Á¢€Å“Secret OktoberÁ¢€, the flip side of DuranÁ¢€â„¢s Á¢€Å“Union of the SnakeÁ¢€ is truly a buried gem, a song that would have considerably brightened the overblown and overly bloated Á¢€Å“Seven and the Ragged TigerÁ¢€ (perhaps replacing the unnecessary instrumental Á¢€Å“Tiger, TigerÁ¢€?). Á¢€Å“Secret OktoberÁ¢€ is basically Simon and Nick, vocals and synths, very much in the vein of Á¢€Å“The ChaufferÁ¢€ off Á¢€Å“RioÁ¢€, a nice melody over a comparatively understated synth riff. It continues to be a big fan favorite to this day Á¢€” I even saw them do it live in 1994 during the Cucurillo years, so it must be close to the boys. Luckily for Durannies, each and every b-side and remix is available on two different box sets. The first one (Á¢€â„¢81-Á¢€â„¢85) is essential, the second, not so much.

And by request, hereÁ¢€â„¢s a pretty rare Kissing the Pink b-side Á¢€” Á¢€Å“Garden PartyÁ¢€ is not the Ricky Nelson hit, but rather an extension of its a-side, Á¢€Å“Maybe This DayÁ¢€ (which we’ve talked about here). IÁ¢€â„¢d like to think it was meant to describe the party sung about in Á¢€Å“Maybe This DayÁ¢€ (over the garden wall she said / letÁ¢€â„¢s go to the party). Perhaps, or maybe it has nothing to do with it. In any case, itÁ¢€â„¢s an arty, moody little number, worth a couple of listens, but hardly their best.

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John C. Hughes

John C. Hughes began his Lost in the ’80s blog in 2005 and is now proud to be a member of the Popdose family, where he’s introduced LIT80s’s companions, the obviously named Lost in the ’70s and Lost in the ’90s, alongside the slightly more originally named Why You Should Like…

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