— Neil Tennant
In their follow-up to the landmark single "Blue Monday", New Order flew to New York to record "Confusion" with famed producers Arthur Baker and John Robie. They had no sooner completed the session and Baker was off, a presumably still warm reel-to-reel of his latest recording under his arm. He hopped in a cab which made its way through Manhattan just as a young woman, who for these purposes we'll call Wendy (mostly because she looks like a Wendy, a name which was a lot more common back in the eighties than it is today), got off her job slinging pizza and rushed home to change for a night out (without even acknowledging her very sullen looking parents and younger sister, sitting round a chess set at the dining room table). The members of New Order, meanwhile, had been busy packing up their instruments while sharing a joke with their manager but they would soon be on their way too. They're headed to The Fun House, as are Baker and Wendy. The producer arrived and handed over his latest recording to DJ John "Jellybean" Benitez. Wendy hit the dancefloor and immediately became the star of the show as she got her groove on with some shirtless mustachioed. At the same time, he band posed for some photos and then looked on as Wendy and everyone else at the club got down to their latest single "Confusion".
The above is a description of the plot of video for "Confusion", a likely mythologized account of the song's transition from recording to dance sensation. Quite how it was actually cut and distributed to the clubs is beside the point but two things are significant. First, Baker's priority was getting his latest work to The Fun House, having it pressed and in the shops could wait until the next day. Second, the band, in taking in the dancefloor rave up from the DJ booth, becomes the song's audience and Wendy becomes its performer. In short, the charts don't matter so much and who cares about the artist so long as the kids are dancing.
"I'm So Hot for You" comes from this world of the New York dance clubs. Not unlike the Rockers Revenge/Donnie Calvin team-up that resulted in fellow Tennant-backed Single of the Fortnight "Walking on Sunshine", there was a long line of American-made dance-pop which seemed to stand much more of a chance over in the UK. Producers and DJs led a cozy existence, with some even doubling in both roles. Bobby "O" Orlando was more into playing music and studio wizardry than spinning but he nevertheless understood what would go down in the clubs even if he had no idea and/or no interest in what might work for radio. Disco having long been considered passe, mainstream American radio had little time for this type of thing (for the time being at least) but it had a sufficient enough following in New York to keep the clubs packed. In the UK, however, radio could make a hit record but it didn't always have the power to break one. If the right act was able to play the pop game by doing the rounds of Smash Hits, a variety of talk shows and be up for some miming on Top of the Pops then they always stood a chance with the British.
Still, it didn't exactly catch on in Britain either, in spite of the best efforts of Tennant and the "deejay over the road". Seeing as how there are so many flop records that were anointed SOTF, I've wondered just what was missing that failed to get them on the charts (aside from, of course, the reviewer having absolutely lousy taste). While some lack that commercial spark, a modern sound and/or big time record company money, "I'm So Hot for You" suffers from the kind of anonymity that comes with being the product of the New York dance scene. The vocalist — who I was surprised to discover was Bobby O himself; DJ's sometimes look like lead singers but they don't typically sound like them — is workmanlike but that probably helps not to distract from the production and the superb percussion. Nicking, as Tennant notes, the distinctive synth from The Human League's "Don't You Want Me" gives it a familiarity which may have worked in the clubs ("I think I've heard this one before") but could seem like shoddy pilfering when sitting down to give it a listen.
The above is a description of the plot of video for "Confusion", a likely mythologized account of the song's transition from recording to dance sensation. Quite how it was actually cut and distributed to the clubs is beside the point but two things are significant. First, Baker's priority was getting his latest work to The Fun House, having it pressed and in the shops could wait until the next day. Second, the band, in taking in the dancefloor rave up from the DJ booth, becomes the song's audience and Wendy becomes its performer. In short, the charts don't matter so much and who cares about the artist so long as the kids are dancing.
"I'm So Hot for You" comes from this world of the New York dance clubs. Not unlike the Rockers Revenge/Donnie Calvin team-up that resulted in fellow Tennant-backed Single of the Fortnight "Walking on Sunshine", there was a long line of American-made dance-pop which seemed to stand much more of a chance over in the UK. Producers and DJs led a cozy existence, with some even doubling in both roles. Bobby "O" Orlando was more into playing music and studio wizardry than spinning but he nevertheless understood what would go down in the clubs even if he had no idea and/or no interest in what might work for radio. Disco having long been considered passe, mainstream American radio had little time for this type of thing (for the time being at least) but it had a sufficient enough following in New York to keep the clubs packed. In the UK, however, radio could make a hit record but it didn't always have the power to break one. If the right act was able to play the pop game by doing the rounds of Smash Hits, a variety of talk shows and be up for some miming on Top of the Pops then they always stood a chance with the British.
Still, it didn't exactly catch on in Britain either, in spite of the best efforts of Tennant and the "deejay over the road". Seeing as how there are so many flop records that were anointed SOTF, I've wondered just what was missing that failed to get them on the charts (aside from, of course, the reviewer having absolutely lousy taste). While some lack that commercial spark, a modern sound and/or big time record company money, "I'm So Hot for You" suffers from the kind of anonymity that comes with being the product of the New York dance scene. The vocalist — who I was surprised to discover was Bobby O himself; DJ's sometimes look like lead singers but they don't typically sound like them — is workmanlike but that probably helps not to distract from the production and the superb percussion. Nicking, as Tennant notes, the distinctive synth from The Human League's "Don't You Want Me" gives it a familiarity which may have worked in the clubs ("I think I've heard this one before") but could seem like shoddy pilfering when sitting down to give it a listen.
Britain could have been open to a record like "I'm So Hot for You" but Bobby O was unwilling or unable to put in the promotional time. He had better things to do. He wasn't featured in the Hits beyond Tennant's glowing review and it wasn't until the following year that the pop journalist sought out the mysterious producer/singer while in New York to interview The Police at Madison Square Garden. Bobby O didn't come to them, Tennant had to come to him and he did so with his aspiring pop star's hat on. Though the pop critic-turned-singer along with long-time collaborator Chris Lowe would get their start with him, Bobby Orlando would remain something of a mystery to the pair. In Chris Heath's splendid account of their first tour Literally, someone mentions Bobby O and they ask about him. The individual tells them he's heard he now weighs over three hundred pounds, has found Jesus and is in the process of writing a book about why Darwin was a chump. None of this appears to be true but it says an awful lot about a man who could've been a pop star himself only he couldn't allow himself to do so. You wouldn't expect that having the ability to craft records at a prolific rate would hinder someone's path to stardom but there you have it.
~~~~~
Also Reviewed This Fortnight
The Pale Fountains: "Thank You"
The just about the closest thing to a hit that longtime unsung hero Michael Head ever had. No doubt music critics and his small but loyal following thinks this is "criminal" but I'm confident the rest of us will remain free from prison nonetheless. As Tennant says in a way only the future Pet Shop Boy wit could, it sounds like "one of the duffer tracks on a Cilla Black LP in the 1960s" yet he's somehow also rather fond of it, as am I. Just as Bobby O tweaked with The Human League to get dancers feeling familiar and comfortable, so too does Head by stroking that lovely Bachrach/Gainsbourg sixties' sound to chill out his crowd (or something to that effect). The great Andy Diagram contributes some perfectly-placed trumpet spots which adds to the cool vibes. No one would've noticed it back in '66 but, luckily, a handful more were paying attention sixteen years later. Not enough, mind you, to satisfy critics and fans but if they were being honest they'd admit that they prefer to have The Pale Fountains remain "criminally underrated", whatever the hell that means.
(Click here to see my original review)
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