The Associates were a Scottish post-punk and pop band, formed in Dundee in 1979 by lead vocalist Billy Mackenzie and guitarist Alan Rankine. The band released an unauthorized cover version of David Bowie's "Boys Keep Swinging" as their debut single in 1979, which landed them a recording contract with Fiction Records. They followed with their debut studio album The Affectionate Punch in 1980 and the compilation album Fourth Drawer Down in 1981, both to critical praise.
William MacArthur MacKenzie was a Scottish singer and songwriter, known for his distinctive high tenor voice. He was the co-founder and lead vocalist of post-punk and new wave band the Associates. He also had a brief solo career releasing his debut studio album, Outernational, in 1992, his only solo album released during his lifetime.
New Clear Days is the 1980 debut album by the British rock group The Vapors. It spent six weeks in the UK album charts, reaching a highest position of No. 44 in June 1980. It contains their best-known song, "Turning Japanese", which reached No. 3 in the UK chart in February 1980 and was also a worldwide success. A remix of "News at Ten", went to No. 44 in July of that year. A third single, a re-recording of "Waiting for the Weekend" that included a horn section, failed to chart.
Paul Haig is a Scottish indie musician, singer and songwriter. He was originally a member of post-punk band Josef K, active between 1979 and 1982.
"I Touch Myself" is a song recorded by Australian rock band Divinyls. It was written by the songwriting team of Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg along with Christine Amphlett and Mark McEntee of the Divinyls. It was released in November 1990 by Virgin as the lead single from the band's fourth album, Divinyls (1991), and deals with the subjects of eroticism and female masturbation. The single achieved success, reaching No. 1 in Australia and No. 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100. In January 2018, Australian network Triple M ranked the song at No. 60 in its list of the "most Australian" songs of all time. In 2023, Billboard magazine ranked it among the "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time".
"Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is a song by English pop rock band Tears for Fears from their second studio album Songs from the Big Chair (1985). It was written by Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley, and Chris Hughes and produced by Hughes. It was released on 22 March 1985 by Phonogram, Mercury, and Vertigo Records as the third single from the album. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is a new wave and synth-pop song with lyrics that detail the desire humans have for control and power and centre on themes of corruption.
"Agadoo" is a novelty song recorded by the British band Black Lace in 1984. "Agadoo" peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, and spent 30 weeks in the top 75. It went on to become the eighth best-selling single of 1984 in the UK, despite not being included on the playlist for BBC Radio 1 because it "was not credible".
"Success" is a dance-pop song performed by Australian singer Dannii Minogue. The song was written by Minogue and Alvin Moody, and produced by Moody and Vincent Bell for Minogue's debut album, Love and Kisses (1991). It was released as Minogue's second single in September 1990 in Australia. It was remixed and released in May 1991 in the United Kingdom. The song's lyrics discuss the highs and lows of being a celebrity. It entered the top 40 in Australia, Ireland, and the UK. Minogue performed this song when she was invited to perform on The Royal Variety Show in front of Elizabeth II.
"Shout" is a song by English pop rock band Tears for Fears, released as the second single from their second studio album, Songs from the Big Chair (1985), on 23 November 1984. Roland Orzabal is the lead singer on the track, and he described it as "a simple song about protest". The single became the group's fourth Top 5 hit in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 4 in January 1985. In the US, it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 3 August 1985 and remained there for three weeks; also topping the Cash Box chart. "Shout" became one of the most successful songs of 1985, eventually reaching No. 1 in multiple countries.
"A Trick of the Night" is a mid-tempo ballad recorded by English girl group Bananarama. It was written and produced by Steve Jolley and Tony Swain and released as the final single from Bananarama's album True Confessions.
"Almost Unreal" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 10 May 1993 by EMI Records as the lead single from the soundtrack of the 1993 live action film Super Mario Bros., which starred Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper, and Samantha Mathis. The song became a top-20 hit in numerous territories, including Scandinavia, Ireland and the UK. It would also be the duo's final top ten hit in the latter two countries, excluding a re-release of "It Must Have Been Love" two months later. The song proved to be unsuccessful in North America, peaking at numbers 94 and 88 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, although it performed better in Canada, where it peaked within the top 30. It appeared as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of their next studio album, Crash! Boom! Bang! (1994), mistitled "It's Almost Unreal". The accompanying music video for "Almost Unreal" was directed by Michael Geoghegan.
"Respectable" is a song by English pop duo Mel and Kim from their only studio album, F.L.M. (1987). It was released on 18 February 1987 as the album's second single. The song reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for one week in March 1987, becoming the second UK number-one single produced by Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW), following Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round " (1985), and the first UK number one that the trio had written themselves. The single also topped the charts in many European countries, as well as in Oceania.
"House of Fun" is a song by English ska/pop group Madness, credited to Mike Barson and Lee Thompson. It was released as a one-off single on 14 May 1982 and reached number one in the UK Singles Chart, spending nine weeks in the charts. The song was re-released in 1992, reaching number 40. It is the band's only number one single in the UK and in 2015 the British public voted it as the nation's 8th favourite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV.
Sulk is the second studio album by the Scottish post-punk and pop band the Associates. It was released on 14 May 1982 on their own Associates imprint of Beggars Banquet Records for the UK and throughout the rest of Europe on WEA Records and in the US on 4 October by Sire Records.
"Why Can't I Wake Up with You" is a song by English boy band Take That. Written by band member Gary Barlow, the song was released on 8 February 1993 by RCA and BMG as the lead single from their second album, Everything Changes (1993). The song reached number two on the UK Singles Chart and number seven in Ireland
Then Again is a collection of rarities, remixes and lost songs by former Josef K frontman Paul Haig recorded between 1982 and 1998, including previously unreleased material. Guests include Alan Rankine, Cabaret Voltaire, Mantronik, Bernard Sumner, Donald Johnson of A Certain Ratio and Finitribe.
The Affectionate Punch is the debut studio album by the Scottish post-punk and new wave band the Associates. It was released on 1 August 1980 on the Fiction label.
Fourth Drawer Down is a compilation album by the Scottish post-punk and new wave band the Associates, released in October 1981 by independent record label Situation Two. It compiles the A- and B-sides from the six singles the band released that year on the label. The album was re-issued in 2000 by V2 Records, containing five bonus tracks.
Perhaps is the third studio album by the Scottish post-punk and pop band the Associates, released on 8 February 1985 by WEA. It is their first album without founding member, keyboardist and guitarist Alan Rankine.
"I'm Not Afraid" is a song by English singer-songwriter Black, which was released in 1987 as the fourth single from his debut studio album Wonderful Life. The song was written by Black and Dave "Dix" Dickie, and produced by Robin Millar. "I'm Not Afraid" reached number 78 in the UK Singles Chart and remained in the top 100 for three weeks.
