Tears For Fears 'Everybody Wants To Run The World'

Chart Peak: 5
YouTube

No, I didn't get the title wrong. As most people will know, Tears For Fears had topped the US chart in 1985 with 'Everybody Wants To Rule The World' (also a massive UK hit) but this is the less remembered re-recording released as the official single for Sport Aid. Big names at the time, TFF had not been directly on Band Aid (though some of the drums on 'Do They Know It's Christmas' are apparently sampled from 'The Hurting') and famously pulled out of Live Aid at the eleventh hour, so they were under pressure from Bob Geldof to contribute something to his latest charity appeal.

Possibly because they were working under duress (and in fairness may not have been given a lot of time for the project) they seem to have made a fairly minimal effort - I'm not sure if it's re-recorded entirely from scratch or just re-vocalled, but the only change to the arrangement is the addition is a very of-its-time brass section. There are no new lyrics save for the two-letter change in the chorus: they simply drop some of the more jarring ones, including the entire second verse which is left instrumental. Their commitment didn't extend to the video, which leaves Midge Ure, Geldof and some celebrity supporters to take their places. It all sounds a bit odd and is not often mentioned these days. In fact, it inadvertently gave Now '86 a minor place in history as for over 25 years it was the only known CD release of this track. This was finally rectified with the latest re-issues of Songs From The Big Chair compiled with assistance from Paul Sinclair of Super Deluxe Edition, who evidently recognised that all the tracks should be available and it is a bit silly to have a Top 5 single unavailable, even if it's not that good. Whilst I'm giving credits, I should also thank A Pop Fan's Dream for posting the details of Now Apostrophe 86.

Also appearing on: Now 16
Available on: Songs From The Big Chair (Deluxe)

Bananarama/Lananeeneenoonoo 'Help!'

Chart Peak: 3
YouTube (Warning: contains shirtless Roland Rivron)

'Help!' was originally No.1 for the Beatles in Augst 1965 when Bananarama/Lananeeneenoonoo were only very little girls... This new version raced to No. 12 after only one week of release in mid-February 1989.

Possibly the most difficult-to-spell artist credit in the entire history of the Now albums, and the second track in a row with an exclamation mark in the title. It is of course also the second Sixties cover out of four tracks so far - as Mick Fleetwood mentioned at the Brits, that era was very prominent in the culture at the time.

This was the third official Comic Relief single, though the first released to coincide with an actual Red Nose Day event (a couple of weeks early in fact, but it was in the chart at the right time). Like the previous efforts by Cliff Richard and the Young Ones and Mel And Kim, it takes the form of a parody cover version that teams a game-for-a-laugh pop star and comedians; in this case French & Saunders and Kathy Burke reprise their parody of "The Bananas" which they debuted on their Christmas Special a few weeks earlier, bringing in the real group to play along. I presume it's only coincidence that Burke, a guest star rather than a regular member of the duo, gets to shadow the least-remembered Nana, Jacquie O'Sullivan.

Apart from a somewhat half-hearted Stock/Aitken/Waterman production, this track shares its main flaw with many of the early Comic Relief tracks - it's really more a soundtrack to a sketch than a record in its own right. It's quite funny to watch them lark about in the video, impersonating the original group and also impersonating the skiing scenes from the original Beatles movie (which are actually associated with 'Ticket To Ride' but close enough) - alas it loses too much in sound only. It's not got enough jokes to be consistently funny but there are too many for it to work as a straight cover version. Obviously, full credit to everyone for agreeing to do it, but it doesn't sound so good these days.

It does mean, though, that both Jennifer Saunders and Kathy Burke can claim to have appeared on more Now albums than Whitney Houston or the Manic Street Preachers. I don't know if they ever have claimed that, but I would.

