Jaki Graham & David Grant 'Mated'

Chart Peak: 20

YouTube

Following the Top 5 success of 'Could It Be I'm Falling In Love' earlier in the year, Jaki and David have released this Todd Rundgren track as the follow-up.

Todd Rundgren: a name you might not have expected to show up in the context of Now albums, but he did indeed write this song, which was originally recorded by his prog-rock band Utopia who'd released it as their last single earlier in 1985. He later recorded a Latin-jazz version as a solo artist, which is as good an idea as you'd expect. It's not the most obvious source of material for a soppy soul-pop duet (especially as the follow-up to a Detroit Spinners cover) but in practice it's a fairly straightforward pop slowie, despite the oddly zoological-sounding title. I'm pretty sure this got Rundgren's highest UK chart position as a songwriter, thought of course he's made the Top 10 as a producer for Meat Loaf.

All of which said, it's not really that good a track either, lacking the sort of memorable hook that worked on 'Could It Be I'm Falling In Love'. It's another example of a 1985 Now! missing the big hit and catching the lesser follow-up instead. It feels a bit symptomatic of a broadly underwhelming album, where the couple of genuinely brilliant tracks stand out all the more. Even the Madness track isn't much cop, a sure sign of a disappointing album.

We'll be back in a few weeks when I've decided which album comes next. I'm thinking 46, 56 and 76 may have to wait a while.

Jaki Graham also appears on: Now 5, 7, 8
Available on: Just The Two Of Us

Cameo 'Single Life'

Chart Peak: 15

YouTube

Charted at No. 47 on 10th September and rose steadily to reach No. 15 by 15th October.

I'm not sure who those people on the cover are but I'm pretty sure they weren't members of Cameo. I don't think I'd ever heard this track all the way through before, though I did remember the chorus, and had a vague idea I'd seen part of the video before. I was slightly surprised at how minimal it sounded - even this 7" edit is effectively instrumental for much of its running time and the arrangement's pretty sparse, dominated by the slap bass and synths you'd expect on Side Four of a mid-80s Now! album.

In theory, I should hate Larry Blackmon's silly whiny voice and the lyric of this song, which seems to be boasting about the single life, ie pulling lots of girls. But somehow the combination is goofy enough to work. And they do make the effort to clown about in that video. It's not something I'd go out of my way to listen to, and not being a single man I'm not invited to clap along to it, but it's cheery enough.

Also appearing on: Now 8
Available on: Anthology

Mai Tai 'Body And Soul'

Chart Peak: 9

YouTube

The follow-up to 'History' gave Mai Tai their 2nd British Top 10 single of 1985 when it reached No. 9 in September.

Quick Youtube note: of the two TotP performances on there I chose the one introduced by John Peel and Janice Long rather than the one with Steve Wright and Mike Read. Well, you would wouldn't you? The sound quality's not great though, so feel free to check out this CD-sourced version if you prefer.

'History' seems to be the better-known song now, but it's 'Body and Soul' that I remember from the time. Mostly I remember hearing that lyric "I need your love tonight not just your hand to hold" and having an idea it was sort of rude but not really being old enough to understand. Listened to now, though, this obviously isn't as good a song as their previous hit. The production makes it sound awfully samey too. Not unpleasant to hear but it wouldn't have been a loss never to hear it either.

Also appearing on: Now 5
Available on: Mai Tai

Baltimora 'Tarzan Boy'

Chart Peak: 3

YouTube

Baltimora is really Jimmy McShane - an Irish singer based in Italy. This track was first a massive hit on the continent and then it raced to No. 3 in Britain in early September.

Some people might question the word "really" there: whilst McShane (from Northern Ireland, to be exact) was certainly the frontman of the act, this song is sung with a surprisingly strong Italian act and since his death in 1995 many have speculated as to whether he ever made it to the studio; he did apparently co-write some of their other songs though. Yes, they did have other songs and even other hits in some territories, but this was their only UK chart appearance; even then it took the release of a special "summer mix" for it to make an impact.

As a song, 'Tarzan Boy' is clearly rubbish. To the extent that the words are even audible they make no real sense, whoever's singing doesn't have an especially pretty voice and is often slurred, unless the chorus really is "Nighty-night, gimme the armholes". The production sounds cheap and nasty, especially with 27 years' hindsight, and there's no originality outside the pronunciation. And yet I have to admit that I sort of love this track. I can't even claim the excuse of nostalgia for childhood days, because if I ever did hear it in 1985 I don't remember it; I think there's something refreshingly honest about its silliness and the fact that it makes no pretension to doing anything other than going straight for the jugular of catchiness.

