Song: Games Without Frontiers (1980) Artist: Peter Gabriel Album: Peter Gabriel III (Mercury) Why does Peter Gabriel sing “she’s so popular” in the song Games Without Frontiers? He is singing about kids, so, one of the kids may be popular, but it does seem to come a bit out of left field. Well, it is a … Read more
Song: Break My Stride (1983) Artist: Matthew Wilder Album: I Don’t Speak the Language (Private I) Break My Stride is Matthew Wilder’s one hit song from 1983. Although Wilder had little support, he managed to compete with other one-hits such as Der Kommisar, Blinded Me with Science, and Kajagoogoo (Too Shy). This feel-good pop-rock classic can still be heard … Read more
Song: Always On My Mind (1982) Artist: Willie Nelson Album: Always On My Mind (Columbia) Despite the likes of Elvis, Brenda Lee, and The Pet Shop boys having recorded it, Willie Nelson’s version of ‘Always on My Mind‘ is still considered the definitive version, not to mention the song for which he is most known. … Read more
Song: Africa (1982) Artist: Toto Album: Toto IV (Columbia) The lyric “I bless the rains down in Africa” come from the band Toto’s greatest hit song, Africa, released on the album Toto IV in 1982. It is said to be misheard, sometimes, as “I left my brains down in Africa” but it is uncertain whether this particular … Read more
Song: In a Big Country (1983) Artist: Big Country Album: The Crossing (Mercury) When you hear the song In a Big Country you might think the band Irish, but Big Country was actually a Scottish group. They rose to great heights at a time when music was dominated by “new wave,” like Duran Duran, The Human League, … Read more
Song: The Old Man Down the Road (1984) Artist: John Fogerty Album: Centerfield (Warner Brothers) If you are a songwriter or any kind of artist, you probably would never imagine that you could be sued for copyright infringement of one of your own previous works. But this is just what happened to John Fogerty, in … Read more
Song: Down Under (1982) Artist: Men At Work Album: Business As Usual (CBS) Men At Work’s Down Under is probably the most iconic Australian pop song of all time, and many consider it to be something of an unofficial Australian National Anthem. Unfortunately, the song is forever muddied by a court case that accused the band … Read more