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=> GENERAL DISCUSSION => Topic started by: Bags on January 19, 2004, 11:50:00 pm
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Okay, so I'm watching this VH1 show "Bands Reunited" while doing other stuff, so I'm not fully paying attention. But, they've gotten Berlin back together after "decades." They are focusing on a particular genre, mostly. The bands are Berlin, Kajagoogoo, Squeeze, Flock of Seagulls, Romeo Void, Frankie Goes to Hollywood....uhm, Klymaxx (I don't know them). I'm missing some -- there are 10.
But here's my question -- didn't Berlin and Flock of Seagulls play the 9:30 Club this summer? I feel like that was a show I missed -- Flock, Berlin, Modern English and someone else. I wonder if it all started with this VH-1 show? Had to, really, since they hadn't seen each other in years; that's kind of the premise of the show.
Thoughts?
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Flock and Kajagoogoo are the only interesting ones of the bunch you named but....
for a QUALITY band that is back together, and touring heavily, the exciting news is dada.
I saw them at the state theater a while back and ohmigod it rocked beyond rockage. Well... they're back at the state theater March 13. Only now I see joie callo was doing a solo show at iota tonight, feel stupid for missing it. Dada is like a higher-quality Fountains of Wayne (and I like FOW), better harmonies, absolute musical virtuosity, a bit more burned out surfer/druggie types with deeper lyrics... check 'em out.
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Originally posted by Bags:
Okay, so I'm watching this VH1 show "Bands Reunited" while doing other stuff, so I'm not fully paying attention. But, they've gotten Berlin back together after "decades." They are focusing on a particular genre, mostly. The bands are Berlin, Kajagoogoo, Squeeze, Flock of Seagulls, Romeo Void, Frankie Goes to Hollywood....uhm, Klymaxx (I don't know them). I'm missing some -- there are 10.
But here's my question -- didn't Berlin and Flock of Seagulls play the 9:30 Club this summer? I feel like that was a show I missed -- Flock, Berlin, Modern English and someone else. I wonder if it all started with this VH-1 show? Had to, really, since they hadn't seen each other in years; that's kind of the premise of the show.
Thoughts?
Berlin and Flock of Seagulls played at the 9:30 last year but not with their original line-ups. Same goes for Modern English.
The other two bands are, The Alarm and Dramarama.
Klymaxx were an all female urban dance-pop band from the 80's. They weren't very good.
VH1 is just capitalizing on the popularity of the VH1 Classics channel, and supposedly those particular bands were the ones that viewers voted on wanted to see united again in some fashion.
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the alarm is mike peters, no other original members, he has the missions (uk) guitarist playing in the band. mike is supposed to be touring the usa this year in dead men walking, thats mike peters (the alarm),kirk brandon (spear of destiny), slim jim (the stray cats), glen matlock (the sex pistols) and maybe billy duffy (the cult). they are all on stage together and take turns doing there bands songs the others play back up. pete wylie (wah) used to be in dead men walking but had a bust up with mike, thewy were planing to have stuart adamson (big country) join them but he got out of it (commited suicide). bruce watson (big country) played afew dates with them. the alarm toured the states at the end of last year and were a big hit.
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Originally posted by Moon Mulllens:
Klymaxx were an all female urban dance-pop band from the 80's. They weren't very good.
[/b]
they sang that song, "Meeting In The Ladies Room"
did they not?
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Originally posted by sonickteam2:
Originally posted by Moon Mulllens:
Klymaxx were an all female urban dance-pop band from the 80's. They weren't very good.
[/b]
they sang that song, "Meeting In The Ladies Room"
did they not? [/b]
Yes they did
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Originally posted by Moon Mulllens:
Originally posted by sonickteam2:
Originally posted by Moon Mulllens:
Klymaxx were an all female urban dance-pop band from the 80's. They weren't very good.
[/b]
they sang that song, "Meeting In The Ladies Room"
did they not? [/b]
Yes they did [/b]
i have the 45 baby! too bad i dont have a turntable anymore.
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Originally posted by bungle bud:
the alarm is mike peters,
well if the alarm reunion is anything like the berlin reunion it will feature mike, eddie, dave and twist. not the current mike peter's ego band... it could be interesting seeing as there was legal action taken against mike for the use of the alarm as a band name.
romeo void could be interesting... it's on at 11am today, i'll watch and give it the thumbs up thumps down...
