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    Perhaps unfortunately, the main thing I remember about John Mellencamp is how much he dislikes the 'Cougar', so any mention of him just serves to twist the knife in the wound.

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      It's very true that the USA and UK had very different chart cultures. You just had to tune in to Paul Gambaccini's US rundown to get instant culture shock. Mariah Carey has, IIRC, more US #1s than Elvis or The Beatles, which is just insane.

      OTOH the US charts have always had a radio play component, so they have been distorted in a way that is comparable to how streaming distorts today's UK charts, i.e. they have had a large component of passive listening rather than spending hard cash on a physical product.

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        Originally posted by Jah Womble View Post
        J C Mellencamp only charted with Jack and Diane here in the UK - and only #25 at that. Similarly, Rick Springfield only made the British Top 40 with Human Touch (#23). I think that their acts were considered a bit 'retro' by the shiny UK pop brigade.

        Folk over here just weren't having it.
        That strain of rock just makes more sense when heard driving a pick up truck round Ohio, compared to say driving a Renault 5 round Carlisle.

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          You make a good point, sir.

          But why does Mellencamp so hate any mention of 'Cougar', though? I mean, he must have named himself thus in the first place, no?

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            It was an authenticity/gravitas thing, IIRC. Johnny Cougar was a plastic puppet of the record industry whereas John Mellencamp was a gritty blue collar poet. I don't know whether he's become more reconciled to it over time, having been taken seriously for a good while now.

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              It seems that he was billed as Johnny/John Cougar from 1976-82, John Cougar Mellencamp from 1983-1990 and has been John Mellencamp since. Cougar wasn't his idea, but his people thought Mellencamp wasn't catchy enough. Once he had enough commercial clout he changed it back.

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                Good info, thanks. According to his Wiki, 'Johnny Cougar' didn't even know he was named thus until seeing it printed on the sleeve of his debut album.

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                  J(C)M has been getting the respect he richly deserves. We've seen him a few times, including a very talky interactive movie/concert thing he did at Massey Hall a few years ago. We also saw his musical Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, which was a Stephen King / Mellencamp joint. The book and performance were pretty hit and miss, but the songs were fantastic. When we were at the R&RHoF in Cleveland in October, they had a fairly substantial [temporary] exhibit on JM, including his motorbike and a shit-ton more stuff, including his (quite large) original paintings.

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                    To some extent people like JCM are stereotyped in the UK due to the over-exposure of their one hit on Radio 2 and commercial retro stations. We don't get to hear their mature songs that WOM clearly enjoys; instead the artists are stuck in a permanent 1985.

                    But that is also the pop curse; the UK often just gives you that one big hit, which you can only grow beyond by having no more commercial success here. You cannot rely on a massive AOR radio network to keep your audience and clock up chart contributions.

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                      Originally posted by Jah Womble View Post
                      Good info, thanks. According to his Wiki, 'Johnny Cougar' didn't even know he was named thus until seeing it printed on the sleeve of his debut album.
                      Maybe the transition from Cougar to Mellencamp came about from a 'cease and desist' from Tiger (and Speed)?

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                        Whoa, they were different times alright.

                        The Johnny Cougar overlap was just a coincidence but pressure from the British comics industry was behind Stevie Little Plum, aka Steve 'Little Plum' Earle, latterly trading as plain Steve Earle.

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                          That has more than once crossed my mind. However, Tiger themselves also had Splash Gorton - which could've come under similar scrutiny from King Features.

                          ('Who are you calling 'King Features'?' Etc.)

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                            Originally posted by Benjm View Post
                            Whoa, they were different times alright.

                            The Johnny Cougar overlap was just a coincidence but pressure from the British comics industry was behind Stevie Little Plum, aka Steve 'Little Plum' Earle, latterly trading as plain Steve Earle.
                            Happened in several fields. Dennis The Menace Bergkamp, Minnie The Minx Driver, Ron Gnasher Jeremy.

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                              Originally posted by Satchmo Distel View Post
                              Happened in several fields. Dennis The Menace Bergkamp, Minnie The Minx Driver, Ron Gnasher Jeremy.
                              John Fashanu had good lawyers and after a bitter legal battle with DC Thomson was able to keep rights to one third of his original nickname.

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                                These 1985 episodes of Top Of The Pops really seem to justify my stopping watching in 1984...

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                                  Interesting tonight, I think it's fair to describe the lead singer of the Dream Academy as an "utter fanny"! In fact, all of the Dream Acadamy are utter fannies!

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                                    Woah, had forgotten all about the Bronski Beat/Marc Almond hook up of I Feel Love and Johnny Remember Me. Very odd!

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                                      I don't think I've ever heard it before. Very much a number that was less than the sum of its parts.

                                      Other hot take from last night: I know it's for charidee and that, but We Are The World really is awful mawkish dross isn't it?

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                                        I felt a bit uncomfortable watching last night's, originally broadcast April 1985, knowing what was around the corner in British football.

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                                          Originally posted by longeared View Post
                                          Other hot take from last night: I know it's for charidee and that, but We Are The World really is awful mawkish dross isn't it?
                                          Did you expect searing social commentary along the lines of "Well, tonight thank God it's them instead of you"?

                                          In the video, Springsteen seems to have either a case of stomach cramps or an overdose of earnest compassion.

                                          And Quincy Jones in that great interview recently hinted that Cyndi Lauper was being really difficult, and insinuated that he thought she fucked the song up. I think her part is the best bit about it.

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                                            Originally posted by G-Man View Post
                                            Did you expect searing social commentary along the lines of "Well, tonight thank God it's them instead of you"?
                                            Given that it was only hurriedly put together in order to compete with the latter, no.

                                            I seem to recall that Jacko insisted on re-shooting the video because he didn't think he looked good enough.

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                                              Willie Nelson's bit always used to tickle me

                                              My favourite comment on it was BDP's:
                                              You could talk about Nigeria
                                              People used to laugh at ya
                                              Now I look around I see
                                              USA for AFRICA??!

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                                                Originally posted by Squarewheelbike View Post
                                                Woah, had forgotten all about the Bronski Beat/Marc Almond hook up of I Feel Love and Johnny Remember Me. Very odd!
                                                Both are gay anthems of their time, I guess. Morrissey picked the latter on Andy Peebles' My Top Ten in 1984.

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                                                  Sadly, the Music Television Revisionism thread is going to have to wait; this Old Grey Whistle Test special is as dull as ditchwater so far.

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                                                    I just love how the Rah Band imagine interplanetary travel has the communications handled with a good old fashioned telephone switchboard (the nod to the future being the robot operator).

                                                    Given that it'll be a year until P.R. Johnson and his beau can talk again (and fuck knows how long until they get to see each other) the two should just crack on with the affairs that the flight commander is obviously having and she so desperately wants.

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