Peace at Last for George Michael

Hello everybody,

This is only going to be a short post today.

If you didn't catch the news for any reason whatsoever yesterday, it has finally happened. George Michael was laid to rest yesterday in a private family service, attended by his partner that found him deceased, Kenny Goss, and his other nearest and dearest.

I cannot really say that I am glad he has finally been buried, but what I can say is that I am relieved that it has finally happened. It has taken a long time to happen, specially on account of the fact that it has been 3 months since he died. Hopefully now the healing process can begin for some. I know it has for me.

Rest in peace, George. I hope you're reunited with your beloved mother up there.

- S

My Favourite Eighties Albums of All Time

Hello everybody, 

I haven't posted in a couple of days, due to handling some important personal business and wading my way through a stack of assignments that are due in just before we break up for Easter. But I've got some spare time on my hands right now so I thought I'd give you guys what you wanted and do another 'Favourites' post. I was really surprised at the high number of pageviews on my recent response to all the George Michael drama that's been kicking off recently and the background of how I came to be fascinated on this subject, if you like. So thank you! You guys are awesome! ❤

For today's post I'm going to be sharing with you my favourite 80s albums of all time. My inspiration came from a good Twitter buddy of mine who recently made a video montage of her top 5 favourite albums. So I'm going to take the inspiration I got from that and apply it to this post. I'm no expert when it comes to videos, so there won't be one - sorry! 

When it comes to music, I'll listen to everything at least one, and that includes every genre, and *cough* every artist. But my main passion for it centers around the late 70s and early 80s. I don't ask for recommendations and then never follow up on them, that would totally defeat the object of asking for them in the first place. Normally it's just one track, or their greatest hits album, and if I like what I've heard, I'll listen to more. Also, I'm discovering more bands every day so, I'd safely say, watch this space, I may need to make an updated version of this post this time next month!

So with all that being said, here are my favourite 80s albums of all time, and I'll even recommend a few tracks from each one, too!

5. Duran Duran - Rio

Recommended tracks: Save a Prayer, Rio, Last Chance on the Stairway, Hold Back the Rain

4. Wham! - Fantastic (1983)

Recommended tracks: Young Guns (Go For It), Nothing Looks the Same in the Light, Club Tropicana, A Ray of Sunshine

3. Adam and the Ants - Prince Charming (1981)

Recommended tracks: Stand and Deliver, Prince Charming, Ant Rap, Mowhok

2. Ultravox - Vienna (1980)

Recommended tracks: Mr X, All Stood Still, Passing Strangers, Vienna, Western Promise 

1. George Michael - Faith (1987)

Recommended tracks: I Want Your Sex, Faith, Father Figure

And that's my top 5 favourite albums of all time! Do you have a similar list?

- S

A Thought for this Tuesday

Hi everyone,

Hope you're all well this rather fine Tuesday afternoon. For the first time in a while I'm actually quite optimistic that some good weather is forecast. I wasn't expecting to do two posts today but a lot of people have expressed great curiosity in how I began my passion for the 1980s and music. I've just posted it, so I hope you guys like it.

If you follow me on Twitter I'm not going to be posting for the next couple of days, I just really want to dedicate some time to focus on what outstanding coursework that I have and getting it right so I get the grades I need to get into university this year. So don't worry, I am coming back. It's not one of those crazy moments where I decide to leave permanently and then rock up a week later completely regretting my actions. It's just that I really now need to get my priorities straight and focus on what I want to get out of life the most. So with all that being said, Tweeps, I'll see you when I get back! A while ago, I discovered an app called Buffer in which you can schedule tweets to be posted at any date and time that you want, so this week's tweets will be coming from that source and not me. I'll also be taking time out of my studies to keep this blog updated too.

So with all that being said, here's this Tuesday's motivational quote. Hope it motivates you, even just a teeny tiny bit!

Sigourney

How Everything Started...

A lot of people have asked me how I came like and have such an obsession with the 1980s. This is my story.

As you know, I am quite young and was indeed born in the wrong generation. I would do anything just to go back to that time period for a week and get to experience it just like my folks did. However it's virtually impossible, so I'm gonna have to like or lump the fact it was never meant to be. In a previous post I said that I had my first encounter with 80s singer George Michael in 2009, when I was still, quite young. We were in the process of getting broadband for the very first time so my YouTube was basically the television and VH1 classic, since MTV is now laughably a hub for reality shows. I can remember watching the video for Last Christmas and thinking how brilliant it was, from the video right down to the vocals, and indeed, the person singing them.