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Ooh, I forgot that was on...was watching "American Chopper" on the Discovery Channel. But it's VH-1, it'll be on 20 more times this week. ;)
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I caught maybe the last 5 minutes of this yesterday. I think it's a great idea, although it's an odd list of bands. Kajagoogoo?
I'd love to see the original Alarm get back together. Especially if they're still sporting those suave haircuts. Has Squeeze really been broken up for that long?
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Originally posted by Skeeter:
I'd love to see the original Alarm get back together.
They played at Jaxx a year or two ago.
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The original members? Damn - sorry I missed that. :(
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I think EXTREME is also one of the bands??!! Klymaxx and Dramarama?? What the f*ck?? The one thing I DO like about the show from watching last night's Berlin episode is that they get the ORIGINAL lineups back together. They went after the first drummer and not this replacement. Adds Something I guess. I hate almost every second of the reality shows on network T.V. but am looking forward to a couple of these episodes. Frankie,Flock and Squeeze to be sure. I met and got to socialize with these 3 bands years ago and want to see what they are looking like now,curiosity I guess.......
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Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
Originally posted by Skeeter:
I'd love to see the original Alarm get back together.
They played at Jaxx a year or two ago. [/b]
WRONG, one more mistake like this and I'm going to have to remove you from the position as royal archivist and make you the court jester.
The "Alarm" that playedJaxx in 2001 (http://www.thealarm.com/tourlist.asp?year=2001&filter=mp) was The Alarm 2000 (http://www.thealarm.com/dispevent.asp?id=23&filter=mp) w/
Mike Peters: Lead vocals, guitar
plus:
Guitar: James Stevenson(Chelsey,Generation-X, Gene Loves Jezebel)
Bass: Richard Llewellyn (Jess,Cartoon)
Drums: Steve Grantly: (Stiff Little Fingers)
Cartoon)
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Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
WRONG, one more mistake like this and I'm going to have to remove you from the position as royal archivist and make you the court jester.
Deepest apologies, Master.
I shall strive to regain my impeccable posting cred.
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The Alarm are a prime example of a band whose sound has not aged well. Same could be said for the Housemartins and Woodentops. Liked all those bands back in the day, but they sound BAD now.
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Originally posted by Skeeter:
The original members? Damn - sorry I missed that. :(
Skeeter, it's VH1. There will be 27 additional airings that you can catch....they're replaying much of the week's worth on Friday evening, and again throughout the day on Saturday.
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totally disagree on the housemartins sounding dated...
just saw the romeo void episode and it's a good one.
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Same could be said for the Housemartins
I'm with kosmo on this - totally disagree with you - still think their stuff sounds great
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any music can be labeled dated... it's being able to sound timeless which is the trick. the housemartins wrote and performed great melodic pop songs which sound as good today as when they were released.
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Originally posted by Bags:
Originally posted by Skeeter:
The original members? Damn - sorry I missed that. :)
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Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
The Alarm are a prime example of a band whose sound has not aged well. Same could be said for the Housemartins and Woodentops. Liked all those bands back in the day, but they sound BAD now.
I disagree about the Alarm. I picked up the "Declaration" reissue a few months back and it still sounds great to me. Then again, I just bought a Pat Benater disc about an hour ago, so what do I know.
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i dunno about the alarm, they released some really great stripped down singles before "decloration", the whole acoustic guitar played through amps sound. then they went into the studio and came out all overproduced with horns and synths. i much prefer the orginial version of "the stand" then the one on the album. that first five song us ep is a good one...
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Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
The Alarm are a prime example of a band whose sound has not aged well. Same could be said for the Housemartins and Woodentops. Liked all those bands back in the day, but they sound BAD now.
Hell, I disagree about all three. Of course, like most bands, none of them could sustain the magic of their humble beginnings but they all rocked in their days and I still listen to the early stuff, especially Woodentops live disc.
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It was worth it just to see how hot Terri Nunn is looking at, what is she 50? Did anybody else see that? I think she looks better than I saw Berlin in 83. Damn, it's no secret that I like them young, but I'd do Terri Nunn in a heart beat. And the best part is they didn't play "Take my Breath Away."
