Cutting Crew...

Today's blog post comes courtesy of random singing I was doing last night over dinner.  For some reason, I was reminded of Cutting Crew, an English band from the mid 80s that had some success when I was in high school.  This was the song I was singing.

This is a live recording from 2007, but "I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight" was by far their biggest hit.  I liked this song fine when it first came out, but quickly got sick of it.

For some reason, I liked this song better... but then, I was about 15 at the time.  "I've Been In Love Before" might have appealed because it wasn't as popular.  This was the follow up single in the UK, but in America, they followed up with this...

Supposedly, it wasn't as big of a hit...  I can believe that, since I don't remember this song at all.

To my middle aged ears, Cutting Crew doesn't sound too bad at all.  I'm surprised I didn't like them more.  I never bought their album, though, mainly because I distinctly remember getting tired of "I Just Died In Your Arms" when it was popular.  I also never liked the title much.  Singer and songwriter Nick Van Eede has been with the band since the beginning and, in fact, appears to be the only original band member left.  I'm not sure how popular this band is today, but it's still existing...  they even have an official Web site.  God, I miss the 80s.

"Everything But My Pride".... a 1989 release.

Star Trekkin'...

I was never a fan of the old TV series, Star Trek, but plenty of my peers loved the show.  Consequently, I remember very well when a parody song about Star Trek came into being.  The year was 1987.  The band was called The Firm.  They were Brits with a keen sense of humor.

And they hired art students called The Film Garage to make a clever video...

This song became quite successful.  It was released by Bark Records and the first pressing was just 500 units, which were sent to British radio stations.  The song took off and eventually sold over a million copies, although apparently the band's success was a flash in the pan.

Someone posted a meme on Facebook yesterday, which made me think of this song.  I will admit the first time I heard it was in the early 90s, when I worked at my college's radio station.  I used to have the radio show after a couple of geeks who played new wave songs from the 80s as well as silly stuff like this.  Later, the song was used at the summer camp where I used to work.  A guest counselor taught the kids a dance to go with the song, which they all seemed to love.

I can't believe this is thirty years old...  How quickly time passes when you get to be middle aged!

Remote Control...

Last night, I had a sudden flashback to a funny game show that used to air on MTV.  The late Ken Ober hosted with help from comedian Colin Quinn.  I didn't watch Remote Control religiously, but every once in awhile, I'd catch it.  It ran from 1987-1990.

Here's a full episode from 1989.

I remember this show was based on the premise that Ken Ober always wanted to be a game show host.  He made up his mother's basement and contestants would sit in La-Z-Boy recliners, strapped in with seatbelts.  When one would get eliminated, they'd be thrown off the set in their chairs, which was why the seatbelts were handy.  They were asked trivia questions about pop culture, music, and TV shows.  Since I love that shit, I was pretty good at the game myself.  Alas, I was a bit young to try to get on the show.

After the first round, there was a snack break.  But given that this was a wacky show, the snacks were delivered in rather unconventional ways.  Like, for instance, contestants would put bowls on their heads to catch whatever snacks that dropped over them.  Or they'd get it delivered in some other weird way.  

There was a lightning round, then came the final round for the player with the most points.  I want to say the contestants were on Craftmatic adjustable beds for that.

Craftmatic adjustable beds were always a commercial mainstay on independent TV stations in the 80s.

Here's an ad for a Craftmatic bed from the 80s.

As the show got more popular, comedians started making appearances.  Denis Leary and Adam Sandler were both on Remote Control as guest stars.

Unfortunately, Ken Ober died suddenly in 2009.  He was only 52 years old at the time.  Apparently, he'd had flu symptoms prior to his death.  I'm still not sure exactly why he passed away.  I see that he died three days before my dearly departed Flea did in 2009.

I'm surprised Remote Control only lasted five seasons over three years.  It was a funny show.  But it probably wouldn't work today because the stuff that made it funny in the late 80s is now terribly passé.  Once again, I'm glad I grew up when I did.  That was a fun era.