Hunters And Collectors: Holy Grail, (The)

Aussie lynch-pin Mark Seymour (Nick from Crowded House’s little brother) went though a number of bands before emerging in Hunters & Collectors. One lineup even included ABC journo Margot O'Neil on vocals, as ‘The Jetsonnes.’

While their debut album ‘The Jaws Of Life’ enjoyed marginal radio play, it was ‘Human Frailty’ that ‘jettisonned’ them into the charts.

One of my all time favorites comes from the 1992 album ‘Cut.’ This single chronicles Napoleon's march into Russia, with Moscow representing the unobtainable. ‘Holy Grail’ made #20 on the Aussie music charts, and remains a strong radio staple to this day.

John Lennon: Nobody Told Me

At just 5 years of age, John Winston Lennon, so named after WW2 Prime Minister Winston Churchill had to choose between his mother and father during a bitter separation.

‘Nobody Told Me’ was released in 1983, more than 2 years after John was shot dead. He wrote the song for Ringo's album ‘Stop And Smell The Roses.’ Out of respect, it wasn’t published until the leaves had settled, on Yoko’s compilation 'Milk And Honey. '

According to Songfacts contributor Ken from Kentucky U.S.A, the line "There's a UFO over New York and I ain't too surprised" was taken from an actual incident. In 1974, John and his lover May Pang (during his separation from Yoko) were living in an apartment overlooking New York's East River, when John saw what he thought was a UFO. According to Pang, John yelled out the window "come back - take me!"

John Lennon facts: Later in his life he changed his middle name to Ono in honor of Yoko, and is one of the only people ever to return an M.B.E. to The Queen.

Red Hot Chili Peppers, (The): Breaking The Girl

In his autobiography Scar Tissue, Red Hot Chili Peppers front man Anthony Kiedis talks about his turbulent relationship with ex-girlfriend Carmen Hawk. One positive thing to come from the breakup was the ’91 single ‘Breaking The Girl’ from ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik.’

The track uses a tricky 6/8 time signature and some pretty inventive percussion involving old junk and car parts. Guitarist John Frusciante came onboard during a dark time for the band, in ’88 Hillel Slovak died of a heroin overdose causing an exodus that saw a number of lineup changes. While John did all the work, it’s actually Arik Marshall, his replacement who appears in the music video.

‘Breaking The Girl’ climbed to #41 on the U.K charts and garanteed the mainstream success of ‘Blood Sugar.’

Roxette: Joyride

Before I can tell you anything about Roxette, you have to come to terms with their 'Swedishness.' Back when Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle came together in the late 70's, they both had music careers of their own in Sweden and much of Europe.

'Joyride,' the title track from their 1991 album kicks off with the instantly recognisable hook 'Hej din tok... jar alskar dig!' or "Hello, you fool, I love you!" for those of you who don't speak (or pretend to speak) Swedish. According to Songfacs contributor Ahus of Sweeden, Per Gessle, the male member of the duo wrote this for his girlfriend. He came home late and she had written a note that said, "Hello you fool I love you." So he used the line in the song.

The single went all the way to #1 in the U.S. and #4 in the U.K.

Madonna: Ray Of Light

‘Ray Of Light,’ from the album of the same name is based on the track ‘Sepheryn’ by Curtiss Muldoon and Dave Curtis. Some 30 year later D.J. William Orbit had the idea of composing new music for the existing lyrics when he bumped vocalist Christine Leach for veteran vixen Madonna, no wonder when you consider how difficult this song is to sing.

The music video was one of Madge’s better ideas, depicting a full day in just 4 minutes. Lasting 14 days, the shoot visited New York, Vegas and parts of Sweden.

The single entered the Billboard Hot 100 at #5 where it peaked, a record entry for a Madonna song. At home in the U.K. ‘Ray of Light’ failed to take the top spot, climbing all the way to #2. Madonna took out the 1998 Grammy for Best Pop Album and the MTV Europe award for Best Album.

The Wallflowers: One Headlight

‘One Headlight’ is the second single from The Wallflowers' 1996 album, 'Bringing Down the Horse.' Singer/Songwriter Jakob Dylan said "I tend to write with a lot of metaphors and images, so people take them literally."