And as far as all of the discussion of who's together and who's not these days, the schtick of the show is that they're trying to get the ORIGINAL lineup's back together, and it's not so easy. The original line-up for BErlin hadn't played together since they were recording their second album and Flock - well just watch it and see how easy that was.
Lastly, if you ask what the hell is Dramarama doing on this show, you're clearly not from LA because people in LA have been asking for a reunion show for years.
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Originally posted by vansmack:
Lastly, if you ask what the hell is Dramarama doing on this show, you're clearly not from LA because people in LA have been asking for a reunion show for years.
I always thought they were underrated. Last Cigarette got some play. The Earth Day song got some play too, but I thought that was the worst song on Vinyl.
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Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
I always thought they were underrated. Last Cigarette got some play. The Earth Day song got some play too, but I thought that was the worst song on Vinyl.
Ahh, Last Cigarette...you're going to make me break out my vinyl. "Anything, Anything (I'll Give You)" was and I'm sure still is on the KROQ playlist. Everytime I go home I hear it.
Rodney Bingenheimer played that tune on his Sunday night Rodney on the Rock show and to this day that song is a KROQ favorite. So much that Cris Carter of D-Rama made a movie about Rodney to thank him for breaking his band. D-Rama is listed at number 79 on the KROQ bands of all time I guarantee that song is in the top 10 of all time on KROQ, even maybe #2 behind Blister in the Sun or 3 if they still credit "Smells like Teen Spirit" for saving them from bankruptcy.
I did see them in September at the KROQ Inland Invasion, but I'm not sure of it was the original line-up. They were better when I saw them in `990, so it may not have been the original line-up.....or they were 15 years older, I couldn't tell.
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Great song!
Don't think that I've ever heard anyone say anything bad about that band.
<Queue Rhett>
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It was obvious to me after seeing Flock play again on one days rehersal, that those guys really blew a chance at being a much larger band...great stuff but imploded after 4 years..
what was up with Mike Score?? seemed wary at best, everyone else was having a good time.
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Originally posted by Metal Meltdown:
It was obvious to me after seeing Flock play again on one days rehersal, that those guys really blew a chance at being a much larger band...great stuff but imploded after 4 years..
what was up with Mike Score?? seemed wary at best, everyone else was having a good time.
>> To put it quite simply,too much too soon......Ali Score alluded to the drink & drugs and how it took it's toll especially on young Reno....I met them literally on their first tour of the U.S. and they were driving around in a white Ford econoline van......4 guys,road manager and driver all packed in....4 months later they were one of the biggest bands in the land in a giant tour bus and in the midst of a large international tour....Reno was and still is a gifted guitarist who never had the chance to reach his full potential...the problem with Mike is it was & still is in his mind all about HIM.....and it should have been about the BAND....now he's relegated to playing small venues around the country with the makeshift band he put together...shit happens....
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They getting the original line-up of Squeeze together!!!! :eek:
Even Jools Holland?
That I have to see.
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i'm diggin the series so far, i dig how ordinary many of the people are at the time of the reunion.
fav so far is the romeo void, you can still sense the bitterness over being dumped because they didn't project the right mtv image. but, they have all moved on. the sax players story was so refreshing. they did cheat a little on this one because they didn't find the orginial drummer...
the flock of haircuts episode was better than i thought... although mike score is sounding a bit too gruff these days, to make me ever want to see the touring version of the band.
the berlin episode was a bit to tabloid for me
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Originally posted by mankie:
They getting the original line-up of Squeeze together!!!! :eek:
Even Jools Holland?
That I have to see.
i saw squeeze a few years ago when jools's brother was sitting in on keyboards, it was a bit creepy...
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Originally posted by mankie:
They getting the original line-up of Squeeze together!!!! :eek:
Even Jools Holland?
That I have to see.
January 30 on VH1, check local listings, but it's on either on at 7 or 10 on the East Coast (I forget which channels I have east coast feeds for on DirecTV).
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Originally posted by vansmack:
It was worth it just to see how hot Terri Nunn is looking at, what is she 50? Did anybody else see that? I think she looks better than I saw Berlin in 83. Damn, it's no secret that I like them young, but I'd do Terri Nunn in a heart beat. And the best part is they didn't play "Take my Breath Away."
