Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Bananarama - 'I Heard A Rumour'

"Who needs friends who never show

I'll tell you what you want to know

I could have saved a broken heart

If I'd found out long ago

I'm just thinking about

Those lonely nights

When I waited for your call

'Til I found out

All my friends were right, ooh, ooh

I didn't know you at all

I heard a rumour

Ooh, ooh, I heard a rumour

They say you got a broken heart"

How can you not love Bananarama? If you go back and watch their earliest videos you'll quickly realize that this trio never really took themselves very seriously. Sure, they were invested in their version of pop but they were silly. They had real fun, the kind that you just don't see in videos these days. Fifth Harmony is too busy sexing it up to even consider sharing a silly moment on camera. That's kind of sad because women that are friends and that have a real connection are goofballs at times. That's real life.

So, Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward not only were friends thirty years ago, but they remain connected to this day. "I Heard a Rumour" was released in June of 1987 and hit number 4 on Billboard's Hot 100. It was part of the Disorderlies soundtrack and one of my very favorite songs by Bananarama. Check out the video below!

Daily Boom Lost Hit: Rick James - 'Give It To Me Baby'

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: The Church- 'Reptile'

"Too dangerous to keep
Too feeble to let go
And you want to bite the hand
Shoulda stopped this long ago

Go now, you've been set free
Another month or so you'll be gorging on me
With your lovely smile
I see you slither away with your skin and your tail
Your flickering tongue and your rattling scales
Like a real reptile."

The Church is an Australian band that formed way back in 1980. Original members Marty Willson-Piper, Peter Koppes, Richard Ploog, and Steve Kilbey on vocals finally broke through on the American charts eight years later with their album Starfish. "Reptile" did pretty well on Billboard's modern rock chart and it's a song that I've always loved. The Church is technically an alternative group but their music is considered psychedelic and dream pop. Dreamy is really the only way that I can describe the guitar work. It just sucks you in and then the rapid fire chorus just totally delivers.

I love when a song makes such an impact on you that even decades later you remember exactly where you were the first time that you heard it. "Reptile" is one of those for me. Check out the live performance video below!

Currently Booming- Hall & Oates Liberty Concert in NYC- 1985 (Watch)

Daily Boom 90's Nostalgia: En Vogue - 'Hold On'

"The art of playing games now

Is not the hearts you break

It's bound to good love you make

When it's heart's on fire

Give him love evryday

Remember he needs space

Be patient and he'll give his heart to you

Don't waste your time

Fighting blind minded thoughts of dispair

Hold on to your love

You gotta hold on"

The late 80's music scene featured several pop girl groups. You had The Bangles, Expose, The Cover Girls, Sweet Sensation... all of them had radio and chart success but there was a formula to it. I don't think that anyone really anticipated the change that was coming when the calendar flipped and a new decade began. The 90's ushered in an era of New Jack Swing, slowjamz and R&B that was just amazing. Groups like TLC, SWV, and Xscape kept women front and center.

En Vogue was a major player at the time. Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, Terry Ellis and Maxine Jones teamed up in 1989 and by 1990 they had a bonafide chart hit with "Hold On". It was completely different from everything else that was getting airplay and that's what grabbed my attention immediately. To me, this video and song kind of drew a line in the proverbial sand and from this point on women had to really step up their game in order to compete musically. Check out "Hold On" below. Do you think it was a game changer too?

Daily Boom Lost Hit: Tiffany - 'I Think We're Alone Now'

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Ratt - 'Lay It Down'

"I know you don't really know me
I know you don't really care to see me
I'm into total affection
Not being scared if you never please me
You know you really want to lay it down
Right now
And how"

When I was 16 I started to work at a fast food restaurant and crushed hard on a coworker. He was hilarious, creative and REALLY into Ratt. I was already familiar with Stephen Pearcy and the rest of the group (hello, Round & Round?!) but didn't realize just how much I loved them until Invasion Of Your Privacy came out. It to this day remains a favorite album. Not only do I like every song, but I want to hear it all in order. How often do you actually get to say that about an album?

"Lay It Down" was the first single released and it kind of threw down the proverbial gauntlet for the rest of the album. It was the second-highest ranking top 40 hit for the band and one of their best videos. Check it out below!

