“Small World” was the second single released, and title track of the fifth studio LP by American Pop/Rock band Huey Lewis & The News. The single debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 on October 8, 1988, peaking at #25 on November 26, 1988, after spending eleven weeks on the survey.
Although it reached the top 20 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, the album did not sell as well as the band’s previous albums, Sports and Fore!. However, Lewis himself stated in a Behind the Music interview that the recording process for Small World had the most favorable working conditions.
“Motorcycle Baby” is a 1988 electro-punk single released in Australia by Ecco Homo. The band was founded by Australian artist, singer, and musician “Troy” Davies (1960–2007), sometimes known as Ecco Homo or Vanessa.
Under the stage name Ecco Homo, Troy signed a record deal with RooArt. He released two singles, “Motorcycle Baby” and “New York, New York”. In the video clip for “Motorcycle Baby,” he’s wrapped around INXS frontman Michael Hutchence, wearing a blonde wig and winged shades. Davies was known as a pioneer of sexual expression.
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Producers and musicians who worked on the singles include Ollie Olsen, Gus Till, Michael Sheridan, Bill McDonald (all from Max Q), and Big Pig’s Sherine Abeyratne who provided female vocals.
SIDE A: Motorcycle Baby (Psycho Petro Mix) 7:58
SIDE B: Motorcycle Baby (Single Mix) 4:14 Motorcycle Baby (The Word Mix) 7:07
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: rooArt – 872 261-1
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Australasia
Released: 1988
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Pop Rock, Synth-pop
“A Nightmare on My Street” is the third single from DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince’s second studio album, He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper. The song became a crossover hit in the US, reaching #15 on the Hot 100. The song was released as a single in early 1988. The single was released on vinyl and audio cassette tape. The song humorously describes an encounter with the horror film villain Freddy Krueger and was considered for inclusion in the movie A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, but the producers of the film decided against its inclusion.
New Line Cinema, copyright holders of the A Nightmare on Elm Street film franchise, sued DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince’s record label for copyright infringement, forcing the label to destroy a music video produced for the song (though a copy of the video did survive and is available online. Both sides eventually settled out of court, but as a result, vinyl pressings of the album He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper contain a disclaimer sticker that says, “[This song] is not part of the soundtrack…and is not authorized, licensed, or affiliated with the Nightmare on Elm Street films.” The song samples Charles Bernstein’s musical motif from A Nightmare on Elm Street.
The original track as included on the original LP and cassette pressings of the album He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper ran 6:09. However, the entire album could not fit onto compact discs of the time, so for the CD release, many tracks were shortened; the single version “A Nightmare on My Street” was used in place of the original. This version is not simply an edit of the original album cut, as it included different lyrics in certain sections. The version included on DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince’s Greatest Hits album is not the original single version. Although it is labeled “Single Edit” and runs the same length, it is simply an edited version of the original recording and does not include the different lyrics recorded for the single.
SIDE A: A Nightmare On My Street (Extended Mix) 6:13 A Nightmare On My Street (Single Edit) 4:53
SIDE B: Rhythm Trax – House Party Style 4:40 A Nightmare On My Street (Instrumental) 6:13
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
Year
Single
Chart
Position
1988
A Nightmare On My Street
U.S. Billboard Hot 100
#15
1988
A Nightmare On My Street
U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles
#9
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Jive – 1125-1-JD
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1988
Genre: Hip Hop
Style: Pop Rap
The music video alone qualifies this one for a spooky season spin.
“Heart” is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their second studio album, Actually (1987).
Written by Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant, “Heart” was the fourth and final single from the duo’s second studio album, Actually. A new mix different to the album version was released as a single in March 1988, ascending to the top of the charts to become the duo’s fourth—and, to date, last—UK number-one single. It was also successful across Europe.
The genesis of the song goes back to the sessions for the duo’s first album Please in early 1986 with Shep Pettibone. Originally, the duo had planned to offer it to Hi-NRG singer Hazell Dean or—more notoriously—Madonna, but they ultimately kept it for themselves. The duo’s version of the song was intended to be used in the Steven Spielberg-produced film Innerspace, but the dance sequence it was intended for was at the wrong tempo for the song. The song was originally called “Heartbeat”, but was changed after Culture Club drummer Jon Moss announced the formation of a group named Heartbeat UK.
The lyrics are more traditional than most Pet Shop Boys songs, being a straightforward declaration of love—a characteristic common in many pop songs. On the commentary of the Pet Shop Boys’ live video album Cubism, Tennant reveals that the “oh – ah – oh’oh ah” refrain which repeats throughout the song features the vocals of himself, Pavarotti, and Wendy Smith (of Prefab Sprout).
According to Tennant, they were inspired by the song I Like You by Phyllis Nelson, which was produced by Shep Pettibone, who did a remix of Heart.
The song was re-recorded for Actually with producer Andy Richards and was mixed by Julian Mendelsohn. The single remix is an edit of the Richards’ version with the use of a wah-wah guitar, giving the song more of a 1970s sound.
Despite topping the UK chart for three weeks and being a worldwide success, the duo themselves tend to dismiss it, with Lowe stating in 2001: “It just shows that chart positions aren’t the be-all and end-all. ‘Heart’ isn’t in the same league as ‘Being Boring’.” However, many fans regard the song highly and Pet Shop Boys like it enough to have performed the song on their 1989 tour, the Fundamental world tour in 2006 and 2007 as well as their Pandemonium tour in 2009–2010.
When included in the retrospective PopArt: The Hits collection, the album version of the track was used for the UK release rather than the hit single mix, the reason for this is unknown. The single mix was included in the US release.
Music video
Directed by Jack Bond, director of the band’s 1987 film It Couldn’t Happen Here, the music video for “Heart” is based on the 1922 film Nosferatu. The video opens with Tennant and his bride (played by model Danijela Čolić Prižmić) being driven to a castle with Lowe as his chauffeur. As he goes to bed with his bride, the vampire, played by Ian McKellen, spies them. Later, he seduces the bride and bites her. Finally, Lowe drives Nosferatu and his bride away, leaving Tennant to stare bitterly after them from a castle window. The video was shot in Mokrice Castle, Slovenia, then one of the Yugoslavia republics.