A Message To You

Banbarra - Shack Up Pt.1
Betty Everett - You're No Good
Dandy Livingstone - Rudy A Message To You
Gloria Jones - Tainted Love
Elvis Presley - Always On My Mind
Mindbenders - A Groovy Kind Of Love
Tommy James & the Shondels - I Think Were Alone Now

Though these are not all the original versions, the songs featured today are all the definitive early versions of tunes that were covered, reasonably successfully, in the Eighties (which includes 1979 for the purposes of this post).

Washington DC group Banbarra didn't cause much of a local splash when they released the disco-funk political stomper 'Shack Up' in 1975. However since then it's had a number of resurrections including on the UK's northern soul and rare-groove dancefloors. Manchester's A Certain Ratio injected some funky rhythms into an otherwise dark sound when they covered it in 1980. Also, don't think that the killer drum break at around the 1:45 minute mark has gone unnoticed by hip-hoppers. It hasn't. What's hard to believe is that it was the only track that Banbarra recorded.

Written by Clint Ballard Jr. 'You're No Good' was first recorded and released by Dee Dee Warwick, Dionne's younger sister. Her version was surpassed by Betty Everett's, which was released soon after. Whether Van Halen's version, which features on their second album Van Halen II, surpasses Everett's is not in question.

On the forefront of the British ska revival were The Specials. The lead track on their debut album was a cover of Dandy Livingstone's wise warning to the Jamaican rude boys, 'Rudy, A Message To You'. Produced by Elvis Costello, The Specials' version features trombonist Rico Rodriguez who also played on the original.

The original version of 'Tainted Love' was sung by future Mrs Marc Bolan, Gloria Jones. With a great northern soul beat and killer handclaps it's no surprise that Soft Cell's electro-pop version went to the top of the charts in 1981, finally giving a great song its due.

Brenda Lee was the first to record it and Willie Nelson did a great version but the two most important renditions of 'Always On My Mind' are this epic one by Elvis Presley and the Pet Shop Boys' version, which beat The Pogues 'Fairytale of New York' to be the UK Christmas number one of 1987.

Like Elvis and Betty Everett, the Mindbenders weren't the first to release a version of the song featured but they were a close second. In 1988 Phil Collins covered 'A Groovy Kind Of Love' for the soundtrack to the film Buster and again the Mindbenders had to take second place as his version climbed all the way to number one whereas they only managed number two.

Music Journalist Lester Bangs showed amazing foresight when he labelled Tommy James & the Shondells' 'I Think We're Alone Now' the bubblegum apotheosis. Twenty years later, before heading out on a tour of the malls of America, Tiffany took it to the peak chart position on both sides of the Atlantic. Girls Aloud failed to do the same thing when they covered it late last year.

YouTube:
A Certain Ratio - Shack Up
Van Halen - You're No Good
The Specials - A Message To You Rudy
Soft Cell - Tainted Love
Pet Shop Boys - Always On My Mind
Phil Collins - A Groovy Kind Of Love
Tiffany - I Think We're Alone Now