Tuesday 6 April 2010

It's just Big City Talk ; more 80s influence


As well as Henley and co, 'Big City Talk' by Marc Hunter (1981) is a beloved track of the new 80 hyp-poppers I talked about in my last post.

I had never heard of it, yet it sounds exactly like so many soft rock anthems of it's time. It’s got that Phil Ramone produced Billy Joel meets J Geils Band sound (with a hint of 'Life's Been Good') that DOMINATED American charts back in the early 80s (even though its not an American record). And that magnificent guitar echo throughout.

The kind of stuff that Jonathan King's 'Entertainment USA' used to feature relentlessly. Hmm. I wonder how many kids my age hooked into US culture via that show? No one talks about it much these days, understanding perhaps, given it’s creator's unfortunate legacy. I know very little about Hunter, but I have learned that

• he was in a band called DRAGON (more 80s arcania, think 'Last Dragon', Carpenter's 'Big Trouble in Little China' etc)
• he’s from New Zealand, and was a big deal there, and in Australia
• He died in 1998.

Oh and one other thing. In this borderline genius video, which has the feel of a cheap 42 street porno, he is rocking an extraordinary look - think Russell Brand wearing a death mask of Abel Ferrara in a remake of Friedkin’s CRUISING.

Epic.

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