Who could be fail to be moved by a call to arms set against some very funky mid-80s pop, railing against reactionary regimes and economic policies that keep people poor (with a slightly po-faced pop at Frankie Goes To Hollywood)? Who? Boris Johnson maybe. David Davis? Theresa May. The complete disintegration of the Conservative Party over Europe is a lovely idea. Long may it continue.
The Style Council's 1985 single Walls Come Tumbling Down is ace and their appearance on Top Of The Pops to promote it is proper time capsule stuff, Weller centre stage looking sharp with wedge haircut, blue shirt, white jeans and Rickenbacker bass. But, let's be honest, Dee C Lee upstages him, in black top and jeans with yellow cardigan combo, dancing non-stop, hotter than hot.
Headstart For Happiness is another Style Council gem, but personal rather than political and proof Weller could do wide eyed optimism when he wanted to. This is the version that closed Cafe Bleu, a delicious guitar riff and vocals shared between Mick, Dee and Paul, a song about being in love with being in love.
Headstart For Happiness
Can't remember ever seeing that clip before - terrific in every way!
ReplyDeleteGreat song, amongst the very best of TSC, and great clip - also love the Peel/Long intro.
ReplyDeleteHeadstart for Happiness is also great, though I prefer the shorter, acoustic, Paul-vocal-only version that was on Introducing.
DC Lee is 80s fashion personified! Love how Paul isn't even pretending to play that bass! Probably Style Council's finest moment, though admittedly I was never much of a fan.
ReplyDeleteBut what is the alternative SA, Corbyn? He wants out of Europe as much as those Lord Snooty, the dreadful Dorres and the rest of the self styled champions of the “people’s will”
ReplyDeletedrew
The solution to the latest Brexit dilemna is obvious! Leave it to Gareth Southgate to sort it all out!
ReplyDelete(Altogether now - Brexit's coming home, it's coming home, it's coming home....continue for the next 52 years until Engerlund reach another WC semi final)
I agree Drew. I despair at Labour giving the Tories a clean sheet over Brexit. No one wants an election now though, she has to take this through. But the Tories have to own Brexit.
ReplyDeleteThat clip makes my day! Some days I think this is TSC's best single. This is one of those days.
ReplyDeleteI’ve noticed people all over Twitter saying Southgate for PM, some even half serious. I don’t want to come over as a bitter twisted Scot, which apparently I am but if people could step back and have a look at how this looked to the other three parts of the UK, maybe the penny would drop as to why we may be bitter and twisted.
ReplyDeleteBitter and Twisted Scot.
And as for all getting behind England, no. People who spout this kind of bilge do not understand football. Would A Man U supporter get behind Liverpool or vice versa or an Airdrieonian get behind Motherwell I think not.
Would Airdrieoninans not get behind Motherwell?
ReplyDeleteNever in a million years, well not the ones I know anyway. Christ, they haven’t stopped going on about their 1991 cup final win ever since. If they had won again this year it would have been worse.
ReplyDelete