Wednesday 18 February 2009

Icehouse - Hey Little Girl single review

Hey Little girl is a slice of 'could not be anything but' 80s electro pop. Practically bursting at the lycra'd seams (watch the ballet music video) with synthesisers this Aussie band stormed to number 17 in the UK charts in February 1983.

Think Talk Talk, Tears for Fears and the more electronic Bryan Ferry stuff and you'll know what you're in for. Led from formation in 1977 to the present by the now blond headed Iva Davies (previously known to try out every hair crime of the 80s) Icehouse has had no less than 22 band members come and go over their 32 year history. World famous in Australia, Hey Little Girl was their best assault on the UK top 40, although they did reappear, just, 5 years later with their single Crazy. I don't recommend listening to this one though, there are far better things to do with 4 minutes.


The many hairs of Iva Davies
Iva Davies in 1978Iva Davies in 1982
Iva Davies in 1983
Iva Davies in 1985
Fuzzy
hair
Greasy
hair
Astley
hair
Hoddle
hair
Iva Davies in 1988
Iva Davies in 1990
Iva Davies in 1995
Iva Davies in 2008
Wet wet
hair
Pantene
hair
Raver
hair
Dyed
hair

Like so many half decent tracks of the 1980s with a riff or chorus that propel the tunes from dodgy Soho 2am fodder to worth playing at an 80s spandex night, Hey Little Girl has an annoyingly catchy little chorus,
Hey little girl,
Where will you hide?
Who can you run to now?
Hey little girl,
Where will you go?
Who can you turn to now?
The verses? The rest of the song? Meh. Let's stick to the chorus. Remember Waiting for a Star to Fall by Boy Meets Girl? Of course you do, but which bit? Go on, sing me the verse, I bet you can't... Perhaps the reason why the Cabin Crew remix of that particular tune in 2005 discarded the verses completely and just repeated the chorus over and over again.

I mention this because Hey Little Girl by Icehouse is certainly due a remix (the remixes I’ve heard are all rubbish, and I’m sure that's because they all maintain the verses), I reckon a Cabin Crew-esque reimagining and chorus looping could body-pop it back onto the dance floor.

Facts
Single released October 1982
UK chart position: 17
Original album: Primitive Man \ Buy on Amazon
Listen on Last FM
More info: Wikipedia \ Discogs \ Lyrics \ Fan site

Where I have it:
Track 2, Disc 8, Greatest Hits of the 80s - Album review \ Buy on Amazon

Thursday 5 February 2009

Thin Lizzy - Whisky In The Jar air guitar

We got the band back together last week to have a jamming session to Whisky In The Jar by Thin Lizzy. Vaguely in time and using the latest Fender air guitar and Pearl air drum we played a few bars.

We're clearly in need of more studio time, plus a vocalist, bass guitarist and air triangulist will be needed before we venture out into public again.