By the way, I didn't really intend to disappear from this blog for over a week. Luckily I should still be able to polish off Now 6 by the end of the month but perhaps the six series should end on this album? I'm open to persuasion on that though.

Available on: 100 Hits 80s Classics

Maria Vidal 'Body Rock'

Chart Peak: 11

YouTube

Originally released last year and from the breakdance movie of the same name, 'Body Rock' became a club hit and then crossed over to the pop chart - it made No. 11 in late September/early October.

She did this on Top Of The Pops 27 years ago today, a handy reminder that Steve Wright could be equally annoying when announcing TotP performances in-vision. Maria Vidal only had the one hit, and that at the second time of asking, but she does have a small place in pop history: the character of Gina in 'Livin' On A Prayer' is supposedly based on her in the days when she was the girlfriend of that song's co-writer Desmond Child. She later married Rick Nowels, another man noted for making rock music as bland as possible, and you might expect this to be in a similar vein. Whilst not earth-shattering, though, this is actually sort of pleasant in a vaguely disco-pop way, lacking some of the heavy-handedness of her ex's work.

I've never actually seen the film Body Rock, and I don't know if many people did. It seems to have been one of those dance-craze cash-in movies of the sort that still gets made to this day. Since the film's about breakdancing, you might have expected something a bit more hip-hop oriented for the title song, but it doesn't quite seem to have worked out that way. I presume they were aiming for something more obviously commercial in order to promote the film, but with the song not even charting here first time around (and missing the US Top 40) it seems to have been a bit of a forlorn hope. Still, it left us with a decent, if clichéed, pop song.

Available on: 101 80s Anthems

Jan Hammer 'Miami Vice Theme'

Chart Peak: 5

YouTube

The biggest instrumental hit of the year was recorded by a German - Harold Faltermeyer. The second biggest has been recorded by a Czech - Jan Hammer. The 'Miami Vice Theme' raced to No. 5 in late October.

So, er, well done Mr Hammer. He fared even better in the US, where this topped the chart (the last instrumental to date to have done so). Even though I wasn't allowed to watch it, I know that Miami Vice was a popular TV show but I don't really get why anybody would want to buy a single of this. Sure, it works pretty well as a soundtrack to people running along with immaculate hair and guns in their hands, preparing to burst through a doorway; mind you, of course, my idea of how to soundtrack that is doubtless influenced by having grown up in the 1980s. But what I struggle to imagine is somebody going out and buying the 7" single, taking it home and playing it. When would that be appropriate? If you were actually running about with a gun in your hand and bursting through a doorway, you'd probably make the needle jump.

As far as I can tell, it wasn't that uncommon for a TV theme tune to be released as a single in the 1970s and 1980s, but only a few charted, especially non-vocal ones. There must have been something particular about this (and Howard's Way) that crossed over. Maybe it was some aspirational way for people to buy a piece of the programme itself. Either way, it's kind of lost on me now.

Also appearing on: Now 10
Available on: '80s Pop #1's

Paul Hardcastle 'Just For Money'

Chart Peak: 19

YouTube

The long-awaited follow-up to '19' is this track which features the combined talents of Lord Olivier, Bob Hoskins and Paul Hardcastle.

Featuring the single after the big hit feels like a bit of a throwback to Now 5, although '19' did at least get some representation in the series thanks to Rory Bremner. It was always going to be a hard act to follow, and I don't think anyone would have predicted that he'd try to do so with a cockney gangster movie in sound (that being a much obvious move in the pre-Guy Richie days than it would be now). Co-written by his manager's brother Kim Fuller, later to script such classics as Spiceworld The Movie and From Justin To Kelly, it's a bit of a hidden gem, or at least a song that it makes a nice change to hear. It suffers slightly from not quite seeming sure whether it's meant to be a novelty or a morality tale and, like '19', the weakest point is the exposition from the female singer, which breaks the old "show, don't tell" rule, and is probably the most dated part of the record now. Still, well done getting Olivier on there. I don't imagine he listened to the finished track very often.

