Lovely. This was taken during the filming of The Breakfast Club, a movie that means more to me than most. Ringwald and Hall dated briefly after filming wrapped.
The photographer is Steve Kagan via Getty Images.
Archive for the 'Records (LPs) and Cassettes' Category
Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall, 1984
Published September 17, 2015 '80s Movies/TV , Record Stores , Records (LPs) and Cassettes Leave a CommentInside the Record Store, 1985
Published September 16, 2015 '80s Decor/Design/Fashion , Record Stores , Records (LPs) and Cassettes Leave a Comment
HMV Records was the UK equivalent of Tower Records—even bigger than Tower, probably. I put the date at early 1985 based on the The Smiths’ Meat is Murder LP in the third shot, released in February 1985. You’re also going to see Bowie, Floyd, New Order, Siouxsie, Thriller, the Ghostbusters soundtrack, Black Sabbath, Men at Work, Flock of Seagulls, Springsteen, Tears for Fears, The Police, U2 (when they were good), The Jam, Simple Minds.
The photos are from a Flickr pool called HMV Norwich in the 80s.
More record stores here.
Cosmic Cowboy by Barry McGuire (Sparrow Records, 1978)
Published June 30, 2015 '70s Music , Records (LPs) and Cassettes 1 Comment
Here’s the beginning of the title track:
I met a Cosmic Cowboy
Ridin’ a starry range
He’s a supernatural Plowboy
And he’s dressed up kinda strange
And at first I didn’t see ‘im
Bein’ out there on the run
Yeah, but that old hat that he’s wearin’
It’s shinin’ brighter than the sun.
Get it? The Cosmic Cowboy is Jesus! The album is on Spotify. At least listen to the title track.
Album cover art, which was also available on a t-shirt(!), is by John Lykes, who did an interesting cover for Sun Ra’s Atlantis (1973).
Queens of Space by Akka B (Goody Music, 1978)
Published June 30, 2015 '70s Music , Records (LPs) and Cassettes , Space Disco 1 Comment
I here present the Italian release of a French space disco single (sung in English) representing the entire musical output of one Akka B, which is really not all that surprising, though still kind of a shame. With lyrics or without?
Cover artist is Francis Bergèse.
The Piranhas – ‘Space Invaders’ (1979)
Published January 26, 2015 '70s Music , Records (LPs) and Cassettes , Video Games 1 Comment
The Piranhas were a British ska-punk band active between 1977 and 1983. ‘Space Invaders’ marks one of the earliest examples of rock/pop songs with a video game theme, yet another of my hobbies (see more here and here). The single (side two features live track “Cheap ‘N’ Nasty“) was produced by the legendary Steve Lillywhite, who produced The Psychedelic Furs, U2, Peter Gabriel, Morrisey, The Rolling Stones, and maybe my favorite band of all time, The Chameleons.
More details on the album at Discogs. Dig that album art!
Oh how I hate that bloody machine
Those aliens are really mean
I dread going into the green
Bombs drop on me in my dreamsI wanna be Space Invaders!
I wanna be Space Invaders!
A Cabbage Patch Christmas (Parker Brothers Music, 1984)
Published December 17, 2014 Cabbage Patch Kids , Christmas , Records (LPs) and Cassettes Leave a Comment
Cabbage Patch Kid #1: That was great, Colonel Casey, can we do it again?
Cabbage Patch Kid #2: Yeah, take us on another ride!
Cabbage Patch Kid #3: Yeah!
Colonel Casey: Sure, we’ll do it again.
So creepy. Yeah, I listened to most of it. So what?
There was also a TV movie called The Cabbage Patch Kids First Christmas that premiered in December of ’84. Lucky for all of us, it’s not available on the internets.
Get Victimized by R. Cade and the Video Victims (Arrival Records, 1982)
Published August 19, 2014 '80s Music , Records (LPs) and Cassettes , Video Games 4 Comments
It should not surprise you that R. Cade and the Video Victims only made the one album. Why not subject yourself to the whole thing on Spotify, like I did? R. Cade & The Video Victims – Get Victimized.
It’s not Arcade and the Video Victims, mind you. It’s R. Cade and the Video Victims. Get it?
“Video magic, you were there all the while. Put my quarter in, and you made me smile. Whoa-oh-oh-oh ah…”
Music Videos: Fingers – `Video Games’ (1982)
Published July 29, 2014 '80s Music , Music Videos , Records (LPs) and Cassettes , Video Games 1 Comment
New Jersey band Fingers released one EP (AXO Records, 1982), and this is the title track. I listened to the whole album on Spotify and enjoyed it—straight ahead power pop with some catchy melodies. The message here is pretty obvious: video games have changed the nature of youth and young love. Or have they? Separated at first by our hero’s addiction to the games, boy and girl are reunited in the end—when girl succumbs to the allure of the arcade and their respective games are over (and all the quarters are gone).
“You knew that I was different from the start. You look inside and see Space Invaders in my heart. It’s never been the same since video… It’s never been the same since video… It’s never been the same since video games.”
I can make out Pleiades and Armor Attack cabinets in the arcade.
Meco’s Music from Star Trek and The Black Hole (1980)
Published February 5, 2014 '70s Music , Album Covers , Black Hole, The , Records (LPs) and Cassettes , Space Disco , Star Trek , Star Wars (Original Trilogy) 12 Comments
Meco (Domenico Monardo) launched the space disco era with Star Wars and other Galactic Funk (1977), which went platinum. He followed with several disco-ized soundtrack albums, including Encounters of Every Kind (1977), Superman and other Galactic Heroes (1978), and Christmas in the Stars: Star Wars Christmas Album (1980).
Music from Star Trek and The Black Hole (1980) didn’t go over well. The movies bombed at the box office, and the original, now classic soundtracks (by Jerry Goldsmith and John Barry, respectively), resisted the transition to upbeat funk. Meco knew it, and faked most of The Black Hole. The main theme is the only track that clearly resembles Barry’s score.
You can listen to Meco’s “Star Trek Medley” here. The entire Black Hole suite is below.
The album art is by Shusei Nagaoka, who did many memorable sci-fi-themed covers throughout the ’70s, including Out of the Blue (ELO) and Raise! (Earth, Wind & Fire).
A German group called Nostromo, following a very curious disco version of the Alien theme in 1979, released a 7″ called The Black Hole in 1980. It’s much more faithful to the original, although I like Meco’s misdirected space-funk a little bit more.
2 Warps to Neptune 