Intro

Hello, and welcome to New Wave Beat. I'm your host, Jason D'Orazio. Today, discussing some great new wave songs from 1987. In this year, the new wave movement was losing steam. But there are still some good new wave gems that deserve mention.

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The Bangles - Walk Like an Egyptian

Let's kick off a retrospective with Walk Like An Egyptian🔖✔ by the Bangles🔖✔. The Bangles put out their debut album in 1984 and hit it big two years later with A Different Light, which contained Walk Like An Egyptian. The Bangles took a few cues from Blondie🔖✔, but were also influenced by '60s LA folk rock artists such as the Byrds and the Mamas & the Papas. A tambourine (a favorite of folk rock) forms the song's rhythm. Vocalists Susanna Hoffs, Vicky Peterson, and Michael Steele sing with a matter-of-fact air, but it sounds very good. Unfortunately, a drum machine was used, wasting an accomplished drummer in Debbie Peterson. There is a '60s-sounding synth near the end of the chorus which recalls the B-52s🔖✔ for me. As shown by VH1, Walk Like an Egyptian wasn't really about a new dance craze, but rather keeping balance on a boat. As a boat sways, the logic goes, people put out their arms, accidentally striking ancient Egyptian poses. Each paragraph of the lyrics is a vignette, describing a different group of people, like school kids, waitresses, and men from a bazaar. Walk Like an Eghyptian's video took the song more literally, having people in New York City giving their Sunday-best Egyptian poses. Even the normally-chill Statue of Liberty (besides Ghostbusters 2 and Princess Diana get in on the fun (thank you, special effects). There are a couple moments with dancers in ancient Egyptian outfits as a nod to its literal interpretation. Walk Like an Egyptian was the number one song in 1987's year-end charts in the US, and managed a #3 in the UK. The Bangles had another smash in them in 1989 with Eternal Flame before flickering out. Though they occasionally recorded in the 2000s.

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Kim Wilde - You Keep Me Hanging On

Next up in the 1987 playlist is Kim Wilde's rendition of You Keep Me Hanging On. British new waver Kim Wilde debuted in 1981 and had a minor hit with Kids In America. Meanwhile, in her native UK, she fared somewhat better. Then in 1987 she scorched the US charts with You Keep Me Hanging On, a cover of a Diana Ross & the Supremes late '50s song, which was also number one. Kim's version runs over a minute longer than the original and it's full of orchestral hits, which shows its hi-NRG influence. You Keep Me Hanging On also has layers of fast-paced, infectious synths for new wave goodness.

The song is likely about the narrator giving a romantic partner the heave-ho after his stringing her along. Kim declares that he doesn't really love her. There's more vitriol with Wilde's version compared to the original, which sounded more like a plea for the guy to improve. That could be because it was more socially acceptable for women to be assertive in the '80s than the '50s. Indeed, Wilde has the energy and inflection in her vocals to hold her own with with the driving melody. The video has Kim Wilde in bed, similar to her earlier video for Cold War🔖✔ track Cambodia. But this time Wilde is dressed in black, matching the bed and room. There is a menacing figure by a hole in the wall who I am assuming is her lover or boyfriend. Unfortunately, Wilde couldn't keep hanging onto the charts with the kids in America. Though in the UK, she scored several more hits. After a hiatus, Wilde recently put out a new album and touring to support it.

