Taking Sides: Oakey vs Marsh/Ware

Oakey by a long stretch. Facing a tour which could bankrupt him he finds two schoolgirls at the Crazy Daisy in Sheffield, soldiers on and then produces THE great pop album of the 80's. He's either a genius or a nutter. Marsh and Ware, a fine first album but no match for the League (mark 2.

I think it's a difficult one myself. Before I've even heard the records, I desperately want Marsh & Ware to be better, because I see Heaven 17 as a revenge band. Phil kicks his lifelong best friend out of the band, and the other bloke unexpectedly quits in solidarity. Personally I find the first HL albums vastly more interesting, but then again that could have just as much to do with Phil altering his lyrical approach to the changes in personnel. And the fact is that 'Dare!' is just bloody brilliant, there's a really inexplicable magic in lines like "everybody needs love & adventure/everybody needs 2 or 3 friends" and of course "but this is Phil talking, I wanna tell ya/what I've found to be true". However, as brilliant as they are I don't think any of the HL hits can match 'Temptation'- when the pure strings kick in just before the second chorus is an orgasmic moment. The League also lost their way much quicker than H17, 'Louise' and 'The Lebanon' just don't do it for me whilst H17 were still producing gems well into their third album, such as 'This Is Mine'. But then I am a sucker for the blue- eyed soul thang, as you can see on the Spandau thread ;)