Music That Saved Me, Letter P, Part 2

Since we were reminiscing about summer camp in my last post, it is only fitting that I start with Phil Collins. 

I liked Genesis (particularly Land of Confusion and Jesus he knows me) but i was really crazy about No Jacket Required. it is a phenomenal album with great songs like Sussudio and Don't Lose my Number. But I was particularly fond of the soppy ballad One More Night because of his heartfelt emotion in his voice. I used to listen to to it before i went to sleep to guarantee sweet dreams. But alas! The moment I arrived at camp they confiscated my beloved walkman and i had  to go without. My camp counsellor said it was because i would listen to it all the time and not tune in the world around me. I said i only wanted it before bed, but she still wouldn't give it back. However, each cabin had to do vespers and when it was our turn we used the cassettes i bought to go with our service. we played the Beatles All You Need is Love and this song--a song that still moves me today called Long, Long Way to Go. 
Listen to it here:

Psychedelic Furs

I loved this new wave, post punk band, especially lead singer Richard Butler's distinctive voice. They reached some mainstream popularity with their song Pretty in Pink which was used in the 80's film of the same name.
 
I love it because it's a story song. We have either been this woman or known this woman and it is not a good place to be.
Here is the video with film footage. This version was rerecorded for the film and is slightly different from the original, but still good.  Don't forget to cream your knickers when Andrew McCarthy smiles at you.
Watch it here:

Fun fact: I modelled much of my clothing on the costumes from this film. Molly Ringwald was my fashion idol.
My other choice is another story song. It's called All of This and Nothing. It's a song that tells all that is left after a lover leaves/dies. Just useless ephemera like ticket stubs or shopping lists. All of this...and nothing. For ages i thought he was saying "a pocket full of bees" but thanks to google, I have found he is actually saying "a pocket full of beads" which makes so much more sense. There is a funny little sad intro before the main song.
Listen to it here:

Pet Shop Boys

Like everyone else in the 80's I fell in love with the song West End Girls and all the hits that followed. My favourite was probably Opportunities because it told a story.
Watch it here:

Interesting trivia: David Tennant (real name David McDonald)  of Dr Who fame chose the name Tennant as his stage name because of his love for the Pet Shop Boys lead singer Neil Tennant.

I loved them because they did a duet with Dusty Springfield and i spent hours of my childhood lip-syncing I Only Wanna Be With You into a hairbrush in front of the mirror. But they also did a version of Willie Nelson's You Were Always on my Mind that was quite good. But my other favourite song was a song called Rent that was later covered by Liza Minnelli.  It tells the story of a "kept" man (or woman) who is provided for  financially and contains the cynical line, "I love you, you pay my rent."  Watch it here:

Vocabulary: in case you didn't know the words "rent boy" mean a male prostitute in the UK.

Raw Sex

The comedy band Raw Sex (the fantastic Simon Brint and Rowland Rivron) who often toured with French and Saunders do a fabulous parody of this song with the lyrics:
But you just stand behind me
With a TV and a keyboard 
That someone has lent you
You're good at standing still 
I'm quite good at singing 
They love it 
It pays our rent
Sadly, it is blocked for "copyright" reasons. Pooh pooh. But take my word for it, it was clever.

Have you ever misheard lyrics? Have you ever wanted a pocket full of bees?