By George !- Boy George Takes The UK By Storm !

George O'Dowd, better known to the pop world as Boy George certainly made an impact on the 80s with his band Culture Club.

International Appeal

Hit singles for George and the band followed, as did fame in Europe and the USA. Find out about more 80s icons in the artists room.

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Vinyl For Sale (Not Really!)

A Shameful Look At My Singles Collection !

I need the space, so I'm embarking on a clearout of singles.  Going through
my collection and throwing out the trash. A kind of Desert Island Discs in
reverse.

Dark Secrets
OK, so I'm baring my soul a little here.  All my peers circa 1982, the ones
who attended a series of gigs called The Alternative (free admission to the
un-waged) will see my cover blown.  They will realise that I actually latched
onto the Clash, The Damned, Pistols etc at least two years after everyone else,
but it's a  risk I'll have to take.
Condition of the records listed below follow the system used by Record
Collector Magazine i.e.: (M)int, (Ex)cellent, (G)ood, (F)air, (P)oor. 
DURAN DURAN - Please, Please, Tell Me Now (Is There Something I Should Know) 
(P) - Bought in 1982 to impress a girl called Gillian, this one has to go. 
Not only for its indiscriminate use of brackets, but because of the clever Le
Bon lyric You're about as easy as a nuclear war.
SABRINA - Boys, Boys, Boys (P) - I fell for it.  Did you see the video?  Well
endowed Euro-temptress who will be remembered, apart from the obvious, for
bringing out the single 'Every Girl and Boy Likes Making Love' right in the
middle of the Aids hysteria.
BILL WYMAN - Si Si, Je Suis Une Rock Star (P) - The Rolling Stones' bassist
goes it alone and proves why he's the Stones' bassist.  I drank far too much in
1981.
J GEILS BAND - Centerfold (P) - Because it brings back memories of a seedy city centre pub and a DJ who resembled Kid Jensen's Dad.  You just know that the line 'My Angel is a centerfold' translates as, 'a Polaroid of my ex has appeared on the Reader's Wives page'. Tacky, politically incorrect, very un-80s, what was I thinking of?  I drank far too much in 1982.
BARDOT - One Step Further (P) - After the landslide victory in the 1981
Eurovision Song Contest, Great Britain needed another Bucks Fizz, and Bardot were probably the two that were left behind when the Bucks Fizz tour bus set off.  Rules at the time required each entry to be close to 3 minutes in duration.  'One Step Further' was bang on 3 minutes, a carefully crafted Eurovision song, bouncy, cute with obligatory key change.  It lost out to the German girl who sang the one about Peace.
NENA - 99 Red Balloons (P) - Speaking of German girls, I fell for this one
too (see entry under Sabrina).  It was the pink headband and electric blue
boiler suit that had me reaching for my wallet in HMV back in the spring of 1984.  I drank too much in 1984. 
Sensible offers only for the above.  May exchange for beer/wine etc

Above article first published in the Dark Neon Ezine July 2003 www.darkneon.com 

What We Were Listening To 25 Years Ago

Michael Jackson started March 1983 off with a number one in Britan with Billie Jean, but only for a week as he was replaced by Bonnie Tyler with the Jim Steinman song Total Eclipse Of The Heart. The last week of the month saw a new number one from Duran Duran with Is There Something I Should Know.

Over in the States, it was better news for Michael Jackson's Billie Jean which stayed at number on in the American charts throughout the month.

Duran Duran were also experiencing success in America when they were mobbed by 5000 fans in New York.

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Multi Purpose Gadgets - An 80s Thing !

Real Ale was in fashion for all those Northern English teenagers who knew that beer wasn't just for breakfast during the 80s. Those of us who drank real ale and worried about nuclear escalation and liked a pint or two welcomed the multi purpose badges like the one shown above ! Visit the fads and fashions room at the Naff Caff if you remember similar items like the Rubicks Cube, bouncy, clacky things and legwarmers ! . Exhibits updated regularly

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Social Intercourse At The Naff Caff

Whey- hey, the word intercourse is always guaranteed to attract attention, but did you know you can now indulge in intercourse, of the social variety, with your fellow Naff Caff devotees ?

good clean fun

The message forum is now up and running again. Back by popular demand, well two people asked about it, the forum with lively social debates, amusing cultural debates and saucy mass debates is online now and waiting for your input. Talk about the 70s, 80s, today, music, TV....anything goes.

be there or be.... somewhere else

We have a new forum provider and it's really easy to use. So feel free to drop in, say hi, grab a chair, get a beer, put your feet up and call the cat a bastard. If you can't be there, we expect you to bring a note from home...