Their use of exotic percussion, a three piece horn section, unconventional scales and harmony, and surrealistic imagery was an unusual combination.
Following regional success of "Only a Lad," the group released its first full length album, also titled Only a Lad (and featuring a new recording of the song), in 1981. Oingo Boingo also appeared in the 1981 film Longshot, performing their unreleased song "I've Got To Be Entertained". The band, recording for A&M Records, released albums in 1982 (Nothing To Fear) and 1983 (Good For Your Soul) that drew comparisons to Devo and later, Wall of Voodoo. At this point, new manager Mike Gormley, who had just left the position of VP of Publicity and Asst. to the Chairman of A&M, negotiated a release from the label and signed the band to MCA Records. The first release was officially a Danny Elfman solo record in 1984 (cleverly titled So-Lo); it was actually a group effort released under Elfman's name. Subsequently, the band would record under their own name for MCA.

With the move to MCA, the band made two personnel switches: Mike Bacich took over on keyboards from departing member Richard Gibbs, and John Avila replaced Kerry Hatch on bass. Oingo Boingo appeared in a number of soundtracks in the early to mid 1980s, including Fast Times at Ridgemont High, which features "Goodbye, Goodbye". Their best-known song, "Weird Science", was written for the John Hughes movie of the same name, and was later included on their 1985 album Dead Man's Party.
Later, the band made an appearance playing their hit "Dead Man's Party" on stage in the movie Back to School. Four more songs from the album Dead Man's Party were used in soundtracks: "No One Lives Forever" was featured in Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, "Stay" (in the Boingo Alive version) was used as the theme music for the Brazilian soap opera Top Model, "Same Man I Was Before" was used in My Best Friend Is a Vampire, and "Just Another Day" opened the 1985 film adaptation of S. E. Hinton's That Was Then, This Is Now. Beginning with 1985's Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Danny Elfman had been scoring major films with increasing frequency, including almost all of Tim Burton's films.
Oingo Boingo's 1987 album BOI-NGO didn't make a huge impression on the charts. After this album, Bacich was replaced by new keyboardist Carl Graves. The band's 1988 release Boingo Alive was actually recorded live on a soundstage, with no studio audience, and contained a selection of songs from earlier albums, plus two new compositions. The Boingo Alive track "Winning Side" became a #14 hit on US Modern Rock radio stations.

After being dropped from MCA, the band officially shortened their name to Boingo, and reshuffled their lineup somewhat. Graves was dropped (after recording "Lost Like This"), and added were Warren Fitzgerald on guitar, Marc Mann on keyboards, and Doug Lacy on accordion. Boingo's lone self-titled album was issued on Giant Records in 1994. Though the band was officially a ten-piece ensemble, only five members (Elfman, Bartek, Avila, Hernadez and Fitzgerald) were pictured in the album's liner notes, and the guitar-oriented album used the keyboards and horns of the five remaining members sparingly, and excluded the horn section entirely from live performances of the period. The quintet was often backed by an orchestra conducted by Bartek, and which featured prominent cello by Fred Seykora. The Boingo album also continued in the less party-friendly vibe of Dark at the End of the Tunnel, although it contained the modern rock hit "Hey!" Reverting to the Oingo Boingo name and restoring the horn section, the band embarked on a brief farewell tour in 1995, culminating in a final annual Halloween performance at the Universal Amphitheatre. The final concert is available on both audio and video recordings.