Bananarama also appear on: Now 3, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15
Available on: 30 Years Of Bananarama (The Very Best Of) (Deluxe) [+video]

Cher, Chrissie Hynde and Neneh Cherry with Eric Clapton 'Love Can Build A Bridge'

Chart Peak: 1 [1 week]

YouTube

The 1995 Comic Relief single is an all-star cover of the Judds' 'Love Can Build A Bridge'... It raced into the Top 5 on release in March '95

Performers on this track are listed in the same order as they were on the sleeve - order of appearance would be Hynde-Cher-Cherry (and then Clapton). And while we're dealing with details, Now CDs of this era have the song titles and production credits printed onto the disc itself, but this is the one case I know of where there are also credits for the three engineers, five assistant engineers and the mastering engineer (as well as the arranger and mixer, jobs which get mentioned now and again). I've attached the photo of this below the jump, just in case anyone wants to avoid spoilers for the remaining tracks on the album; I presume these people took a more prominent credit in lieu of payment, due to the nature of the release. Incidentally, the arranger on this track was David Campbell, which is the closest we've ever got to his son Beck appearing on a Now album.

Regular readers may have noticed that when I write a whole first paragraph without mentioning the song itself, this is rarely a sign of enthusiasm, and so it proves again. We're back in cover-of-a-cover territory here, as the song's obvious sentimentality had already seen a version released to raise money for Rwandan children peak at only 57 six months earlier. The song clearly had potential though, hence this swift re-recording, though it is rather an odd one out among the Comic Relief singles: where previous releases had been out-and-out comedy tracks, and subsequent ones have often been upbeat tracks by currently popular acts with room for clowning in the video, this is the one single that makes no attempt at humour, although whether it actually is the least funny one is a matter of opinion. Speaking of odd ones out, it seemed at the time that Neneh Cherry was slightly out of place among the three singers as she was the only one who'd not previously had a Number One single (in fact, she was the only one of the three who hadn't had a Number One with a version of 'I Got You Babe') but all three singers do a decent job of the vocals, even though the number of technical staff involved implies they recorded their parts separately. Eric Clapton's guitar solo, which also earns him his first Number One single, isn't very interesting though, and he looks a bit stupid wearing a suit and trainers in the video. Still, he's as good as the song itself really deserves. At least it was for a good cause. I believe the Tom Jones/Lenny Henry track on the B-side would have been the audio of this sketch from 1991, though how well that worked in sound only I wouldn't care to speculate.

Cher also appears on: Now 32, 33, 42
Chrissie Hynde also appears on: Now 6, 13 [both with UB40]
Neneh Cherry also appears on: Now 14, 15, 16, 18, 29 [with Youssou N'Dour], 35

Boyzone 'When The Going Gets Tough'

Chart Peak: 1 (2 weeks)

YouTube

This year's traditional Comic Relief single is a cover of the 1986 Billy Ocean hit 'When The Going Gets Tough...' The star-studded video for the track features comedy greats such as Graham Norton, Jo Brand, Phil {sic} Jupitus and Mel Smith as well as cast members from top soap Emmerdale.

Back after the Bank Holiday break on a new album. And yes, I suppose 43 might have been the more logical place to go after 33 and 3, but I've been meaning to do 42 for some time now because it's particularly interesting (and further away from 44, which I did early in the history of this blog).

The album was released in time for Easter 1999, but as long-term readers will know the biggest hit of early 99, '...Baby One More Time', didn't show up until Now 44 so we start instead with the song that eventually knocked it off the top of the chart. This was the Comic Relief single for the year, and follows the typical formula for this slot around the turn of the century, with a popular vocal group of the day performing a cover version and comedy represented by the celebrities in the accompanying video. I know it's a pretty generous definition of "comedy" that incorporates Mel Smith holding a TV aerial against his groin, but that's how things were in the 1990s. In fact the video's so 90s it even has Mystic Meg in it. 1999 was also the last year of Boyzone's original career, though they were able to go out in some style with two Number Ones that year, plus a solo Number One for Ronan Keating. Unsurprisingly, it's Keating who takes the lead on this interpretation of Billy Ocean's 1986 chart-topper, though there's a solo spot for Stephen Gately who was obviously the main solo prospect already. And the other three stand around and do something, I guess. It's a perfectly competent rendition, but really has nothing else to add (it's actually less funny than the original, because it doesn't sound like they're singing "Go and get stuffed" at any point). It does the job with an almost ruthless efficiency: to sell well for a couple of weeks, raise a handy amount for charity, bolster their image and then step aside to be dethroned by another Louis Walsh-managed act. Nobody seems to be having enough fun.