Daily Boom Lost Hit: Santana - 'Hold On'

Currently Booming: Vixen on Bands Reunited (Watch)

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Neneh Cherry - 'Buffalo Stance'

No money man can win my love
It's sweetness that I'm thinking of.
We always hang in a Buffalo Stance
We do the dive every time we dance
I'll give you love baby not romance
I'll make a move nothing left to chance
So don't you get fresh with me

Neneh Cherry first hit on MTV at a time when other ladies like Queen Latifah and Monie Love were blowing up. Girl groups like JJ Fad and Salt N' Pepa had already proved that women were good for a lot more than just syrupy ballads and viewers really seemed to dig this new wave of ladies. Cherry was born in the states but raised in Sweden beside an incredibly musical family. That probably explains why her talent has spanned singing, rapping and even spoken word. She's an artist that has been far more motivated by creativity than the all mighty dollar since first appearing in 1988.

"Buffalo Stance" was the first single by Cherry to find itself in heavy rotation on MTV. It was written about the group of friends that she ran with back in the day and a former boyfriend, Che' is heavily referenced. In the end she dumped him because she thought that he was too materialistic. One interesting nugget is that the spoken word portion of this song is actually ripped from a love letter that Che' wrote to Cherry before their split!

Check out "Buffalo Stance" below. Do you remember it?

Currently Booming: Kajagoogoo Reunited (Watch)

Currently Booming: Soul Train- Dec. 1987 (Watch)

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Madonna - 'Lucky Star'

"You must be my Lucky Star
'Cause you shine on me wherever you are
I just think of you and I start to glow
And I need your light
And baby you know
 Starlight, star bright first star I see tonight
Starlight, [star bright] make everything all right
Starlight, star bright first star I see tonight
Starlight, [star bright] yeah."

It's funny because when I hear the name Madonna the first visual that comes to mind is the early-80's version. Something about the "Lucky Star" video has stuck with me for all of these- decades! I still associate Madonna with her dancers doing choreography to the heavy synth and drum track- and that's just fine with me. I loved those days of suddenly needing lace bows and lace gloves. Piling neon and rubber bracelets on my arms and thinking just about everything in my closet would look better if I chopped off the bottom of it and turned it into a belly shirt! I love the era of my own life that vintage Madonna conjures up for me!

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Guns N' Roses - 'Welcome To The Jungle'

"Welcome to the jungle
We've got fun 'n' games
We got everything you want
Honey, we know the names
We are the people that can find
Whatever you may need
If you got the money, honey,
We got your disease
In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your
Knees, knees
I wanna watch you bleed"

I'm not sure how anyone of a certain age could possibly not love at least one Guns N' Roses song. I mean, just one. I remember the first time I saw Axl Rose slither his way across the stage in the video for "Welcome to the Jungle" and I was just gone.

Gone.

The song was absolutely everything that a good 80's rock anthem needed to be and the band? Well, GNR always looked they had all just rolled out of a dumpster still drunk from the night before. And I kind of liked that. The whole Appetite for Destruction album literally changed my life and to this day I still affiliate certain songs with different places and people.I love the grittiness of "Welcome to the Jungle" and the video takes me back to a point in time when I was starting to embrace my love of hairbands. 

Early GNR takes me back to my very first job . It was at a fast food place and after we closed at night someone would inevitably throw Axl & the boys into the boombox and crank it WAY up. Even though I was technically on the clock it was one of the best parts of my day. Music was such a hot bottom topic in my house with my parents constantly in a tug o war  over lyrics, album covers and whatever else. It was great to spend time anywhere that not only allowed but encouraged me to crank up my radio. 

Some songs just sound better loud and "Welcome to the Jungle" will always be one of them.

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Eurythmics 'Here Comes The Rain Again'

Here comes the rain again
Raining in my head like a tragedy
Tearing me apart like a new emotion

I'm not sure how it is wherever you're reading this from, but it seems to be raining everywhere this week.  Not that I mind it. I actually seem to be more productive when it rains. The weather also reminded me of a favorite 80's song by the Eurythmics. "Here Comes the Rain Again" hit the charts back in 1984, you know, when synth music was in its heyday and for good reason.

I still remember the very first time that I heard this song. I was in middle school and had gone to a friend's to do homework. We were watching Entertainment Tonight and back then the show would often end with a video premiere. Truth be told, they really would only show one verse of the video but it was still kind of a big deal. One verse was plenty for me though and by the end of that same week my allowance was being spent on the 45 which I played constantly.

"Here Comes the Rain Again" easily remains one of my favorite Eurthmics songs to this day. Check out the video below and tell me, is it one of yours too? 