The first 80s group that I started listening to properly was Spandau Ballet. My dad had a couple of 80s compilation albums lying about the house and let me borrow them. It wasn't long before I was going on to YouTube to see what other hits that they had. That Christmas I knew I was asking for the True album on CD. I feel that my passion was ignited solely about 5 years ago when my mum brought her old LP collection down from my grandmother's loft for me to look at. It was a complete treasure trove, albums from Level 42, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Ultravox, Cutting Crew, you name it! Pity that I didn't ask for a record player sooner! Certainly, it wasn't long before my fairly sparse CD collection began to grow. Whenever I came into some money, or whenever we went on an outing to a place that had a music shop I would certainly come out with, on average, 3 at a time. I was running out of space, fast, that's for sure. I created a Twitter account almost 5 years ago now to share my love for Queen and music, and honestly, met some really really nice people, some that I'm still in contact with today! Yeah there's been a fair share of trolls and drama, but I know how to handle them, by simply pressing 'block'. The following Summer I introduced myself to the world of blogging and attempted to write one based on my passions for Spandau Ballet. It went on for a while and I felt that it was easy connected to a similar fan page that I was running on Facebook and Twitter, but it was a total flop out and I gave it up. I tried other blogs that also failed, and ones that admittedly, I either forgot about or simply lost interest in. However, I pledged from the get go that I would never give up on this one. I got a lot of backing from people and motivation from a very good friend of mine.

Eventually I branched off from just the music and started to develop a liking of EVERYTHING 80s, from concerts such as Live Aid, the fashion and style of the New Romantics, blue mascara, hairstyles including the famous mullet and especially the television of the 80s. My parents always used to watch the classic British sitcom Only Fools and Horses starring Sir David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst, it was so hilarious and even is today. It wasn't too long ago that I decided to invest in the complete collection boxset. The Jolly Boys' Outing will also be my favourite episode to this day. It was also the first one that I watched all the way through without skipping channels. Below is one of the best clips. Del Boy (Jason) falls through the bar and Trigger's (Roger Lloyd-Pack) reaction is hilarious!

So that's my story so far. And of course, I'm discovering new things every day so as Limahl would say, it's a never-ending story! If you're a young gun, do you have a similar story?

See you in the next post, but till then, I bid you farewell!

Sigourney

My Top 10 Ultravox & Midge Ure Songs

Hey everybody,

I'm finally back after what seemed to be the internet doomsday in our house. So following on from what I promised what was going to happen, here are my top 10 Ultravox & Midge Ure songs as of today. Honestly, the list keeps on changing all the time folks. I only just began listening to the Brilliant album that was released in 2012 and Midge's Breathe this week, so that'll be my excuse if they're at the bottom of the list at the moment, but watch this space, things might change in the near future. As well as the songs I'll provide a YouTube or Dailymotion link to them so if you're new to 'Vox you can check them out. So here we go!

1. Vienna (1980) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37w42Bfsv3E

2. If I Was (Midge Ure, 1985) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix1W065XA0k

3. Reap the Wild Wind (1982) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwMLFXaeZvE&t=2s

4. Visions in Blue (1982) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR1pGF2XOMw

5. Brilliant (2012) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxqZKyqmvKE

6. Lament (1984) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crCBoh_6IN4

7. No Regrets (Midge Ure, 1981) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NdRLYi862Y

8. The Voice (1981) - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x10k3u_ultravox-the-voice_music

9. All Fall Down (1986) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yjmPSjNK1g

10. One Small Day (1984) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydywCOCr46k

Do you have a similar list to what I have right now? I know I've stated in the past I've had different preferences of what Ultravox songs that I listen to, and still like them, but my list is always changing, just like my music taste. Ultravox was one of the very first synthpop groups that I listened to, and they had such a good lasting impression on me.

Anyway with all that being said, hope you have a happy Friday, and I'll see you again soon!

Sigourney

A Thought for Thursday...

Update (15/3/17)

 Hi guys,

I apologise I haven't been here in a while. It's not been entirely drama related for like the first time in ever. There has been no broadband or WiFi at home, and computers at college now block Blogger for some reason; I've had to wait until the situation at home has improved to get back online and get posting. But with all that said, I'm back! 

A lot of things have happened over the past week it's incredible. Not only have I finally got that feeling of satisfaction because I'm finally up to speed with and getting the right grades on my coursework, I'm now officially a Miniature Schnauzer mom to Alfie, age 9 weeks on Friday. (FYI he has come from a KC registered responsible and assured breeder) Pictures to come in a later post. It's honestly a good feeling because it's been 8 years since my first dog, George passed away, and there's been a huge void in my life ever since. Now it's finally complete again! 