And as far as all of the discussion of who's together and who's not these days, the schtick of the show is that they're trying to get the ORIGINAL lineup's back together, and it's not so easy. The original line-up for BErlin hadn't played together since they were recording their second album and Flock - well just watch it and see how easy that was.
Lastly, if you ask what the hell is Dramarama doing on this show, you're clearly not from LA because people in LA have been asking for a reunion show for years.
Terri Nunn of Berlin: At 42 years old, she is BY FAR the most gracefully-aged rocker featured on VH1's 'Band's Reunited'.
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Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
Originally posted by vansmack:
Lastly, if you ask what the hell is Dramarama doing on this show, you're clearly not from LA because people in LA have been asking for a reunion show for years.
I always thought they were underrated. Last Cigarette got some play. The Earth Day song got some play too, but I thought that was the worst song on Vinyl. [/b]
A great, great band...it's a crying shame that shite like Wilco make it big and real talent like Dramarama can't get a break.
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I haven't seen any of the episodes except for snippets of Berlin (I'm taping them all at once on Saturday), but I'm looking forward to it! I loved Dramarama in the day...It's all good.
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So I'm watching the Klymaxx episode, which is cool because the band is fighting over rights to the name. BUT, even seeing it, I don't know who the hell they are. I have never heard these songs... They sound vaguely familiar, but they sound like other songs. Other songs I didn't know the names of either.
Ha, the promo to Frankie Goes to Hollywood is fun. "The friction forced the band to go down...in flames" -- ha, he said "go down." :p
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thumbs up on the frankie reunion show. paul rutherford is listed as being a free spirit :D
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Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
thumbs up on the frankie reunion show. paul rutherford is listed as being a free spirit :cool:
Wasn't Holly Johnson in Frankie? Isnt he dead now?
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nope alive and well, working as an artist in london....
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it's weird, I also had heard he died of AIDS, and then there he is.
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Originally posted by Dandy01:
it's weird, I also had heard he died of AIDS, and then there he is.
I heard that too.
Now, if Klaus Naumi (I have no fucking clue how to spell his last name) comes back, I'm going to swear they're picking 'em up from the graveyard.
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Originally posted by Dandy01:
it's weird, I also had heard he died of AIDS, and then there he is.
He was diagnosed as HIV Positive, though I don't think it ever went to full blown AIDS, and no he isn't dead.
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Originally posted by vansmack:
[qb] It was worth it just to see how hot Terri Nunn is looking at, what is she 50? Did anybody else see that? I think she looks better than I saw Berlin in 83. Damn, it's no secret that I like them young, but I'd do Terri Nunn in a heart beat.
Yeah, she looked hot! I looked over at my wife and made a PC comment like, "she holds her age well!"
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I've been watching this show too (P.O'ed that Holly Johnson nixed a reunion singalong...grrr!). Got to wondering when VH1 will come knocking on Bob Mould's door down the street from the 9:30 club begging for Husker Du reunion. I can BET that ain't gonna happen!
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Terri Nunn (http://www.terrinunn.com/)
I'm checking out the Sex (I'm a...) video now to see what all the Terri Nunn fuss is about
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it's a shame that extreme isn't together anymore... seeing as the drummer now manages the likes of godsmack :eek: , cold :eek: , and fuel :eek: :eek: :eek: .
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Originally posted by brennser:
Same could be said for the Housemartins
I'm with kosmo on this - totally disagree with you - still think their stuff sounds great [/b]
Consider the source lads....not coming from one of the greatest of music minds now is it?
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Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
thumbs up on the frankie reunion show. paul rutherford is listed as being a free spirit :D
Kajagoogoo hail from Leighton Buzzard!! Notice none of the scouse bands live in Liverpool now?
As for manc bands not reuniting, it's a manc thing....you wouldn't understand.
Let me give you a hint,
"Hi, I'm some chump from VH1 trying to reunite the band. are you interested?"
"Fuck off"
"No really, we are from VH1, we think it would be a great idea, and the fans of VH1 have voted your band one of the bands they'd like to see get back together"
"I said fuck off yer twat"
"Do you keep in touch with any of the band"
"No, they're all fuckin tossers"
"How about Bryan, you two were pretty close"
"Yeah, until he turned into a knobead"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean he's a fuckin dickead...I'd twat him if I saw him...ere, you gettin me a pint er what?"
