“This Ain’t No Fantasy” is a single recorded by American jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis, released in 1985 on Columbia Records from the LP Fantasy. In December 1985 “This Ain’t No Fantasy” reached #88 on the U.S. Billboard R&B chart and #48 on the Billboard Dance Chart. There was not a music video filmed for the song.
On September 12, 2022, Lewis passed away in his sleep at his home in Chicago at age 87.
THIS SIDE: This Ain’t No Fantasy (Part One) (Extended Remix With Male Vocal) 6:06
THAT SIDE: This Ain’t No Fantasy (Part Two) (Extended Remix With Female Vocal) 7:06
“Sugar Daddy” is a song by British pop group Thompson Twins, which was released in 1989 as the lead single from their seventh studio album Big Trash. The song was written and produced by Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie. “Sugar Daddy” reached number 28 on the US Billboard Hot 100 (their final Top 40 hit in the US) and number 97 in the UK Singles Chart.
In a 1989 interview on MuchMusic, Bailey described the song as sounding “quite sugary” but added “the message is quite disturbing”. He added, “It’s about sexual manipulation, affection traded for power, and as with all those sort of power-gain relationships, there’s always a sugar coating, so that’s why the song is so sugary but the message so bizarre.”
Speaking on MuchMusic, Currie revealed some of the unused sequences of the video, “The video was funny. I wanted to be the angel of death in it, with a black guitar and wings, but I kept getting stuck up there and screaming to get down, so we had to lose some of those shots. And then they built this enormous 12 foot skirt, I wanted to have these men coming out from under my skirt, and they edited that down to make it a bit more acceptable. I wanted to be the original hell’s angel, it didn’t quite come off. I always get disappointed by our videos.”
++ “Big Daddy’s Dub”, and “Velvet Rail Dub” have not appeared on CD.
SIDE B: Sugar Daddy (Velvet Rail Mix) 7:42 Sugar Daddy (Velvet Rail Dub) 5:49 Monkey Man 3:34
Engineer, Mixed By – Keith Fernley
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
Year
Single
Chart
Position
1989
Sugar Daddy
U.S. Billboard Hot 100
#28
1989
Sugar Daddy
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks
#16
1989
Sugar Daddy
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play
#2
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Warner Bros. Records – 0-21320, Red Eye (2) – 9 21320-0
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Maxi-Single
Country: US
Released: 1989
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: House, Pop Rock, Synth-pop
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.
BTG BARBIE Rewind: Bubblegum Pop Inspired by BARBIE!
“Trouble” is a song originally recorded by La Toya Jackson in the late summer of 1987, but it was not included on her subsequent album, La Toya.
In 1988 singer/actress Nia Peeples released the song as the first single, taken from her debut album Nothin’ But Trouble. The single reached #71 on the Hot Black singles chart and #35 on the Hot 100 singles chart. The song was most successful on the dance chart reaching #1 for one week in early summer 1988.
Peeples decided to venture into the music industry after she came to recognition as a regular cast in the musical television series Fame.