The song's meaning is all in the first verse. It's about the death of ideas. The lyrics tell a fragmentary story about a fictional friend and her death. One of Jakob's battles revolved around the lack of emotional and creative support outside the team directly involved in the record. ‘with one headlight’ is a statement about his ability to get through, despite the missing pieces.

‘One Headlight’ won two Grammys in 1998, making #54 on the U.K. singles charts and #1 on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks chart. Want an obscure fact? the bands self titled debut album sold just 40,000 copies following it's release in 1992, but sold an additional 1 million copies in the wake of this single.

Duran Duran: Girls On Film

Before MTV most music videos were concert clips (think REO Speedwagon, Survivor). Bands and artists credited with the invention of the modern music video include Queen, Michael Jackson and Duran Duran. The latter boys from the U.K. are most interesting because of one notorious video: that of their 1981 single Girls On Film. In a DVD interview, Simon Le Bon says the raunchiness of the video and subsequent outcry from prudes and thought-police all over the isles, drowned the songs anti-exploitation message for the fashion industry.

Think models, in two shades of nude. Lights, cameras and foam machines. There’s a clean version on Youtube for anyone who’s interested, and don’t worry, you're not missing anything, it's only a nipple or two away from the original.

It’s hard to imagine a time without music television, but it was so new it allowed Simon and the boys to sell records in the U.S. without any touring presence or market awareness beyond the one song. ‘Girls On Film’ made #5 in the U.K and remains one of their best singles. Want an obscure fact? The camera click at the beginning is a Nikon, thanks Eddy P from England.

Smash Mouth: All Star

To thrash an old saying: ‘She’s the village bicycle, everyone’s had a ride.’ Lead singer Steve Harwell actually said that his first instinct was to flog the thing to advertisers, which he did, many times over.

You’ll recognize this single from Shrek, Digiman The Movie and Inspector Gadget The Movie (a sad day for film in general, but I digress). The song in question is ‘All Star,’ from Smash Mouths 1999 album ‘Astro Lounge.’ It climbed to #24 on the U.K. charts, topping out at #4 in the U.S.

According to Wikipedia, the video included a cameo appearance by Ben Stiller and was used onboard the Space Shuttle Discovery as a sort of musical alarm clock. Want an obscure fact? Unable to better the success of ‘Astro Lounge,’ Steve is currently working on a solo country album. Weird.

Lenny Kravitz: Always On The Run

What happens to a song written for an act like Guns ‘N’ Roses that doesn’t make the cut? They give it to somebody else of course. Recent breakout and former session musician Lenny Kravitz was the unconventional choice.

Slash from Guns 'N' Roses features on guitar, which isn’t a surprise as he wrote the song. ‘Always On The Run’ shot to #8 in the U.S. and #41 in the U.K, propelling Kravitz’s second album ‘Mama Said’ into stores on both sides of the Atlantic.

The song features in ‘The Waterboy’ and on ‘Guitar Hero: Aerosmith.’ It also pays to note that both Slash and Lenny went to Beverly Hills High School, nice if you live in Bev Hills. The music video was directed by Jesse Dylan. It typical Kravitz retro style, it featured a live performance in black & white.

Buggles, (The): Video Killed The Radio Star

Okay, let me introduce Trevor Horn. Trevor was a struggling U.K. record producer, the cut-price kind you find in the yellow pages. His artists included broke, moody Punk hopefuls, eager to become the next Ramones. Of the 4 years spent on these miscreants he said “Eventually I got so fed up…I decided that if I couldn't find a good artist and a good song then I'd write it myself and become the artist.” So he wrote 'Video Killed The Radio Star' with New Wave producer Bruce Wooley (The Camera Club).

‘The Age of Plastic’ hit shelves in the U.K. in ’79 with ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ going all the way to #1. Trevor’s since admitted he regrets calling himself ‘Buggles.’ Aussie Duran Duran video man Russell Mulcahy pulled out a slick pop video which, poignantly, was the first video to air on MTV (b. 01/08/1981). It was a good thing too, as U.S. radio stations ignored the single, and any sales they enjoyed were solely due to MTV’s ability to sell records.

Rod Stewart: Maggie May

Back in 1971 a teenager named Robyn stood in a trendy boutique in Manuka. Wafting over the radio came an unfamiliar sound. “Who is that!?!” she exclaimed with excitement.