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INXS - Need You Tonight

Third up is INXS'🔖✔ hit Need You Tonight. Australian new wavers INXS started out in 1980, (very) slowly building chart momentum in Australia and other English-speaking countries. 1985 finally saw US chart success, and later on, Need You Tonight rocketed to number one. Ironically, in Australia, it stalled at number three. While Hutchence's voice is definitively different than Mick Jagger's, his bluesy-rock singing style does recall the Rolling Stones frontman on Need You Tonight and other tracks on Kick and beyond. Musically, there are definite funk elements, which was popular for new wave bands to employ in the late '80s. Case in point: the bass line and the main guitar riff. A one-note synth riff is pretty catchy too. The verses are sung silky smooth and low with grit and power at just the right moments. An example is Hutchence shouting, "I'm lonely," at the end of the choruses. There's also a false ending that punctures the song nicely. While Need You Tonight won't win points for lyrical subtlety, the lines exude passion and wanting. Hutchence's character can't sleep because of his lusting, explaining that her moves are also so raw. Hutchence implores "I've got to let you know" like his life depends on it. Need You Tonight's video is a combination of black and white and color. It consists of the band performing (which I'm usually not keen on), but its visual effects elevate it to the realm of dynamic and catchy. You get a taste of Hutchence's stage presence, which recalls Mick Jagger and Jim Morrison. INXS managed to have a few more big hits in the new wave hostile early '90s. Sadly, front man Hutchence committed suicide in 1997 via asphyxiation. INXS came back in 2005 with a new lead singer, but let's not talk about that.

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ABC - When Smokey Sings

ABC🔖✔ is next on our list with their hit When Smokey Sings. ABC started having hits in their native UK, while remaining underground in the States. However, in the mid '80s the roles switched with the US clamoring for their music while the Brits snubbed them a bit. When Smokey Sings is ABC's best charting song in the US at number five, while in the UK it still managed an 11. The intro to Smokey recalls Video Killed the Radio Star🔖✔. Vocalist Martin Fry in Smokey and in general sounds like new wave influencer Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music🔖✔ fame, crooning with the best of them. The female backup vocals add good flavor to the song. The melody (appropriately) has R&B elements to it, including (but not limited to) a prominent sax section. In fact, Smokey even uses a melody from Robinson's Tears of a Clown. However, there's still a good synth section to round out things. When Smokey Sings, as you might have surmised, is about American R&B star Smokey Robinson. The line "Everything's good in the world tonight when Smokey sings," is a microcosm, pointing to detailed descriptions of the emotional impact Smokey's songs have on Fry and rest of the band. It's fun to listen to because Fry and the gang sound joyed in it. The video, being about a minute shorter, mostly consists of ABC performing in front of a blue backdrop. There are some interspersed scenes about a Robinson fan who puts a rose by a picture of him. Later on, the fan dances with his girlfriend (a very educated guess that it's to a Smokey Robinson jam).

Similar to Kim Wilde's commercial trajectory, ABC had some minor hits in the UK in the later '80s and '90s while falling under the radar in the US.

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The Cure - Just Like Heaven

Wrapping up our look at 1987 is Just Like Heaven by the Cure🔖✔. I'm covering 1987, but by then the Cure had already been around about a decade. They're known a lot for their goth fashion sense, though their music is more eclectic than their wardrobe suggests. Just Like Heaven nicked the US top 40 while faring a bit better in the UK.

The intro has an extended guitar and synth tag team going on, clocking in at almost a minute. The melody also features some effervescent synths paired with post-punk sounding guitars. It's a great combo in my book. There is a descending guitar riff that comprises the main hook of the song. Robert Smith's emotive vocals kind of straddle the line between ecstasy and despair. This duality is a hallmark of The Cure's music. The chorus is decent, but the vocal inflections during the verses are epic. The drums are tight and keep the melody going well. The lyrical interpretations of Just Like Heaven are pretty wide. If up against the wall, I would venture the song is about someone who had a great dream about an ex-girlfriend or crush. He says, "I kissed her face and kissed her head." However, when daylight whipped him into shape, the narrator wakes up and he realizes he's all alone.

The video is mostly the band performing, of course decked out in black. The moments when the band is almost in silhouette are visually intriguing. There is a brief scene where the Cure wear white to change things up, and Robert Smith and high school sweetheart Mary Poole start dancing, the latter with a white glow around her. The Cure would have several more hits going into the mid '90s, which is a pretty good accomplishment. Even after the hits dried up, The Cure still recorded new music until about 10 years ago.

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Outro

And that's our retrospective of the year 1987. Year of the pivot, but there were still solid songs. This is Jason D'Orazio from New Wave Beat wishing you a great week.

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