This is the fourteenth song in the Play It Again Mayhem series which began back in 2020. Check out the previous entries along with this new one in the Play It Again Mayhem Spotify Playlist, click here to take a listen! This one is from the 1980s, 1987 to be precise, it is “Skin Trade”, Duran Duran’s 15th single. The song is taken from their 1986 album ‘Notorious’, their fourth, which was co-produced with Nile Rodgers. It always baffled me that the single only reached number 22 in the UK. I was never a huge Duran Duran fan, but for me, this is by far their best single. You even get Le Bon singing in falsetto and according to him he was channelling Mick Jagger from the Rolling Stone’s 1980 UK top ten hit “Emotional Rescue”. What do you think of this track?
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This is the thirteenth song in the Play It Again Mayhem series which began back in 2020. It might be the thirteenth entry, but it is lucky for one artist and for you because you get to hear another great tune. Check out the previous entries along with this new one in the Play It Again Mayhem Spotify Playlist, click here to take a listen! Once again this one goes back to the 70s, which remains my favourite era for music, 1972 in this case. In fact, 75% of the Play It Again Mayhem songs are from the 1970s so far. This is one of just a few recordings made by two-thirds of the classic Motown songwriting team of Holland Dozier Holland. The song features Lamont Dozier and, I think, both Brian and Eddie Holland. It is called “Why Can’t We Be Lovers” and was released as a single in 1972. It missed the US Billboard charts but made it to number 9 on the US R&B chart. In the UK it sadly only made it to number 29. It was issued on the writing teams Invictus label which also had big hits with Freda Payne and Chairmen Of The Board among others. It is probably one of my favourite love songs, although it is more a song of unrequited love.
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This is the twelfth song in the Play It Again Mayhem series which began back in 2020. Check out the previous entries along with this new one in the Play It Again Mayhem Spotify Playlist, click here to take a listen! Once again this one goes back to the 70s, which remains my favourite era for music. In fact, 75% of the Play It Again Mayhem songs are from the 1970s so far. This track is, in my opinion, one of Rod Stewart’s greatest songs. It comes from his 1977 album ‘Footloose And Fancy Free’ and reached number 5 on the UK charts when it was released as a double A-Side single (paired with “Hot Legs”) that same year. Rod wrote the song with Gary Grainger and the song really feels like some kind of autobiographical lyric. I think it was probably the lyrics that first drew me to the song and it is the Rod Stewart song that I play more than any other. I have copied the lyrics below and those lines in the gold font are the lines that summed up so many things in my own youth, particularly the second verse.
“Ever since I was a kid at school I messed around with all the rules Apologised then realised I’m not different after all
Me and the boys thought we had it sussed Valentinos all of us My dad said we looked ridiculous But boy, we broke some hearts
In and out of jobs, running free Waging war with society Dumb blank faces stare back at me But nothing ever changed
Promises made in the heat of the night Creeping home before it got too light I wasted all that precious time And blamed it on the wine
I was only joking my dear (my dear) Looking for a way to hide my fear (my fear) What kind of fool was I? (Was I) I could never win (never win)
Never found a compromise Collected lovers like butterflies Illusions of that grand first prize Are slowly wearing thin
Susie, baby, you were good to me Giving love unselfishly But you took it all too seriously I guess it had to end
I was only joking my dear (my dear) Looking for a way to hide my fear (my fear) What kind of fool was I? (Was I) I could never win (never win)
Yeah baby, whoa
Now you ask me if I’m sincere That’s the question that I always fear Verse seven is never clear But I’ll tell you what you wanna hear
I try to give you all you want But giving love is not my strongest point If that’s the case it’s pointless going on I’d rather be alone
‘Cause what I’m doing must be wrong Pouring my heart out in a song Owning up for prosperity For the whole damn world to see
Quietly now while I turn a page Act one is over without costume change The principal would like to leave the stage The crowd don’t understand”
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This is the eleventh song in the Play It Again Mayhem series which began back in 2020. Check out the previous entries along with this new one in the Play It Again Mayhem Spotify Playlist, click here to take a listen!