Also appearing on: Now 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 45, 71
Available on: Key To My Life (The Collection)

The Proclaimers featuring Brian Potter and Andy Pipkin '(I'm Gonna Be) 500 Miles'

Chart Peak: 1 (3 weeks)

YouTube

Nineteen years after it was originally a hit for the Scottish brothers, the Proclaimers return with a very special Comic Relief version of their catchy anthem 'I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)'...The song premiered on this year's Comic Relief and features the comedy talents of Peter Kay and Matt Lucas.

I can imagine this one might be somewhat difficult for non-British readers (if any) to appreciate. In essence this was an attempt to repeat the surprise success of 2005, when Tony Christie's 1970s hit '(Is This The Way To) Amarillo' was given a new video featuring comedian Peter Kay and many other guest stars. Released as a secondary single for the charity appeal, it went on to outsell that year's "official" single by miles and became one of the biggest hits of the decade.

Inevitably, Kay had to try the same thing two years on, but upped the ante by actually appearing on the record itself, in the guise of his character from the sitcom Phoenix Nights. Also featuring is fellow comic and well-known Proclaimers fan Lucas, here as one of the characters from Little Britain; the gag being that both these characters are in wheelchairs so they have to sing that they'd "roll 500 miles" instead of walk it. It's not the funniest joke ever, admittedly, but it worked well enough of the night as a vehicle for the video, where they perform in front of a cast of stars and ex-stars. Enough people downloaded the single on Saturday for it to enter the charts at 3 the next day and it was inevitably going to top the chart when available on CD and DVD formats with the video. It even pulled the original 1988 recording back into the Top 40, and led to something of a comeback from the Reid twins.

Five years down the line, it's not something you'd make a great effort to listen to but it's generally good humoured and certainly does what it sets out to do better than the Girls Aloud vs. Sugababes track that it deposed from the top of the chart. It's not a bad end to the album. It almost takes us back in a circle, with credits in the video like Justin Timberlake's track.

The Proclaimers also appear on: Now 13
Available on: The Best Of...

Sugababes Vs. Girls Aloud 'Walk This Way'

Chart Peak: 1 (1 week)

YouTube

Two of our most successful girl groups have teamed up in the name of charidee for their very own version of the Run DMC and Aerosmith classic 'Walk This Way' - it is the official single for this year's Comic Relief and is due for release just ahead of Red Nose Day in mid-March.

There are exceptions but you'd normally expect the Easter Now album from an odd-numbered year to include the official Comic Relief single and here's 2007's addition to the catalogue, which must go down as one of the more ill-conceived entries in the series. There long seems to have been some tension between the two competing visions: do you attempt to mark the occasion with a comedy record or simply grab a currently-popular act and ask them to do a cover version. This time around they seem to have tried to do both at once by combining the two girl groups with a half-baked conceit about rivalry between them - but weren't the Sugababes more famous for arguing with each other than other bands?

Perhaps there'd be some mileage in the idea of recasting the rather leery macho lyrics of the original for female singers, but by the sounds of it either there were problems with permission or nobody actually thought about the words until the last minute; I'd tend to favour the latter theory, hearing how clumsy the rest of the arrangement is, and that odd combination of rushing to get to the famous chorus and trying to shoehorn in a fresh one. It's an impression only strengthened by the video, which ironically suggests the disagreement by making it look entirely unlike the acts have ever met each other, as well as throwing in cameos by comedians too brief to even make out who they are. Between the fanbases of the two acts and the passing trade of regular charity single buyers a Number One was inevitable but the single only lasted three more weeks in the Top 40 and was soon forgotten, one of the most obscure entries in either act's discography.

