"GIRL GONE WILD" MUSIC VIDEO PREMIERE

The new video for Madonna's next single, "Girl Gone Wild" from her forthcoming album, "MDNA"  is now out after an enticing sneak peek was released last week. This sexy clip does not disappoint as the true Queen of Pop is back with a vengeance as she captures the spirit of her past while staying one step ahead.

Directed by the photographic team of Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, it features some steamy, homoerotic images with a few of the current top male models, the dance troupe from the Ukraine, Kazaky whose claim to fame is that these boys impressively strut in high heels and a highly-energized performance by Madonna herself.

I have to admit that I'm not particularly crazy about the song itself but perhaps the tune will grow on me after repeated viewings of the video.



As a bonus, here is Kazaky in their own music video performing their song, "Dance and Change":

 

THE RETURN OF THE MUSIC VIDEO?

I assumed the music video as a creative outlet was pretty much a dead idea, most especially since the record labels have been slowly vanishing and the companies that are left certainly don't want to be bothered spending too much time and energy making something even remotely artistic. Even the original music video channel, MTV barely show them any more but recently I have noticed some actual inventive, fascinating and visually stimulating videos.

Now, none of these are from mainstream artists as they tend to play it very safe these days (with the possible exception of Lady Gaga). With the advancement of technology, it has made some of these new videos look like they've spent a million bucks but I'm certain it was much, much less.

THE FIRST TIME: PART FIFTEEN

"BILLY IDOL" - BILLY IDOL (1982)

In 1955, William Broad was born in Stanmore, Middlesex, England. His family moved to New York when William was two to pursue the American dream but the Broads returned to England four years later with his new baby sister, Jane in tow.

After completing a year of college at Sussex University for an English degree, Billy dropped out to join a gang of hardcore Sex Pistols fans who followed the band wherever they played. He shortly joined his first punk band as a guitarist and renamed himself, "Billy Idol" which was inspired from a teacher who described Billy as "idle". This band featured the future members of Siouxsie & The Banshees but Idol left to join another punk band, Chelsea in 1977.

Billy soon formed his own band with Chelsea band mate, Tony James, the bass player and added guitarist, Bob Andrews and Mark Laff on drums. They called themselves Generation X with Idol becoming the lead vocalist. Although they were very much a punk band but they were also influenced by the sounds of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Generation X signed with Chrysalis Records and recorded three albums, became one of the first punk bands to perform on the popular British television program, "Top Of The Pops" and were featured in the 1980 documentary,  "D.O.A." about the beginning of the punk movement before the group disbanded.

In 1981, Idol moved to New York to begin work as a solo artist. He first released a four-track EP called "Don't Stop" later that year with the purpose of generating some interest in the new rock artist. It featured a remake of Tommy James & The Shondells' hit, "Mony, Mony" and "Dancing With Myself" which was first recorded with his former band, Generation X.

The plan proved to be a success as there was high anticipation for his full-length, self-tilted debut released the following year. The first single, "Hot In The City" peaked at number twenty-three on the U.S. pop charts and although the next single, "White Wedding" only made it to number thirty-six but because of the popular music video, the song benefited by the influence of the new music channel, MTV. The video helped establish Idol's punk image and "White Wedding" has become his signature song.

His follow-up album, "Rebel Yell" in 1983 would become the biggest album of his career, selling well over two million copies. There were three hit singles with the ballad, "Eyes Without A Face" reaching number four on the charts.

After continued success over the next few years with the following albums, "Whiplash Smile" and the 1987 remix "Vital Idol", tragedy struck Billy Idol in 1990 as he was in a serious motorcycle accident in which he almost lost his leg and required a steel rod to be placed in it. Idol released "Charmed Life" later that year and despite his injuries, he went out to promote the album against his doctor's advice. The first single from the album, "Cradle of Love" would become Idol's highest charting, reaching number two on the pop charts.

