Exactly Vague

21/09/2023

We’re sharing the SKIPPY (1967-1969) vibe today. Let’s sing along to one of the greatest Oz TV theme songs.

'Skippy' (1968) was a kangaroo who lived in an Australian park. As a baby she was befriended by brothers Sonny and Mark, whose dad was park ranger. Now she l...

26/09/2022

This week we will have a look at some highlights from "Hitwave '81" which was was a various artists "hits" collection album released in Australia in 1981 on the Polystar record Label (Catalogue No. 6878-088). The album spent 1 week at the top of the Australian album charts. It was the first 'various artists hits' compilation album to make the number one spot on the Kent Music Report charts in its history. 



We begin with the 1981 music video for “Hip, Shake, Jerk” from British duo THE QUICK who were vocalist Colin Campsie and bassist/keyboardist George McFarlane. They were signed to Epic records and this single from the album ON THE UPTAKE broke them into the Australian charts where they hit number 12 (in New Zealand they got no higher than 32). The song fared even less well elsewhere, but they went on to have greater success with their singles "Zulu" and "Rhythm of the Jungle”. Australia, however, loved this frantic, slice of synthesiser dance-pop.

This particular video is from a 1981 edition the Australian music show Countdown (ABCTV) which was hosted by Joe “Shaddap You Face” Dolce. https://youtu.be/tEl-zJ8_T_Q?t=13

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https://open.spotify.com/show/118ubsc9wiGoai0mlMaRAb?si=19c283f3ddf641e9

UK act The Quick and the video for their single 'Hip, Shape, Jerk' - a big hit in Australia. This clip is taken from an old episode of Australian music show...

21/09/2022

English band FREE with a scorching live version of "Alright Now" (from the Fire and Water album). The images comes from Free - Granada Live on Air - a 5 song EP and video originally recorded for Granada TV in 1970.

FREE - All Right Now (Doing Their Thing, 1970) Official Live FOLLOW FREE: Official Website: https://freebandofficial.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/f...

21/09/2022

Long-time host of ABC kids program Play School, John Hamblin died today aged 87. Hamblin hosted the program for almost 30 years. He began in 1970, and appeared in more than 350 episodes during his run which ended in 1999.

Hamblin became known as “Naughty John” amongst parents for his sense of humour which would often involve double entendre that would sail far above the heads of the pre-school audience. His wit and the joy he took in his job, endeared him to generations of viewers.

Outside of Play School, he memorably portrayed Michael Chamberlain in the film The Disappearance Of Azaria Chamberlain. He also appeared in long-running Australian soap operas, such as The Young Doctors, The Young and the Restless and A Country Practice, Love My Way and All Saints.

Vale John Hamblin (1935-2022)

PHOTO: Clockwise from top left - John Hamblin solo, John with Benita Collings, John with Humpty, John with Noni Hazelhurst.)

17/09/2022

"Radio Radio" is a song written by Elvis Costello and performed by Elvis Costello and the Attractions; it is a single from his second album This Year's Model (1977). Costello and the band infamously performed the song on US television's Saturday Night Live in 1977. They were scheduled to perform their debut single "Less Than Zero", Costello switched songs live without consulting his record company or the producers of SNL, which led to a temporary ban from the show.

The new deluxe album ‘Look Now’ out now, order here: https://ElvisCostello.lnk.to/LookNow Explore more music from Elvis Costello: https://lnk.to/wWTFSMusic v...

08/08/2022

Olivia Newton-John died today aged 73. As a tribute, here she is singing in Amsterdam in 1978. "Hopelessly Devoted to You" was from the film version of GREASE, rather than the stage musical. It was written by Australian composer John Farrar. The whole 43 minutes of this concert film is available for nix at archive.com complete with Dutch subtitles. (https://archive.org/details/olivia-newton-john-in-amsterdam-1978)

Vale Olivia Newton-John: 1948-2022

07/08/2022

NOT THE NINE O'CLOCK NEWS ( #2.5/1980) - "Gerald the Gorilla" sketch. Pamela Stephenson, Mel Smith and Rowan Atkinson (in gorilla suit). Season 2 of the BBC's sketch comedy series consolidated its success. The three performers featured here and Griff Rhys-Jones (who replaces Chris Langham from Season 1) were a small and effective acting team. The writing team had half a dozen regulars (including Richard Curtis) and accepted other work from an even wider team of free-lancers. Topicality and satire were key elements, but sometimes the material was neither, and just straight-down-the-line funny, as in this sketch. Over all there were 27 episodes made between 1979 and 1982. Audio recording of the material. LP compilations were very successful with parody songs sometimes released as singles.

We are PCWB, here to break-down and chat-up all things Pop Cultural. Subscribe, Love and Follow us and listen to our podcast on Buzzsprout or Spotify.