Currently Booming: Pink Floyd - The Story of Wish You Were Here

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Love & Rockets - 'So Alive'

"I don't know what color your eyes are, baby
But your hair is long and brown
Your legs are strong, and you're so, so long
And you don't come from this town

My head is full of magic, baby
And I can't share this with you
The feel I'm on a cross again, lately
But there's nothing to do with you

I'm alive, huh, huh, so alive
I'm alive, huh, huh so alive."

So, I'm recovering from a bad bout with the flu this week and most certainly not at my best, maybe my most grateful, but not my best. I'm not doing live radio for a few days and if you've been reading here for any length of time then you know that radio is my second home. It takes me back to childhood when my dad would take me to the station with him. I called dad yesterday to check in and I love the fact that just as I'm revisiting the 80's and 90's, so is he. Dad will discover a song that he passed over when it originally charted and his excitement is something that I can totally identify with.

So yesterday dad says that his new favorite song is Love & Rockets "So Alive". It's one that I play on my show fairly often and more importantly, it gives me another song that will remind me of him now every time that I hear it. Love & Rockets first got together in 1985 after their former group, Bauhaus, disbanded. They were an underground British group that fused pop with an old school college radio alternative vibe. "So Alive" went to number three on Billboard's Hot 100 and it spent five weeks atop the Modern Rock charts in 1989. Listen for 20 seconds and I'll bet even if the title doesn't ring a bell, the song itself will.

Daily Boom Lost Hits: The Cover Girls - 'One Night Affair'

Exclusive Interview: Foreigner's Jeff Pilson is Working on a New Side Project with Robin McAuley & Whitesnake's Reb Beach

Foreigner's bass guitarist, Jeff Pilson,  is undoubtedly one of the busiest guys in the business. Aside from traveling 200+ days a year with that classic rock powerhouse machine, he also juggles a few side projects at a time. If you think that the supergroups were a thing of the past then you need to pay closer attention because Jeff has a knack for not only combining established rockers but also bringing them to a higher musical level. Just last week THE END machine, his project with ex-Dokken bandmates George Lynch and Mick Brown, plus Warrant's Robert Mason on vocals, dropped their first song, "Alive Today" and with it came great reviews. While he is anxious for THE END Machine's full release on March 22, followed by a few tour dates, Jeff is also bursting with excitement over other things to come.

"I do have another project that I'm working on and it's almost two-thirds done already. There are some great players involved and two of them are Reb Beach (Whitesnake, Winger) and Robin McAuley (McAuley Schenker Group, Survivor). We're working on a record that is coming out unbelievably fantastic. I'm crazy about it and just so happy with the way that it's turning out. It's everything that you would hope for with this lineup and so much more. You can probably look for that either at the tail end of this year or maybe early 2020. We'll probably be done with the record soon because we're on such a roll. The writing is crazy great. Reb is actually coming here tomorrow and he'll be here for a week to finish up. It's all just really spectacular and I'm so unbelievably excited."

While Jeff is the catalyst in so many collaborative efforts, it's not lost on him that he gets to work with the very best of the best players in the rock game.

"I'm really lucky that I get to work with this level of talent because it makes it more fun and to me, there's a different vibe about music when there is fun attached, That for me, is the spark that lights the whole flame. We've been working hard and being really productive, but we're also having fun and everybody is just shining. Reb is another of those guys that don't always get the spotlight on him and so I think people may not always understand just how talented he is. You also haven't heard any new material with Robin singing for a while and his voice has actually gotten better and his writing is just amazing. The three-way writing chemistry between Reb, Robin and I has been really strong so, wait till you hear it!"

Check out the clip below to hear the entire interview with Jeff Pilson.

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam -'All Cried Out'

"Don't you know the heart will cause an inferno
Romance up in flames, why should I take the blame
You were the one who left me neglected [I'm so sorry]
Apology not accepted, add me to the broken hearts you collected

Ah, I gave you all of me [gave me all of you]
How was I to know you would weaken so easily
Ah, I don't what to do
I'm all cried out [I'm all] over you [I'm cried out too]"

I was a real sucker for a good tear-jerker break up song when I was a teenager and Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam's "All Cried Out" was really one of my favorites. I can't remember if I was actually going through a break up back when it was first playing on the radio every few hours but I know it was my go-to song if I needed to conjure up a few tears. It parked itself in the 8th spot on Billboard's Hot 100 and remains one of Lisa Lisa's best remembered tunes.

While Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam is no more you can still catch lead singer Lisa Velez often popping up on Freestyle Explosion tours across the U.S., performing the catalog of hits that made her so popular all of those years ago.

