Charmed lives release date

Mike menzies · V Deep

Charmed lives release date

suss · In the Long Grass

Purely off top of head I'd guess June as there must have been a few months between Million Years then House on Fire, so from vague recollection I'd hazard Never In A Million Years late '81, House on Fire about April then that one around June.

Probably got a Smash Hits with adverts somewhere but others on here will know. My money is on Mark.

manatthetop · In the Long Grass

Bang on the money Suss. Never in a million years Nov 81 House of fire April 82 then Charmed lives June 82

Mark L · Loudmouth

Knew it was first week of June and this from elsewhere on the Internet almost certainly confirms as all the other dates seem right :

debut gig - Oct 31, 1975

first show in England - May 6, 1977

BBC Peel session - Jul 26, 1977

45 Looking After no.1 - Aug 19, 1977

LP Boomtown Rats - Sep 1, 1977

45 Mary Of The 4th Form - Nov 11, 1977

45 She's So Modern - Mar 31, 1978

45 Like Clockwork - Jun 9, 1978

LP Tonic For The Troops - Jun 16, 1978

45 Rat Trap - Oct 6, 1978

Loch Lomond Rock Festival - May 27, 1979

45 I Don't Like Mondays - Jul 13, 1979

US release Mondays - Sep 21, 1979

LP Fine Art Of Surfacing - Oct 24, 1979

45 Diamond Smiles - Nov 9, 1979

Year Of The Rats special - Dec 26, 1979

45 Someone's Looking At You - Jan 18, 1980

45 Banana Republic - Nov 14, 1980

LP Mondo Bongo - Dec 26, 1980

45 Elephant's Graveyard - Jan 16, 1981

45 Dun Laoghaire (Flexipop) - Feb 2, 1981

Geldof filming 'The Wall' - Sep 1981

45 Never In A Million Years - Nov 20 , 1981

45 House On Fire - Mar 1, 1982

LP V Deep - Apr 1, 1982

recorded for BBC concert - Apr 25, 1982

45 Charmed Lives - Jun 2, 1982

House on Fire did languish around the lower reaches of the top 100 before being picked up by Peter Powell.

suss · In the Long Grass

Interesting stuff. Couple of surprises for me there. I could have sworn Mondo Bongo was out before Christmas (26/12 seems an odd choice too) and I'd also imagined that Flexipop to be much earlier than it was. Remember going in every newsagent en route from school to home. Normally a 3 mile bus ride, but walked until I found one, about half a mile from home hmm

Mark L · Loudmouth

Yep, Boxing Day 1980 seems an unlikely release date. Wikipedia and a few other sites say 29/12/80?

manatthetop · In the Long Grass

Mondo Bongo was not released until mid Jan 81.?

Mike menzies · V Deep

Yeh i bought mondo on 22/1/1981 I know it had just come out as 22/1/81 was my 18th birthday and ws given cash as pressie

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

According to http://www.austriancharts.at/showinterpret.asp?interpret=The+Boomtown+Rats

6th June 1982 ; Definitely June and the 6th seems highly likely.

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

suss wrote:
I'd also imagined that Flexipop to be much earlier than it was.

As I remember it was around the time of Mondo Bongo with Geldof in a beret on the cover. It was the February edition, but I suspect it was out in January...

You can read Flexipop here....

http://musicmags70s80s.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/flexipop-no1-to-no.html

jamieuka · House on Fire

So, release the album a month after the second single release: is that how the biz was back in the day, then?

noelindublin · Loudmouth

jamieuka wrote:
So, release the album a month after the second single release: is that how the biz was back in the day, then?

The first single Never In a Million Years was a total write off, so obviously they held back for a while until House on Fire was released as the second single.

When that became a minor hit V Deep was released around mid April 1982.Some people remember where they were when Jfk was shot others remember where they were when V Deep was released. smile

So really you had the album released about 3 weeks after the first and only hit from the fifth album. Seems about right I would say. Normally albums follow on from chart hits or at least a song that has got some airplay.

Mark L · Loudmouth

ArrGee wrote:
According to http://www.austriancharts.at/showinterpret.asp?interpret=The+Boomtown+Rats
6th June 1982 ; Definitely June and the 6th seems highly likely.

I saw that but 6th June 1982 was a Sunday. Mondays and Wednesdays were always popular release dates for UK singles so I suspect 2nd or 7th but either way, first week of June it must have been. Don't much care for the song anyway. The real travesty was two years later when this happened to Dave:

1984/12/1
76 ( 86 ) Let The Rest Of The World Go By - Rose Marie
77 ( 75 ) White Lines - Grandmaster & Melle Mel
78 ( 70 ) Hypnotize - Scritti Politti
79 ( - ) Could You Be Loved - Bob Marley & The Wailers
80 ( 85 ) Solid - Ashford & Simpson
81 ( 92 ) Police Officer - Smiley Culture
82 ( - ) Who'S That Girl - Flying Pickets
83 ( 94 ) Still On Fire - Aztec Camera
84 ( 81 ) Dave - Boomtown Rats
85 ( 68 ) Georgy Porgy - Charme
86 ( 77 ) Sometimes When I'm Dreaming - Art Garfunkel
87 ( 63 ) I Forgot - Cool Notes
88 ( 96 ) I'Ll Make The Living If You Make The Loving... - Gene Chandler
89 ( 91 ) This Night - Billy Joel
90 ( - ) You Might Think - The Cars
91 ( re ) Skin Deep - Stranglers
92 ( 99 ) Don't You Ever Leave Me - Ha

Jules · The biggest Geldof fan in the world, bar none!