04/08/2022

THE BREEDERS were an American alternative rock band most famous in the 1990s. Although in the way of this digital age, they still exist and are touring. But we're sticking to the past tense for this piece. They were based in Dayton, Ohio, and consisted of members Kim Deal (rhythm guitar, lead vocals), her sister Kelley Deal (lead guitar, vocals), Josephine Wiggs (bass guitar, vocals) and Jim Macpherson (drums). This was the best known form of the band which had started as a side project for Kim Deal whose main project was bassist and co-vocalist for PIXIES. When that band broke up in 1993, she began work on what would be THE BREEDERS biggest album, “Last Splash” This is “Cannonball” their biggest single which blitzed alternative charts in 1993. The video was co-directed by Kim Gordon and Spike Jonze.

We are PCWB, here to break-down and chat-up all things Pop Cultural. Subscribe, Love and Follow us and listen to our podcast on Buzzsprout or Spotify.

https://youtu.be/fxvkI9MTQw4

03/08/2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5XX9LX2es4

Vinatge B&W animation from Bernard Cribbins's July 1962 UK chart hit.

01/08/2022

Almost 20 years ago, in October 2002, Las Ketchup, a Spanish group consisting of three sisters, Lucía, Lola, and Pilar Muñoz had their biggest hit "The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)", selling 7 million copies worldwide. The brilliant concept sold in this music video is that we need to imagine the world of feature film COYOTE UGLY (2000) and move everything from New York City into the blazing sunlight of Estepona, Spain to a chiringuito bar. Grab a drink and sing along to the world's most famous Spanglish hit. "Aserejé ja de je..." https://youtu.be/AMT698ArSfQ

"The Ketchup Song" is the English title of the song "Aserejé," recorded by the Spanish pop group Las Ketchup. It was released in July 2002 as the lead single...

01/08/2022

Nichelle Nichols had an undeniable impact on popular culture in her role as Lt Nyota Uhura in the original STAR TREK (1966-1968) series and further in six Trek movies. She died on July 30 at the age of 89. People the world over have been responding and we've noted some of the links and sites below. Vale Nichelle Nichols.
PEOPLE: Nichols' Life in Photographs
https://bit.ly/3cSxnnx
PEOPLE: Stars honor Nichols
https://bit.ly/3zjXETu
CNN: A look back at Nichols' trailblazing life
https://cnn.it/3zKa9cm

29/07/2022

A lovely tribute from Bruce Boxleitner for David Warner. They first met during the filming of the original TRON (1982)

I met David Warner, more than 40 years ago, when I was cast alongside him in Tron. I was thrilled to work with him because I was a fan of his catalog, especially his films from director Sam Peckinpah. David made me laugh each time we saw one another. I will always remember his incredibly dry wit. He will be missed at all TRON-related celebrations, and in life. -BB

29/07/2022

Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler's massive 1983 hit single TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART was written and produced by Jim Steinman, the American composer and lyricist behind Meat Loaf's BAT OUT OF HELL album. Steinman was approached by Tyler to create an album which had the impact of one produced with Phil Spector's Wall of Sound techniques. Steinman was up to the task and FASTER THAN THE SPEED OF NIGHT was the result. Its power ballad single became a number one hit in numerous international markets. It became the biggest song of Tyler's career. The accompanying music video was directed by Australian Russel Mulcahy and it holds back nothing. Tyler appears to be a teacher leaving a boarding school "Mr Chips" style and we are privy to her dream/fantasy involving her students, in an acceptable-to-1980s-TV-way, relax. There is smoke, water, somersaults, wild-gyrations, loin-cloths, angel-wings, billowing fabrics, running in slow motion and bright eyes. If you've never heard the song, you're in for a treat and if you've never seen the video, you have an even greater treat waiting for you.

We are PCWB, here to break-down and chat-up all things Pop Cultural. Subscribe, Love and Follow us and listen to our podcast on Buzzsprout or Spotify.

https://youtu.be/lcOxhH8N3Bo

Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart (Official Video)Listen on Spotify - http://smarturl.it/BonnieTylerGH_SpotifListen to more Love Songs here: https://...

29/07/2022

RIP
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Cribbins

26/07/2022

Lipton Tea is originally a British Brand. And of course we've been pretty keen on the stuff here in Australasia. This television commercial is from 1979 and stars opera singer and actor June Bronhill. Fans of television's COP SHOP (1977-84) will recognise actor Gil Tucker in a supporting role. .

26/07/2022

Pop Culture is many things from many eras. Let's jump back a dozen years to when Lady Gaga arrived at the 2010 VMA's in this dress meat dress. It was made of raw beef, designed by Franc Fernandez and styled by Nicola Formichetti. Animal rights groups, weren't happy, while Gaga said she was protesting the US Military's "Dont-Ask-Don't-Tell" policy. The dress was preserved by taxidermists for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and now resembles beef jerky. All of which seems like a storm over a charcuterie board, now in 2022. One might note that Gaga laced together Warhol, Bowie and Madonna concepts to make a huge splash from 2006, reeled it all back around 2016 and ended up where she is now, a multi-award winning musical artist not known for headline grabbing outrageousness. Almost as though she always had a smart business plan and a talent for publicity.

