BEATFOR90 - June Singles Weekender V

The band had its origins in west London, Barbara Gogan and Richard Williams had previously been in The Derelicts, a “Trotksyist R&B band”, well known on the London pub rock/squat rock circuit. The Passions appeared to be part of the post-punk movement, best known for their 1981 hit 'I'm in Love with a German Film Star', a tongue-in-cheek tune with sharp lyrics and scheming echo-delay guitars.
Between the albums ‘Thirty Thousand Feet’ and ‘Sanctuary’, the Passions released the single, "Africa Mine”, arguably their best song, with Pete Wilson producing. A pretty, haunting, bitter and impassioned condemnation of colonialist exploitation, it could really be applied to greed by any name.
Four tracks were recorded culminating a UK tour, in a London date at The Venue and eventually released as a freebie with the ‘Africa Mine’ single.

The Passions - Africa Mine [7" Polydor 1982 ]
The Passions - (I'm In Love With A) Film German Star (Live) [7" Polydor 1982 ]


Formed in late 1976 in New Southgate, London N1, The Bazoomis (Russian for "Madness") certainly lived up to their name. Along with "Blitz" they were the hottest act on the punk club circuit during the latter months of 1977. After the demise of 'The Bazoomis', Johnny Christo & Mick Toldi formed the powerpop combo 'The Expressos' along with 'Rozzi' on vocals, Nicholas Pyall on guitar & Milan Lekavica on drums. They signed to the WEA' label and went on to release four singles. This “Hey Girl/Baby Be Bad To Me” was the second one, released in the UK in 1980. A combination of 70's new wave and 60's girl-group beat music.

The Expressos - Baby Be Bad To Me [7" WEA 1980]

The Mundanes were an early 80s Rhode Island-based New Wave band featuring future They Might Be Giants member John Linnell. They released only this single called Make it the Same.
Another Blondie straight copy tune, catchy.

The Mundanes - Make It The Same [7" Portable Records 1980]



Born Kathy Dorritie, and also performing as Party Favor, Vanilla was a complete unknown when she was recruited to the cast of Pork, where she played a necrophiliac nurse. Bowie was Ziggy Stardust, and the Pork crew were working behind him; Vanilla was employed as his publicist, a role in which her own personal taste for outrage and controversy found acres of room for manouever.

As a lasciviously uninhibited rocker in 1975 at Max's Kansas City, her performances with her own group The State Island Band had an unquestionable impact upon waitress Debbie Harry. And as author of the libidinous artbook Pop Tarts, she published the blueprint for Madonna's later Sex. Left Staten Island to pursue a recording career in Britain, Vanilla had relocated to London and an immediate fixture at the famed Roxy club, Vanilla's regular live band featured bassist Gordon "Sting" Sumner, drummer Stewart Copeland, and guitarist Henry Padovani, a trio whose own career under the name the Police was then going nowhere extraordinarily quickly. In mid-1977 she signed with RCA making two inconsistent but surprisingly good albums. Moonlight is a pop rock tune with the underground sounds of New York's 70's glammy-art rock scene, you know: Debbie again. Wait for the long piano introduction...

Cherry Vanilla - Moonlight [7" RCA 1979]