As a kid, nothing disappointed me more than realizing one of my groups had slipped an instrumental into the mix. Albums usually only had nine songs, so to "lose" one right off the bat was painful -- especially slinging popcorn for $3.35 an hour. Sometimes it was a hard-to-find B-side that turned out to be an instrumental, which made finally running it down that much more disappointing. (I'm looking at you, Romeo Void. You think it was easy for me to get my hands on a seven-inch single of "White Sweater"???!!!) Then there was Saint Etienne, a band that never shied away from putting out a lot of great material -- but overdid it with Sarah-less songs. And then there were singers who didn't play instruments who had instrumentals, which begged the question: How is this even your song!? Still, every so often I'd have to admit one of my artists did produce a winner. This week I'll reveal five that I never skip, starting with this unexpected jazzy treat from KajaGooGoo, which appeared on their first post-Limahl LP, "Islands." If only Swing Out Sister had continued to make music like this, with or without lyrics!
Where to begin with this one? I adored KajaGooGoo when they first came out, even staying loyal after Limahl was booted from the band (supposedly for being gay). But when reissues of "White Feathers" and "Islands" were released a number of years ago, I realized it was the latter that held up much, much better. "Ooh to Be Ah" is barely listenable today, yet seeing the video -- for the first time (thanks, Rhino!) -- made me realize something else. All those years I spent lusting after the "Too Shy" singer when I could have been going after drummer Jez Strode, whose hot bod is on full display here!
I think one of the reasons I never noticed him is that his face looked too much like my Dobson High P.E. buddy Joel Avery, the same Joel Avery with whom I pondered the race of that girl who sings "Holiday"! Now if we could have just put keyboardist Stuart Neale's head on Jez's body ...
First single the band recorded after firing "Too Shy" singer Limhal. I've always loved the album it came from ("Islands") but only recently saw this video -- MTV never showed it -- which features lots of wonderful footage of '80s NYC.
Yesterday at work I was sitting next to a fellow '80s reject when we started throwing out old songs we still love but rarely hear. I suggested Translator's "Everywhere That You're Not," and Ron countered with EBN-OZN's "A E I O U and Sometimes Y." After a couple of Blancmange and Modern English moments, Ron mentioned seeing "the bass player of KajaGooGoo" on some VH1 "Where Are They Now?" type of show about 10 years ago, teaching some kind of music class while pathetically pondering if there "could have been another 'Too Shy' if things had turned out differently." The conversation went from fun to serious in an instant. DO NOT BAD MOUTH Nick Beggs, I "warned" him. I'm not too proud (or is it too ashamed?) to admit that I was a huge KajaGooGoo fan back in high school. I did everything in my book to get my hair to look just like Limahl's. (With occasional lapses into Howard Jonesdom.) And even after he was unceremoniously booted from the band for being too cute (talk about revenge -- "The Never-Ending Story" was a huge international hit!), I still loved the band through two more releases and a name change to Kaja and Nick as the singer. (The second LP, "Islands," was recently reissued on CD and still holds up nicely, unlike the debut with "Too Shy.") When I questioned Ron if he might have had the wrong GooGoo in mind (I've always thought Nick was working steadily over the years, playing bass for Belinda Carlisle, ABC and others), I did a Google image search and was startled to find this photo on the band's official Web Site:
My first thought was it was some kind of computer-aided aging done to a classic old photo, like they do to missing children to show what they might look like now. But soon I realized it really is what they look like now. (Ouch, I thought. If this is how pin-up pop stars age maybe I'm not being realistic about my own plight.) Once I got over the initial shock, though, I was delighted to see they were doing some live gigs again and even talking about a new album after being on the outs with Limahl for so many years, barely making it through that VH1 "Bands Reunited" episode in 2003.
No sooner had Ron positively ID'd Nick Beggs as the pathetic guy from the decade-old VH1 show when I suddenly get an e-mail from a reader that read as follows:
Hi Kenneth -- I'm a huge music person as well. I know you love the Go-Go's. I saw them in '84. Great show. INXS opened for them. Here's an obscure 80's song for you. Not sure if you like it or know it. It's definitely 80's. AEIOU SOMETIMES Y by EBN OZN. And of course there is another. JUKEBOX by The Flirts.
Take care and best wishes. I hope your eye condition is improving.
Nicholas
I was floored and turned my monitor toward Ron so he could see the message. He's married with child yet turned into just as big a screaming queen as yours truly. To say we were freaked out doesn't begin to cover it. I haven't thought of EBN OZN in more than 25 years, then suddenly we mention them and get an e-mail from a complete stranger bringing it up? Too funny, and too bizarre. As a result, I've since found out EBN died in 1998 and OZN, the one who looks like a cross between the lead singer of A Flock of Seagulls and Vitas Gerulaitis and delivered the classic stream-of-consciousness rap about "this incredible-looking Swedish girl having a cappuccino across the street from Lincoln Center," became a script analyst for Oliver Stone and a screenwriter!
For those who don't know what the hell I'm talking about (although I know there can't be many of you Class of 80something who don't), here you go. Be on the lookout for OZN's rat tail and "Flashdance"-inspired get ups, and for the young boy who is a little too into singing the chorus (undoubtedly a future bar-back at the Works):