Also, I've finally decided on what university to go to and what subject I want to study. As of September, I'll be a 1st year Psychology student at the University of Huddersfield. It's really exciting and empowering to think that I've come this far already in my life. Crazy to believe that it's six months away! In May I'll be 18, and I'll be attending four gigs this year too. Definitely be reporting back on them ☺️☺️

As for what I promised I'd be posting this month, relax, I'm still going to do it. Fingers crossed the internet doesn't go down again any time soon! 

I just wanted to give you a little update, to assure you that I haven't given up on this blog, and that I haven't flown to the moon! As for the Fadi bashing "Lovelies" - well, they're not worth any of my time. Karma will be sought out any time soon!

See you in the near future,

Sigourney x

Today we got closure...

Hello everyone,

It's only a short post today, sorry.

But today is the day we finally got closure over the tragic and untimely death of legend George Michael. He died of natural causes, and this news is in the top 5 trending items on Twitter currently. I didn't find out until somebody had retweeted it on to my timeline. I can't say I'm relieved, but I can say I'm glad we finally know what happened. A lot of people had composed their own theories as to what happened on that fateful night. Some thought that his past had caught up with him. And now the coroner has spoken, hopefully now the body will be released back to the family and he can be laid to rest at last. At least we know alcohol or drugs wasn't involved in his death, and there was no foul play! Some of this drama was totally unnecessary.

It's been a long time awaited, and now at last hopefully some of the drama and accusations can die down now. Maybe I will return back to my Twitter account eventually. The reason I left was because the drama was getting out of hand, fans attacking, fans getting hurt, Twitter suspending the WRONG people for nothing, the list goes on. It also involved other things, but I don't wanna go into details here. Hopefully now people have got the answers that they wanted for so long, maybe, just maybe, calm may ensue. 

That's all folks,

Sigourney 

My CD Haul (Part 2)

Hello everyone!

Hope you've had a good weekend, I know mine has been pretty so-so, but that's me getting my head around a lot of things that's gone on lately, I'll save that shit for another post.

Did you like the first part of my CD haul that I posted yesterday? Well, regardless, I'm back with another one to end the week on a good note. I've got a few more planned, but knowing the size of my collection, and ones that are still currently pending, there will be at least 10 more, but I'll just see how that goes.

So let's get right into it!

1. Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell (1980)

2. Duran Duran - Greatest (1998)

3. Wham! - The Final (1986) 

4. Soft Cell - Non Stop Erotic Cabaret (1981, 1996 Remastered Edition)

5. Ultravox - Lament (1984, 2009 Definitive Remastered Edition)

6. Spandau Ballet - Diamond (1982, 2010 Remastered Special Edition)

7. U2 - War (1983)

8. Journeys to Glory (1981, 2013 Remastered Edition)

And that's all for now, folks! Are some of these gathering dust on your shelves or are they on your wishlist?

Till next time,

Sigourney

My CD Haul (Part 1)

CDs have always been the pinnacle for me when it comes to gradually becoming a full on 80s collector. I've been buying them for over 5 years now, whether they were new or well loved before I purchased them (second hand). In the beginning, I had most of them passed down by parents or family members, who didn't see any need for them anymore or thought I would like them if I ever expressed interest when they were around.

They all came from a variety of places, HMV, Amazon, MusicMagpie, Ebay, everywhere. Never would I ever buy from Discogs, only in the direst of straits, they're far too expensive! The cheapest one I got so far was 1p, (with the catch of £2.80 delivery) and the dearest I got was Black Sabbath's Headless Cross (1989) for £20, but understandably it was quite rare and failed to chart, so it was worth every penny when it arrived. Some excellent tracks on there!

In storage right now I probably have over 100, but there's absolutely loads lurking in every corner of the house, and maybe some that I forgot about too! Most of them are indeed from the 1980's period, some 70s, some 90s, some post 2000, and the tiny little remainder are from the 1960s. A variety of genres too: electronica, rock, metal, alternative, pop, synthpop, Indie, you name it! My recent post explaining what was coming this month stated that I was gonna be doing some more haul posts, and this was just going to be one of them! As I've got so many recently, I'll be splitting it up into multiple posts, I've planned to do 3, but I'll see how it goes.

So with all that being said, here's part one of my CD haul!

1. Duran Duran - Arena (1984)

2. Adam and the Ants - Prince Charming (1981)

3. Spandau Ballet - Heart Like a Sky (1989)

4. U2 - The Joshua Tree (1987)
















5. Duran Duran - Rio (1982)

6. Ultravox - Systems of Romance (1978)

7. Peter Gabriel - So (1986)

8. Duran Duran - Big Thing (1988)

9. Wham! - Make it Big (1984)

`10. Visage - Visage (1980)

And there's plenty more where that came from! Hope you liked the first of many of my CD hauls to come. Do you have some of these?

Sigourney