Currently Booming: Van Halen - Full Concert - Oakland Coliseum Stadium (1981)

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Thompson Twins- 'Doctor Doctor!'

I saw you there, just standing there

And I thought I was only dreaming, yeah

I kissed you then, then once again

You said, you would come and dance with me

Dance with me, across the sea

And we could feel the motion of a thousand dreams

                                       Doctor, doctor, can't you see, I'm burning, burning?

Oh, doctor, doctor, is this love, I'm feeling?

I often will say that 1984 was musically one of the best years of my life. In a matter of months Madonna, Michael Jackson, Prince, Cyndi Lauper and countless others were blaring from boom boxes while revolutionizing the fashion of an era. The group Thompson Twins can also quite easily be included in the mix of great music. 

Into The Gap was the group's fourth album (led by Tom Bailey and Alannah Curie) and it cranked out a few hits that landed on Billboards charts, including my favorite, "Doctor! Doctor!"  The heavy synth song did incredibly well on both the Hot 100 and Billboard's dance charts. The video itself was made at a time when technical tricks were more important than any kind of story line. Clouds, pastel lighting and ice skaters all are heavily featured in between the Thompson Twins performing their song. Check it out for yourself below. Do you still love this new wave style?

Currently Booming: 'Yah-Mo be There' -James Ingram & Michael McDonald (LIVE)

Currently Booming: NEW Queensryche- 'Dark Reverie'

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Taylor Dayne - 'Tell It To My Heart'

"The passion's so complete
It's never ending
As long as I receive
This message you're sending
Body to body, soul to soul
Always feel you near
So say the words I long to hear
Tell it to my heart
Tell me I'm the only one
Is this really love or just a game
Tell it to my heart
I can feel my body rock
Every time you call my name."

If freestyle and dance music was your thing back in 1988 then you had to have worn out a Taylor Dayne tape or two. She first hit the charts in late 1987 with "Tell It To My Heart" and she followed that with three more top ten singles off of her debut album. If you were in a club, you heard Taylor, if you were in the car Taylor was on the radio. If you flipped on MTV, there she was. She was a pop staple everywhere and her big hair, red lips and bomber jackets left a lasting visual impact. Check out her very first video below. Do you still kind of love it?

Currently Booming: Falco- 'Rock Me Amadeus' on American Bandstand (1986)

An old school Saturday always included American Bandstand!

Exclusive Interview: Jeff Pilson on THE END Machine, Foreigner Reunions to Come, Plus a Project with Reb Beach & Robin Mcauley

Currently Booming: New Music- THE END machine - 'Alive Today' (Official Music Video)

Daily Boom's Freestyle Friday: Lisette Melendez- 'Together Forever'

"I've seen us come together in my dreams
And felt the kiss that makes me love you
Enough to see us through
It took some time to feel the way I feel
That's why I know I'm here forever
And you will always be there"

If you've been reading DailyBOOM for any length of time then you already know that I consider Freestyle Friday a bit of an institution. I love that Latin freestyle has been kept alive and well since it first broke through in a major way back in the '80s. Then, groups like Expose, The Cover Girls, and Sweet Sensation helped to bring freestyle music to Billboard's Hot 100. They all got serious radio play so even if you didn't know who was singing, you certainly knew the songs and I'll bet that you still do.

The late '80s brought the rise and decline of hair bands and as we rolled into the 90's grunge and alternative music reigned. Freestyle music really took a back seat to the moodier stuff but a few artists did make enough of an impact in spite of that, to do well. Lisette Melendez was one of them. She spent a few years putting together her debut album, Together Forever, and by the time it was released in 1991 people were ready to dance again.

 A few songs off of the album were huge hits in the clubs and the title track cracked the top 40 on Billboard's Hot 100. I can't think of a better way to start your Friday than to remind you of a song that will make you dance. TGIF indeed. Check out "Together Forever" below!

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: White Lion - 'Tell Me'

Tell me baby all through the night
That you'll never let me go
Tell me baby cause I want the world to know
Together we were one
We found the place where dreams are made
And hearts never broken
We said we'd never leave
You know we couldn't turn around
And face that we had left behind

I remember when White Lion first broke through way back in 1987. I was a junior in high school and Mike Tramp was a hit from the moment my friends and I laid eyes on him. Being almost too pretty in the late 80's equaled major hotness. While that always helps a little, White Lion's Pride album was a solid effort with several truly great tracks. "Tell Me" has always been one of my favorites. Check out the video below, do you remember it?