When researching songs that I wanted to include for PRIDE Month I wanted to step outside of the box because PRIDE music is not just Disco or Divas there are also many other genres to seek out including EBM/Industrial music which was quite popular in the mid-late 80’s a homoerotic militaristic style of dance music which was a leather scene favorite. It was subversively left-wing beneath its macho surface. Bands like Nitzer Ebb tapped into this subgenre.
“Control I’m Here” was the first single released by British EBM project Nitzer Ebb taken from their second and upcoming studio album “Belief”. It reached #100 in the UK Single Chart, and #14 on the US Billboard Dance Chart. the single was co-produced by Post-punk record producer and DJ, Flood (Mark Ellis) known for his work with A-ha, Depeche Mode, Erasure, Nine Inch Nails, U2, and many other bands.
SIDE A: Control Im Here (Zero Option Mix) 3:53 Control Im Here (Command Control Confront Mix) 6:43
SIDE B: Control Im Here (Inst. Club Mix) 5:33 K.I.A. 4:27
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
Year
Single
Chart
Position
1989
Control Im Here
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Play
#14
1989
Control Im Here
U.S. Billboard Alternative Airplay
#25
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Geffen Records – 0-21111, Geffen Records – 9 21111-0
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Maxi-Single, SRC Pressing
Country: US
Released: 1989
Genre: Electronic
Style: EBM, Industrial
CREDITS: Producer, Mixed By – Flood, NitzerEbbProdukt Written-By – V. Harris*, D. McCarthy*
NOTES:
Recorded at worldwide international
mixed at konk
Track A1 is incorrectly listed on artwork as: Control Im Here (Hardcore Mix)
Track B1 is incorrectly listed on artwork as: Control Im Here (Strategic Dancefloor Initiative Mix)
“Gloria” is a 1979 song written and composed in Italian by Umberto Tozzi and Giancarlo Bigazzi, and afterward translated to English by Jonathan King. A 1982 cover version by American singer Laura Branigan peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
The most successful version of “Gloria”‘ was featured on the 1982 album Branigan, the first album released by Laura Branigan. Although another track, “All Night with Me”, was chosen as the album’s lead single, Branigan also performed the cover song during her promotional television appearances at the time of the album’s release. The track was chosen as the album’s second single in June 1982, first becoming a disco favorite, and gradually accruing radio support to enter the pop charts in July. The single reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 on 27 November 1982, behind Lionel Richie’s “Truly”, and remained there the following two weeks, through 11 December—when Richie had been supplanted by Toni Basil’s “Mickey”.
“Gloria” earned Branigan a nomination for the Best Pop Vocal Performance Female Grammy Award for 1982. The song remained in the Top 40 for 22 weeks, and its total Hot 100 residency of 36 weeks established a new record for a single by a solo female act. The song also topped Cash Box magazine’s chart. Certified platinum for one million sales in the United States alone, “Gloria” was also an international success, most notably in Australia where it held the top position for seven consecutive weeks, from 7 February to 21 March 1983. “Gloria” also reached number one in Canada, number four in Ireland, number six in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, and number nine in South Africa.
“You Can Get Over” is a 1979 Disco hit by American singer and songwriter Stephanie Mills taken from her third LP ‘What Cha’ Gonna Do with My Lovin”. The song was written and produced by James Mtume & Reggie Lucas. Lucas also produced several tracks for Madonna’s debut LP including “Borderline”, and “Lucky Star”, while James Mtume formed the R*B group Mtume best known for their hit “Juicy Fruit”.
“You Can Get Over” peaked at #8 on the Billboard Dance/Club Play chart in September 1979 (co-charting with “Put Your Body In It”) and just missed the Hot 100. The song also reached #55 on the Billboard R&B chart in December.
