Wang Chung -- Let's Go!

 

It was January 2022 when I posted Wang Chung's "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" as the first (and certainly not last) entry of the band on KKP's Reminiscings of Youth series. From the date and at least one sentence in my comments, I got the impression that we were still cautiously exiting the pandemic tunnel at the time. We did need that great 80s party song to bring back some cheer and action into our lives again.

Well, more than two years later, it was nice to see lead vocalist Jack Hues appear on the local news channel here for an interview the other day because he and his partner Nick Feldman were to do a gig at the legendary El Mocambo in downtown Toronto. Absolutely amiable and classy guy. I'm sure everybody had fun that night.😛

So I figured that it was time for another Wang Chung song on ROY this week, and to keep the good times rolling, I'm going with their January 1987 single "Let's Go". I used to hear this all the time on the radio and I even ended up getting the 12" remix version but never got to see the entire music video. Man, is it the most 1980s video I've seen in recent memory! It's silly as all get out but fun as well. And I get to see Hues and Feldman really pour out the emotion unlike the stone faces they showed in the seizure-inducing video for "Everybody Have Fun Tonight". In fact, I think Hues had a major case of the giggles in the early part of the video here, much like Daryl Hall was having difficulty keeping it together in the video for "Method of Modern Love" (I'll have to cover that one soon enough).

But 80s imagery and goofiness aside, "Let's Go" is another fun-filled song. It may not have the nighttime party vibe of "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" but it's still as catchy with plenty of times to shout out during the song, thanks to that easy-to-yell title and it's a great thing that the expression "Let's Go" is still supremely popular at movies and sports events. The song reached No. 9 in both America and Canada and is also available as a track on Wang Chung's "Mosaic" album from October 1986.

So, what were taking up the three top positions on Oricon's list for January 1987?

1. Marina Watanabe -- White Rabbit kara no Message（ホワイトラビットからのメッセージ）

2. Yoko Minamino -- Rakuen no Door （楽園のDoor）

3. Masahiko Kondo -- Orokamono （愚か者）