La Roux, Lady Gaga, Mika, Little Boots: the 80s are back

[dcdeb]

The best of today’s pop from artists like Lady Gaga, La Roux and Little Boots, is a shiny reflection of the glitz-and-glamour decade.

 

 

By Neil McCormick

Published: 5:05PM BST 05 Aug 2009

 

Does this remind you of anything? At a pop awards event, a lithe, aerobicised woman storms the stage in a platinum blonde wig, leather and diamanté-studded corset, spiky S&M boots and a conical bra that shoots fire.

 

That’s not Madonna, circa Blonde Ambition. It is Lady GaGa, currently the hottest new global star in pop, stealing the show at the MuchMusic awards in Canada last month.

 

Or how about this: an electro duo fronted by a pale, skinny, androgynous young red headed woman with a big quiff, tailored suits and garish make-up, her high strung vocal blaring over cheesy synths and chintzy drum machine as she insists she is coming in for the kill. Not the Eurythmics, circa 1983, but breakthrough British stars La Roux, whose latest single, ’Bulletproof’, went straight in at number one.

 

And there is plenty more where that came from: Little Boots delivering delirious electropop in a minidress of reflective mirrors and duetting with The Human League’s Phil Oakey; and floundering rock trio The Noisettes reinventing themselves with uplifting disco pop hit ’Don’t Upset The Rhythm’ featuring frontwoman Shingai Shoniwa in shaped hair and glam Afro couture à la Grace Jones.

 

The shift in pop music was really brought home to me at Metropolis Studios in London recently, where a number of Britain’s brightest young talents assembled to record a charity single for War Child. There was VV Brown, a nearly six foot black woman with a polka dot dress and elaborate rockabilly haircut, whose own records sound like a mix of doo wop and uber pop. And Mpho (pronounced Oompah), a mixed race singer in a Day-Glo Pop Art T-shirt whose debut single samples 80s new wave synth pop wonders ’Martha & The Muffins’ with the genre hopping bravado of Neneh Cherry. The studio was overcrowded with flamboyant, oddball characters: Pixie Lott, Kid British, N-Dubz. And there was a whole posse of hip hop performers, scampish young men with comical names and self mocking identities, like Tinchy Stryder, Ironik, Bashy and Chipmunk. While not exactly household names, between them the participants had already scored five number one hits. Unashamedly cheesy in their colourful images and sonic attack, these are performers who dare to be ridiculous in ways we haven’t really seen in pop since the Eighties.

 

After decades of dourness and plastic perfection, pop has become shameless again.

 

The return of the Eighties has been threatening a while. Nostalgia being an inevitable element in the endlessly revolving pop cycle, you can currently see an abundance of Eighties originals on the live circuit, from the revivals of Spandau Ballet, The Specials, Level 42 and Kajagoogoo, to the ones who never went away, U2, Depeche Mode, Simple Minds, Prince and Madonna. But where it really counts is the way the Eighties spirit is reflected in new music. “I think it’s a generational thing,” Mpho suggested.

 

“The digital age really started in the Eighties, with real instruments being mixed with funny little Moog synths and electronic drums. It’s the music we grew up hearing, almost subconsciously, when we were very young. So we respond to it with no sense of shame or self-consciousness.”

 

Ah, the shame. As someone who lived through the Eighties pop boom, and, indeed, participated in it to the point of flouncing about in chiffon scarves and eye liner, it is hard for me to look back without cringing. The Eighties is a decade that splits opinion. For some it is the high watermark of truly original British pop, for others it was marked by fashion embarrassment and musical excess, shoulder pads, Lycra, too much make up and the big cheesy sound of DX7 synthesizers laying their electronic sheen over everything they touched. Duran Duran hovered over the British rock scene like a shocking pink dirigible, Wham! basked beneath the big blow dryer of world acclaim, Adam and the Ants swapped make-up tips with Apache Indians, Boy George flounced around the charts like a six foot transvestite navvy in a kimono and bovver boots and Britain ruled the airwaves, exporting pop (and lip gloss and eye shadow) to teenagers around the world in quantities not seen since the Sixties beat boom (and, for that matter, not seen since).

 

It wasn’t just the UK, of course, although the chart obsessed, Smash Hits reading teens of Britain participated more enthusiastically than most. But the US gave the decade its greatest stars, a new King and Queen of pop in Michael Jackson and Madonna, and a veritable emperor of the entire pop universe in the diminutive, multi-talented figure of the Minneapolis wonder, Prince, a man so extravagantly talented and on such creative fire he was equally admired by screaming teens, bullish rock fans and highbrow critics.

 

La Roux cite as influences Prince, Eurythmics, Depeche Mode, Human League, Blancmage and Simple Minds. “ I don’t want to be ashamed of saying that it’s pop. Back in the Eighties, even if there was an electronic beat, it wasn’t called electro, it was just pop music,” singer Elly Jackson explains.

