Wrapped in taffeta and camp while sporting a foot-high blonde beehive, Mari Wilson (not the Supreme) stepped out of the mid-sixties and straight into the new wave movement with her 1983 debut, “Show People†and its centerpiece single, “Just What I Always Wantedâ€.
Wilson began her career with a huge backing group dubbed the “Wilsationsâ€, including three male background singers who had the nelliest, campiest choreography ever. Mari notched a couple chart hits in the U.K. and MTV put the “Just What…†video in light rotation, where I sat waiting to see it for hours and hours, alongside the video for Tears For Fears’ “Pale Shelter†after my best friend Brandon claimed he saw once and I refused to believe him (he was right, by the way). There, tucked between such videos as Planet P “Why Me?†and Rod Stewart “Baby Jane†came Mari, all sixties girl group glam and lush production, belting a Bacharach-ish tune with electronic drums. Heaven.
Wilson’s “Show People†album was packed with such treasures, but the highlight was probably her version of “Cry Me a Riverâ€, where she very nearly ditched all the camp novelty aspects of her act and gave a stirring, moody performance. It’s quite lovely and pointed toward her future career as a smooth-jazz performer. A few more singles, a cameo in the Soft Cell video for “What!â€, a record label dispute and one final jazzy album in 1991 followed, then the quiet life until this month, when Mari released her first album in 15 years, “Dolled Upâ€.
VH1 Classic rolls the “Just What I Always Wanted†video here and there, so if you get the chance, definitely check it out.
Download “Just What I Always Wanted (single version)â€.
Download “Just What I Always Wanted (extended version)â€.
Download “Cry Me a Riverâ€.
You can find some more recent Mari Wilson CDs
here, and one compilation of her new wave era songs, but don’t have a coronary when you see the price tag.
â€Just What I Always Wanted†failed to chart in 1983.
“Cry Me a River†was not released as a single in the U.S.
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