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that's some funny stuff... and seeing that New Order and the Buzzcocks, the most famous 80's Manchester bands, still retain most of the orginial members a trip to Manchester would not be in the cards.
Maybe VH-1 UK could do a hour long special of The Stone Roses, The Smiths, and The Happy Mondays all slagging each other, their record labels and producers off.
although the seagulls guitarist at least lived near liverpool. i love how he got his haircut before doing the show.
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Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
it's a shame that extreme isn't together anymore... seeing as the drummer now manages the likes of godsmack :eek: , cold :eek: , and fuel :eek: :eek: :eek: .
I've never had more respect for Nuno Bettencourt in my life.
Thank you Nuno for stopping that from happening!
If you guys hated "More than Words so Much", why was your second single "Hole Hearted" - another gay acoustic song?
Dramarama just wrapped up on my TiVo so I'm going to watch that now and reminisce about hanging out on the Strip when I was growing up.
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i'm guessing a rather large NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO was heard in san fran at the end of the dramarama show, especially after the two ace songs from the reunion concert. i dig the guitarist who is now a bulldozer operator.
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Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
i'm guessing a rather large NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO was heard in san fran at the end of the dramarama show, especially after the two ace songs from the reunion concert. i dig the guitarist who is now a bulldozer operator.
dude....good call. You know me too well.
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just watched the alarm reunite... and all i can say is PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, do a proper reunion tour. there are plently of us who will fork over the dosh to see ya live. i actually felt something stir inside during the live bit. the episode went quite differently than I expected.
the cities featured in this one were san fran, london, and making its series debut manchester :) and eddie must have a little mank in him cause he asked about the money involved :D
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Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
just watched the alarm reunite... and all i can say is PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, do a proper reunion tour. there are plently of us who will fork over the dosh to see ya live. i actually felt something stir inside during the live bit. the episode went quite differently than I expected.
the cities featured in this one were san fran, london, and making its series debut manchester :) and eddie must have a little mank in him cause he asked about the money involved :D
Well there we have it...no need to watch it tonight, Kosmo already told us they get back together and do a gig.
Cheers, thanks, good man, saved me watching telly tonight.
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well it was an hour long episode :) and they find dave sharp drinking in a mankville establishment and catch up with mike peters at a uni gig there also.
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Sorry about that Mank. Kosmo and I work from home and have the luxury of watching the morning broadcast of Bands Reunited.
I'll hold my comments until you've seen it, but watch it, you'll enjoy it.
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Originally posted by vansmack:
Sorry about that Mank. Kosmo and I work from home and have the luxury of watching the morning broadcast of Bands Reunited.
I'll hold my comments until you've seen it, but watch it, you'll enjoy it.
If any of you two spoil the Squeeze episode for me I swear I will hunt you down and dissect you like a 4th grade science project.
When is that one on by the way?
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tomorrow the last day of the series... i wonder if they'll do anymore?
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Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
tomorrow the last day of the series... i wonder if they'll do anymore?
Thanks, they saved the best band till last then.
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sorry about blowing the ending of the alarm reunited. knowing that i was watching the shows before most people could i avoided posting any juicy details. however, like smackie after the dramarama show, i was overcome by emotion and the excitment and had to post the reaction.
personally i was always a bit disappointed with the alarms's over produced records, but they were indeed a killer live act. i even remember seeing that mtv live concert from ucla.
i expected the show to go something like this.
Fill in the blank
Mike Peters is a ___________ who tried to make money using the bands name.
a. complete tosser
b. fookin bastard
c. absolute looser
d. all of the above.
While there was a bit of that, but it turned out to be a feel good episode. More than most of the bands reunited you could really sense the camaraderie that existed in the band when they were playing together. They also put on one of best reunited performances. But it helped that Mike Peters and Dave Sharp were still working musicians.
Another thing that came out was really nice guys the band members. I remember this from having a lengthy conversation, with Eddie I believe, before the Alarm broke in the US.
My only complaint about the show was that clip of Mike announcing that he was quitting the band from the stage. I was about to hurl something at the TV if they showed it one more time.
Hey Smackie... Any word on whether on Twist is playing in a band in San Fran. He certainly wasn't out of practice like some of the other drummers.