Following the band's dissolution, frontman Danny Elfman has continued to find success in his career writing film scores, particularly in collaboration with director Tim Burton. Elfman almost exclusively employs Oingo Boingo guitarist Steve Bartek as orchestrator. His film scores have included Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Good Will Hunting, Men in Black, Spider-Man, Big Fish, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and dozens more. Elfman also wrote the themes for more than a dozen TV series, including The Simpsons, Batman: The Animated Series, Desperate Housewives, Tales from the Crypt, Sledge Hammer!, Dilbert (TV series), and The Flash (TV series).
John Avila and Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez were two members of the trio Food For Feet. They also formed the rhythm section of Tito & Tarantula, a Los Angeles band fronted by Tito Larriva of The Plugz and the Cruzados. Avila and Hernandez also joined Larriva and guitarist Stevie Hufstetter in a one-off project band called Psychotic Aztecs. The Aztecs released one album on the Grita label called Santa Sangre. After the breakup, bassist John Avila, guitarist Steve Bartek, drummer Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez, and saxophonist Sam Phipps (along with Doug Lacy and other musicians) formed a band called Doug & The Mystics. They recorded one album, New Hat, which included a cover of the Oingo Boingo song "Try to Believe", original songs, and covers of songs by Frank Zappa and other artists.
During the 2005 Halloween season, Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez put together an Oingo Boingo tribute show, joined by former Oingo Boingo members Steve Bartek, John Avila, and Sam "Sluggo" Phipps, at the Grove of Anaheim. Standing in for Elfman was Bt4.[citation needed] In 2005, John Avila, Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez and Steve Bartek joined the list of performers on the soundtrack of 2003 re-imagination of the sci-fi series, Battlestar Galactica. Richard Gibbs joined as well, and is credited as both a performer and composer. Their performances can be heard in seasons 2 and 3, and will likely be heard on subsequent seasons of the series as well. During the 2006 Halloween season, there were two Johnny Vatos Tribute to Halloween shows, one in Los Angeles and one in Orange County, with Vatos, Bartek, Avila, Phipps, and Legacy and Bt4.
In early 2007, Danny Elfman said there would not be a reunion. He has irreversible hearing loss and is worried that playing live would exacerbate it. He stated that some other members of the band may also suffer from the condition.
As a small tibute to the band, Southern California based Blizzard Entertainment included character references to some band members in the starting area for undead characters "The Forsaken" in the immensely popular World of Warcraft PC game. New adventurers can find skeletons with names such as Daniel Ulfman, fitting to one of the bands running themes.

Song of the Days - Various 6/20 - 6/26

Hey!! anybody out there - Anybody care ?? Well sorry for the absence - been preoccupied with other things. This enttry is to catch me up on the days lost so I will give 7 songs to add to my list. Here they are:

Camouflage - Stan Ridgeway #14
Lillian - Depeche Mode #15 (I know it's not that old - It's a cool song thought)
Twilight - U2 #16
Vanessa Vascilating - Slow Children # 17
Situations - Ceta Javu #18
Lava - The B-52's #19
Blind Vision - Blancmange #20

I'll Keep on it from now on - Sorry for no input to groups and songs ~~ Next time

I'm out BC

Song of the Day - The Damned 6/19/09

The Damned - "Alone Again Or"
#13 on My Player

The Damned are an English punk band formed in London in 1976.[4][1] They are notable for being the first punk rock band from England to release a single ("New Rose"), an album (Damned Damned Damned), and to tour the United States. The Damned later evolved into one of the forerunners of the gothic genre.[2]
They have incorporated numerous styles into their music and image, including: garage rock, psychedelic rock, cabaret, and the theatrical rock of Screaming Lord Sutch and Alex Harvey. Lead singer Dave Vanian's vocal style has been described as similar to a crooner.[5] The Damned have dissolved and reformed many times, with Vanian as the sole constant member. However, the lineups have always included either guitarist Captain Sensible and/or drummer Rat Scabies, who are both founding members. The current line-up includes Vanian, Captain Sensible, Monty Oxy Moron, Pinch and Stu West.

Dave Vanian (David Lett), Captain Sensible (Raymond Burns) and Rat Scabies (Chris Millar) had been members of the band Masters of the Backside, which also included future Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde. Brian James (Brian Robertson) had been a member of the punk band London SS, who never played live but included musicians who later found fame in The Clash and Generation X. Scabies knew James through a failed audition as drummer for London SS. When the two decided to start their own band, James and Scabies had invited Sid Vicious and Dave Vanian to audition to be the singer of The Damned. Only Vanian showed up, and so he became the frontman of the band.