Also appearing on: Now 8
Available on: Paul Hardcastle

The Communards 'You're My World'

Chart Peak: 30

YouTube

The first single from ex-Bronski Beat singer Jimmy Somerville and Richard Coles. 'You Are My World' entered the Top 40 in late October.

Although there were only two Now albums in 1985, with but thirty tracks between them, a lot of fairly minor hits seem to have crept in. In this case, one presumes that Somerville's past success suggested this would follow suit - but for a while it looked like Now had backed the wrong horse, as the first single by the new line-up of Bronski Beat was the Top 3 hit 'Hit That Perfect Beat', whilst this struggled to make even the top 30. The race isn't always to the swift of course, and the Communards went on to enjoy the biggest-selling single of 1986; even this song did slightly better in remixed form in 1987, though still not a Top 20 hit.

I guess you could see this debut single as an attempt to set out the duo's stall, combining the high-NRG dance music we already expected from Somerville (and of course his distinctive voice) with classically-trained pianist Coles. Curiously, it lacks the obvious political edge of a lot of their previous and subsequent work and if I'm honest there's something slightly half-baked about it which might account for the underwhelming chart performance. Knowing they could do better, I'm slightly underwhelmed.

I don't know for sure whether Coles is the only member of an act on Now 6 to have become ordained as a priest, but I'm fairly confident he's the only one who's had a conversation with my Mum on Twitter. He seems a nice chap. If you're reading this, Rev, sorry I don't like your song more.


Also appearing on: Now 8. 9, 10, 12
Available on: Communards

Lloyd Cole & The Commotions 'Lost Weekend'

Chart Peak: 17

YouTube

The follow-up to 'Brand New Friend', which was the group's first Top 20 single, is this track 'Lost Weekend'. It charted at Number 37 in early November after just one week on release.

It's not actually a deliberate joke that a post about a song called 'Lost Weekend' should have been done on Friday or Saturday night and now arrives on a Monday. I've just been struggling a little on this one because it's the best track we've had for a while and deserves a good write-up, but doesn't have that many great distinguishing features. In fact, I have no memory of hearing this at all during the 1980s and recall growing up with the distinct impression that Lloyd Cole was a pseud. Indeed, he still seems to be one, though the declining fortunes of his career do seem to have humbled him somewhat and made him more likable.

Even during his mid-80s pomp though, there's little denying that he and his band came up with some good pop songs, and this second and final Top 20 hit is possibly the best of them. Like the Madness track, it was produced by Langer & Winstanley: the band themselves apparently weren't keen on the idea but it works on this track by setting the wisecracking Cole against a fairly jaunty sound, it seems to add the right level irony as well as distracting attention from his less-than stellar single. It's not wholly surprising that bassist and co-writer Lawrence Donegan had once been a member of the Bluebells, in some ways this seems closer to them than the sort of record Cole would have intended.

Available on: The Singles

Madness 'Uncle Sam'

Chart Peak: 21

YouTube

Madness' first single of 1985 'Yesterday's Me' became their 20th consecutive Top 20 single in Britain. The follow-up, 'Uncle Sam' had just entered the Top 40 by the end of October and was beginning its climb.

Bad luck again here, because in the event this fell once place short and became the first single of their entire career to miss out on a Top 20 placing. Their next single couldn't even made the Top 30 and the one after that was a farewell release, for a while at least. This track comes from their last studio album of the 1980s, Mad Not Mad, and as the title implies they were at a slightly confused time in their career, even more directly political and gradually shredding the nutty image that had made them famous. Sometimes this worked pretty well - the aforementioned 'Yesterday's Men' was one of their straightest singles and whilst it's probably not anyone's favourite Madness song it's an enjoyable number that should probably be better remembered than it actually is.

The trouble with 'Uncle Sam' is that it seems to fall between two stools, somewhat, attempting both to make a serious point (about the relationship between the British and American military) and to restore the old japery; but it sounds like their hearts aren't really in it. On a commentary track on the now-deleted Divine Madness DVD, keyboard player Mike Barson (who had of course left the band by this point) mentions that nobody plays the off-beat, which would have improved things significantly but still not made this a classic Madness single because the songwriting isn't really up to scratch. It has the air of a forced attempt at a single when they'd left this style behind a bit. Even the video feels a bit like a rehash of past glories, although there's a subtle touch with Lee Thompson's blue face make-up, presumably a reference to their earlier (and better) anti-war song 'Blue Skinned Beast'. And a nice nostalgic view of the old John Lewis Partnership logo at 2:46.