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They seemed to completely gloss over the fact that Peters has been touring as The Alarm. You'd think someone would at least bring that up. And I agree about the clip of Peters announcing his departure. Enough already. We got it the first 5 times.
I hope we get to see more of these performances. It's kind of a letdown to sit through the hype of the reunion, only to see half of one or two songs.
The Squeeze show should be very interesting.
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It was interesting how they made Mike out to be the twat, not to mention showing the "I quit" clip a gazzillion times, but when Mike was interviewed turns out (IMHO of course) that Dave was as much a twat as Mike, releasing his own album without telling them, wanting to sing the songs he wrote, cancelling the band meeting that was scheduled for the day after the Brixton show etc. I don't know, but I'd be a bit pissed off with Dave too. I didn't quite follow the arguments about who got credit for the songs so can't comment on that.
They did sound good live....thanks to Mike and Dave still actively performing for the most part I'd say.
It was a good show, but would've been better had some blabber-gob not ruined the ending for me! ;)
Keep yer cake-hole shut about the Squeeze one tonight or I won't be held responsible for my actions......I can't see how they can pull this one off though, Jools is going to be the toughest sell I think.
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that was the first i'd heard about the dave sharp solo record fiasco... and mike peters certainly presented his case calmly with just a bit of bitterness, but they seemed to get over that quickly enough. although the point about peters leaving in a car right after the gig, does imply some planning on his part.
also there was a bit of lapse in the research... the dave sharp solo record they showed was actually released in 96, not 91.
and mums the word, eagle scout's honor on the squeeze show....
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Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
that was the first i'd heard about the dave sharp solo record fiasco... and mike peters certainly presented his case calmly with just a bit of bitterness, but they seemed to get over that quickly enough. although the point about peters leaving in a car right after the gig, does imply some planning on his part.
also there was a bit of lapse in the research... the dave sharp solo record they showed was actually released in 96, not 91.
and mums the word, eagle scout's honor on the squeeze show....
couldn't he just walk outside and get in his car? I actually believed Peters more than Sharp when watching it. You could tell Sharp seemed to get nervous when Peters was talking about why he left and mentioned sharp. It was very awkward.
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I'm sure there's shitloads of taxis in Brixton too!
Seriously, remember he said he'd decided the afternoon before the show but didn't know if he had the balls to go through with it.
I think Dave was more to blame than Mike though going from the show last night.
What was weird, all Welsh evidently but not a Welsh accent amongst them.
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according to allmusic eddie and mike were both born in wales. dave was born in salford, and born in manchester in 1958 nigel twist :D
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Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
according to allmusic eddie and mike were both born in wales. dave was born in salford, and born in manchester in 1958 nigel twist :D
Actually, when Dave was talking I thought he had a very natural accent for a transplant.
Nigel Twist had a generic English accent really, living in Doodleville will do that to you unfortunatley.
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Oh my god did you see the Squeeze show?!!?!!?
I can't believe the [BOARD EDIT]!!!!!!
And when he said [BOARD EDIT], I almost fell over!!!
Just kidding. I decided not to TiVo the morning episode and will wait until tonight's episode so I'm not tempted to spill the details just to get Mankie to come visit me out here. Sure, he'd kick my ass first, but then we could have a beer and talk footie.
Kosmo, I was wondering the same thing about Nigel and hove some friends in the DA's office. I'm pissed they didn't tell me they worked with him (frankly, I don't think they knew, though they did talk about this Man City fan they wanted to get me to meet - I wonder....). Anyhow, I sent an inquiry.
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Originally posted by pollard:
couldn't he just walk outside and get in his car? I actually believed Peters more than Sharp when watching it. You could tell Sharp seemed to get nervous when Peters was talking about why he left and mentioned sharp. It was very awkward. [/b]
he seemed to be squirming under Peters's arm. It also didn't seem to hit Peters how the others felt about his departure - he was looking forward to hugging and kissing the guys while they wanted an explanation.
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it appears that a least one other band was reunited for the show and not yet aired... and in my mind it's a bit of doozie! i wonder what other shows are in the can or will we have to wait for the dvd.
according to Wire Trains website (http://www.wiretrain.co.uk/wtnews.htm) the concert took place in dec 2002
also for smackie... there is a chris carter statement on the vh-1 forum now...