The Damned played their first gig on 26 July 1976, supporting the Sex Pistols at the 100 Club. Organized by Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren, the gig was a two-day event billed as the "100 Club Punk Festival" and also included such early punk rock bands as The Clash, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Subway Sect, Buzzcocks, Chris Spedding & The Vibrators and the French band Stinky Toys.
They were the first of the London punk bands to release a single on the independent record label Stiff Records. That single, "New Rose", was described by critic Ned Raggett as a "deathless anthem of nuclear-strength romantic angst".[7] Vanian's deadpan intro — "Is she really going out with him?" — was borrowed from The Shangri-Las' 1964 "Leader of the Pack". The B-side of "New Rose" was a faster version of The Beatles' "Help!". Their first album, Damned Damned Damned, was the first album released by a British punk band, and it included several minor hits.
In 1977, The Damned became the first British punk band to tour the United States. According to Brendan Mullen, founder of the Los Angeles club The Masque, the Damned's first tour of the U.S. found them favouring very fast tempos, helping to inspire the first wave of U.S. west coast hardcore punk.[8]
In March 1977, The Damned opened for T.Rex on their final tour. The Damned then recruited a second guitarist, Lu Edmunds. This expanded line-up unsuccessfully tried to recruit the reclusive Syd Barrett to produce their second album Music For Pleasure. They settled for Barrett's Pink Floyd bandmate, Nick Mason, who they reported was generally uninterested in the task. Music for Pleasure flopped critically and commercially and the band broke up, ending their relationship with Stiff Records.
The former members of the band worked on a series of brief side projects and solo recordings, all making little commercial impact. The Damned soon tentatively reformed, but without Brian James, who had been the group's main songwriter. Originally they performed as The Dimmed and The Doomed to avoid potential trademark problems. Captain Sensible switched to guitar and keyboards, and after a brief period with Lemmy of Hawkwind and Motörhead on bass for studio demos and a handful of live appearances[9], the bassist position was filled by Algy Ward, formerly of The Saints. The band signed a deal with Chiswick Records, and went back to the studio to record another album.
Vanian's vocals had by now expanded from the high-baritone barks of the early records to a smooth, proto-Gothic crooning style. The Damned had established a dark, melodic style that was sometimes fast and loud, and at other times relaxed with dominant keyboards.
The Damned released a series of singles leading up to 1979's Machine Gun Etiquette, and later a version of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit", with a new Damned song, "Rabid", on the B-side.
Machine Gun Etiquette featured a strong 1960s garage rock influence, with Farfisa organ in several songs. Recording at Wessex Studios at the same time as The Clash were there to record London Calling, Joe Strummer and Mick Jones made an uncredited vocal appearance on the title track. Fans and critics were pleasantly surprised, and Machine Gun Etiquette received largely positive reviews; Ira Robbins and Jay Pattyn described it as "A great record by a band many had already counted out".

Ward left the group in 1980, to be replaced by Paul Gray, formerly of Eddie and the Hot Rods. The Black Album was released later that year, the double album's centerpiece being the theatrical 17-minute "Curtain Call". It would be their last album for Chiswick.
In 1981, The Damned released Friday the 13th, a four song E.P. on NEMS.
In 1982, The Damned released their only album for Bronze Records, Strawberries, featuring new full-time keyboardist Roman Jugg. At this time, Sensible was splitting his time between The Damned and his own solo career, which had seen early success in the UK with the surprise number one hit "Happy Talk" in 1982. Consequently, the group's next album was a one-off side project recorded without the unavailable Sensible: a soundtrack to an imaginary 1960s movie called Give Daddy the Knife, Cindy.[11] This limited-run album of 1960s cover songs had the band billed as Naz Nomad and the Nightmares.
In 1984, The Damned made a live performance on the BBC Television show The Young Ones performing their song "Nasty", featuring new bassist Bryn Merrick and both Jugg and Sensible on guitar. Sensible would play a last concert with the band at Brockwell Park (from which a bootleg called Captain's Last Stand was issued), before leaving to pursue his solo career full-time, Roman Jugg taking over his spot as guitarist.

