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Eighties’ best 100 redux: #84 Peter Schilling “Major Tom (Coming home)” (1982, 1983)

<< #85    |    #83 >>

At song #84, we have Peter Schilling’s “Major Tom (Coming home)”, the New German Wave re-telling of David Bowie’s classic tune, “Space oddity”.

Of course, when listening to the song at the time, I was too young to have been at all familiar with “Space oddity” so I never could have made the connection between “Major Tom” and the ‘weird’ singer of “Blue Jean”. It was only perhaps a decade later, when, having completely forgotten this track, I rediscovered it while dancing at an 80s night at some dance club whose name I no longer remember in Oshawa, and having further explored Bowie’s music and becoming a fan in the intervening years, that I made the connection.

To this day, I know very little about Peter Schilling and have never heard anything else by him. In fact, I only learned that he was part of the New German Wave scene and that this song was originally recorded in his native German language, while reading up on Nena for the post I wrote about her famous track quite some time ago.

“Major Tom (Coming home)” was originally released in German in 1982 as part of his album “Fehler im system” (the English version of the same album is called “Error in the system”) and was released in English the following year, when it became an international hit. The English version is part of my Apple Music library courtesy of an eighties compilation CD called “Retro night” that was released and purchased by yours truly in 1996 during the time that ‘retro’ music was making a comeback. The song is often lumped in with the synth pop music scene that was on the rise at the time but while it certainly does include synthesizers, I feel that they are used mostly to complement the sound created by using more traditional instruments (especially that wicked bass line).

If you are completely unfamiliar with the story of Major Tom, I would definitely recommend starting with David Bowie’s “Space oddity” but Peter Schilling’s tune makes an excellent companion to the original telling and has a better beat to dance to.

Here is the version I grew up listening to:

And here is the original German version from 1982 for you purists out there:

Original Eighties best 100 position: #87

Favourite lyric: “Across the stratosphere, a final message: ‘Give my wife my love.’ Then nothing more.” And the way he sings it is so ominous and haunting.

Where are they now?: At 69 years of age, Peter Schilling seems to be still very much active in music in his native Germany. For many years, he kept to German language releases but in the last four or five years, he’s seen something of a resurgence due to tracks from his early days, especially this very one.

For the rest of the Eighties’ best 100 redux list, click here.

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Eighties’ best 100 redux: #85 Thompson Twins “Hold me now” (1983)

<< #86    |    #84 >>

Check out that hair! Yeesh!

Thompson Twins’ “Hold me now”, at song #85, is something of a guilty pleasure* of mine. When I was in grade five, I thought the band was the coolest thing ever and even today, I still know all the words to this song. I’m dedicating this one to Victoria, my lovely wife, for whom this song is also a pleasure, but maybe not so guilty.

Like so many British New Wave bands of this era, Thompson Twins began as a post-punk band (seriously) and at the time of their debut album, had a roster of six members! Alannah Currie was only officially added as the seventh member for the band’s sophomore album, 1982’s “Set”. The band’s core of Currie, Tom Bailey and Joe Leeway were convinced by their manager at the time to whittle themselves down to a trio and expand on their synth pop direction, given the North American success in 1982 of single, “In the name of love.” The changes paid off because the band enjoyed global success for the next four years and three albums, culminating in an appearance at Live Aid in 1985 where they were joined onstage by none other than pop icon, Madonna.

“Hold me now” was the first single released off Thompson Twins’ fourth album, “Into the gap” and despite the sneers of critics everywhere, was a huge hit the world over, charting into the top ten of many countries’ charts. I personally remember watching this video for many weeks running on my favourite music chart show at the time, CHUM FM top 30 videos. Sure, it sounds dated now, as does most of the band’s back catalogue, but it still has a place in my Apple Music library. The nostalgia factor is strong here.

Click the play button on the video below and sing along loudly with me.

Original Eighties best 100 position: #88

Favourite lyric: I like: “You say I’m a dreamer, we’re two of a kind / Both of us searching for some perfect world, we know we’ll never find.” But I’m near certain Victoria likes: “And then I’ll ask your forgiveness though I don’t know / Just what I’m asking it for.” Maybe because it reminds her of the two of us together.

Where are they now?: Joe Leeway left the band in 1986 and the remaining duo of Bailey and Currie officially called it quits in 1993. The band has never considered a reunion but since 2014, former lead singer Tom Bailey has regularly toured under the name “Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey”.

*I’ve always called this one a ‘guilty pleasure’ but I think I’m nearly ready to own it. Give me another year or two. 😉

For the rest of the Eighties’ best 100 redux list, click here.

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Eighties’ best 100 redux: #86 Public Image Ltd. “Rise” (1986)

<< #87    |    #85 >>

At song #86, we’ve got “Rise” by John Lydon’s (aka Johnny Rotten) other band, Public Image Ltd (or PiL).

Fans of the band might call this pick an obvious choice because it was one of PiL’s biggest hits and one of their more accessible tunes. To be frank, I’ve never considered myself a fan of either of John Lydon’s bands. I get that both are groundbreaking (though PiL was around infinitely longer than The Sex Pistols, their influence is not quite as wide-reaching) but they’re both bands that I could never get into. So why did this song make it to my top 100? Let me tell you a story.

I got a hold of the very excellent alternative 80s box set, “Left of the dial” by Rhino records, a number of years ago and began listening to it with only a cursory scan at the track listing. The compilation is filled with a nice mix of songs I already loved, songs that were new to me, and lost nuggets. One of these nuggets came upon me towards the end of the third disc. I can’t remember what I was doing at the time (I might’ve been at work) but I had instant recall at the song’s first few notes and was bopping along to the groove (yes, I just said “groove”) so much so that I had to check to see who it was. To say I was surprised to see it was Public Image Ltd. is an understatement but it made total sense once I got over the shock. I think what sets “Rise” apart from the others for me is the juxtaposition of Lydon’s discordant vocals with the melodic, almost singalong background vocals.

I shortly thereafter went back to listen PiL’s greatest hits album to see if maybe they’re a band I just didn’t get at the time but could only make it halfway through the disc. So I still wasn’t a fan at the time but I did and do love this song. Maybe it’s time to give them another go.

Original Eighties best 100 position: #84

Favourite lyric: “They put a hot wire to my head / ‘Cos of the things I did and said / And made these feelings go away / Model citizen in every way” John Lydon: rebel with a cause.

Where are they now?: Public Image Ltd. reformed with a new lineup in 2009 and released “This is PiL” in 2012, their first album of new material in 20 years. This was followed by album reissues, a new compilation, further touring, and two albums of new material, including last year’s “End of world”.

For the rest of the Eighties’ best 100 redux list, click here.