At the very beginning of the 90`s, a lot of white soul and synth-pop acts were enjoying popular appeal unlike what they ever had. 1990 was the cross over-year between the glam metal of the late 80`s which had taken over the airwaves in `88 and `89 and the advent of Seattle grunge which brought on the alternative rock revolution starting in late `91.
But for all of 1990, and at least the first 6 months of 1991, the music which the radio stations were promoting was very much contemporary versions of the teeny bopper pop and rock music which had saturated the airwaves for the previous ten years, as well even AOR, or adult orientated rock, was permitted to become a bit more rock heavy and genuinely rebellious in this brief window in time between the hair band music of the 80`s and the coming of Nirvana and Pearl Jam.
As far as white soul goes, Mick Hucknell of Simply Red had made it a commercially successful artform, even if he and his band were a bit insipid.
But for all of 1990, and at least the first 6 months of 1991, the music which the radio stations were promoting was very much contemporary versions of the teeny bopper pop and rock music which had saturated the airwaves for the previous ten years, as well even AOR, or adult orientated rock, was permitted to become a bit more rock heavy and genuinely rebellious in this brief window in time between the hair band music of the 80`s and the coming of Nirvana and Pearl Jam.
As far as white soul goes, Mick Hucknell of Simply Red had made it a commercially successful artform, even if he and his band were a bit insipid.
Not that I think Simply Red is rubbish, it is fantastic music to seduce a woman with, and if you are like me and you can't get Teegie Lavender in the sack and you only have a dog for good company, then Simply Red is still great background music to drink alone with, with or without your mutt.
In early 1990, a bloke who had been the lead singer of australian band The Rockmelons in the mid 80`s, a band which excelled in producing crisp and catchy pop rock, released a neat little song which occasionally gets airplay on the dial but to me was one of so many songs from `90 that qualifies as a lost treasure.
The artist is Peter Blakely and the song is `Crying In The Chapel`. For all of its cliche production dynamics and pop disposability, the song was genuinely uplifting and should have been the start of something even bigger for the former Rockmelon.
Sadly it seems that one hit single was all he
had up his sleeve, although it should be noted Blakely did have a couple of minor hits in the late 80`s after his exit from his former band.
had up his sleeve, although it should be noted Blakely did have a couple of minor hits in the late 80`s after his exit from his former band.
I know of so many good gritty Australian rock stars who got squeezed in this commercially awkward era between 1989 and 1991, Paul Norton comes to mind, he was a one hit wonder with a gem of a song called `Stuck On You`, not to be confused with the Lionel Richie song of the same name.
And the king of aussie rock, Ross Wilson, had his greatest album ever `Dark Side Of The Man`sink without a trace due to the decimation of Mushroom Records and the uncertainty at the time of what type of music the radio stations were going to promote.
Basically the record companies and the radio stations used middle of the road and more adult friendly acts for 18 months at the beginning of the 90`s while the groundwork was laid to promote alternative rock.
When the likes of Nirvana and Pearl Jam took off in popularity, they screwed all the contemporary acts they had been promoting and left them high and dry, which in so many cases, ruined many a promising career.
But getting back to `Crying In The Chapel`,
it`s a high point obviously for Peter Blakely, his vocal is so much like that of Simply Red`s Hucknell, the music, complete with some great brass accompaniment, is typical of what you would have expected from Phil Collins on his 1985 album `No Jacket Required`. Peter Blakely had it all for this one song.
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