Billy Idol has released seven studio albums to date including 1993's, "Cyberpunk" which was an experimental album and one of the first to be recorded using only a MAC computer and a Christmas album (?), "Happy Holidays" in 2006.

Billy Idol has never been married but has two children;  a son, William, born in 1988 with his long-time girlfriend, Perri Lister who was a dancer and appeared in the "White Wedding" video and a daughter, Bonnie Blue, who was born in 1989 from another relationship.

Check out Billy's first song to hit the U.S. charts:

 "Hot In The City" - Billy Idol (1982)

Here is the music video for "Dancing With Myself":



"BIG FUN" - SHALAMAR (1979)

Shalamar was originally created to capitalize on the popularity of the disco craze by Soul Train producer, Don Cornelius and the show's booker, Dick Griffey. The group was initially made up of session singers with Gary Mumford as the lead vocalist. Shalamar released their first album, "Uptown Festival" in 1975 with the title track, a melody of Motown hits set to a disco beat, that became a top forty pop hit in the U.S and Britain.

It was decided to add popular Soul Train dancers, Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel with a new lead vocalist, Gerald Brown to the group and the new line-up released, "Disco Gardens" in 1978 on Dick Griffey's new label, SOLAR Records. The album had a hit song, "Take That To The Bank" that reached number eleven on the r&b charts. Brown, unhappy over a lack of payment, left Shalamar and was replaced by Howard Hewett in 1979.

The group was teamed up for with producer, Leon Sylver III (who was a member of the r&b family singing group, The Sylvers) who co-wrote and produced their next album, "Big Fun" released later in '79. The second single, "The Second Time Around" became a smash hit, reaching number eight on the pop chart and topping the r&b and dance charts. Due to this single, the album went gold.

Shalamar would record four more successful studio albums (with three of them also selling over a half a million copies) that featured several hits songs including, "Make That Move", "A Night To Remember" and "This Is For The Lover In You".

Shortly after the release of the 1983 album, "The Look", Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel both decided to leave the group due to creative differences and their increasing frustrations with Dick Griffey and his label. Two new members were recruited, Delisa Davis and Miki Free, to join Howard Hewett in a new version of Shalamar.  In 1984, Shalamar released "Heartbreak" which featured a song, "Dancing In The Sheets" that was also featured on the soundtrack to the hit film, "Footloose" and it brought the group back to the top twenty of the pop charts.

Hewett left Shalamar the following year to pursue a solo career and was replaced by singer, Sydney Justin but after two disappointing albums, the group faded away by 1990.

Howard Hewett has recorded ten solo albums to date with his debut, "I Commit To Love" being his most successful which featured two top-ten r&b hits. Hewett has been married three times; he married Mari Molina in 1986 but divorced two years later. He then wedded actress/singer Nia Peeples in 1989 and they have a son, Christopher but the couple separated by 1993. Hewett is currently married to wife, Angela and they have a daughter, Anissa.

Even before he joined Shalamar, Jeffrey Daniel was a renowned and respected dancer. He is credited for popularizing West Coast street dance movement which included popping, locking and robotics. During a performance of "A Night To Remember" on the British show, "Top Of The Pops", Daniel performed a dance move he called, "The Backslide". Michael Jackson had been a fan of Daniel's since he was on "Soul Train" and sought him out to teach him that move. Jackson premiered the dance on the "Motown 25" television special and it was renamed "The Moonwalk". Daniel became a sought after choreographer and dancer on a variety of film and television projects and worked with Jackson again on the "Bad" and "Smooth  Criminal" music videos. Jeffrey Daniel is currently a judge on the "Nigerian Idol" music competition program. He married r&b singer, Stephanie Mills in 1980 but they separated shortly after.

Jody Watley is clearly the most successful of all of the former members of Shalamar with her winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1987. She released nine studio albums with six top-ten U.S. pop hits, eight top-ten r&b singles (including two at number one), seven number one songs on the dance chart and has sold well over fifty million albums worldwide. Watley married singer/writer/producer, Andre Cymone but the marriage ended in 1994 and she has two children.

