Weather Girls 'It's Raining Men'

Chart Peak: 2

YouTube

I know reading YouTube comments isn't generally wise, but there's a comment on the Now 3 TV commercial where somebody suggests that it must be the gayest Now album ever, and as the advert flashes through video clips of 'Smalltown Boy', 'Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go' and this, you can kind of see what they mean. If only it had been 'Relax' instead of 'Two Tribes' we'd have had a full set. That said, 'It's Raining Men' obviously doesn't have quite the same relationship with gay culture as those other songs, being fronted by a female duo; a pair of former Sylvester backing singers known as Two Tons Of Fun until this single. The song was co-written by Paul Shafer, later better-known as the bandleader on David Letterman's TV show and possibly not a regular at Studio 54. Indeed I've seen at least one person on a web forum criticise this as an outsider's version of gay culture.

To give credit where it's due, though, it's a strong pop record, though as previous and subsequent versions of the song have proved, it's quite dependent on the vocals and personality of the Weather Girls themselves. They have good voices but they also get credit for entering into the spirit of things, embracing the silliness and  innuendo with gusto. They really make this the camp classic it is, even at the price of encouraging a lot of inferior cover versions. Amazingly, this never even went Top 40 in America.

Available on: 100 Hits Of The '80s

Todd Terry featuring Martha Wash and Jocelyn Brown 'Keep On Jumpin'

Chart Peak: 8

YouTube [not the official video obviously, but probably a lot cuter]

Another case of two competing versions of the song, but a more felicitous choice by the compilers. 'Keep On Jumpin' was originally the flipside of Musique's 1978 disco hit 'In The Bush' (not an ode to Australian tourism) but in 1996 record buyers could choose between one version by the Lisa Marie Experience (which sampled the Musique original) and Todd Terry's, which is re-sung by Wash and Jocelyn Brown, the latter of whom is reputed to have sung on the original. Confused? You will be.

The LM Experience were the first onto the shelves in the UK and peaked one position higher, although Terry performed slightly better in the US. Much as I was annoyed by Todd Terry at the time, largely due to the hundreds of near-identical remixes he seemed to be doing of everything, I have to admit that his version has aged the better, possibly due to the enthusiastic vocal performances. Not the sort of record I get excited about, but I can hear a job well done there. And Box Music - you chose right this time.


Also appearing on: Now 37
Available on: Jocelyn Brown - The Hits