Also appearing on: Now 1, 2, 3, 8, 21, 43
Available on: Mad Not Mad

Siouxsie & The Banshees 'Cities In Dust'

Chart Peak: 21

YouTube

This single became the band's 12th British Top 40 single when it raced into the charts on 22nd October 1985 more than 7 years after their first hit 'Hong Kong Garden' back in September 1978.

As I'm sure I've mentioned before, there's a common feature of these earlier Now! albums, with already well-established acts showing up well into their careers. Technically speaking, we're less than half-way through their run of hits, which started with the aforementioned 'Hong Kong Garden' (actually released in August 1978, entering the charts 34 years ago this week) and ended with 'O Baby' in January 1995. But for good or ill, it's arguable that most of the songs that made them famous had already been released by this point, so there's a certain sense that they were preaching to the converted. Certainly, 'Cities In Dust' is not an obvious pop smash and although it might have been expected to climb further at the time of going to press it feels a bit out of place here without much crossover appeal. As gothic post-punk songs about the destruction of Pompeii go, it's not bad but it's hard to imagine it being that interesting to the people who bought this album for UB40 and Tina Turner.


Available on: The Best Of...

Midge Ure 'If I Was'

Chart Peak: 1

YouTube

On 1st October 1985, 'If I Was' became the third single featuring Midge to make Number One in Britain. The first was 'Forever And Ever' by the group Slik in 1976 and the second was the Band Aid single. The classic 'Vienna', which also featured his vocal, was kept off the Number 1 spot by Joe Dolce in 1981.

I'm not sure whether it's a significant historical data point or just a reflection of the target age for this compilation that it was considered worth mentioning that 'Vienna' hadn't topped the chart. I don't know exactly when it did develop its reputation as the classic case of a song denied the top spot by frivolous opposition, or at what point everyone forgot it had also been kept off by John Lennon; but that's another story for another album.

In the meantime, we have Midge's consolation-prize Number One to deal with. For a long time I'd casually assumed that this was another example of a lead singer carrying on with his old band's style after they split, but as I figured out a few years back he was still in Ultravox at this point: their last album with him (until 2012) was U-Vox, released almost exactly a year after this. Although the band were generally held to be losing focus at this point (hence the album sometimes being nicknamed U-Bend) this solo spin-off doesn't really sound like a man trying to do things on his own he couldn't have done within the group structure. Although he's working with different people on this track, including Mark King from Level 42 on bass (without the clown costume, let's hope), the effect isn't actually that different from some big Ultravox hits, with that very tight synthetic sound. That doesn't really work in the context of the shy, unconfident lyric - it's a juxtaposition that could have been interesting the other way around but just seems phony this way. Ure's vocal provides the only trace of emotion but it's wasted among the synth pads and the dull melody. Only when the chorus kicks in can I get any sense at all of what attracted people to it in such numbers.


Also appearing on: Now 7
Available on: Pure Hits

Fine Young Cannibals 'Blue'

Chart Peak: 41

YouTube

The follow-up to 'Johnny Come Home', released in early November.

And so a milestone in Now! history passes quietly, as this is the first track ever to appear that did not make the Top 40. Obviously, this was a result of the album having to go to press before the single was even released, but it was pretty trusting to include this when the FYC had only the one hit under their belt. As it transpired, they guessed wrong this time and the single underperformed, despite the enticement of a free "1986 FYC Picture Calendar". The band were saved from one-hit-wonderhood by their cover of 'Suspicious Minds' in early 1986, although that was notably not included on Now 7... a case of once bitten twice shy maybe?

As to 'Blue' itself, it's more directly political than the more emotional 'Johnny Come Home', and for that reason alone has unsurprisingly not aged as well. It's firmly in the vein of anti-Thatch soul-pop from the mid-1980s, but it doesn't have quite the rousing anger of the Style Council at their best, nor the direct personal impact of some of Jimmy Somerville's work. It's not even the best thing the Cannibals did in this style and to be honest it was probably the wrong choice of second single.

Also appearing on: Now 6, 14, 16 (CD only)
Available on: Fine Young Cannibals

UB40 'I Got You Babe' (Guest Vocals Chrissie Hynde)

Chart Peak: 1

I Got YouTube

Originally No. 1 in September 1965 for Sonny and Cher, it returned to the top spot almost exactly 20 years later on 27th August with Ali Campbell as Sonny and the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde taking the female vocal.

