Kissing the Pink were just another New Wave synth-pop goup from the United Kingdom. Members included Nick Whitecross, John Hall, George Stewart, Josephine Wells, Pete Barnett, Sylvia Griffin, Steve Cusack, and Simon Aldridge.
Their first single was "Don't Hide in the Shadows", made with Martin Hannett, but it wasn't until they dropped their first manager (celebrated in their song "Michael"), and signed with Magnet Records that they began to get any airplay. They recorded their first album in AIR studios with producer Colin Thurston, who had engineered David Bowie's Heroes and later worked with Duran Duran amongst others. Kissing the Pink had wanted Brian Eno to produce the album but Magnet thought Thurston would make a more commercial impact. After a series of near-misses with tracks off the upcoming album the single "Last Film" reached the top 20. The album, Naked, didn't sell a lot of copies but was a favourite with the college crowd who presumably appreciated its intelligence and wit. Most people when they talk of Naked marvel at the sheer variety of songs on the album, and while this may be its abiding strength, at the time it probably made the album too hard to classify, and thus it was largely ignored.
Their first Hot 100 entry was "Maybe This Day," which hit #87 in 1983. Also from that year they released "Love Lasts Forever" whioch got a LOT of airplay on WLIR in New York. This is where I most certainly heard it. In 1985 following the departure by some of the members they shortened their name to KTP and began having hits on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The most successful was "Certain Things Are Likely," which spent three weeks at #1 in 1987. That song also became their second Hot 100 entry when it peaked at #97 later that year. From the same album "One Step" was the biggest selling single in Italy that year when they were given an award on an Italian television show they mistook it for an ashtray.
Their first single was "Don't Hide in the Shadows", made with Martin Hannett, but it wasn't until they dropped their first manager (celebrated in their song "Michael"), and signed with Magnet Records that they began to get any airplay. They recorded their first album in AIR studios with producer Colin Thurston, who had engineered David Bowie's Heroes and later worked with Duran Duran amongst others. Kissing the Pink had wanted Brian Eno to produce the album but Magnet thought Thurston would make a more commercial impact. After a series of near-misses with tracks off the upcoming album the single "Last Film" reached the top 20. The album, Naked, didn't sell a lot of copies but was a favourite with the college crowd who presumably appreciated its intelligence and wit. Most people when they talk of Naked marvel at the sheer variety of songs on the album, and while this may be its abiding strength, at the time it probably made the album too hard to classify, and thus it was largely ignored.
Their first Hot 100 entry was "Maybe This Day," which hit #87 in 1983. Also from that year they released "Love Lasts Forever" whioch got a LOT of airplay on WLIR in New York. This is where I most certainly heard it. In 1985 following the departure by some of the members they shortened their name to KTP and began having hits on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The most successful was "Certain Things Are Likely," which spent three weeks at #1 in 1987. That song also became their second Hot 100 entry when it peaked at #97 later that year. From the same album "One Step" was the biggest selling single in Italy that year when they were given an award on an Italian television show they mistook it for an ashtray.
But, hey.....let's celebrate 1985. What a year for music!!
.jpg)
1 comment:
Amazing song. I played it in the clubs early in the night when the music was always best for those who cared about music and knew, but I'm surprised the song got much airplay on the radio in the US. Kissing The Pink (snooker slang) was not so much a band as an aggregation of music college students. "Love Lasts Forever" is scary if you can make out the breathy spoken word part by the girl whose "hair is blonde." The lyrics are not available on the internet that I can find. Her story boils down to lust, seduction, submission, sex, doubts, and finally murder. Her "What's that for?!" near the end refers to a gun. Love lasts forever only in heaven.
Post a Comment