The start of a new feature from East of the M60
After complaints about this blog turning into a copy of The Guardian (yeah, right), East of the M60 is proud to announce a new monthly feature, ‘The Not So Perfect 10′. In the tradition of E4 and Channel 4’s repetition of ‘The Top 100…’ and ‘Top Ten…’ type shows, this regular feature will detail any ten randomly thought of topic by this blog.
For the first one… Cheesy Tunes.
- ‘Outlaw’, Gerard Kenny;
- ‘Panic’, The Scoop;
- ‘(Si Si) Je Suis Un Rock Star’, Bill Wyman;
- ‘Dance Yourself Dizzy’, Liquid Gold;
- ‘The On and On Song’, Precious Wilson;
- ‘Brother Louie’, Modern Talking;
- ‘Hands Up’, Ottawan;
- ‘Too Shy’, Kajagoogoo;
- ‘Yummy Yummy Yummy’, Ohio Express;
- ‘I Won’t Let You Down’, PhD.
Without a doubt, I have chosen ‘Outlaw’ by Gerard Kenny as the ultimate cheese anthem of this not so perfect ten tunes. It has pacey lyrics. It has an unforgettable dramatic hook, and an obvious early ’80’s power pop feel to it. It is also on the right side of cheesy as being instantly listenable!
The man himself, Gerard Kenny, had a hit in 1976 with ‘New York New York’ (different to the Frank Sinatra one; his version says ’so good they’ve named it twice’). However, his most famous work came in 1979 with the theme tune to ‘Minder’. Entitled ‘I Could Be So Good For You’, the tune had Dennis Waterman (Terry McCann in the television programme) on vocals, and a Top Ten spot in the charts in 1980. Contrary to popular belief, Dennis Waterman did not write the theme tune and sing the theme tune. He only did the latter bit.
Gerard Kenny is still performing today and has his own website, ‘The GK Club‘.
The song ‘Outlaw’ was released as a 7″ single on the RCA label in October 1981. On 12″ album, the song is the first track of his 1981 release ‘City Living’. It has also appeared on K-Tel’s ‘Chart Hits ‘81′ compilation (which, for the benefit of younger readers of ‘East of the M60′ was one of many precursors to today’s Now compilations).
If you haven’t got ‘Chart Hits ‘81′, I recommend scouring the car boot sales and eBay. You wouldn’t regret it. In those pre-Now That’s What I Call Music days, disc/tape one was sold separately to its other one, usually with a ‘buy this album and get the other one free’ disclaimer, so I recommend buying both for the full experience. It is also worth noting that the second and third placed songs on this list also feature on the same album.
S.V., 11 April 2007.