Maggie May was the song in question and it jettisoned Rod Stewart into superstardom. Flash forward to 1981 and he found himself about where Britney Spears is now. No, not a single mum with a muffin top, but a matured artist in no-man’s-land. By now his teenage fans had children, mortgages and worst of all, husbands. They weren’t interested in an old heart throb with an old sound.

Enter Carmine Appice, the drummer in Stewart's band. He said "Rod was always trying to be on the cutting edge at that time, so we did drum machine (and sequencer) stuff.” The album Young Turks marked the beginning of breakdancing on MTV. This sharp modernity both in sight and sound saw Rod back in the charts, reaching #11 in the U.K. and #5 in the U.S. And Robyn? She still dusts off a copy of Atlantic Crossing every once in a while. It’s the simple things, you know…

Green Day: When I Come Around

Green Day, that is Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool came together back in 1987. Hailing from the Punk hub of Berkeley California, they tasted success on the Indy circuit before moving to a major label. Their ‘94 breakout album ‘Dookie’ sold over 15 million copies worldwide making it one of the most successful albums of it’s genre.

You can’t talk about ‘Dookie’ without ‘When I Come Around.’ Yes, it’s a song about a teen relationship and yes, it’s simple as sin, but it’s good. This song has 2 videos: One of the infamous mud fight at Woodstock where a security guard knocked Mike’s teeth out, and the other, a typical concept video with all the trimmings. Guest guitarist Jason White can be spotted necking in the background. Weather you like Punk or not, this is a solid single.

Matchbox Twenty(20): 3AM

If you’ve ever been in a band you’ll know how hard it is to get noticed. Anyone can book a dingy bar in Newtown, but selling an album in numbers is much more difficult. Tabitha’s secret (think Tabitha from Bewitched) scored a record deal after 3 years touring the bars in Orlando. The demo tape included a track called ‘3 AM’ which became the second single for Matchbox 20, (Twenty) on their debut album ‘Yourself or Someone Like You.’

Lead singer Rob Thomas wrote about his experience as a teenager, caring for his dying mother. Doctors gave her 6 months to live as she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. 3 AM was about the time when the bars were all closed and there was nowhere to go but home, a home you dreaded because of the terminal illness within.

Happily, Rob’s mother pulled through and is alive and well. However, as with all record deals, there was a catch. Tabitha’s Secret was split half and the remaining members sued Rob Thomas’s new band over their use of the song. As a result, both groups released ‘3 AM’. One became a hit, the other became nothing. One good thing to come from the leftover remnants was the album name ‘Don’t Play With Matches.’ That’s a not-so-subtle dig.

Salt-n-Pepa (Salt and Pepper): Let's Talk About Sex, Shoop, Whatta Man

American Hip-Hoppers Salt-n-Pepa began when Cherry James AKA ‘Salt’ agreed to help her boyfriend with an assignment at the New York Center for Media Arts. Their single ‘The Show Stopper’ was released under the name ‘Super Nature’ in ’85. It appeared momentarily on the Hip-Hop charts which, if you ask me, is a success given their lack of funding.

Salt-n-Pepa’s first Grammy nomination came in 1989 to coincide with the album debut of a new member, K.K.B.T. personality DJ Spinderella. ‘Black's Magic’ was a huge success. The single "Expression" and “Let’s talk about sex” hung in the charts for months, they even released a spin-off called ‘Let's Talk About AIDS,’ necessary, but how retro.

In ‘93 the girls released ‘Very Necessary’ under London/Polygram, without Cherry’s now ex boyfriend. The album benefits from Run-D.M.C. and Isley Brothers influcences. The single ‘Shoop’ peaked at #4 in the U.S, with ‘Whatta Man’ achieving 5x Platinum status and climbing all the way to #3.

Fatcamp The Movie! (well, maybe not)

Nat, Jason & Jack take on the Fat Camp 'Imitation Biggest Loser' challenge. (read Walcha Mountain Bike Challenge). Nat lost 27.2kg in 10 months. Thanks Subway, Now FM, Sportsweb Personal Training, Simply Stuck, Bike in Byron/On Balo, A1 Auto Electrics Moree. Remember to rate it, even if you hate it.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=I_jsyHjEJ9g