This time it is a much more recent track, in fact, the second newest in this series. It is “Graduation Day” by Head Automatica, which was released as a single back in 2006. It was taken from the band’s second album ‘Popaganda’, also from 2006. The band came into being after singer Daryl Palumbo took an interest in both hip hop and British music. He felt that these styles did not fit within his band Glass Jaw’s canon of music. So as a result he put Head Automatica together. The band issued two albums, five singles, and a couple of EPs from 2004 to 2006. I have both albums on CD and I play ‘Popaganda’ a few times each year. Apparently, there is a later so far unreleased album called ‘Swan Damage’. Someone has posted a ‘Swan Damage’ FULL(non)ALBUM (live compilation)’ on YouTube, click here to check it out.
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This is the tenth song in the Play It Again Mayhem series which began back in 2020. Check out the earlier posts by clicking here (Betty Wright), here (Elton John), here (Roxy Music),  here (The O’Jays), here (John Miles), here (Steely Dan), here (Climax Blues Band), here Little Jackie and here for Gwen McCrae. I promised that once I got to ten Play It again Mayhem Posts that there would be a Spotify Playlist, so click here to take a listen!
This time it is the turn of the seminal British band, the much-missed Kursaal Flyers. The band formed in 1973 and took their name from the imitation train which was used to advertise Southend’s famous amusement hall, the Kursaal, which had recently closed. The song “Little Does She Know” reached the UK Top 20 singles chart in 1976 and the band appeared on Top Of The Pops. I guess that the band was surrounded by washing product boxes on the show because they briefly mention detergent in the lyrics. Top Of The Pops was strange sometimes wasn’t it? It has a chorus that many songwriters would kill for and stays in your head a long while, for more than 45 years for me! The song can be found on their third album, ‘The Golden Mile’ released in 1976. Is this tune a guilty pleasure or simply a great tune? For me, it’s the latter! Check out the tune in the videos below (one from Top Of The Pops and the second from Supersonic) and via the newly created Play It Again Mayhem playlist on Spotify.
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This is the ninth song in the Play It Again Mayhem series which began last year. Check out the earlier posts by clicking here (Betty Wright), here (Elton John), here (Roxy Music),  here (The O’Jays), here (John Miles), here (Steely Dan), here (Climax Blues Band) and here Little Jackie. Once I get to the tenth Play It Again post there will be a Spotify Playlist, so just one more to go! This is another great 70s track, this time by Gwen McCrae, it is titled “Rockin’ Chair”. Originally intended as a response song to her husband George McCrae’s smash hit “Rock Your Baby”. George provides backing vocals on “Rockin’ Chair” and I believe that is the Sunshine Band providing the music. The song was written by Clarence Reid (a.k.a. Blowfly) and Willie Clarke. “Rockin’ Chair” didn’t chart in the UK but made it to number ten in the US Billboard Chart and number one in the Billboard R & B chart. I used to own this on 7-inch vinyl. Gwen is now 78 and was still performing up until 2012 when she suffered a stroke while singing at a show in England.
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This is the eighth song in the Play It Again Mayhem series which began earlier this year. Check out the earlier posts by clicking here (Betty Wright), here (Elton John), here (Roxy Music) here (The O’Jays), here (John Miles) here (Steely Dan) and here (Climax Blues Band). Once I get to the tenth Play It again post there will be a Spotify Playlist! This is the first Play It again Mayhem post so far that isn’t from the 60s or 70s, this one is from the noughties, 2008 to be precise. It is Little Jackie’s “The World Must Revolve Around Me”. It is taken from ‘The Stoop’ which, for me, is one of the finest modern R & B records by a country mile. Despite the name Little Jackie are in fact a duo consisting of of Imani Coppola and Adam Pallin. Both have worked on other musical projects since 2008, but personally I think the Little Jackie work will be hard to top. The duo took their name from the Lisa Lisa versus Cult Jam 1989 hit “Little Jackie Wants To Be A Star”. “The World Must Revolve Around Me” reached the top 30 in the UK and top 30 in Ireland, it remains one of my favourite songs from the noughties, I hope that you enjoy it too.
