Those Billboard Charts (More, More, More!!!!)

[QUINNY]

Two big surprises for me with this chart (3 if you include songs like Le freak at #23, although that's understandable 'cos it hadn't been out that long by years end?).

#3 T. Connection - At Midnight never see this mentioned much or on many compilations and I certainly didn't play it as much as say Saturday Night. Never realised it was quite so huge in the U.S.
#21 A-Freak-A - Lemon is demoted in favour of another vastly inferior album cut. For my money A-Freak-A was the only good track on the album and what a classic it was.

There's a few I could have lived without, Amant, Peter Jacques Band to name a few, even dare I say it, Machine to a lesser extent (I just didn't like it much... too fast and too naff sounding for me; there was just something about it I have never liked).

Suffice to say a U.K. top 40 for the year would probably have been a little different. Probably more poppy to some extent and slightly more funky too.

It's that U.S./U.K. divide again, I guess.

[NickNack]

Originally Posted by QUINNY

There's a few I could have lived without, Amant, Peter Jacques Band to name a few, even dare I say it, Machine to a lesser extent (I just didn't like it much... too fast and too naff sounding for me; there was just something about it I have never liked).

Hey Quinny,

I expected to see Amant and Peter Jacques Band in your "live without" list :) but Machine surprises me. I understand your dislike of the speed but explain "naff" sounding to me. What is NAFF?

[QUINNY]

NickNack: It's really difficult to put my finger on it. Apart from the speed, maybe it was the tune, the instrumentation, perhaps I didn't want to hear political comment coming off of my turntable or a record with such a contentious/pretentious title. It just bored the pants off me. I couldn't wait to get it off and get something else playing.
I've just given it a spin from CD and I think it was just the overall sound I didn't like too much. I seem to remember it sounded poorly thin compared to most other discs and strangely 'naff'. What can I say?

[NickNack]

Quinny: OK, I get it. The record just didn't do it for you. But, seriously, is 'naff' Brit slang for something? I'm curious.

BTW --- The phrase, 'THERE BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD (GO I)' is quite common over here. Maybe that's why that contentious/pretentious feeling you have about the title wasn't felt here. At least, I didn't feel it --- could be wrong. Is the expression used on your side of the water or is this more of 'the great divide'? :roll:

[paul]

I've gotta agree with Nicky and Steely. Seeing that playlist really transports me back to that time. How magical, how euphoric. Keep that playlist coming Marky.

[QUINNY]

NickNack: Naff is slang for rubbish, crap but with a meaning that's slightly different in that it probably brings in elements of 'uncool' or 'kitsch' into it.

We do use the phrase 'There but for the grace of God go I' but not that much. It's not a phrase that is used that much nowadays and is always used in a fairly serious way, so that it still has its full meaning intact, I guess. Whereas, if used a lot, I guess its meaning could have become somewhat detached?

[NickNack]

Quinny: Thanks for the education in "naffism" :) . Also, let me clarify that when I said the phrase "TBFTGOGGI" is used a lot, I simply meant it was common, nothing "snooty or pretentious" about it. It is definitely used in a serious way and I think, for a lot of us, the attitudes of certain people sung about in that song were very serious. I mean, hey, I'm batting 2 out of 3 on the "not wanted" list. Get my drift?

[SandraDee]

Hey Nicky, I can actually expand on that definition of 'naff'. In the UK before the government's 1967 decriminalisation of homosexuality (their word, not mine!), their existed an underground gay 'language' which was a code only known by the gay community. This came about due to the black-mailing of gay men which was commonplace in those unenlightened times ( :evil: ). This 'language' was known as Polari & one of the words used was 'naff' which was Polari for a straight/ hetero person; this evolved over the 'gay lib' years to mean anything that was of no use. (BTW, Polari was a mixture of Yiddish, Italian, backwards English & Cockney rhyming slang.)

[NickNack]

Steely, that is wild. I guess all repressed groups have code words, signals and such used to keep each other safe. Hell, to keep each other alive. But, I've never heard of an entire language being put together. Interesting how naff evolved from meaning "hetero/straight" to "being of no use". Kind of a wicked slam. Was "naff" out there before Polari or is that it's true origin, do you know?

Marky, my apologies for taking your column off track but I kinda got into this.

[SandraDee]

I had it on good authority Nicky that 'naff' was totally a Polari word & didn't exist before this. Believe it or not, it was none other than Princess Anne who took alot of credit for popularising the word amongst the masses in the 70's (does this give us any clues as to who she hung out with?! not just THE queen methinks!!:lol: )

Marky, apologies from me too for digressing! :oops:

[DISCODISK]

steely great idea for a topic in its own right,i was a d.j in a liverpool gay club in the late 70s and lots of people spoke that then you had to learn it [otherwise i wouldnt have known what the hell the owner was talking about] lots of backward words too e.g face=ecaf then shortened to eke,hair=riah,legs=lallys,cadburys=fingers,nante=b ad/horrible.i think the reason it stopped was because lots of the words eventually ended up in the english language like lunchbox,packet etc.last week i had lunch with somebody from those days and he spoke palari all the way through it [hes 64 and it stuck!] i was highly entertained and laughed all the way through as those older people use it anywhere and in front of anyone and people just dont know what the hell is being said[and its usually about them!] sorry marky from me too :oops:

[SandraDee]

If u want to hear hilarious use of Palari guyz listen to the 'Julian & Sandy' sketch shows from the 1960's BBC radio shows which are available on CD & tape. Kenneth Williams of 'Carry On' film fame performs in them as one of 2 out-of-work & very camp actors; its all tres 'bona' (i.e.good)! :lol:

Double sorry Marky :oops: :oops:

[markydefad]

"Naff" indeed!!!!!! You guyz don't have to " apologize" to me for your slang discussion!!!!

I ain't the Leona Helmsley or Martha Stewart of the board, am I??????????

Nuff said. :P

[Graham_Start]

Isn't it spelled "Palare" though? At least, that's how Morrissey spelled in on "Piccadilly Palare"...

so bona to vada, OH YOU
your lovely eek and your lovely riah...

[SandraDee]

I've seen it spelt Polari, Palari or Palare so I would assume it can be spelt anyway Graham. I shouldn't take Morrissey's word on anything really as humour isn't exactly his strong point & it is rumoured here in his home town that he's not the intellectual giant he proclaims to be either. (that was a tad bitchy wasn't it? It was obviously some venemous old queen who spread that one.)