80s Song of the Week Part 2 = 'Stimulation' by Wa Wa Nee (1986)

Part 2 for this weeks 80s songs goes to Australian 80's funk/pop band Wa Wa Nee, and their 1986 song titled Stimulation. Wa Wa Nee were active from 1985-1989, based in Sydney, Australia, and the band was head-lined by singer/songwriter Paul Gray, but also included Steve Williams (guitar),  Mark Gray (bass guitar), and The Sween (drums). Wa Wa Nee produced 4 hits that fell into the Australian Top 40, and the song Stimulation peaked at #2 in Australia. This one isn't on ITunes (USA), so you might have to look elsewhere to find it.

Feature 80s Song of the Week Part 1 = 'Somewhere In My Heart' by Aztec Camera (1987)

Part 1 of this weeks featured 80s songs goes to Scottish 80's new-wave band Aztec Camera and their 1987 hit Somewhere In My Heart. Aztec Camera came out of Glasgow Scotland, UK and the figurehead of the band was the teenaged singer/songwriter Roddy Frame. Somewhere In My Heart comes off of their 1987 album titled Love, which was later nominated for the Best British Album at the 1989 BRIT Awards. Good stuff, now I already know what part 2 is going to be and to give you a little hint it is a song by an Australian artist, so stay tuned to find out...

#20 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: 'Sussudio' by Phil Collins (1985)

I'm baaack and presenting #20 of the Top 100 80's Dance Countdown. At #20 is 1985 hit song Sussudio, by English singer/songwriter/drummer/pianist and actor Phil Collins. Phil Collins has had quite a music career, having started out as a drummer for Flaming Youth, then a vocalist/drummer for the progressive rock group Genesis, and of course his own solo career, and much of the success occurring especially in the glam decade we all affectionately refer to as the 1980's. Collins was born in 1951 in Chiswick, London, UK and is now 60 years old. According to Wikipedia, Phil Collins is one of only 3 recording artists (along with Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson) to have sold over 100 million albums worldwide both as a solo-artist, and as the principal member of a band. Quite impressive really! Sussudio was the first single to be released off of his No Jacket Required album in January of 1985, which was his 3rd solo studio album and would peak at #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #12 on the UK Singles Chart that year. According to Wikipedia the title lyric "suss-sussudio" was the result of an scanner typo-error, in which he opted to actually use in the finished product. And there it is folks, stay tuned as we continue on with the final 19 tracks of this countdown!

The Mentionable 80s Mashup of the Week = 'Virgin O'Reily' by Go Home Productions (2010)

This weeks Mentionable 80s mashup goes to mashup artist Go Home Productions and it's 2010 mashup Virgin O'Reily. This 80s mashup consists of the 1984 Madonna #1 smash hit Like a Virgin, and it has been mashed together with the 1971 song Baba O'Riley by English rock-band The Who. Check it!

Part 2 of This Week's Feature 80s Songs = 'In The Night' by Pet Shop Boys (1986)

Part 2 of this week's 80s feature songs goes to a London-based 80's synth-pop duo known as the Pet Shop Boys, and their 1986 song In The Night. Neil Tennant does the main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar and Chris Lowe works the synth keyboards. Pet Shop Boys are one of the best-selling artists out there having sold over 100 million records worldwide, and God knows I bought this album! In The Night was released on Further Listening (side 2) of their 1986 Please album. Pet Shop Boys are listed as The Most Successful Duo in UK Music History by the Guinness Book of World Records. They are also 3 time BRIT Award winners and 6 time Grammy Nominees, and since 1986 they have produced 42 Top 30 Singles and 22 Top 10 Hits on the UK Singles Chart. To top it off they are still at it, performing concerts, so you may still be able to catch them live sometime, which would be fully-siik maiit!

Feature 80s Song of the Week Part 1 = 'Heartbeat' by Don Johnson (1986)

Part 1 of the featured 80's songs for this week goes to Heartbeat by American actor/singer Don Johnson. Thaaat's rigggght, its the same Don Johnson who starred in the hit 1980's TV series Miami Vice. In 1986 Johnson recorded an album titled Heartbeat on the Epic/CBS Records label, which peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200 album. Heartbeat (the song) charted at #5 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Now go watch yourself some Miami Vice re-runs or something.