This popular line-up of Shalamar has only come together once in 1996 to record background vocals to Babyface's cover of the band's hit, "This Is For The Lover In You" and also appeared in the music video of the song.

Enjoy Shalamar's first big single:

 "The Second Time Around" - Shalamar (1979)

This is a vintage music video for one of my favorite Shalamar songs, "A Night To Remember":

 

"FLOWING RIVERS" - ANDY GIBB (1977)

He was born Andrew Roy Gibb in 1958, the youngest of  five children of Hugh and Barbara Gibb. His siblings were sister, Lesley and brothers, (who would later be known to the world as part of the singing group, The Bee Gees) Barry and twins, Maurice and Robin. The family moved to Australia six months after Andy was born but they returned to England in 1967 when The Bee Gees, already finding some success down under, were looking to further their music career.

As a teenager, Andy formed his own singing group, Melody Fayre, which was managed by his mother, and they performed around clubs in England and Spain. In 1974, Andy returned to Australia to further pursue his career due to the advice of brother, Barry who felt it was a good location to sharpen his skills as a musician.

Andy recorded a single, "Words and Music" for ATA Records and it would reach the top-twenty of the Australian charts in 1976. Robert Stigwood, who was the manager of The Bee Gees, signed Gibb to his label, RSO Records and was soon in Miami working on his first album, writing with Barry and with producers, Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson.

"I Just Want To be Your Everything" was the first single and kicked things off with a bang, with the song hitting number one in Australia and the U.S in 1977. The follow-up single, "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" also went to number one which together helped Andy Gibb's debut album, "Flowing Rivers" sell well over a million copies. This success was happening around the same time as his brothers' group, The Bee Gees were conquering the charts with their contributions to the soundtrack of the film, "Saturday Night Fever".

Andy Gibb's second album, "Shadow Dancing" was released in 1978 with the title track (written by all four of the Gibb brothers) spending seven weeks at number one on the U.S. pop charts. Two other singles, "An Everlasting Love" and "(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away" both made it to the top-ten on the charts and Gibb had another million selling album.

In 1980, "After Dark" was Andy's third studio album released and while this was not as successful as his previous albums but it did contain a top-twenty hit, "I Can't Help It", a duet with family friend, Olivia Newton-John and what would be his final top-ten song, "Desire".

Shortly after this album, Gibb began pursing other career opportunities such as acting in theater with the shows, "The Pirates of Penzance" and "Joesph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat", co-hosting the musical variety show, "Solid Gold" with Marilyn McCoo of The 5th Dimension and began a high-profile romance with actress, Victoria Principal who was best known for the night-time soap opera, "Dallas". However, Gibb was fired from both "Joseph" and the television program because of excessive absences as well as Principal ending their relationship, all due to his drug binges.

Andy's family convinced him to seek treatment and he went to the Betty Ford Clinic for help. After his stint in rehab, Gibb attempted to resume his career with concerts and television appearances. He also went back in to the recording studio working with his brothers on new material.

On March 5th, 1988, Andy Gibb was celebrating his thirtieth birthday when he complained of chest pains. He was rushed to the hospital but five days later, Gibb died of myocarditis, an inflammation of a heart muscle caused by a viral infection.

Andy Gibb was married to Kim Reeder in 1976 and had a daughter, Peta Jaye in 1978 but the couple divorced later that year.

This is Andy Gibb's first hit single:

 "I Just Want To be Your Everything" - Andy Gibb (1977)

BRANDY & MONICA - REUNITED

It's been nineteen years since Brandy Norwood and Monica Arnold teamed-up to record the worldwide smash, "The Boy Is Mine" and the ladies have reunited for a new song, "It All Belongs To Me".  The song will appear on both of their upcoming albums, Brandy's "Two Eleven" and Monica's "New Life".