Funny how the memory plays tricks: I'd always associated this "duet" with Live Aid, but in fact neither act was even present. They did, however, reprise it at the Nelson Mandela concert three years later, along with their version of 'Breakfast In Bed', a hit single at that time.

Without that Live Aid context, though, I'm not sure what led them to do this. I suppose it was just a combination of UB40's unstoppable urge to cover every song written before 1980 and Hynde's determination to be a reggae singer. In fairness to them, the studio recording is better than the mumbly soundcheck they seem to have used for the video, but it still succeeds in making Sonny Bono's already rather smug Dylan pastiche (apparently it was based on 'It Ain't Me Babe') sound even smugger still. Like all but their earliest recordings, the band sound half-asleep, twiddling away at a sluggish tempo without feeling. But they could afford to cry all the way to the bank with their second chart-topper.

Also appearing on: Now 1, 4, 7, 9, 13 [with Chrissie Hynde again], 17, 18, 26, 41, 56
Available on: Love Songs

Arcadia 'Election Day'

Chart Peak: 7

YouTube

Simon Le Bon, Roger Taylor and Nick Rhodes from Duran Duran are Arcadia. They had raced to No. 7 by 29th October with 'Election Day' their first single.

A product of the split within Duran Duran that also produced The Power Station, Arcadia were the more obviously related act (so much so that even I noticed) because they had the lead singer. Musically, they seemed closer to Duran territory too, sparing us the ham-fisted attempts and funk and hard rock that the Power Station delivered, concentrating instead on the more electronic sounds of the parent act. Simon le Bon once described their sole album as the most pretentious ever made, which is unlikely to be true, but presumably indicates that they were giving freer reign to ideas that wouldn't have been so welcome in the parent band. However, lacking the time or inclination to listen to the whole thing, I can only say that 'Election Day' itself doesn't sound a lot more pretentious than many Duran Duran songs; presumably it was chosen as lead single for that very reason, to avoid alienating their teenybopper fans. Le Bon sings a load of incomprehensible images through his nose, Rhodes plays lots of overdubbed keyboard parts and Taylor is presumably drumming somewhere in the mix, although he's not in the video. The only surprise is when Grace Jones turns up to deliver a speech towards the end. She's not in the video.

Apparently this song makes little sense even to people who like it, and doesn't seem to have appealed far beyond the Durannies, which arguably makes it a little out of place here.

Available on: So Red The Rose

Cliff Richard 'She's So Beautiful'

Chart Peak: 17

YouTube

Cliff's first Top 20 single since 'Please Don't Fall In Love' in 1983, 'She's So Beautiful' reached number 17 in early October 1985. It is his 68th Top 20 single since 'Move It' in 1958.

Although it doesn't warrant a mention in the sleevenote here, this was one of the songs from Dave Clark's much-hyped musical Time, which I know of mainly from seeing copies of the double-LP soundtrack: it's apparently never been released on CD but is now on iTunes if you use that. Cliff played the lead in the show itself too, and the promo video is obviously supposed to fit the storyline in some way, although the scene where a group of Aryan children are have a flaming globe thrown at them during their game of water-polo is still quite bizarre. Indeed had it been made by almost any other act you'd read it as bitterly sarcastic, but you never quite know with Cliff, do you?

The record itself is notable because - as the single sleeve boasts - it was arranged and produced by Stevie Wonder, who also played all the instruments; his second contribution to Now 6 of course. A decade or so earlier, that could have been a really hot combination, but by the mid-80s he'd already lost a lot of his mojo as a producer and arranger, settling too easy on simplistic progressions and static, swingless rhythms. He hasn't left himself much room for his skills as a player, and of course there's none at all for him as a singer or songwriter. The finished product is hard to pick holes in but instantly forgettable.

Also appearing on: Now 10, 15, 16, 17
Available on: Private Collection

Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin 'Separate Lives'

Chart Peak: 4

YouTube

Phil made Number 1 early in 1985 when he duetted with Philip Bailey on 'Easy Lover'. This single was released in early November.

Again the sleeve note seems almost keener to talk up a track that isn't on the album than the ones that are. It's another song from a film - in this case The White Night, which I'd never even heard of, but apparently it was where Helen Mirren met her husband. It also produced two major hits in this and Lionel Richie's 'Say You, Say Me': both were Oscar-nominated but Richie won. 