#21 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: '99 Red Balloons' by Nena (1983)

Now presenting #21 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown, and the song is 99 Red Balloons, by German synth-pop/new-wave band Nena. Nena (aka lead vocalist/song-writer/actress Gabriele Susanne Kerner) originally comes from Hagen, Germany where she started her music career back in 1981 with the band of the same name. This song was originally released in 1983 in German titled 99 Luft Balloons, but it was also translated into an English version, which is the version I am featuring here, although personally I like it better in German. Either way, this is the song that per her on the map, and I must add that there are quite a few other very worth-while songs to check out by this band that aren't as well known. 99 Red Balloons would hit the #1 spot in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and the UK, and #2 in the USA. The band Nena went splitsville in 1987 and Nena started her solo-career at that point. According to wikipedia the song tells the story of 99 Red Balloons floating over the Berlin Wall into the Soviet sector and causing an apocalyptic reaction which was inspired by Nena's guitarist Carlo Karges when he was at a 1982 Rolling Stones concert.  So there is #21, and here we go into the Top 20!

Feature 80's Song of the Week Part 3 = 'Thorn In My Side' by Eurythmics (1986)

Part 3 of this weeks feature 80's songs, straight out of 1986 is Thorn in My Side by the Eurythmics. Eurythmics are a British rock-pop-new-wave duo consisting of  Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart from London, who hit it big in the 80's (though currently they are disbanded). Thorn In My Side was released in 1986 on their Revenge album, and would become their 9th top 10 single. The song peaked at #5 on the UK Singles chart, #1 on the Swedish Chart, and #68 on the US Billboard Hot 100. There may even be a part 4 this week!

Mentionable 80s Mashup of the Week = 'Born To Express Yourself This Way' by ??? (2011)

This week's feature 80's mashup is Express This Way, by mashup artist ???. Yes, this is yet another mashup of Madonna and Lady Gaga, they seem to be quite prolific with these as of late. It consists of Madonna's 1989 #1 Hit Express Yourself, and Lady Gaga's most recent #1  from January 2011, Born This Way (from her upcoming May 2011 album). Now the version I was looking to feature here was done by DJ Tripp, but his version doesn't seem to be up on YouTube as of yet, so the following version is of the same mashup but isn't claimed by any particular DJ/mashup artist. The songs are no doubt similar to begin with, but this is not a mash to miss out on. Also be sure to note that the most recent issue of Bootie Mashups has released this mashup on their website HERE.

Feature 80s Song of the Week Part 2 = 'Oh Sheila' by Ready For The World (1985)

Well, seeing that I have been a bit slack as of the past few weeks (a bit distracted by world events etc.) I will likely post 3 feature 80's songs this week, or as John McClane would say yippie-ki-a...! So, the 2nd feature so goes to....Ready For the World and their 1985 #1 hit Oh Sheila. Ready For the World are an American R&B/funk/electro group from Flint, Michigan who formed back in 1982 with original members Melvin Riley( lead vocals, keyboards, and guitar), Gordon Strozier (lead guitar), Gregory Potts (keyboards), Willie Triplett (keyboards and percussion), John Eaton (bass guitar), and Gerald Valentine (drums). Now its a shame this one didn't make it onto my Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown (or did I just give that away, oops), but it most certainly would appear on the Top 200. Be on the watch for a Part 3!

Feature 80s Song of the Week Part 1 = 'Mighty Wings' by Cheap Trick (1985)

Part of 1 of this weeks feature 80's songs goes to the 1985 song Mighty Wings by American rock band Cheap Trick. Mighty Wings was actually written by Harold Faltermeyer and Mark Spiro, but was then picked up by Cheap Trick for inclusion on the soundtrack to the 1985 Summer-blockbuster Top Gun. Cheap Trick come out of Rockford, Illinois, they've been active since 1973, and band members inlclude Robin Zander (lead vocals and guitar), Rick Nielsen (guitar, vocals), Tom Petersson (bass guitar, vocals), and Bun E. Carlos (drums). If you're curious as to what they are up to now and where they are touring you can check out their website HERE. Stay tuned for part 2...Iceman...

Mentionable 80s Mashup of the Week = 'Careless Or Dead' by The Kleptones (2006)

This week's 80's mashup is Careless Or Dead, by British mashup artist/DJ The Kleptones (aka Eric Kleptone). This mashup involves Bon Jovi's 1987 hit song Wanted Dead Or Alive, and it is mashed up with the 1984 #1 hit song by Wham!, Careless Whisper. Wanted Dead Or Alive peaked at #7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, while Careless Whisper was a #1 on the UK Singles Chart, the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, as well as the Canadian Singles Chart and the Australian Singles Chart.

