So when you combine a totally goth look with bleach blonde hair along with a trip down memory lane + One HUGE 80’s Music Fan Wedding Photographer with an electronic taste in music – it will give you what I think the most diverse West Coast Wednesday Videos Of The Week.
My Mac Pro recently had it’s optical drive replaced after tolerating it being down for about a year. So now that I have it replaced along with a replacement hard drive in it for more space for my music to put on my iPod (my previous drive that was installed when the Mac Pro came out was a 250GB – PUNY!), I’m able to copy so much more of the best music ever to take with me in Rio.
While I’ve been going through all of my favourite CDs and thinking about the Concert that I’ve been waiting for what seems like forever to go to next Wednesday at the El Rey…. GARY NUMAN – I just have to share not one, not two – but THREE of my favourite songs from the 80’s.
The first song is by a band that I absolutely loved and still totally love listening to; T’Pau. The band T’Pau formed in 1986, taking their name from a Vulcan priestess by the same name in the Star Trek universe. And if you bumped into me in the late 80’s in Kansas City, you would have seen me with my old friend; Lori that looked like T’Pau’s lead singer; Carol Decker (out of England of course!).
Their debut single and first hit was the 1987 release “Heart and Soul“. Initially a flop in the UK, it first became a hit in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, reaching #4 after being featured on a Pepe Jeans advertisement; it repeated the feat in the UK Singles Chart some months later. The following year, the band had their biggest hit with the ballad, “China in Your Hand“, which spent five weeks at Number 1 in the UK chart, and also claimed the top slot in several European countries, although oddly the song made little impact on the Billboard Hot 100.
For T’Pau’s West Coast Wednesday Videos, I’m going with both Heart & Soul and Valentine. Valentine is truly one of my favourite songs in my life & is currently stirring up things in my creative soul.
The other band that I want to share with you is one that I saw in Kansas City back in 1988. A totally funky, eclectic and synth band that I regularly play at EPHQ & they’re known for alternate names such as; InSoc and InfoSoc. If you haven’t guessed them yet, they are; Information Society.
Information Society is a U.S. band originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, primarily consisting of Kurt Larson (aka Kurt Valaquen/Kurt Harland), Paul Robb, and James Cassidy; the latter two reconvened the band in 2006, initially with Christopher Anton as lead vocalist, then with Harland rejoining them as lead vocalist in 2007.
Their breakout hit was 1988’s “What’s on Your Mind (Pure Energy)“, a dance/ synthpop hit which included a sample of Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) from Star Trek, saying “pure energy,” and opened with a sample of Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), also from Star Trek, saying, “It’s worked so far, but we’re not out yet!” They are known for their loyal fan base in Brazil, Japan, Spain and Mexico. Information Society became part of the American response to the Second British Invasion.
The song that I’m going with is of similar introspectiveness as Valentine by T’Pau and it’s called Repetition. I remember when they played that song live – it was truly surreal watching the entire theatre rolling with the beats and melodies.
But before I present you with this week’s features of my West Coast Wednesday Video Of The Week and you’re thinking… Hey – I’d really like to get to know this 80’s Music Orange County Wedding Photographer in Huntington Beach, California, feel free to Contact Me or send me an email direct at david@esquirephotography.com. You can also stay in touch with me in “real time” on Twitter, Facebook and my Facebook Fan Page too.
So without further ado, I give you T’Pau and Information Society’s West Coast Wednesday Videos Of The Week. And, don’t just have an awesome West Coast Wednesday, but make it a positive one for someone else too – cheers!