 

Although she has the hip credibility of any indie artist, Jackson’s eye-catching appearance reflects “that whole glamour thing pop had in the Eighties. It used to be a show all the time, with outfits and make-up. I think dressing up and characterisation have been missing from pop. The Nineties will always be known to me as the ’casual wear decade’: khaki, baggy trousers and vest tops. Fashion is definitely coming back, the glamour and drama is returning.”

 

Like many of her contemporaries, 21-year-old Jackson was a child of the Eighties but too young to have really appreciated it. This, she thinks, is probably a good thing. “I’m happy living in my time. Not everything in the Eighties was great, obviously. It’s all leg warmers and Erasure for some. Living now allows me to pick out the best bits.”

 

And that, really, is key. This is not a slavish recreation of what went before, more a rediscovery of pop’s sense of fun and adventure. The rise of colourful pop reflects a perceived failure of guitar music to satisfy the mass audience. In the Noughties, a lot of hope was pinned on a revival of serious rock, but, apart from Coldplay and some already flagging stadium pretenders (Franz Ferdinand, Snow Patrol, Keane), the latest wave of British guitar bands have singularly failed to deliver a mass audience. It led to a controversial admission by James Oldham, head of A&R (artists and repertoire) at A&M records earlier this year, that “all A&R departments have been saying to managers and lawyers, ’Don’t give us any more bands, because we’re not going to sign them, and they’re not going to sell records.’” Interestingly, the one British rock group to break through this year, White Lies, have a brash, synth-dominated sonic palette strongly reminiscent of Duran Duran (themselves now so retro-cool, their new album is being helmed by superproducer Mark Ronson).

 

The roots of this contemporary pop revival lie in the “wonky pop” scene of recent years. It was scruffy pop music with indie adult appeal, although it took the breakaway success of Mika to really put a rocket up the genre.

 

Flamboyant, unashamedly commercial and seriously musically gifted, Mika may be the most talented pop star of his generation, his camp theatricality and operatic soul making him a one man cross between Culture Club and Wham!, a kind of Boy George Michael. Record companies always like to see hits before they follow with investment and this year they have embraced outright pop with a vengeance.

The credit crunch has probably played its part. In economically straightened times, it was perhaps predictable that major labels would revert to what they know how to sell. Pop is a musical area heavily susceptible to the power of marketing. But ultimately it is the public who make stars, and Iain Watt, who manages Mika and founded the Wonky Pop brand, has cited “economic drudgery” as the driving force in the new pop. “People want a two-minute escape from their pressurised lives.”

 

“The economic climate in the 80s wasn’t so great, and obviously there are similarities with times now,” Elly Jackson concurs. “I like to think people are using music to feel better.” Faced with doom and gloom, perhaps the answer, as Lady GaGa proposed in her smash hit, is “just dance.” But don’t forget the shoulder pads and flaming brassiere.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/5978573/La-Roux-Lady-Gaga-Mika-Little-Boots-the-80s-are-back.html

Edited August 5, 2009 by dcdeb

[FREDDIESDOUBLE]

Such a fabby report

 

80s music was something else , defining .. nice to see it launch back

 

<with Mika leading it>

[Foxxy]

Thanks for posting

[suzie]

Thank you for posting this, Deb

 

Great article. I love when a journalist knows what they are talking about and can put music into historical context.

(.. Calvin Harris should have also been mentioned though:teehee:)

[Naectegale]

"Flamboyant, unashamedly commercial and seriously musically gifted, Mika may be the most talented pop star of his generation"

 

I think Mika's been away just long enough to be appreciated and missed

[Gatagordinha]

I am now officially in love with Mr Neil McCormick

 

So, Mika kickstarted the whole wonky pop /80s revival? Cool! Of course he did! And he has the talent to stick around when a lot of the chancers who will jump on this pop bandwagon will have long gone .

 

Thanks for posting this great article .

[happikali]

WOW !! What a great article !!

Thanks for posting Deb !

[Laurel]

Nice review ... love to read things like this

 

I'm still living in the 80's myself ... the music was fantastic

[Kodes100]

Bravo Mika: The Pied Piper of Pop!! :bow::clap:

[RAK1]

T4P:thumb_yello:

I think, as the 80s was when the last recession happened, and again we are going through the depressing cycle again, it's fantastic to see that this kind of happy, colourful energetic pop has returned.

It's what got me through the last one, although I was lucky to be a bit better off then, and so far is getting me through this one.

And I'm glad it's Mika who is leading the way, he's certainly the most energetic pop star I've seen in the last 20 years, and I'm happy to be following him.

[Iridaceae]

Haha, Boy George Michael.

Interesting read, thanks for posting:thumb_yello:

[dcdeb]

Nice review ... love to read things like this

 

I'm still living in the 80's myself ... the music was fantastic

 

Yes, I'm certainly an '80s Girl... I was in my 20s then, and the music from

that time still "does it" for me. Takes me right back. Depeche Mode,

Duran Duran, Human League, Howard Jones, Madonna, Culture Club, Wham!