While I think the ballad is just okay but the music video for the song is smoking hot with Brandy and Monica both looking really fantastic.

Take a look:

As an added bonus, here is Brandy & Monica's first time together:

"The Boy Is Mine" - Brandy & Monica (1993)

DAVEY JONES (1945-2012)

Davey Jones, a member of the 60's pop/rock group, The Monkees passed away yesterday from a heart attack at the age of sixty-six.

Known as "the cute one" in the group, the British actor/singer became a popular teen idol. He was the reason why another up-and-coming British rock singer named David Jones had to change his name and became David Bowie.

Although the group was created specifically for a television show but all four members where actual musicians and along with band mates, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Mike Nesmith, The Monkees managed to have several hits including three number one songs on the U.S. pop charts.

"The Monkees" was on the air from 1965 to 1968 and shortly after the group made a feature film, "Head" (co-written by actor, Jack Nicholson), The Monkees disbanded in 1971. Jones continued to perform as a solo act and later would be a part of several Monkees reunion tours over the years. He was a great talent who will be missed.

This was one of The Monkees' number one songs which featured Davey Jones singing lead:

"Daydream Believer" - The Monkees (1967)

SAM SPARRO HAS RETURNED

Sam Sparro, the Aussie dance/pop vocalist who released his self-titled debut in 2008 has finally resurfaced with new music. The first official single, "Happiness" is out right now in Australia with the album, "Return To Paradise" due sometime this spring. I'm luvin' the song and I'm really looking forward to hearing more.

"Happiness" - Sam Sparro (2012)

For more info, go to his website:

SAM SPARRO.COM

This is a video is for another song from the forthcoming album. "The Shallow End"  features behind the scenes footage of recording sessions and the whirlwind life of Mr. Sparro:

FOCUS ON: OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN

When people think of Olivia Newton-John, they tend to think of a pretty, blonde and wholesome vocalist who sang sunny pop songs. While this is certainly a fairly accurate description, you can also see there was much more to her than simply that. Like Sandy, the character she played in film musical, "Grease", Olivia could musically go from sweet and tender to sexy and rough and make it all feel believable. I don't think she is truly appreciated as an artist due to her very good looks and her ability to make it all seem effortless but Olivia Newton-John is an amazing, gifted talent and one of the best pop singers in history.

She was born in Cambridge, England in 1948, the youngest of three children of Brinley and Irene Newton-John. In 1954, the family moved to Melbourne, Australia as her father got a job teaching at the University of Melbourne.

At the age of fourteen, Olivia joined an all-girl singing group, Sol-Four, made up of her fellow classmates. She soon became a regular on "The Happy Show", a local children's program, where she was billed as "Lovely 'Livvy". Later, she joined another program, "The Go Show" and it was here where Olivia met two people who would become very important to her career; Pat Carroll, who became her singing partner and John Farrar who would later become the writer/producer of much of her music.

Olivia entered a singing competition on the TV show, "Sing, Sing, Sing" and won. The prize was a trip to London to record a single and in 1966, she released, "Till You Say You'll Be Mine" on Decca Records. While in England, Olivia became homesick and wanted to return home but decided to stay when her friend, Pat Carroll arrived to start her own music career. The two decided to form an act called Pat & Olivia and they performed across Europe. After Pat's visa expired, she had to return to Australia but Olivia stayed to pursue work.

In 1970, Olivia joined a group, Toomorrow which was formed by American producer, Don Kirshner. He put together a musical film built around the group and released a soundtrack but the project was not much of a success and Toomorrow disbanded.

The following year, Olivia released her first solo album, "If Not For You". The album was country-flavored and the title track, written and originally performed by Bob Dylan, became a top-ten hit for her in Britain and Australia and reached the top-forty in the U.S. The follow-up, "Banks Of Ohio" also reached the top-ten which lead to her being voted "Best Female Vocalist" two years in a row by Record Mirror Magazine. During this time, she made regular appearances on singer Cliff Richard's hit television show, "It's Cliff Richard".

