Spooky Season is upon us, and many of us have certain songs that make us think of Halloween whether it is something mainstream or that creepy obscure track. For me, it is “Heart” by Pet Shop Boys because of the music video with its Vampire theme or “Something In My House” by Dead Or Alive which is just well…haunting. So I wonder what 80s or 90s songs make you think of Spooky Season? let us know in the comments below. See you tomorrow with a new record.
NEW 2023 Transfer NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration!
Originally posted October 25, 2011
Spooky Season Spin
“Supernatural Love” is the second single from Donna Summer’s 1984 Cats Without Claws album. The song released on October 23, 1984 by Geffen Records (US) and Warner Bros. Records (UK). It was written by Summer, Michael Omartian and Bruce Sudano, and produced by Omartian. The typically 1980s synthesized song was remixed for its release as a single and became a minor hit in the US. It was accompanied by a very colourful video again featuring Donna and husband Bruce Sudano as a star-crossed couple chasing each other through time when he is abducted by an evil enchantress—from the stone age into current 1980s New Wave, where Donna pursues the enchantress in order to save him.
While the single only peaked at #75 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, it fared better on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart at #39.
SIDE A: Supernatural Love (Extended Dance Remix) 6:12
Remix – Juergen Koppers*
SIDE B: Face The Music 4:14
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
Year
Single
Chart
Position
1984
Supernatural Love
U.S. Billboard Hot 100
#75
1984
Supernatural Love
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play
#39
1984
Supernatural Love
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles
#61
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Geffen Records – 0-20273, Geffen Records – 9 20273-0 A
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Maxi-Single
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synthpop
NEW 2023 Transfer! NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration! NEW Bonus Track!
Originally posted January 11, 2018
Spooky Season Spin
“Sneakyville” was the eighth and final single released by Scottish synth-pop band Secession. the song was taken from the band’s only studio LP “A Dark Enchantment” released on Siren Records.
The original incarnation comprised Peter Thomson (guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, and vocals), Jack Ross (guitar, synthesizer and vocals), Jim Ross (bass guitar), and Carole L. Branston (keyboards and vocals). The band used a small pre-programmed drum machine.
Oddly none of the band’s singles charted in the UK or US. After the release of “Sneakyville,” the band broke up and some members went on to form the alternative rock band The Vaselines. A music video was not released for this song.
++ As a NEW bonus track I have included the Hot Tracks Remix Service mix. Mark Watkins worked with both the CD & 12″ versions. He blended them together with great expertise and voila! this great song now has a smooth intro, an intense break, and a long exit, for those procrastinating Dee-jays…
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.