“A Crack On The Head Is What You Get For Asking…”
On This Date, February 23rd, in 1985: The Smiths’ Meat Is Murder was the #1 album in the UK. Meat Is Murder is a fantastic album just crammed with amazing songs like “What She Said,” “That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore,” “How Soon Is Now?” and “The Headmaster Ritual,” but my favorite is “Barbarism Begins at Home.” I’m going to celebrate the spirit of The Smiths by playing this album really loud as soon as I get home today! Smiths!
On this date in 1985: Simple Minds had the #1 single in the U.S., “Don’t You (Forget About Me).” The runaway hit song appeared on the soundtrack to The Breakfast Club but not on any of Simple Minds’ albums. I remember reading an interview with Simple Minds’ vocalist Jim Kerr where he talked about how he didn’t really dig the song that much, even though he was asked to write it specifically for the film, as he could not get behind or quite fathom the sentiment of asking to not be forgotten by people who didn’t meant that much to you in the first place. Or something like that. At any rate, he probably isn’t complaining anymore, as I’m sure that royalties from the tune have at this juncture put Kerr’s kids through college and paid for a mansion, a yacht and a few divorce settlements, at the very least.
(Thanks to The P5 Blogspot: This Day in 80s Music for the Tip!)