In the United States, Olivia was not nearly as popular. None of her singles or albums after "If Not For You" made any impact until 1973 when her country-pop song, "Let Me Be There" hit the top-ten; number six on the pop charts and number two on the country. The song would win her a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocalist.

After this success, a 1974 U.S. only album, "If You Love Me, Let Me Know" was assembled using two albums unreleased in America; "Olivia", her second album in 1972 and "Long Live Love" in 1974. The two new songs for the album, the title track and "I Honestly Love You" became top-ten hits on the U.S. pop and country charts. The album sold over two million copies and won her two more Grammys for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Record Of The Year for "I Honestly Love You".

Although Olivia achieved much success in the U.S. but the country music community did not welcome her with open arms due to the fact that they saw her as a foreigner singing their music although she still managed to win the CMA Award in 1974 for Female Vocalist Of The Year.

Another fellow Aussie, Helen Reddy had become a pop superstar in America and was living here, so Olivia decided to leave England and give the U.S. a try. She soon became a top musical act herself with many more chart-toppers including "Have You Ever Been Mellow", "Please Mr. Please" and "Something Better To Do" but by 1977 the hits had slowed down.

In 1978, Olivia was offered a lead role in the film adaption of the hit Broadway musical, "Grease" which would co-star John Travolta. The film became the biggest box-office hit of 1978 with the soundtrack also becoming a major smash, ultimately selling over twenty-eight million copies world-wide. There were five singles released with her duet with Travolta, "You're The One That I Want" reaching number one in eight countries.

With the help of the film, Olivia's image changed from the sweet girl next door to the sexier chick down the block and she decided to change her musical direction as well to less country and focus more on a pop-rock sound. She released "Totally Hot" later in '78 and it was a major success with the single, "A Little More Love" bringing her back to the U.S. top-ten as a solo artist.

She made a follow-up film, "Xanadu" in 1980 which featured the last screen appearance of film musical legend, Gene Kelly. The movie was a disappointment but the soundtrack still managed to become a huge hit. It featured music from Newton-John and the rock band, ELO and it sold over two million copies with five hit singles including Olivia's number one song, "Magic".

The next year, Olivia released the album, "Physical" that would become the most successful studio album of her career, selling over two million copies. The title track became one of her biggest hits, with it staying at the top of the pop charts for ten weeks and it was so popular that the song even managed to land on the r&b chart. The song did have some controversy as "Physical" contained some provocative lyrics (at that time) and was even banned on some radio stations but to counter this, a humorous, work-out themed music video was created.

She re-teamed with John Travolta to make the film, "Two of A Kind" in 1983. This was nowhere near the success of their last cinematic pairing but the soundtrack did very well with the single,"Twist Of Fate" being her last top-ten hit to date, reaching number five. Also that year, Newton-John and Pat Carroll opened a retail store called Koala Blue. It intially sold Australian imports but later became a chain of women's clothing. The company closed in 1992.

Olivia has released several albums over the following years, even recording another country album, "Back With A Heart" in 1998 but none of them reached the heights she acheived during her peak years. Overall, she has recorded twenty-seven studio albums, had five number one singles, a total of fifteen top-ten pop hits and has sold well over one hundred million albums across the globe. Olivia still makes occasional live performances as well as taking on film and television roles including a recent turn on the hit show, "Glee".

Olivia Newton-John married Matt Lattanzi, a dancer she met on the set of the film, "Xanadu" in 1984 and they had a daughter, Chloe in 1986. The couple divorced in 1995. She married John Easterling, the founder of the Amazon Herb Company in 2008.

Here are just a few of my favorites tunes from Ms. Newton-John:









Finally, here is the infamous music video for "Physical":