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Well, I thought it was a bit too ambitous trying to get the lads of Squeeze back together. Didn't mank say Jools would be the hard sell? I wonder why Glen changed his mind? Chris was man enough to apologize so hopefully Glen will see the video of that and they can patch things up. It seems that they all still care for each other so just need the few issues to be brought out in the open and talked through.
I hope you (kosmo and smackie) have signed the petition on VH1 website to convince them to do it.
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From salon.com......the article is good but woefully out of date as all the episodes have aired!
Bands on the run
What ever happened to Kajagoogoo, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and A Flock of Seagulls? VH1's new "Bands Reunited" tracks them down and finds out -- and it ain't pretty.
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By Rick Kisonak
Feb. 4, 2004 Â |Â In 1976, Lorne Michaels did one of the funniest things I've ever seen anyone do on "Saturday Night Live," and he didn't take part in a skit or tell a single joke. What the young producer did was offer the Beatles the "generous" sum of $3,000 to get back together and perform on his show. In those days, rumors of a reunion were constantly in the air with promoters offering the former fabs as much as $100 million for a single concert. Michaels had no idea at the time how close his parody of those offers came to bearing fruit. As John Lennon later revealed in his famous Playboy interview, Paul McCartney happened to be in town and visiting at the Dakota on the night of April 24. The two were watching the show as Michaels made his offer and briefly toyed with the idea of calling a cab -- though, in the end, they decided they were too pooped to make pop-music history.
Another thing Michaels couldn't possibly have known at the time: Nearly three decades later, producers who probably hadn't even been born yet in 1976 would be making riveting television by doing essentially the very same thing: VH1's new "Bands Reunited" debuted on Jan. 19, and it is, without a doubt, the greatest show on earth.
What could possibly be more all-around entertaining than a program on which the members of long-defunct ensembles are tracked down one by one, isolated in a room with former band mates they haven't seen in years (due in many cases to still-raging feuds) and coerced into reliving their rock 'n' roll glory days as viewers recoil in amazement at the amount of hair lost and weight gained? One-time Vancouver VJ Aamer Haleem does the hosting honors, a position that demands a high degree of both music-industry knowledge and diplomacy. According to VH1's Web site, "shock, embarrassment and sometimes anger are just a few of the reactions" Haleem encounters as he "shows up unexpectedly and surprises each band member with the possibility of reuniting."
The concept is pure genius. And the show's creators are smart enough to understand they walk a fine line in terms of the acts they unearth. Dig up a group from the late '60s and you run the risk of your trail leading you straight into a nursing home or, worse, that big jam session in the sky. That'll unplug the fun in a hurry. Instead, the producers of "Bands Reunited" tend to target long-dormant headliners from the '80s. This way, the former pop stars may be all but unrecognizable but at least they're not dragging around oxygen tanks.
Then there's the bonus that so many bands from that period now appear utterly ridiculous. What they may have lacked in talent, acts like A Flock of Seagulls, Dramarama and Klymaxx tried desperately to make up in hairspray and polyester -- which makes them the perfect subjects for a show like this. The whole world looks at them as musical laughingstocks, but raise the possibility of getting together to make one night's worth of music -- without pay -- and you've never seen a bunch of people take themselves more seriously.
The British has-beens are by far the worst when it comes to this sorry behavior. In the episode on Kajagoogoo (1983's "Too Shy"), the first four members of the synth pop quintet contacted agreed to reunite but expressed serious doubt that lead singer Limahl would consent to the proposition. After all, the four had arranged for their manager to boot him out of the band without explanation nearly 20 years earlier, effectively ending his career. Indeed, when confronted by Haleem about the possibility of burying the hatchet, the vocalist becomes visibly agitated. To the fellow's credit, though, he decides to let bygones be bygones and breaks down and weeps only three or four times in the course of the culminating live performance. Hey, nothing says rock 'n' roll quite like a blubbering middle-aged man.
The installment featuring Frankie Goes to Hollywood (1983's "Relax") doesn't have quite so happy an ending. That's because lead singer and self-appointed serious artist Holly Johnson is a gwumpy little man whose sense of humor seems to have been surgically removed in the decades since the homoerotic dance-pop outfit's ultra-brief heyday. Never mind "Relax." Someone should tell this guy to "Chill."