 

*sigh*

 

And although I don't necessarily agree with the writer that it suits

Mika, I definitely love the term Boy George Michael !

[Laurel]

Yes, I'm certainly an '80s Girl... I was in my 20s then, and the music from

that time still "does it" for me. Takes me right back. Depeche Mode,

Duran Duran, Human League, Howard Jones, Madonna, Culture Club, Wham!

 

*sigh*

 

And although I don't necessarily agree with the writer that it suits

Mika, I definitely love the term Boy George Michael !

 

He is an interesting writer anyway ... seems to like Mika for sure ... which makes a nice change

 

The first band I ever got into was Adam And The Ants ..... I was 6

[Gatagordinha]

He is an interesting writer anyway ... seems to like Mika for sure ... which makes a nice change

 

The first band I ever got into was Adam And The Ants ..... I was 6

 

 

They were great, and often overlooked in the 80s pop scene when people look back on it now, don't you think? Adam was very talented, flamboyant, gorgeous etc etc..I'm often reminded of him with Mika .

[marlau_20zr]

great article!!!!

it`s fantastic!

music from the 80`s was amazing! i really love the music of that time because of my dad

[Guest]

Great review!

 

Thanks for posting!

[ewokwicket]

Brilliant article, thanks for posting

The 80's was when I really got into music, and had first boyfriends etc and will always be a memorable time for me, loved Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, Japan, Adam Ant, amongst loads of others.

This bit made me giggle though...... "

"cross between Culture Club and Wham!, a kind of Boy George Michael"

[vanessa]

Nice article !I love that period cuz I was born in the 80's

[Gatagordinha]

First concert I ever went to was Culture Club in 1983, I loved Boy George (still do!)...but Mika like Boy George? Er, definitely not!

 

I do see some George Michael in him though, or rather, I hear it in him.

 

Maybe Prince George Michael would be a better description. That makes him sound like a member of the Greek Royal family though.

[nikjass]

FAbulous article!! It's making me feel less guilty for canceling plans with my friends at the eleventh hour for the 'back to the 80's gig' headlining Human League, Belinda Carlisle, Go West & T'Pau last Friday night to go see Mika at Roundhouse I hope my friends read this, so I won't get teased too badly after this... The 80's is definitely back... and i'm loving it

[mikalollipop_karla]

thank u for post

[suzie]

I do see some George Michael in him though, or rather, I hear it in him.

Don't scare me, please:naughty:

The only thing I see in common is the fact that they are in control of all the aspects of their act from songwriting via production to artwork..

Otherwise, one of them is a lunatic, the other one is a sweetheart.

 

Maybe Prince George Michael would be a better description. That makes him sound like a member of the Greek Royal family though.

 

I don't understand how Greeks come to the picture, but GM is half Cypriot .. .. (I ean, the Cypriots I know would be slightly offended to be referred to as Greeks and it is true the other way round as well )

Edited August 5, 2009 by suzie

[Laurel]

They were great, and often overlooked in the 80s pop scene when people look back on it now, don't you think? Adam was very talented, flamboyant, gorgeous etc etc..I'm often reminded of him with Mika .

 

Completely agree ..... bought a dvd of his recently and he was so ahead of his time music and image wise ...

 

Still love his music even now

[Gatagordinha]

Don't scare me, please:naughty:

The only thing I see in common is the fact that they are in control of all the aspects of their act from songwriting via production to artwork..

Otherwise, one of them is a lunatic, the other one is a sweetheart.

 

 

 

I don't understand how Greeks come to the picture, but GM is half Cypriot .. .. (I ean, the Cypriots I know would be slightly offended to be referred to as Greeks and it is true the other way round as well )

 

Sorry, I thought George was part Greek, as in Greek from Greece . My bad!

 

And I'm not sure I'd say he was a lunatic. A bit odd yes definitely, but a lunatic?

 

I think George and Mika have similar vocal range and a similar timbre to their voices sometimes, that's all I was saying when I compared them..but there is the creative control thing there too yes, and the songwriting talent.

[tiibet]

"Flamboyant, unashamedly commercial and seriously musically gifted, Mika may be the most talented pop star of his generation"

 

I think Mika's been away just long enough to be appreciated and missed

 

 

Yes! Such a great review, again...

 

Yes, I'm certainly an '80s Girl... I was in my 20s then, and the music from

that time still "does it" for me. Takes me right back. Depeche Mode,

Duran Duran, Human League, Howard Jones, Madonna, Culture Club, Wham!

 

*sigh*

 

And although I don't necessarily agree with the writer that it suits

Mika, I definitely love the term Boy George Michael !

 

Interesting term I loved George Michael during '80s Thanks for posting this article, Deb!