Retro night

[BrunoRepublic]

So tonight I went to a local club that has a "retro" night every Sunday. It's always packed. Unfortunately, the playlist is exclusively the same tired songs that I doubt we'll ever cease hearing in our lifetimes, like YMCA, Gloria, Borderline, ad nauseum. And as much as today's club music is totally unappealing, I'm finding it hard to get excited about dancing to Bizarre Love Triangle again. I loved it the first 974 times, but now... :-? Am I just getting old?

Anyway, amidst the banality, an interesting point came up. Someone asked what a certain track was, and I identified it as Pat & Mick's rendition of "Use It Up And Wear It Out". This was a huge club hit here back in the day, despite the fact that it was never released here. Anyway, I have two questions regarding this number:

1 -- to the British folks who frequent this board: Who are/were Pat & Mick? I know that their records were all Stock/Aitken/Waterman productions done for charity. But Pat & Mick don't seem to have had much to do with the actual music (even less than most SAW-produced performers), and they don't exactly look like pop stars either. Were these guys media personalities who lent their names for the project, or just a couple of nobodys that SAW decided to make famous?

2 -- If I hear a late 80s rendition of a late 70s song, which era am I supposed to feel nostalgic for?

[Forrrce]

Pat Sharpe & Mick Brown (a while ago, I may be wrong, but...) were national radio jocks a liitle TV status and at least one of them had big hair (or was it a mullet).

"2 -- If I hear a late 80s rendition of a late 70s song, which era am I supposed to feel nostalgic for? "
???? - Dunno... shrink time, I think! 8)

[JussiK]

This post made me dig up all my Sonia, Jason Donovan and Pat & Mick 12-inchers, plus the requisite "I'd Rather Jack" by The Reynolds Girls, of course. I recall spinning that stuff a lot in parties while doing my military service. Nothing is more 80's if u ask me, with the possible exeption of Silver Pozzoli.

[PaulC]

...

[BrunoRepublic]

...and "Gimme Some" in 1991. Thanks for confirming my suspicions on them being "media types". I figured they had to have some other claim to fame, since you can't even hear them in the records (they're just part of a chorus).

Interesting how these local charity records went on to become club anthems far away in my part of the world.

Then again, maybe people thought the "Help A London Child" bit referred to bored and sullen kids in London, Ontario... which is a bland and thoroughly suburban city about a two hour drive from here. :lol:

[NickNack]

Interesting. I also wondered what these guys had to do with the music. Had no idea the records were for charity. Glad I purchased them. P & M's "Use It Up..." was huge in clubs down here too, Graham. If Odyssey's version was considered hot, this version was energized to the max. Love those girls at the end: Use It Up, it up, it up...

[SandraDee]

I always thought SAW's best moments were when they energised old songs as on the above-mentioned Pat & Mick tracks. If you guys like these you must listen to some of their other 'camp revamps' such as Carol hitchcock's 'Get Ready' (the Temp's classic), Phil Fearon's 'Aint Nothing But a House Party' & Big Fun's 'I Feel The Earth Move' (the Carol King song). I s'pose you're all familiar with Bananarama's 'Venus' too which crossed over in a big way to the pop charts & is in a similar vein ( I always loved the video for this hit).