Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc) was released in 1982 by OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) and was the third single from their third studio album Architecture & Morality. The track was originally called Joan of Arc (Maid of Orleans) but was renamed for the single release to avoid confusion with their previous single "Joan of Arc".
In it's 6/8 time signature the track was originally written by Andy McCluskey of OMD on the 30th May 1981, the 550 anniversary of Joan of Arc's death. The main theme is played on an electro-mechanical instrument called a Mellotron using it's "3-Violins" sound.
The track was ranked as the 18th best single of the 1980s by bi-Monthly British Pop Magazine Classic Pop, adding that "as soon as you hear this you remember greatness".
It's hard to describe why this is my favourite music track of all time but I can remember hearing it for the first time and immediately falling in love with it.
I was staying with my Aunty and Uncle during the summer holidays of 1982 and one of my cousins was playing the single one evening. As the track blasted out of the speakers on his Hi-Fi system I was spellbound, it's drumbeat, haunting Mellotron melody and Andy McCluskey's vocals had me hypnotized and from that moment on I was hooked on the track forever.
I was already a fan of OMD having previosly heard and liked their single "Enola Gay" but there was something very special about "Maid of Orleans" and that's why it is indeed my all time favourite tune.
Nowadays whenever I listen to the track I'm instantly transported back in time to my childhood, and in particular that summer spent staying at my Aunty and Uncle's house. They were indeed good times and this track helps evoke those happy memories for me.
Fish 'n' Chips are another one of my favourite childhood snacks and I can still remember tasting these for the first time back in primary school in the early 80s.
Flavoured with salt and vinegar they are fish and chip shaped mini baked biscuits and I'm not wrong in saying that they were a firm favourite on the school playground during breaktimes.
BURTON'S re-introduced the iconic brand back in January 2014 following high profile campaigns in The Grocer's 'Bring Back The Brand' Poll and The Sun, where it was voted number one retro brand the nation wanted to see back on the shelf.
Even today I still enjoy this snack and whenever I have them I'm taken right back to my junior school days.
When the supernatural comedy film Ghostbusters came out back in 1984 there were two things I loved just as much as the film itself, the film theme tune by Ray Parker Jr. and the iconic Ghostbusters logo.
THE THEME TUNE
What can I say, this is one of the most iconic soundtracks in cinematic history and it still sounds great some thirty eight years later. Whenever I hear the track it takes me back to the summer time when it was first released. If I remember correctly it was in the UK Singles Chart for about three weeks and therefore got quite a lot of airplay on the UK radio.
I only learnt years later that Ray Parker Jr. was sued by Huey Lewis and the News for plagiarism shortly after the films release because he was alleged to have copied the melody and bassline from Lewis' 1983 song called "I Want a New Drug".
The case was settled out of court in 1985 for an undisclosed sum and a confidentiality agreement that prohibited discussing the case.
Shortly after their first encounter with a ghost, a trio of Parapsychology professors form a paranormal investigation and elimination service called "Ghostbusters" afer being fired from the university where they worked due to the credibility of their paranormal-focused research.
Operating out of a disused firestation they set about developing high tech nuclear powered equipment to capture and contain ghosts. Business is initially slow but soon they find themselves being called out to deal with more and more ghosts across the city as supernatural activity rapidly increases. Eventually the Ghostbusters become famous and they have to hire a forth member to help them deal with growing demand.
An Environmental Protection Agency inspector becomes suspicious of the Ghostbusters work and soon has them arrested forcing their ghost containment unit to be deactivated which by this time is almost nearing capacity. The resultant deactivation causes an explosion and releases the captured ghosts. With supernatural chaos now across the city the Ghostbusters convince the major to release them from jail.
The film then culminates with them having to deal with a giant Marshmallow Man called Mr. Stay-Puft which is destroying the city. The Marshmallow Man is in actual fact a physical manifestation of an apocalyptic Sumerian deity named Gozer which has been summoned down to earth by two possessed entities via a dimensional gate.
The Ghostbusters are able to create an explosion by crossing their proton energy streams at the gate and Gozer's avatar is then destroyed banishing it back to it's dimension with the gateway then closing.
The Ghostbusters are then welcomed on the streets as heroes.
Unfortunately I never got to see the film at the cinema when it was first released and I had to wait until it was aired on British television a few years later.. I can remember all the hype at the time of it's release though and thats how I come to like the iconic Ghostbusters logo so much.
The Ghostbusters logo which is more commonly referred to as the No-Ghost Sign must surely be one of the most iconic logos of the 80s. I love the logo so much, it's so simple yet so striking. I particularly like the use of colours too and feel that the white ghost within the red "No Entry" sign work so well together on the solid black background.
There is an interesting article on the history of the Ghostbusters logo and I've provided a link for it below. One thing I learnt whilst doing research for this post was that the ghost in the logo actually had a name; he was called Mooglie.
This was the first proper Football Kit I ever had as a child and I can still remember unwrapping it on Christmas morning back in 1983. The kit was manufactured by Umbro and it came in a fancy presentation box which gave teasing glimpses of the jersey, shorts and socks within.
I don't think I took this kit off for the first two weeks after unwrapping it that morning. It has remained one of my favourite Liverpool kits of all time and was the best Christmas present I ever received from my Mum and Dad during my childhood.
I was first exposed to the music of Jean-Michel Jarre in the early 80s during the start of Primary School.
There was a Teacher by the name of Miss Hobson who used to put together little shows every Harvest Festival which we'd watch during the school assembly. She would have the children from her class dress up as flowers and they would perform choreographed dance routines to tracks taken from Jean-Michel Jarre's "Oxygene" and "Equinoxe" albums. As I sat and watched them perform along to his music I was totally taken aback by what I was hearing.
However, it wasn't until a few years later whilst listening to an album called "The Essential Jean-Michel Jarre" soon after starting Secondary School that I'd finally discovered who the maestro responsbile for that wonderful music I'd previously heard was.
The "Essential Jean-Michel Jarre" album was a compilation of his early albums Oxygene, Equinoxe and Magnetic Fields and is a great introductory album to some of his finest early work if you've never heard of him before.
Jean-Michel Jarre Discography
He has continued to produce some great albums over the years and it's no surprise that he's often referred to as the "Godfather of Electronic Music".
I grew up listening to Jean Michel Jarre and his wonderful music evokes so many fond memories for me. That's why he will always remain one of my all time favourite musicians.
I have fond memories of Wood-chip wallpaper as I can remember it being on the walls in our house during my childhood. Whenever I think of this wallpaper it takes me back to that family home where I spent most of my primary and senior school years. It covered the walls in my bedroom too and was painted white; I loved it so much.
Roast Beef flavoured Monster Munch have always been one of my favourite childhood snacks. Manufactured by Smiths they first came out back in 1977 and were originally called "The Prime Monster" until they were renamed a year later to "Monster Munch".
"Any Second Now" was the B-side to Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" single released on 7th September 1981 and was their first commercially available instrumental.
There is another version this track called "Any Second Now (Voices)" and it featured on their debut album "Speak & Spell" which was released on 5th October 1981.
This is my favourite Depeche Mode instrumental track and one I played over and over again as a teen.
