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80s Covers Band


stewblack

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For me the problem with 90s music wasn't so much the music - although a lot of what was supposed to "alternative" was actually deadly dull and mostly tuneless IMO, but the fact that the bands themselves looked boring. I simply couldn't get enough enthusiasm to check out the music of people who looked like the kind of sad losers that were selling drugs and dodgy tickets or posters outside music venues.

I spent most of the 90s listening to dance music. I'm sure the people making it were just as boring looking as the "rock" bands but at least they didn't feel any compulsion to show it on their CD covers, which were filled with interesting looking graphics instead.

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I was recruited to join a well-established 80's covers band based in the South West. It had a number of things that appealed to me: I love a lot of 80's music, some fun bass lines, shoulder pads, playing festivals  and I get to play sax on a number of tracks. 

The only downside is that since joining, all this sh*t happened and we've not been able to gig yet. We just had our 31st July gig cancelled so the first one is September :(

Still, at least I have more time to refine the mullet. 

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49 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

I simply couldn't get enough enthusiasm to check out the music of people who looked like the kind of sad losers that were selling drugs.....

Ouch! I suspect that if you speak to the people who came of age in the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's, most would agree that many of the the then current musicians looked like drug dealers! What do you think dealers looked like in the 60's, or more to the point, what did people then think that drug dealers looked like, Laurence Olivier or the Grateful Dead :)  

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1 hour ago, Rich said:

Funny how subjective it all is, innit? For me it's vice versa -- the highs of the 80s were very high, whereas by and large I hated much of the music of the 90s.

Which is why these threads run and run :)

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Glad we can do this without mud slinging. I may sound like I think only music I like is any good, but really I don't believe grown ups need to endlessly qualify with 'in my opinion '. Tastes differ and I don't believe mine to be any more valid than yours. 

The big change for me in the 90s was opening a live music venue. We wanted no jukebox, instead we made mix tapes and encouraged the punters to do likewise. It didn't take long before I was told that our music was fit only for dinosaurs, and the kids took over. 

I was strictly a radio 4 guy in those days having outgrown radio 1 but being way too cool for radio 2. So these cats literally introduced me to stuff I'd never heard of. Grunge, britpop, metal bands which didn't sound like my idea of metal. 

It was awesome. I loved it. 

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Engaging in a valiant piece of Topic Cross-Fertilisation, this thread persuaded me to try out the Synth setting on

I can get an astonishingly good Human League sound on DYWMB, and it turns out that it sounds better on Glass Of Champagne (Sailor) than a normal bass ... I may have to keep the Variax in case I get invited to join @stewblack's 80s band.

 

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29 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

Engaging in a valiant piece of Topic Cross-Fertilisation, this thread persuaded me to try out the Synth setting on

I can get an astonishingly good Human League sound on DYWMB, and it turns out that it sounds better on Glass Of Champagne (Sailor) than a normal bass ... I may have to keep the Variax in case I get invited to join @stewblack's 80s band.

 

If you spend some time with the synths you can get some really good gigable sounds out of it. You get used to avoiding the type of playing that confuses it and makes it freak out. Along with the X3 Live pedal I got a few really good stable sounds for Depeche Mode's New Life, I layered up a sound for the intro with is absolutely huge, and also suits stuff like like Numans Are Friends Electric. 

Probably not worth keeping a bass for, although I have had a spare one for years that I haven't played that I was going to defret as I reckon that would make a lot of the tones really good. 

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On 26/06/2020 at 18:13, stewblack said:

Yeah! That's the spirit. You gonna share your list? 

Oh go on then, seeing as you asked nicely... :) Only a short list so far but these were just a few off the top of my head.

XTC        Generals and Majors
XTC        Senses Working Overtime
Wonder Stuff    Don't Let Me Down, Gently
Julian Cope    World Shut Your Mouth
The Passions    I'm In Love With A German Film Star
Joe Jackson    Is She Really Going Out With Him
Joe Jackson    It's Different For Girls
Squeeze    Pulling Mussels
Squeeze    Another Nail In My Heart
The Cure     In Between Days
Simple Minds    Don't You Forget About Me
Crowded House    Don't Dream It's Over
Danny Wilson    Mary's Prayer
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19 hours ago, Rich said:

Oh go on then, seeing as you asked nicely... :) Only a short list so far but these were just a few off the top of my head.