You had to feel sorry for the other members of the band. Sort of the Brit version of the Village People, only with way, way more attitude, Frankie was pretty much a sensation that came and went overnight and you could tell these guys were psyched to be receiving any kind of media attention. Like their counterparts from Kajagoogoo, the group's foot soldiers seriously doubted their commander in cheese would deign to join them for a march down memory lane. Johnson stunned everyone by agreeing to come to the initial confab but apparently did so only to make that much more disheartening his refusal in the end to engage in musical activity of any kind. A few self-important proclamations about the impact his art has had on the world and off he sashayed with his poodle -- or whatever it was -- padding along at his heels. Horrid twit. Great TV.
The installment on A Flock of Seagulls -- 1982's "I Ran (So Far Away)" -- is one of my favorites. The oft-maligned new wavers arguably are remembered better for their hysterical hairdos than for any of the songs they recorded. Frontman (and then professional beautician) Mike Score may have been the most femmed-out figure in the history of popular music. He made Little Richard look like Ike Turner.
Which is why it's so funny to watch him in his present incarnation. The guy's positively burly! I mean it. He has to be closing in on 300 pounds and dresses like a Hells Angel. One of the show's most entertaining features, a split screen in which you see the band as they were in their early MTV videos and performing the same songs today, is used to particularly cruel and hilarious effect with A Flock of Seagulls. In fact, if these guys decide to stay together, they should change their name to A Flock of Meat Loafs.
The episode's highlights? Hearing members of the group speak gravely about how they were driven apart by "artistic differences." And before that, at the beginning of the show, watching the one-time demigods ask their bosses for permission to miss a few days of work.
In the episodes I've seen, ensembles from this side of the pond have tended to take themselves and their moment in the spotlight less seriously than their colleagues from the U.K. Remember Romeo Void (1981's "Never Say Never")? Perhaps having learned a lesson from its encounter with Huffy Holly, the show's crew tracked down full-figured vocalist Debora Iyall first and secured a commitment before rounding up the rest of the retired post-punkers.
All five reacted to the ambush with good spirits and a sense of fun. Members of RV were clearly excited by the prospect of playing together again. The group has even managed to remain one of the few in the world that's apparently 100 percent feud-free. Nonetheless, a true reunion wasn't meant to be. Just when it looked as though nothing could possibly spoil the party, Haleem tracked down reclusive saxophonist Benjamin Bossi and listened in horror as the withered musician ticked off a laundry list of personal tragedies. On top of serious problems with drug and alcohol addictions, the highly regarded sax player revealed that he's been taken out of the game by an incurable case of tinnitus, the same form of hearing damage that afflicts Pete Townsend.
To hear Bossi tell it, the toll taken by years of playing in front of blasting amplifiers was exacerbated by his substance abuse. The worse the ringing in his head got, the more booze and pills he used in an attempt to mask the condition's symptoms. The bottom line: The poor guy can't afford to risk losing what little hearing he has left. So he joined his old friends on the day of the reunion and gave them all a big hug but had to excuse himself when it came time for everyone to pick up their instruments. The group soldiered on with the help of a session player but, sadly, one member of Romeo Void had to say "never" after all.
You see what I mean. "Bands Reunited" is a basic-cable bonanza for music fans, reality fans, and anyone who's ever stumbled across a long-forgotten eight-track or cassette and wondered what happened to the group that recorded it. Similarly fascinating sagas are already in the can detailing the rise and fall of Extreme, Berlin, Squeeze and the Alarm. Of course, plenty of shows (VH1's own "Behind the Music," for example) already chronicle the rise of famous bands. A show documenting their fall is long overdue. When people make the journey from world tours to working day jobs, there's guaranteed to be drama, wreckage, lessons learned, and human interest in spades. And, with so many expired acts awaiting postmortem, it looks like this is a show that will go on. And on.
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About the writer
Rick Kisonak is a film and media critic who lives in South Burlington, Vt.
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Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
also for smackie... there is a chris carter statement on the vh-1 forum now...
I just went through the first 20 pages of the board and couldn't find it. If you see it again, could you post a link?
Thanks.
And yes mankie I signed the petition.
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kinda sorta on topic (http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,6903,1148278,00.html) - references the bands reunited show and talks about the upcoming lloyd cole and the commotions reunion