Dave should have gone into the upper echelons of the charts. That was indeed a real travesty.

Mike menzies · V Deep

I totally agree Dave was in my opinion the best single by any band in84 rumour has it that the free ticket pic disc wasn't allowed to be counted in sales ( I worked in John Menzies Walsall we had25 copies of pic disc and sold out me thinks something dodgy with record sales by the chart people went on somewhere ) we also sold quite a few copies of it'll when it came out

noelindublin · Loudmouth

Mike menzies wrote:
I totally agree Dave was in my opinion the best single by any band in84 rumour has it that the free ticket pic disc wasn't allowed to be counted in sales ( I worked in John Menzies Walsall we had25 copies of pic disc and sold out me thinks something dodgy with record sales by the chart people went on somewhere ) we also sold quite a few copies of it'll when it came out

Garry Roberts had been sent out to buy up copies of Dave from the chart return shops. Not sure how many copies he or any of the others managed to buy but obviously not enough to even dent the Top 40. Geldof has admitted to this effort to 'hype' the single into the charts.

Garry fell off his motorbike doing his duty for the Rats. Very sad for a big time band who not too long before were doing so well. Also sad that In The Long Grass is as good as anything the Rats had previously done but fate was against them.

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

noelindublin wrote:
Mike menzies wrote:
I totally agree Dave was in my opinion the best single by any band in84 rumour has it that the free ticket pic disc wasn't allowed to be counted in sales ( I worked in John Menzies Walsall we had25 copies of pic disc and sold out me thinks something dodgy with record sales by the chart people went on somewhere ) we also sold quite a few copies of it'll when it came out
Garry Roberts had been sent out to buy up copies of Dave from the chart return shops. Not sure how many copies he or any of the others managed to buy but obviously not enough to even dent the Top 40. Geldof has admitted to this effort to 'hype' the single into the charts.
Garry fell off his motorbike doing his duty for the Rats. Very sad for a big time band who not too long before were doing so well. Also sad that In The Long Grass is as good as anything the Rats had previously done but fate was against them.

The Dave sales probably would have merited a higher placing but for the cancelled sales. I know the ticket vinyl sales were cancelled, but the double single with Mondays may also have been ignored as well. Ironically, had they just done the basic 7" and 12" (the latter with Lazzum Gemmun) they may have made the top 50.

I wouldn't say In The Long Grass was as good as anything they previously did, but it was more consistent than the previous two LPs.

manatthetop · In the Long Grass

ArrGee wrote:
noelindublin wrote:
Mike menzies wrote:
I totally agree Dave was in my opinion the best single by any band in84 rumour has it that the free ticket pic disc wasn't allowed to be counted in sales ( I worked in John Menzies Walsall we had25 copies of pic disc and sold out me thinks something dodgy with record sales by the chart people went on somewhere ) we also sold quite a few copies of it'll when it came out
Garry Roberts had been sent out to buy up copies of Dave from the chart return shops. Not sure how many copies he or any of the others managed to buy but obviously not enough to even dent the Top 40. Geldof has admitted to this effort to 'hype' the single into the charts.
Garry fell off his motorbike doing his duty for the Rats. Very sad for a big time band who not too long before were doing so well. Also sad that In The Long Grass is as good as anything the Rats had previously done but fate was against them.
The Dave sales probably would have merited a higher placing but for the cancelled sales. I know the ticket vinyl sales were cancelled, but the double single with Mondays may also have been ignored as well. Ironically, had they just done the basic 7" and 12" (the latter with Lazzum Gemmun) they may have made the top 50.
I wouldn't say In The Long Grass was as good as anything they previously did, but it was more consistent than the previous two LPs.

I would. I think In The Long Grass was a great wee album. Much better than Mondo Bongo and V Deep ( I know that will be a matter of opinion) But I think the songs from Mondo and V deep would have made for one very good album if the strong songs had been taken of both albums to make one great one.

Mark L · Loudmouth

I love In the Long Grass but it doesn't generally hit the high points of Tonic or Surfacing.

However, songs like Hard Times trounce Can't Stop and Drag me Down is better than Nice n Neat.