#22 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: 'True Faith' by New Order (1987)

Welcome back! So here is #22 of the countdown, and the song is..True Faith, by none other than the legendary English new-wave/synth-pop group New Order. Now this is one of my personal favorite 80's songs of all time (not to mention one of my favorite bands of all time), so of course I had to fit it in to the countdown, and much deservedly-so! There are elements to this song that bring an unheard of energy into this world, and I and I don't know if New Order had that in mind when they wrote it but there is definitely something there that isn't present in most other music I've heard. New Order comes out of  Salford & Macclesfield, England, and the band formed out of the ashes of Joy Division following the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis. They formed in 1980, and then consisted of Bernard Sumner (vocals, guitars, synthesizers), Peter Hook (bass, backing vocals, electronic drums) and Stephen Morris (drums, electronic drums, synthesizers), and later included Gillian Gilbert (keyboards).   True Faith was released in 1987 on their Substance album and it would peak at #1 on the UK Independent Singles Chart chart, #4 on the UK Singles Chart, and #32 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. There was a 12" remix of this song released in 1994 that is quite good, and may in fact be the one that most of you have heard on the radio or wherever you've heard the song before, and upon its release in 1994 the remix peaked at #9 on the UK Singles Chart. I may later regret putting this song so low in the chart (as it may belong in the top 10) but there it falls.

Feature 80's Song of the Week Part 1 = 'Colour My Love' by Fun Fun (1984)

Part of the feature 80's songs of the week is the 1984 hit Colour My Love by Italian synth-pop group Fun Fun. Fun Fun was around for 2 years (1983-84) and it involved Producers Dario Raimondi and Alvaro Ugolini who along with studio vocalists Antonella Pepe, Angela Parisi and Ivana Spagna collaborated as Fun Fun to create a bouncy, high-energy, dancefloor-friendly sound, Italian-style. Colour My Love charted at #17 in Germany, #6 in Sweden, and #10 in the Netherlands, and thus the song was quite a hit in Europe that year. Stay tuned for Part 2.

Feature 80's Song of the Week Part 2 = 'Running With The Night' by Lionel Richie (1983)

Part 2 of the featured 80's songs for this week is Running With The Night, by American singer-songwriter-musician-music producer Lionel Richie. This song was the second single release from his 1983  Grammy Award winning/multi-platinum album Can't Slow Down. Richie co-wrote this song with fellow song-writer Cynthia Weil and then co-produced it with James Anthony Carmichael. It would peak at #7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and at #9 on the UK Singles chart. Since 1968 Lionel Richie has been a member of the musical group Commodores on the Motown Records label, and he made his solo-debut in 1982. I thought it also interesting to mention this song was featured on the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City video game in 2002.

Mentionable 80s Mashup of the Week = 'Billie's Running Jeans' by MadMixMustang (MMM)

This week's feature 80s mashup is called Billie's Running Jeans, by mashup artist MadMixMustang. Clearly this song includes the 1983 Mega #1 Billie Jean by Michael Jackson, and it is mashed together with the Doobie Brother's 1973 song Long Train Runnin'.   Billie s Running Jeans by beltedmanatee

#23 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: 'Anything, Anything (I'll Give You)' by Dramarama (1985)

After a longish pause I am back to furnish you with #23 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown....and the song is the 1985 hit Anything, Anything (I'll Give You), by Los-Angeles-based American alternative-punk-power-pop band Dramarama. Dramarama originally formed in New Jersey back in 1982 until they temporarily disbanded in 1994 only to re-group in 2003. Singer/songwriter/ John Easdale has been the front-man for the band and its primary member whilst many other members not mentioned here have come and gone, so if you want band member info then check into their wikipedia page HERE for all of the tedious details. Anything, Anything (I'll Give You) appeared on their 1st studio album, which was released in November of 1985, and titled Cinéma Vérité, and incidentally it was also featured on the Nightmare on Elm Street 4 motion picture soundtrack in 1988 (which was a movie that freaked me out as a kid, and for some odd reason I still insisted on having the movie poster of in my room, I suppose I was a bit of a masochist or something). This song is a great dance-tune as it adds some high-energy upbeat 80's punk/pop flavor to the countdown and playlist, and it is for some reason definitely a unique song, but I can't quite put my finger on it. So there is #23...more to come. The following was the only video I could find with decent sound quality on YouTube...