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This is the seventh song in the Play It Again Mayhem series which began earlier this year. Check out the earlier posts by clicking here (Betty Wright), here (Elton John), here (Roxy Music)  here (The O’Jays), here (John Miles) and here (Steely Dan). This one is yet another from the 70s, 1976 to be precise and it is the Climax Blues Band. They were originally known as the Climax Chicago Blues Band, but despite the name and the funky sound of the song I have selected today they do not hail from the USA, they formed in Stafford UK in 1967. “Couldn’t Get It Right” is a delightfully funky rock tinged track that makes me want to dance. It was the band’s biggest hit by a long way reaching number 3 in the US and hitting the top 10 in the UK, Canada, Ireland and South Africa. Apparently the song is about life on the road in the USA. The line “kept on looking for a sign in the middle of the night” refers to looking for a Holiday Inn sign which is where they laid their hats on that particular tour. Enjoy this classic tune and get yourself moving! Incidentally the band are still recording and touring, although obviously not in this strange Covid world.
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This is the sixth song in the Play It Again Mayhem series which began earlier this year. Check out the earlier posts by clicking here (Betty Wright), here (Elton John), here (Roxy Music)  here (The O’Jays) and here (John Miles). This one is another from the 70s, and it is from Steely Dan. This was the third single released from the band’s 1976 album ‘The Royal Scam’. It never appeared on the US charts but reached number 17 in the UK. The song is “Haitian Divorce” which takes it’s title and much of the story told in the lyrics from the easy divorces available in Haiti to foreigners, particularly Americans. It was so simple that it only needed one partner to be there and the divorce could be finalised in a matter of hours.
The song tells the story of a woman who goes to Haiti to get a divorce, she has a brief fling with a Haitian man, fails to get the divorce and nine months later gives birth to a half Haitian baby. The mention of Papa in the lyrics is interpreted in two ways. Firstly as her father telling her to go back and get the divorce, and secondly as the voice of Haitian ruler at the time, Papa Doc Duvalier, who encouraged divorce tourism. The song was written by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. It was Becker who used a Talk Box on the song over Dean Park’s guitar. Perhaps the most famous proponent of the Talk Box was Peter Frampton on ‘Frampton Comes Alive’. Enjoy the song, I love the jazzy, laid back reggae feel of the track, Why not sing along too? The lyrics are copied below. Please not that the second video is by a rather good Steely Dan tribute band, Steely Damned II
Lyrics Babs and Clean Willie were in love they said So in love the preacher’s face turned red Soon everybody knew the thing was dead He shouts, she bites, they wrangle through the night She go crazy Got to make a getaway Papa say Oh – no hesitation No tears and no hearts breakin’ No remorse Oh – congratulations This is your Haitian Divorce She takes the taxi to the good hotel Bon marche as far as she can tell She drinks the zombie from the cocoa shell She feels alright, she get it on tonight Mister driver Take me where the music play Papa say Oh – no hesitation No tears and no hearts breakin’ No remorse Oh – congratulations This is your Haitian Divorce At the Grotto In the greasy chair Sits the Charlie with the lotion and the kinky hair When she smiled, she said it all The band was hot so They danced the famous Merengue Now we dolly back Now we fade to black Tearful reunion in the USA Day by day those memories fade away Some babies grow in a peculiar way It changed, it grew, and everybody knew Semi-mojo Who’s this kinky so-and-so? Papa go Oh – no hesitation No tears and no hearts breakin’ No remorse Oh – congratulations This is your Haitian Divorce
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This is the fifth song in the Play It Again Mayhem series which began earlier this year. Check out the earlier posts by clicking here (Betty Wright), here (Elton John), here (Roxy Music) and here (The O’Jays). This one is another from the 70s, 1976 as I recall (However Wikipedia says 1976, while the Official Charts site says 1977. But the label on the record in the YouTube clip below says 1976) . “Slow Down” became John Miles’ biggest US hit, reaching number 34 on the Billboard chart. In the UK it made it to number ten. Many people remember John Miles’ chart heyday for the epic “Music”, a UK top 3 hit, but I very much prefer “Slow Down”. It is a first class dance tune which has funk, disco and power pop in equal measures. I remember it being played a hell of a lot in many of the nightclubs that I frequented back in those days, although never in any of the punk shows I went to, although that is not surprising I suppose.
John Miles has played with many great artists over the years; Tina Turner, Jimmy Page and Joe Cocker to name just a few. He also appeared as guest vocalist on four of The Alan Parsons Project albums from 1976 to 1987. He is still very much around and won the “Outstanding Musical Achievement” award at the 2017 Progressive Music Awards. He has been a regular at the annual ‘Night Of The proms’ event since 1985. I have played “Slow Down” loads of times since rediscovering it!
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With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 