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17/07/2022

Great list to consider from the Taste of Cinema folks https://bit.ly/3PgMOnI

At Taste of Cinema we’ll be the first to admit that the term “masterpiece” gets tossed around more than a frisbee at the beach in July, often designat

15/07/2022

Debbie Harry from American rock band Blondie with Kermit the Frog on the original MUPPET SHOW, which was a UK/US production made in England by ATV/CBS and Henson Associates from 1976-1981. The episode ID is #509 (120 episodes were made in all) which was shot in August 1980. The show's finale was Harry singing a Muppetised version of the Blondie hit "Call Me". This still is from the dressing room set when Kermit and Harry duetted with "Rainbow Connection".

09/07/2022

ARE YOU KEEPING UP WITH THE COMMODORE? (1983)
An Australian television commercial (TVC) for the Commodore 64 personal computer. The C64 took its name from its 64 kilobytes (65,536 bytes) of RAM. Whoah.

09/07/2022

German band TRIO do (as in mime to their own song)
"Da Da Da" on UK's TOP OF THE POPS in July 1982. If only they'd come to Australia and done this on COUNTDOWN at the ABC's Elsternwick Studios in Melbourne. https://youtu.be/VoZNbVGYl8o"

Trio mime their way through the English version of their classic hit. A golden moment in TV history - it has everything you'd expect of 1982: A Casio VL1, a ...

08/07/2022

Join the 2.8 million who have seen Elastica’s “Stutter” music video on the YT. It was the band’s debut single when it was released in 1993. It was included on Elastica’s self-titled first album in 1995. It charted at 80 in the UK in ‘93 and made it to 67 in the US Billboard Hot 100 in ‘95.

https://youtu.be/0ie4x8hWYYE

08/07/2022

Larry Storch - (1923-2022): actor, comedian, cartoon voice over. Most famous for the role of Corporal Randolph Agarn in the American sitcom F TROOP (1965-67). R.I.P.

08/07/2022

RIP

06/07/2022

POP CULTURE WITH BEARDS PODCAST: Episode 8.
Paul Feig and Judd Apatow created a teen comedy drama in 1999-2000 that failed. But the effect it has on its audience and its young cast continues today. Andy, Mike and Phil get into FREAKS AND GEEKS.
Find us on Buzzsprout
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1960446/episodes/10916256
and Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/1DMYfKYq8hQ8SOJscbBLhv?si=013f182755e044b6

06/07/2022

05/07/2022

The actor in the centre of this 1980 television commercial is Ross Higgins. At this point, Higgins was also becoming recognised as the character Ted Bulpitt from the Seven Network’s comedy KINGSWOOD COUNTRY (1980-84). The show was a solid gold TV hit. The premise involved Bulpitt as the easily-annoyed suburbanite who was the father of two grown-up children and married to a homebody wife. His true love was his car, a Holden Kingswood. Everyone and everything else ran a distant second.

This television commercial for Pea Beau insecticide is the brainchild of Mojo Advertising. Alan Morris and Allan Johnston were the ground-breaking talents behind all-singing Aussie ads for the cricket “Come On Aussie” and Meadow Lea Margarine (You Oughta Be Congratulated) to name but two examples. Their musical ads became an iconic part of the era and the culture. If you want a more in-depth view of Mojo, check out the Russel Howcroft documentary HOW AUSTRALIA GOT ITS MOJO which is currently on ABC iview until the end of July 2022. (https://iview.abc.net.au/show/how-australia-got-its-mojo)

Meanwhile enjoy the Pea Beau ad - it’s a banger and if you let it in, it’s an ear worm, too.

05/07/2022

Just over 10 years ago, Australian-Belgian Wally de Backer released "Somebody That I Used to Know". De Backer used the name Gotye and the track also featured the voice of New Zealand's Kimbra. It was a global success and became both artists' signature song. It reached the top of the charts in the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand, as well as 25 other official charts, and reached the top 10 in more than 30 countries around the world. It was the most successful song of the 2010s decade by an Australian artist in Australia. It sold more than 13 million copies worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling digital singles of all time. Linked below is the music video that has been viewed more than 1,926,015,000 times on YouTube.
https://youtu.be/8UVNT4wvIGY

The official music video for “Somebody That I Used To Know” by Gotye, featuring Kimbra. From the album Making Mirrors. Get the song here: https://gotye.lnk.t...

04/07/2022

We're fans of the King here at PCWB and one of these days, Mike will be talking up the music of the younger Elvis on one of of our episodes. We have in fact, more than one Presley podcast that we're planning. Phil, who also writes for the Accessreel. site, did a review on Baz Luhrmann's recent biopic ELVIS starring Austin Butler in the title role and Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker. If you haven't seen it yet, check out this review for some more intel.
https://accessreel.com/elvis/elvis-review

Elvis Aaron Presley was an American singer whose music and influence made him an icon of the 20th Century. From 1956, when he sold 10 million singles for the RCA company in twelve months, until his untimely death in 1977 at the age of 42, Elvis was a global star. His effect on new music waned in the...

04/07/2022

Back in the day, it was hell protecting luxury brands. This is a vid from our buddies. The range of brands spoke to us as appreciators of retro pop culture. Enjoy!