The Bangles 12 to 1

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Norm Smith Medallist
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As a teenage boy during the 1980s, The Bangles definitely caught my attention. I did learn to admire their music as well as their looks. I have decided to make this countdown a 12 to 1 and to make it relate to their 1980s catalogue only. This era is when they meant the most to me. I don’t feel they were silly to make their comeback albums, but I am sticking with the songs I know and have listened to many times. I feel 12 to 1 is a suitable quota because during the 1980s, from what I can calculate, The Bangles released 43 songs, so 12 actually represents 28 percent of their output, which is a decent quota.


12 More Than Meets The Eye (1984, All Over the Place)

A song with an a cappella feel, and solid harmonies, from their debut album.

 

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10 Hero Takes a Fall (1984, All Over the Place)

The opening track to their debut album. Here they are singing it live for a famous American TV host


 

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9 Walking Down Your Street (1986, Different Light)

I wouldn't have said no to being in the pillow fight at the beginning of this clip. I guess they didn't have my number. This video does feature Randy Quaid and Little Richard.

 

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8 In Your Room (1988, Everything)

Many boys of my generation were pretending The Bangles were singing this song especially to them. The joke never seemed to get tired, even when the nerds said it.

 

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7 I’ll Set You Free (1988, Everything)

Writing about this song in Rolling Stone, Jimmy Guterman praised The Bangles' harmonies on this song. He stated that "their voices float, coalesce and soar".
Now that I've learnt what coalesce means, I can agree with him.

 

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6 If She Knew What She Wants (1986, Different Light)

Apparently there was a brief period of time where the group were considering making this song a B side, but it ended up becoming a successful single.


 

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5 Manic Monday (1986, Different Light)

This single, the group's first worldwide top 10 hit, was written of course by Prince under the pseudonym of Christopher.

 

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Norm Smith Medallist
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3 Walk Like an Egyptian (1986, Different Light)

I could have ranked this as number 1, and it's possibly their best known song. However, I do confess I think the video clip is a tiny bit daggy with the citizens doing the Egyptian walk. It is possible though that The Bangles meant the clip to be that way, not taking themselves too seriously. I didn't realise when I first listened to the record that there were three of them sharing the vocals, with Vicki, Michael and Susanna taking one verse each. Good bass line too.

 

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Norm Smith Medallist
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2 Going Down to Liverpool (1984, All Over the Place)

I could also have ranked this song as number 1, but I felt it more appropriate to put a song they had a hand in writing at the top. I admire any group who can get Leonard Nimoy to appear in one of their video clips after they have released only one album. Highly illogical captain? Well, the proof is in the watching. I like the harmony vocals in this song, which initially was written for Katrina and the Waves.


 
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1 Eternal Flame (1988, Everything)

This song was inspired by two eternal flames: one at the grave-site of Elvis Presley that the Bangles saw when the band visited Graceland, and one at a local synagogue in Palm Springs which had been visited as a child by Billy Steinberg, who was one of the song's co-writers.
In the BBC programme I'm in a Girl Group, Susanna Hoffs revealed she actually sang the studio recording of the song completely naked after producer Davitt Sigerson pranked her by telling her Olivia Newton-John had done the same thing, but he later told Hoffs he had been lying the whole time.

 

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An old TV Week pinup I've had for quite a while

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4 Hazy Shade of Winter (1987, Less Than Zero Soundtrack)

This rocked up version of a Simon and Garfunkel classic was recorded specifically for the movie Less Than Zero.


Love this song - would have Eternal Flame next Interesting to hear it was inspired by actual eternal flames
 
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4 Hazy Shade of Winter (1987, Less Than Zero Soundtrack)

This rocked up version of a Simon and Garfunkel classic was recorded specifically for the movie Less Than Zero.



As an aside, that film had an epic soundtrack and great (art imitates life?) performance by a young Robert Downey Jnr, but god was it ever a terrible betrayal of the source material.
 

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