XTC        Generals and Majors
XTC        Senses Working Overtime
Wonder Stuff    Don't Let Me Down, Gently
Julian Cope    World Shut Your Mouth
The Passions    I'm In Love With A German Film Star
Joe Jackson    Is She Really Going Out With Him
Joe Jackson    It's Different For Girls
Squeeze    Pulling Mussels
Squeeze    Another Nail In My Heart
The Cure     In Between Days
Simple Minds    Don't You Forget About Me
Crowded House    Don't Dream It's Over
Danny Wilson    Mary's Prayer

I would be so far over the moon to see that set you'd need Hubble to find me

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I mentioned this thread to Mrs Rich in passing yesterday, after she saw me video-hopping through youtube and asked what I was doing... I told her about my vague idea in the past of this 80s indie/rock band, and far from the expected "where would you find time for that?" she said "ooh! why don't you do it?". Hmm. :)  

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4 hours ago, Rich said:

I mentioned this thread to Mrs Rich in passing yesterday, after she saw me video-hopping through youtube and asked what I was doing... I told her about my vague idea in the past of this 80s indie/rock band, and far from the expected "where would you find time for that?" she said "ooh! why don't you do it?". Hmm. :)  

Nostalgia is a powerful thing, especially when it comes to music and audiences are changing. ‘80s cover bands have moved in the older ‘60s & ‘70s pub bands, how long before ‘90s bands become de rigeur (no time soon I hope, YMMV)?

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2 minutes ago, ezbass said:

Nostalgia is a powerful thing, especially when it comes to music and audiences are changing. ‘80s cover bands have moved in the older ‘60s & ‘70s pub bands, how long before ‘90s bands become de rigeur (no time soon I hope, YMMV)?

there are bands that do exclusively Britpop songs, but I haven't seen a Gunge, or Nu-metal covers band. Yet?

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1 hour ago, MacDaddy said:

there are bands that do exclusively Britpop songs, but I haven't seen a Gunge, or Nu-metal covers band. Yet?

A mate of mines band do grunge covers, and aside from one song - think a Pearl Jam song - their criteria is that the singer has to be dead. Well it was never the happiest of genres I suppose.

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A friend and I have talked about doing a 90s rock cover band. Not specific to one sub-genre, anything from the 90s which classified as rock could be included. So we could do anything from Queensryche's "Empire" via some grunge and onto heavier stuff like Pantera or Sepultura. It hasn't got off the ground 1. because of Covid-19 and 2. because we don't think we'll get many gigs 🤣

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1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

At least most Brit-Pop songs have a decent tune.

And this is why art is so wonderful and diverse. I'd rather stick my nuts in a vice than listen to Brit pop. I dislike it (obviously), however, Blur, Oasis, Suede, Pulp, et al sold many, many records, so someone liked them, just not me. As ever, YMMV.

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1 hour ago, ezbass said:

And this is why art is so wonderful and diverse. I'd rather stick my nuts in a vice than listen to Brit pop. I dislike it (obviously), however, Blur, Oasis, Suede, Pulp, et al sold many, many records, so someone liked them, just not me. As ever, YMMV.

I didn't say I liked it. Just that it was slightly more pleasing on the ears due to the more tuneful nature.

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It's very hard to post this without sounding patronising towards audiences, and I really mean the following in the best possible way. 

I've always tried to pick popular covers that aren't played by every other band. I understand our job is to give the audience what they want, but, and here's the patronising part, they don't know what they want until they hear it (I know it sounds bad).

What I mean by this is that yes they will be shouting for the usual songs but if you play a forgotten classic then suddenly they enjoy that just as much as whatever it was that the band last week, and the week before that, and the week before that played that they were shouting for. Just go for the slightly less obvious choice and every one is happy. 

There are some absolutely fantastic 80s songs that aren't the usual suspects. 

and just for hell of it as such pure 80s cheese, but I'd love to hear a pub band do it, 

Obviously you'll have to pick the right songs for the right gig. 

Edited by Maude
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4 hours ago, ezbass said:

And this is why art is so wonderful and diverse. I'd rather stick my nuts in a vice than listen to Brit pop. I dislike it (obviously), however, Blur, Oasis, Suede, Pulp, et al sold many, many records, so someone liked them, just not me. As ever, YMMV.

and fortunately many Oasis and other Brit-Pap CDs now find themselves residing on the shelves in your local branch of Age UK, rubbing shoulders with Dido's No Angel and assorted Katie Melua albums

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Jessie's Girl   Rick Springfield

Stand and Deliver....Adam and the Ants

Poison Arrow......ABC

You spin me round.....Dead or Alive  (this goes down a storm)

Just can't get enough....Depeche Mode

Down Under.......Men at Work

A little respect....Erasure

Electric Dreams...Georgio Moroder

Kids in America.....Kim Wilde

Relax and Two tribes....Frankie

Everybody wants to rule the world..Tears for Fears

These are all great songs

 

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