Opinions opinions......

manatthetop · In the Long Grass

Nothing can beat the 1st 3 Albums. But In the Long Grass would come in 4th place for me. Love Hard times But I also love Can't stop ( I Know a lot of you don't) Nice N Neat. Like the way this song goes taken a dig at god or A god whatever way you want to look at it. Drag me down It's okay. But much better songs on the album for singles. Tonight I think was much better. Dave should have well been in the top 5. Hold of me just summed up the band at that time. Love Lucky great wee song. Just shown Geldof that others in the band could write some good stuff

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

manatthetop wrote:
Just shown Geldof that others in the band could write some good stuff

Arguably none of them wrote a decent song (Lone Ranger excepted) in their own right which is shown by their post-Rats output and that none of the songs they wrote for the Rats were singles. There was no George Harrison among them. Play To Win is OK, but that aside it's hard to think of anything else that would be of real interest. Sleep and Lucky are nothing special and neither is Man at the Top (the song, not you). I don't care too much for Geldof's solo work, but there are still about a dozen or so pretty decent songs over the five albums he has made.

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

manatthetop wrote:
Nothing can beat the 1st 3 Albums. But In the Long Grass would come in 4th place for me.

About right for me as well, though I don't think Surfacing hit the heights of the first two LPs. I do think that there are better moments on Mondo Bongo and V Deep, but overall In The Long Grass is a more consistent album which would have benefited with a little more care in the production. The songs themselves were great, it just sounds a little too neutral at times.

noelindublin · Loudmouth

ArrGee wrote:
manatthetop wrote:
Just shown Geldof that others in the band could write some good stuff
Arguably none of them wrote a decent song (Lone Ranger excepted) in their own right which is shown by their post-Rats output and that none of the songs they wrote for the Rats were singles. There was no George Harrison among them. Play To Win is OK, but that aside it's hard to think of anything else that would be of real interest. Sleep and Lucky are nothing special and neither is Man at the Top (the song, not you). I don't care too much for Geldof's solo work, but there are still about a dozen or so pretty decent songs over the five albums he has made.

I had a listen to Play To Win a few days ago. It does have a Rats feel to it, including the lyrics. I would love to hear it sung by Geldof, though Simon does a great job on the vocals.

I wonder was this written before the Rats actually broke up? Some lines might just be about the Rats and their fall from grace:'a kiss to the world from an open car/you gave them everything now they want more/ a fly on the wall can't understand at all....'

It certainly would have made a very good Rats album track. Gerry Cott's singles are pretty good, especially Alphabet Town though I can't imagine Gerry solo appearing on TOTP. smile

Re George Harrison I love Within You Without You, but really hate While My Guitar Gently Weeps.

-- Edited by noelindublin on Thursday 20th of August 2015 12:35:51 PM

-- Edited by noelindublin on Thursday 20th of August 2015 12:39:12 PM

Mark L · Loudmouth

manatthetop wrote:
Nothing can beat the 1st 3 Albums. But In the Long Grass would come in 4th place for me. Love Hard times But I also love Can't stop ( I Know a lot of you don't) Nice N Neat. Like the way this song goes taken a dig at god or A god whatever way you want to look at it. Drag me down It's okay. But much better songs on the album for singles. Tonight I think was much better. Dave should have well been in the top 5. Hold of me just summed up the band at that time. Love Lucky great wee song. Just shown Geldof that others in the band could write some good stuff

Don't get me wrong, I also think Nice n Neat is a good, clever song. I just think for the circumstances they were in and the times, Drag me Down was a brave, defiant attempt with a good video to claw back, with every hook and trick in the book thrown at it. That recent Cheggers video shows the spirit of the fightback.

manatthetop · In the Long Grass

ArrGee wrote:
manatthetop wrote:
Just shown Geldof that others in the band could write some good stuff
Arguably none of them wrote a decent song (Lone Ranger excepted) in their own right which is shown by their post-Rats output and that none of the songs they wrote for the Rats were singles. There was no George Harrison among them. Play To Win is OK, but that aside it's hard to think of anything else that would be of real interest. Sleep and Lucky are nothing special and neither is Man at the Top (the song, not you). I don't care too much for Geldof's solo work, but there are still about a dozen or so pretty decent songs over the five albums he has made.

Fair point. All in all It's the Rats and as I have said B4 even if they had written about Sh?t I still would buy it But your right Geldof is the stronger song writer . Regarding Geldof solo stuff I do like a lot of it. Abit iffy about his 1st album But I am sure he was trying to find his feet on that one.

Mark L · Loudmouth

http://irish-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=The+Boomtown+Rats

Release dates here but were singles released on different dates across the water?

Mondo Bongo showing 24/01/81.

In the Long Grass was definitely not released in May 1984 in Wolverhampton!

-- Edited by Mark L on Wednesday 14th of October 2015 02:24:43 AM

Mike menzies · V Deep

I agree mark I bought itlg in November/dec 1984 just after Dave single. Iwas working at John Menzies. & my college on rec dept told me it had come in so I bought it same day ( don't think it even went on shelf as I had it straight from delivery bode tc)