SIDE A: You Can Get Over 8:58
SIDE B: Deeper Inside Your Love 3:56
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
Year
Single
Chart
Position
1979
You Can Get Over
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play
#8
1979
You Can Get Over
U.S. Billboard Black singles
#55
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: 20th Century Fox Records – TCD-99
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Goldisc Pressing
Country: US
Released: 1979
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul
Style: Disco
“I Wanna Rock” is a song written and composed by Dee Snider and performed by his band Twisted Sister. It was released as the second single from their 1984 album Stay Hungry. The record reached No. 68 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
MUSIC VIDEO
Like the earlier “We’re Not Gonna Take It”, the video features actor Mark Metcalf, best known as the abusive ROTC leader Douglas C. Neidermeyer from the movie National Lampoon’s Animal House.
In the video, he plays a teacher with a similar personality to Neidermeyer, who harasses a student for drawing the Twisted Sister logo on one of his textbooks. He chastises the student by shouting, “What kind of a man desecrates a defenseless textbook?! I’ve got a good mind to slap your fat face!”, which echoes a line from Animal House (“What kind of man hits a defenseless animal [a misbehaving horse]? I’ve got a good mind to smash your fat face in!”).
Metcalf’s character reprises his question from the “We’re Not Gonna Take It” video, “What do you want to do with your life?!” This provides a lead-in for the track, as the student answers with the first line of the song, “I wanna rock!”, after which he and four of his classmates are instantly transformed into Twisted Sister’s five members.
The abusive teacher’s repeated attempts to stop his rock-loving students not only fail; they also backfire on him. He crawls into the school principal’s office, only to be confronted by the principal, played by Stephen Furst, who played Kent “Flounder” Dorfman in Animal House, opposite Metcalf. Furst’s character, who suddenly approves Twisted Sister and its music, reprises one of his lines from the movie, “Oh boy, is this great!”, before he sprays water from a seltzer bottle at the teacher, who collapses in defeat.
“We’re Not Gonna Take It” was the lead single taken from the LP Stay Hungry by American Rock band Twisted Sister the single was released in May 1984.
The single reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, making it Twisted Sister’s only Top 40 single. It is the band’s highest-selling single in the United States, having been certified Gold on June 3, 2009, for sales of over 500,000 units. The song was ranked No. 47 on 100 Greatest 80’s Songs and No. 21 on VH1’s 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s.
In 1985, it received criticism when the Parents Music Resource Center included the song on its “Filthy Fifteen” list for alleged violent lyrical content, allegations that were repudiated by lead singer Dee Snider.
MUSIC VIDEO:
The music video was directed by Marty Callner with an emphasis on slapstick comedy. The video begins with a disobedient son, played by Callner’s son, Dax, playing Twisted Sister songs in his bedroom while the rest of the family is eating dinner. The father, “Douglas C.”, played by Mark Metcalf as a character similar to his Douglas C. Niedermeyer from the 1978 film Animal House, goes to the boy’s room and scolds him for being interested only in his guitar and Twisted Sister.
At the end of the speech, he screams “What do you want to do with your life?”, to which the son replies “I Wanna Rock!”. He strums his guitar and the sound blasts the father out of a nearby window. The boy transforms into Dee Snider, and the music begins. Snider sings to the other children, who turn into the rest of the band, and they wreak havoc on the family.
The father gets the worst of the band’s mischief, as he repeatedly tries and fails to get back at the band members, getting knocked out of more windows and even a wall. Still, even after a series of the father’s failed retaliations, his wife happens by to awkwardly recover him, such as throwing a bucket of water onto him, dropping a first aid kit onto him, and even spraying his face with a hose.
This U.S. 12″ promo includes the introductions from the music videos for both tracks.
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Atlantic – PR 666
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Rock
Style: Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Glam
NOTES:
Promotional Copy Not For Sale
Side A: Featuring the Introduction from “We’re Not Gonna Take It” Video Vocal/Edited Version
Side B: Featuring the Introduction from “I Wanna Rock” Video Vocal/LP Version
Includes 8.5″ x 11″ radio programmer insert printed on glossy paper.