Though Collins would seem well-qualified to write a song about separation, this song was in fact penned by MOR songwriter Steven Bishop (of 'On & On') fame - it was presumably a commercial decision of the filmmakers to call in a higher-profile singer to front the song. Martin, meanwhile, was an experienced backing singer for whom this was presumably supposed to be the big break. Obviously, the song was a success at the time, but now it sounds like an extreme example of mid-80s blandness. I suppose maybe that was part of the appeal; maybe it appealed to people in these sort of situations because it spoke to them without really hitting home emotionally. Either way, what it certainly didn't do was establish Marilyn Martin as anything beyond a half-hit wonder, as her subsequent solo recordings make little impression and she was soon dropped. Like Phil Collins, she's no longer a professional musician, but unlike him she's had to get another job. Apparently she's now an estate agent. 

Phil Collins also appears on: Now 1, 3, 5, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 27, 41, 44, 68
Available on: Hits

UB40 'Don't Break My Heart'

Chart Peak: 3

YouTube

The follow-up to the Number 1 single 'I Got You Babe', this track had sped into the Top 20 by the end of October giving them their 15th Top 40 single of the 1980's.

Not only the follow-up, but in fact a vocal version of that single's instrumental flipside. Presumably that came about because they grabbed the instrumental in the rush to release 'I Got You Babe' rather than them throwing some singing on after the fact, particularly since this was around the time of their remix/ragga album Baggariddim, the CD version of which this track ended up on.
Either way there still seems something a bit unfinished about this single. The chorus is memorable and Ali Campbell's wounded voice oddly affecting - evidently this sort of croon suits him better than a lot of UB40's material. The underwhelming verses let the side down somewhat, which might be why this song never seems to get mentioned (barring its appearance on an obscure compilation of "Balearic Pop") even though it's their highest-charting original song in the UK.

Also appearing on: Now 1, 4, 7, 9, 13, 17, 18, 26, 41, 56
Available on: Baggariddim

Tina Turner 'We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)'

Chart Peak: 3

YouTube

For one of the stars of a film to sing the theme music must be a rare occurence, but that's what Tina Turner has done. This single made Number 3 in August and now she stars in the Mad Max film itself.

What are they talking about? It's not rare at all, particularly not with stars who are better known as singers than actors in the first place. I've never actually seen any of the Mad Max films, I was way too young to be more than vaguely aware of them at the time, but this song was hard to avoid, coming out when Turner was at the peak of her UK success (it remains jointly her highest-peaking single here). Although it was written by her regular writers of the time, Britten and Lyle, it has a slightly different mood from a lot of her work, with Turner herself atypically subdued on the vocal. That actually suits the weary, downtrodden tone of the song, which in turn presumably fits the film itself. Even the children's choir is surprisingly tolerable. According to Wikipedia one of them later grew up to become England Rugby Union captain Lawrence Dallaglio, which is amusing if true.
Strangely, she struggled to follow up this success in Britain for most of the rest of the decade, which is why her frequent appearances on early Now! albums didn't continue for a while after this. It took a bit of a rethink to get her chart career back on track.

Also appearing on: Now 1, 4, 16, 17, 18, 21, 25, 26, 32, 34, 44
Available on: American Anthems II

Level 42 'Something About You'

Chart Peak: 6

YouTube

Their biggest hit single to date, 'Something About You' had reached No. 9 by late October. It is Level 42's 11th Top 50 hit in Britain.

A couple of warnings about that YouTube link: I'm not sure it's playing at quite the right speed. And it features Mark King as a creepy relationship-wrecking vaudeville clown.
That tally of Top 50 hits is actually quite revealing: their early chart career is full of singles peaking between 1 and 49. I don't think they even dispute that at some point the record company suggested they rethink their musical approach along more commercially viable lines: a slight reworking of their original jazz-funk sound gave them a first Top 10 hit with 'The Sun Goes Down', and this second one moves even further away from the realms of jazz into vaguely soul-oriented (if not especially soulful) pop. It's catchy and slick, like a less dreadful version of Maroon 5, and it sounds good on the radio but nothing to get passionate about.

Also appearing on: Now 4, 7, 10, 13, 14
Available on: Something About You - The Best Of