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Owen Paul - real name Owen McGee - is from Glasgow. This is his first hit. Charted at No. 65 on 27th May and had reached No. 3 by 8th July.
Sometimes when I'm working on this blog I worry that I might be going a bit native and losing my faculties as I find myself writing a glowing report about a record by somebody I always thought I hated. It's reassuring to report that such a thing won't happen this time. This is a truly terrible example of 80s pop at its worst. Of course, bad music has always been with us and there have always been awful records that have been successful: this isn't the worst of them but it feels like a temporally-specific kind of rubbish - some sort of power-pop without the power. Paul apparently trained as a footballer and much as I'm sure he's a lovely bloke, he sings like one; perhaps the most annoying thing about the track is the atmosphere of "will-this-do" as nobody involved in the performance or production really seems to be giving their best here. They weren't as willing to waste their own time as ours.
Surprising fact I learnt when reading the label: this song was written by cult US singer-songwriter Marshall Crenshaw. And Owen Paul McGee (as he now styles himself) toured recently as lead singer for Ex-Simple Minds, a group formed by the original pre-stadium rock rhythm section. This remains his only Top 75
Available on: Essential 80s - Classic Eighties Pop And Rock Hits
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