45s

Rip It Up, Issue 67, 1 February 1983, Page 23

45s

Wham! Young Guns (Go For It)jHH (Inner Vision) . Wham! are the latest darlings! of the white British! disco scene. Some may have heard the more than adequate 'Wham Rap!' last year. This is the single that succeeded where that didn't! Some Haircut! guitar over a Chic! baseline! |Lots of hollering! and short horn! breaks plus a few dub! techniques. Sound familiar? It will! Hunters and Collectors Payload 12" (White Label) Not really a single, more of a mini-album. Four songs, just over 17 minutes of music . in total. Hunters and Collectors' direction has changed considerably over the last year, growing ever closer to early Birthday Party but with funkier guitar and a large horn section. This record is?fine,step towards the killer album this band will make before the year is out. Best songs are probably 'Mouthtrap' and Towtruck'. Tears for Fears Mad World (Mercury) -~j Second single for, this compassionate couple of] lads and fa] fine follow-up to 'Pale Shelter'. It is, of course,- a steal from the sixties (though I'm not sure where). Lots of vampish keyboards and solid (real) drums. A fine lyric and strong melody give it dual utility. ) Dance or listen. Deserves to! be huge. Miii mmmam

Dexys Midnight Runners [Let's Get This Straight (Mercury) Although I have ’ a lot of faith in Kevin Rowland, I sometimes miss his point entirely, as on this new single. Plodding percussion carries the beat while Kevin steals refrains from 'Would You Like to Swing On a Star'. The violins keep changing pace and the whole exercise falls apart at the seams. The flip is 'Old' from Too-Rye-Ay. Heaven 17, Let Me Go (Virgin) First offering from Messrs Marsh, Ware and Gregory for quite a while. A pleasant, 1 if rather, subdued song seemingly aimed at

bridging the gap between them and the radio stations. It may well manage it. The instrumental version is more imaginative. Bucks Fizz If You Can't Stand the Heat (RCA) ■ Credibility aside, I'd just like to say I really like this song. It's got everything a good, commercial pop single should have plus the line 'lf you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen'. Sorry, but I had to get that off my chest. Now on to the real single of the month. Robert Palmer, Pride (Island) Jah Palmer is one of those blokes who never seem to go away. For years now, he's been on the verge of getting things right this time around, it's the real thing. A spicy Caribbean come juju (African, not Siouxsie) blend of dance with a subtle dig at exercise fanaticism which sports the line 'We used to ride tandem and have lots of fun/ But bicycles for exercise are made for one'. Try and get the 12" if you can, it's worth the effort. ÜB4O, I've Got Mine (DEP Int) The boys from Birmingham have been auite prolific of late. Recently we had the excellent 'Here I Am' and a strong new album, now they offer another potent single. A succulent horn sound prevails throughout, wrapping itself around the lyrics then bursting forth when required. It's backed with 'Dubmobile' which, as the title suggests, is one for Duncan Campbell's collection. Brave Combo I Gotta Know (Stunn) Brave Combo are bizarre and unnatural people from Denton, Texas. This is a track from their album Music for Squares. To describe it is almost impossible, but to give you an idea, something like an American singing Tom Petty lyrics to a Ukranian dance quartet, playing a rumba. I reserve judgement. Blue Zoo Cry Boy Cry (Magnet) | Let's face it, these boys are basically rubbish. 'l'm You Man' was one of last year's great nothing singles and 'Cry Boy Cry', ain't

much more. But the people say dance is where it's at and they sure as hell can dance to this. I wish they'd hurry up and release Blancmange. Mark Phillips The Church Sing-Songs (Stunn) This record is a collection of left-over demos, really only a stopgap until the band's third album is released. Songwriter Steve Kilbey has always been capable of turning out rubbish along with that which borders on the inspired. It's the same story here. 'A Different Man' and 'The Night Is Very Soft' are good songs, but 'Ancient History' and 'ln This Room' are maudlin and harbour some dreadful fourth-form poetry. Or perhaps it's the other way around. The band needn't have bothered with the rerun of Paul Simon's 1 Am a Rock', though. The arrangement adds little to the original and Kilbey's head-cold voice is unexpressive. If you already like the band, this is a good buy. If not... Dead Kennedys Halloween (Stunn) Another frantic Dead Kennedys single. No doubt it contains some devilishly clever attack on the American establishment, but when all the fuss is over you're not left with much. Jello Biafra's heart is in the right place but he's a little hard to take seriously. The flip, 'Saturday Night Holocaust', is rather weird and sounds the way the title suggests. Russell Brown Rose Tattoo We Can't Be Beaten 12" (Alberts) Tantalising taste from forthcoming album Scarred for Life: The Vanda and Young production enhances an irresistable slab of hard rock which expresses the sentiments of 'Street Fighting Man' and is an essential purchase for fans of AC/DC. CC Rip It Up No. 67 Feb 'B3 Post all correspondence to RIU, PO Box 5689, Auckland 1. Editor Murray Cammick Assistant Editor Russell Brown Graphics Stefan Morris Advertising Enquiries 790-653 Rip It Up is typset by Artspec Typesetting Systems and printed by Lucas Print, Paraparaumu. Photoprints By Prints Graphic Art Service.