Terry Hall singles poll

Throwing some love to "Poems," my intro to Hall in the modern era.

This would be an amazing compilation.

Hah at 1996 being the modern era, but yes, Poems was also my reintroduction to Hall in the 90's.
At the time, I remember thinking of him as some dinosaur (wow, how did they ever coax that guy from the Specials out of the retirement home). Then he died at 63, and my first though was "jeez, so young."
Funny how you keep adjusting your mental model of how old is "old".

yes at 49 I now treat 63 as basically 'my age' (and definitely 'no age at all')

just back from a dog walk where I had The Telephone Always Rings lolloping round and round in my head, so that's my first thought best thought pick but there's a lot here

my lips are sealed.

His Todd Rundgren cover is one of those covers that sounds identical to the original in the absolute best way possible, so I will go for that.

Love Terry in every incarnation but I’ve never quite worked out how to listen to “Our Lips are Sealed”. Lovely as it is, I never remember the melody as soon as it’s over

i have that melody in my head as i'm typing this. try the Urdu version!

ghost town will i'm sure (deservedly) win but i'm gonna go for either gangsters or ...lunatics..

leaning towards "too much too young"

I also assume Ghost Town will walk this, but I might give some props to one of the Fun Boy Three singles, I always in particular loved 'The More I See (The Less I Believe)' and 'Tunnel Of Love'.

Also, love love love 'Sense', solo version over Lightning Seeds version, despite cheesy backing vocals (a recurring detriment of the Home album in my opinion, but it's a lovely record regardless). That opening verse is so good:

"I'm flying high on something beautiful and aimless,
It's got a name but I prefer to call it nameless.
It comes and goes leaves me on a bed of splinters,
Feels like I'm living in a town closed down for winter."

He co-wrote "Sense"????

Damn.

Have always loved Do Nothing so that

Almost certainly not the actual best thing here but: was completely besotted with Possessed by Vegas when I was 11yo (esp the video, despite excessive Dave Stewart), so, that

Also voted for Sense. There is a whiff of Ian Broudie's rhyming dictionary about the lyrics, but I love the opening verse quoted above, and "I'm standing high on tiptoes looking over fences / Waiting for somebody like you to kiss me senseless". Plus it's a gorgeous chorus.

I love Hall's contribution to Ghost Town but the Golding & Staples vocals are also sublime

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

This is tough

I love Hall's contribution to Ghost Town but the Golding & Staples vocals are also sublime

I’ve never quite worked out how to listen to “Our Lips are Sealed”. Lovely as it is, I never remember the melody as soon as it’s over

― Chuck_Tatum, Thursday, December 22, 2022

This comment blows my mind, because I'm not sure how much catchier it's scientifically possible to make a song.
but that said, the FB3 version feels like such a missed opportunity compared to what the go-go's did with that same tune. So maybe the magic is in the production/arrangement.

I like both versions and probably slightly prefer the FB3 version for its quiet fire approach.

One omission from above list - Chasing a Rainbow scaled the dizzy heights of the UK top 62 in autumn 95; was a Damon Albarn co-write but manages to be fairly amiable despite this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naOnd7Qa-kk

Also - not singles, but Terry had a couple of rather lush features on the third Leila Arab album (from 2008):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7sBD_s7D3o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BTYH8BDwNo

I like both versions and probably slightly prefer the FB3 version for its quiet fire approach.

― A Kestrel for a Neve (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, December 30, 2022 1:32 AM (seven hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

I always loved the Urdu version on the b-side, used to use the intro as a sample on a track I made..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmbAQlZx8Xs

There’s something about Terry’s voice. I almost don’t want to like it- another nasal whine!- but it’s not quite like that in the end and it really gets to me. Trying to think of who to compare it to. Jonathan Richman, maybe, but they don’t sound quite the same, Terry is a “better” singer probably. Anyway it’s yet another example of some kind of jolie-laide voice.

Live version of “Our Lips Are Sealed.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqQT3oKA3v8

Don’t really like the remade version he did with Nouvelle Vague though, and especially the accompanying video with Louise Brooks and Fritz Rasp, which only makes it worse.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

I arsing forgot to vote in this but I'd have gone for Stereotype

Poems, one of the oddest UK hits of the 90s (its success entirely on name obv)

Wished i’d seen and voted— i love the hell out of so many of them. I think i need to listen to the proposed comp to really choose. Even some of the zero votes ones are in my head so quickly and memorably, like lunatics and really sayin something

Voted “Our Lips Are Sealed” but seriously considered “Tunnel of Love” along with some others.

'Hush, my darling, don't you cry
Guardian angel, forget their lies'

possibly to far-fetched but 'Our Lips Are Sealed' as a lullaby sounds reasonable to me.

reference:
Popular music that would make a good lullaby

Makes sense.

Especially should voted for "Tunnel of Love" since I misquoted it on the RIP thread.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi7BXqmYxiw

Blurry video but the performance is grebt. It says "on The Tube." Is that generic or the name of a show?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9XKqok2_VU

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tube_(TV_series)

Thanks!

Wow

Half Man Half Biscuit famously turned down the chance to appear on the show, as Tranmere Rovers were playing that night, even though Channel Four offered to fly them by helicopter to the game.[1]

For people of a certain age in the UK, that's the only thing they know about HMHB ;)

Lol

His remarks in the last two paragraphs of the NYT obit really got to me.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/25/arts/music/terry-hall-dead.html

"Tunnel of Love" is such a cheerful tune.

It’s a companion piece to a song by the author of one of the other “Tunnel of Love”s, Springsteen’s “The River.”
(xp)
Which, like much else, came from this Spectator article:
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/today-s-specials/

wow I was the only vote for "Gangsters"

Considered that one two. Just not enough voters in this POLL it seems.

That one too.

The Colourfield returned in the spring of 1987. They were now just a duo (Hall & Lyons) augmented by Raquel Welch's band and session musicians. Hall had to hire Welch's band after Lyons departed midway through the recording sessions.[citation needed]

How Could I Have Lived 23 Years Without Ever Knowing That The U.S. & U.K. Versions Of Virgins & Philistines are COMPLETELY different!!!???

Also just noticed that two of those Colourfield songs I never heard until today are covers of familiar songs, namely “Running Way” and “She.”

And lots more covers on his solo stuff. Some better than others.

scott was right about v&p in linked thread, the us vers (which is the one i knew) rules and "pushin up the daisies" is all time. thought the uk vers would be v v good, just not the same.

See also all the Three Imaginary Boys vs. Boys Don't Cry threads out there.

LIke
"three imaginary boys" vs. "boy's don't cry"

Or
Taking Sides: _Three Imaginary Boys_ vs _Boys Don't Cry_

Just found this interesting performance from 2014- with Horace! And John Bradbury!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0y5ZbfFpOg