Song of the Day: 'Nobody Else' by Nick Kamen

Just heartbroken to wake to the news yesterday that former model and singer Nick Kamen had died. A mutual friend says the former model and singer had been battling bone-marrow cancer for some time before succumbing to the disease at 59. Like many Gen X gay boys, I fell for Nick like nobody else the second I laid eyes on him -- as did Madonna, who produced his debut single (a leftover she'd demoed for "True Blue") after spotting him in his infamous Levi's "launderette" commercial. 

Photo by Johnny Rozsa

After leaving the limelight, I still got regular updates on the handsome Brit of mixed Burmese, Irish, Dutch and English heritage from my Michigan childhood best friend, who happened to run  NickKamen(dot)com. Nick was that rare combination of beauty and talent that you don't see every day. Condolences to his family and other loved ones. It's been a rough patch for the Kamens, who lost brother Barry in 2015. RIP.

Related: Madonna pays respects to late protégé Nick Kamen: ‘It breaks my heart’

Song of the Day: 'I Promised Myself' by Nick Kamen

Although if I'm not going to buy this I'm not sure who is -- Greg, Dishy and Taffy are the only CD holdouts I know -- it's nice to see that Nick Kamen is getting the box-set treatment for his short but memorable recording career. Fans of the '80s will remember Kamen first came to prominence in a sexy Levi's commercial ('Laundrette") before focusing on a singing career. His 1987 debut arrived with a bang thanks to the help of Madonna, who with Stephen Bray wrote his debut single, "Each Time You Break My Heart." More memorable singles followed, including "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever," "Nobody Else," "‘Tell Me," "Bring Me Your Love," "Oh How Happy" and, perhaps best of all, "I Promised Myself," which was a huge hit all over Europe and later covered by Dead or Alive, the A*Teens and Basshunter.

Watch HERE.

The six-disc Cherry Hill collection features remastered versions of his four LPs -- “Nick Kamen,” “Us,” “Move Until We Fly” and “Whatever, Whenever”; extended remixes of many singles, including several making their debut on CD; 20 previously unreleased mixes; and best of all, two previously unreleased songs, "So Sad" a cover of the Everly Brothers classic; and "Right on Track," originally a million-selling ‘80s hit for The Breakfast Club.

It looks and sounds fantastic. My only quibble would be that according to an insider, there's a lot of other unreleased material in the vaults. Might have been nice to include some of that, although the two new tracks are much appreciated. Full details HERE.

Pietro Boselli Does a Load

When you need to do one, you need to do one. Watch HERE.

Song of the Day: 'Each Time You Break My Heart' (demo) by Madonna

There was no way I couldn't pick a Madonna song today on the Queen of Pop's 59th birthday. To mix it up a bit, I dug up this little-heard demo of the track she and (her best collaborator) Stephen Bray wrote for sexy Levi's model turned pop singer Nick Kamen. The song was a hit in the U.K. -- and it set the stage for the "cultivating new artists" phase of Madonna's career, which didn't last as long as it might have considering her ear for talent. 

This song has Ciccone/Bray written all over it.

My Beautiful Laundrette

 '80s model turned pop star (and onetime Madonna protege) Nick Kamen was one hot man. His Levi's commercial made him a star in Europe -- see if you can figure out why.

Visit NickKamen.com