Sugababes also appear on: Now 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 66, 68, 70, 71, 74, 75
Girls Aloud also appear on: Now 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 68, 70, 71, 72, 73

Available on: Big Night Out

Spice Girls 'Mama'

Chart Peak: 1 (3 weeks)

YouTube

'Mama', due for release on 3rd March 97, is tipped to give the Spice Girls their 4th consecutive No. 1 in Britain... Ginger, Scary, Baby, Sporty and Posh would go down in pop music history as the first act to top the charts with their first 4 hits... Oh and 'Wannabe' has just hit No. 1 in America - wow!

I don't think it's too much of a spoiler at this point to say that they did manage it, and that they then extended the record-breaking run to six, though that has been beaten since.

We're sort of back on my home turf here, 1997 being one of my favourite pop years - and indeed one of the best years of the 20th century for singles sales. That's not so say that music was all good, as we'll see in the next couple of months, but it was a time when I seemed to notice and form an opinion on almost any track that charted. My hope is that even when I don't like something on Now 36 I'll at least feel strongly enough about it to make for an interesting post.

We get a good early test of my theory right here at the start of the album. Undoubtedly the Spice Girls had their moments, and at their best they were an exciting an joyful pop phenomenon for a couple of years. But like most manager-led pop acts, they couldn't avoid the call of the big ballad, hence the third hit (and Christmas Number One) '2 Become 1', which went on to sell a million but is ironically their only hit not to appear on a Now album. That should have been enough for anyone, but then came this slush cynically released just in time for the Mother's Day market, and for charity too, making it one of the most inevitable Number One singles of all time. Admittedly, anyone who bought the single was getting a much better song as the other A-side, but this is what we have here - the other side's on Now 37.

Perhaps it's a little unfair to criticise this one track for being cynical when all their songs that I did like were created in an atmosphere of cynicism. Indeed, pretty much every piece of music I've ever heard has arrived through somebody's cynical self-interest somewhere and I'm fine with that, intellectually. The problem isn't that 'Mama' is a cynical construct, it's that it sounds like one, to the extent that I even find myself wondering whether they gave it that title so people in non-English-speaking countries could get the gist. It's too dull musically to distract from the slush of the lyric, and the pointless DJ scratching 19 seconds in doesn't change that. It seems to go on for hours as well. The most notable thing hearing it now is that there seems to be a male voice singing on the chorus. 

Also appearing on: Now 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 47
Available on: To The Best Mum In The World...Ever!

Westlife 'Uptown Girl'

Chart Peak: 1 (1 week)

YouTube

And froma record that it'd be contrarian not to like to one it'd be contrarian to enjoy. The official Comic Relief single for 2001, according to the sleeve note it raised "thousands of Pounds" and became their eighth Number One single out of nine, if you include the collaboration. It marks their first ever appearance in the Now series though, and even then it's a bit late, having been a hit six months earlier than the preceding Kylie record.

Of course, it's a fairly faithful cover of Billy Joel's only chart-topping single, which was one of my favourite records when I was about five. It doesn't sound quite so good to me now and therefore I'm not so offended by this version. Or maybe I'm just relieved every time I hear Westlife do a song that isn't a slowie but either way I don't really mind this one too much. It has nothing to recommend it musically either, unless you give it a bye for being a charity record, but it's harmless.

One thing I'd never noticed until I looked up the video for this post: Claudia Schiffer shows up in the video but it's actually quite blatant that she was never in the same shot as the band themselves. Presumably scheduling issue were to blame, but it's tempting to assume she just refused to be on a set where a Westlife track was playing. 

Also appearing on: Now 62, 63, 65, 68.
Available on: Unbreakable: the Greatest Hits Vol.1

The Smokin' Mojo Filters 'Come Together'

Chart Peak: 19

YouTube

Since the last two tracks we had here were Paul Weller and a Beatles cover, it seems only fitting to wrap up the first disc with a Beatles cover fronted by Paul Weller. Indeed this is a return to the War Child project which makes this seem almost like a summary of the forgoing side of the album (ignoring the Sacred Spirit track, anyway). And credit where it's due to Noel Gallagher, who pulled a double shift on the Help album, recording an exclusive Oasis track and then working on this in the same day.