From the beginnings of the band, Vanian had adopted a vampire-like appearance onstage, with chalk-white makeup and formal dress.[12] With Sensible gone, Vanian's image became more characteristic of the band as a whole. The Damned signed a contract with major label MCA, and the Phantasmagoria album followed in July 1985, preceded by the UK #21 single "Grimly Fiendish".
In January 1986, the non-album single "Eloise," a cover of a 1968 hit by Barry Ryan, was a #3 chart success in the UK, the group's highest chart placing to date.
However, Phantasmagoria's November 1986 follow-up, Anything, was a commercial failure, although MCA did include one of its tracks ("In Dulce Decorum") on the soundtrack release of Miami Vice II.
Late in 1987 The Damned began to work on a new album for MCA, but the result of these sessions remain unreleased as the record contract was dissolved. Two of the new songs ("Gunning For Love" and "The Loveless And The Damned") were later re-recorded by the Dave Vanian and the Phantom Chords side project. James rejoined the group temporarily for a few live appearances, some of which appear on 1988's Final Damnation. Following this album the band disbanded again

During their hiatus,The Damned name was afforded homage, when two groups each covered a Damned song: Guns N' Roses recorded "New Rose" for their "The Spaghetti Incident?" (1993), while The Offspring covered "Smash It Up" for the Batman Forever soundtrack (1995). Both cover versions would enjoy major label distribution and create more exposure to the Damned sound, sometimes to a younger audience unfamiliar with the group.
In 1993 the group reformed with a new line-up featuring Scabies, Vanian, guitarists Kris Dollimore (formerly of The Godfathers), and Alan Lee Shaw, and bassist Moose Harris in 1995. They toured regularly for about two years and released a new full-length album, Not of This Earth. Promoted with a series of long tours prior to its release, by the time the album was released The Damned had yet again split, partly as the result of legal battles: Vanian and Sensible accused Scabies of releasing Not of This Earth without proper authorization.
Sensible rejoined Vanian in 1996 and yet another formation of The Damned appeared. This initially featured bassist Paul Gray, who was later replaced by Patricia Morrison, previously of The Bags, The Gun Club and The Sisters of Mercy.

In 2001, the band released Grave Disorder, followed by continual touring. Morrison and Vanian eventually married and had a daughter, Emily, born on 9 February 2004. During her pregnancy Morrison was replaced by ex-English Dog Stu West, her return to the band's lineup in the future however has not been ruled out.
In 2006, The Damned released the new single "Little Miss Disaster", and a live DVD MGE25 documenting a 2004 Manchester concert celebrating the 25th anniversary of Machine Gun Etiquette. On 21 October 2006, BBC Radio 2 broadcast an hour-long documentary entitled Is She Really Going Out With Him? concerning the recording of the Damned's first single "New Rose" and the group's place in the 1976 London punk scene. Featuring interviews with James, Sensible, Scabies, Glen Matlock, Don Letts and Chrissie Hynde, the programme gave some new insights into the bands and personalities around the scene, particularly the ill-fated Anarchy in the U.K. tour.
On 28 October 2008, The Damned released for download their tenth studio album, So, Who's Paranoid?, followed by a conventional release on the English Channel label on 10 November (UK) and 9 December (US).[13] To promote the album, the band made back to back appearances performing on the Halloween eve and Halloween episodes of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.[14] After a canceled US tour in January, the band finally rescheduled for a spring appearance along the east coast. They played a set and conducted a short interview on the Cherry Blossum Clinc on WFMU on May 16, 2009.