The full line-up as given in the single sleeve was:
Paul Weller lead vocal & guitar
Paul McCartney guitar/piano backing vocals
Noel Gallagher guitar
Steve White drums
Carleen Anderson backing vocals
Steve Craddock {sic} guitar

- oddly, no bass player is mentioned, but then Ocean Colour Scene member Damon Minchella is briefly seen in the video and as he was also part of Weller's band at the time, it must surely have been him. Presumably, had McCartney played the bass he'd have reprised the same part he did on the original.

As I said in yesterday's post, it isn't really adviseable to try and cover a Beatles song in exactly the style of the original, and this group seem to have taken that to heart; unfortunately they seem to have been more focussed on not duplicating the existing version than on any fresh interpretation. Of course since one of them actually was a Beatle and the others were huge fans, that's not exactly surprising: also one imagines they wouldn't have had a lot of time together to work this out. Weller's gruff vocal is very different from John Lennon's creepily measured delivery on the Beatles record, and despite the large number of players, the backing track has a rough-and-ready sort of energy which is closer to Lennon's live performance of the song than the original (bag) production.

As a tie-in of all those talented people it's arguably a little underwhelming, but at the same time it remains a solid performance of a classic song and it does the job OK as a charity record; unlike some collective covers, at least you can tell they all like the song. Whether because of the more upbeat style, or the fame of the people involved, or just because it was marketed as a single rather than the confusing multi-artist EP format, this became the more popular of the two singles from this album, reaching the Top 20 just before Christmas (and in fact after Now 32 was released, which might have held down sales even more). In fact it's the only time this song has officially been a hit in its own right, since the Beatles and Michael Jackson both released it as part of a double A-side. Weller himself released another version (very similar to this apart from the absence of McCartney's keyboard and backing vocal parts) as one side of a limited-edition charity single in 2005.

As is my usual practice with charity records, I supply a link to make a donation and I've also linked below to War Child's download store, which is where I usually buy my downloads anyway. As I predicted in the Radiohead post, I have indeed bought another copy of the Help album myself.

And so ends what might be my favourite ever first disc of a Now album. Let's see next week whether Disc 2 can keep up the standard.

Available on: Help (also available direct).

Radiohead 'Lucky (War Child)'

Chart Peak: 51 (as the lead track of the Help EP)

YouTube

Radiohead's 'Lucky' is the lead track from the 'Help' EP due for release in late October 1995... The vast majority of monies owed go directly to the 'War Child' charity which is working to alleviate the suffering of children in Bosnia

Another track that seems a bit of a misfit on a Now album, especially noting its lack of success as a single (though it did feature on a million-selling album a couple of years later). In mood as well, it seems unlikely to appeal much to the stereotypical Now purchaser. Indeed it was allegedly rejected by one radio station for sounding "too depressing", not that I'm under the impression many other stations played it either. Between this and the fact that Radiohead aren't named on the front cover, this interrupted an otherwise unbroken run of 16 Top 40 hits over 15 years, and yet only six of those hits made it to Now album. For the record, the other three tracks on the EP were a live version of '50ft Queenie' by PJ Harvey, 'Momentum' by Guru and an untitled instrumental track that was actually by Portishead.

The sleeve note oddly glosses over it, but this lead track derives from the Help album,one of the more laudable achievements of the Britpop era. 20 exclusive (at the time) tracks were recorded on the 4th of September, and the record was in the shops by the 9th, too soon for them to list the tracks on the cover. This didn't stop it shifting enough copies in a single day to become the week's biggest seller, although to Brian Eno's annoyance it was treated as a compilation and thus excluded from the main chart (I should imagine this induced some mixed feelings in the Levellers, who gained their only Number One album for this reason). Over the years, I bought it on both cassette and CD, but last time I looked I couldn't find either of them so by the time you read this I may have to buy another copy.

Whilst some of the material was just rearrangements of old material or cover versions, 'Lucky' was at the time an entirely new song, though I don't know whether it was written specifically for the occasion. It seems to capture Radiohead at a pivotal moment in their career, somewhere between the relatively conventional rock of the first two albums and the more avant-garde soundscapes they've tended towards since. It still sounds like something that was written on guitar and arranged afterwards, but for me at least the emphasis has always been on the atmosphere more than the actual lyrics, which apparently are about a survivor of an airline accident who gains superpowers (or thinks he does?). It's an interesting concept actually, linking with obvious parallels like Spiderman, Futurism and their own song 'Airbag', which ultimately joined this on the OK Computer album. And it raises all sorts of questions about whether he's lucky to survive the accident, or unlucky to have had it. And I realise Radiohead aren't everyone's cup of tea, but for my mind this is possibly the greatest purpose-built charity single of all time at least in musical terms; it doesn't seem to have been quite as effective a short-term fundraiser as getting a load of current stars to bellow a cover version.


Fortunately, War Child seems to have done alright out of it in the long run and it's good to know that they're still going now, though in an echo of the song itself, it's a shame there's still anything for them to do. While there is, though, I've pointed the link at the bottom of the post to their download store, because they surely can make better use of the commission than I would. In line with my usual practice, I'll provide the link for direct donations.

PS - I have to admit that it's a pure coincidence that I'm publishing a post about a song called 'Lucky' on the 13th.

Also appearing on: Now 26, 33, 37, 38, 39, 49
Available on: OK Computer (deluxe edition)

Wet Wet Wet 'With A Little Help From My Friends'

Chart Peak: 1 (4 weeks)

YouTube

And we're back ten years exactly to the summer of 1988. Once upon a time I'd planned to do Now XIII instead, but then I saw 12 in a charity shop for 99p, and one thing leads to another...

In fact it's quite apposite that this album kicks off with a single that I bought in a charity shop some years previously - indeed I must now have had it for longer than the original owner, even if I don't play it that often - particularly since it was a charity single* to begin with. Truly, it is the gift that keeps on giving. For those unfamiliar with the backstory, the NME organised the benefit album Sgt. Pepper Knew My Father to mark the 21st anniversary of the most famous Beatles album and raise some money for Childline. To help it along, a single was pulled from the LP (or cassette!) coupling this track by the Wets with the contrasting 'She's Leaving Home' by Billy Bragg With Cara Tivey which became the first Number One single for either act. More interestingly, 'With A Little Help From My Friends' became the first (and still the only) Beatles song to top the charts in more than one version, following its success for Joe Cocker in 1968 - the original was, ironically, a Top 75 hit in 1978 as part of an ill-advised attempt to cash in on the Sgt Pepper film.

As any regular readers of this blog may have noticed, a long preamble like this tends to mean I'm putting off trying to find anything to say about the record itself. And so it is here, since I can't imagine anyone interested not already being familiar with the source material and the band don't produce an especially convincing or distinctive version. In fairness to them, they presumably weren't given a lot of time to work on this, but it would still have been welcome had they come up with a more interesting idea than playing it slightly faster and repeating "my friends" to fade. The fundamental problem is, I think, that Marti Pellow comes over as too confident a vocalist to carry off the light-hearted, giving-it-a-go charm of the original. Not long afterwards, this and Cocker's interpretations of the song collided as the finale of a charity concert, where Pellow somehow manages to be even more annoying. It's not the best of starts, but it's not as bad as the Grease megamix.

*An asterisk on the back cover of the LP indicates that "All royalties from this track are being donated to Childline". Since I don't anticipate making any money from this blog post, it seems the next best thing I can do is provide a link to make a donation online.

Also appearing on: Now 10, 11, 16, 21, 28, 31, 37, 38
Available on: End of Part One