Yazoo -- Don't Go

 

Once again, since it is a holiday Monday here in Canada, we're having another special Reminiscings of Youth article, and this time it's on 80s British synthpop duo Yazoo and their big hit "Don't Go". Released in July 1982, I swear that the opening synth riff had been used as the theme song for a ton of music video shows in Canada and the United States. It's probably one of the most well-known riffs of the 1980s.

In fact, I had known that riff some time before I figured out who Yazoo was. There was former Depeche Mode member Vince Clarke on the keyboards and vocalist Alison Moyet who has a voice who could knock out the doors of any church with that gospel soul in her. And yet, here she was handling a technopop tune.

Although "Don't Go" was a key song of my youth, it didn't seem to make any mark on the Canadian charts. However it did reach No. 1 on the US Hot Dance/Disco chart and it also hit the top spot in Belgium, Iceland and Israel. 

So, what was at the top of the Oricon chart for July 1982? I have Nos. 1, 3 and 4.

1. Hiromi Iwasaki -- Madonna Tachi no Lullaby (聖母たちのララバイ）

3. Johnny -- Hyaku-man Doru Baby（$百萬BABY）

4. Takashi Hosokawa -- Kita Sakaba (北酒場）

Johnny -- Hyaku-man Doru Baby（$百萬BABY）

 

When I first saw the name Johnny, I naturally assumed that this had something to do with one of the early singers from Johnny's Entertainment with folks like Masahiko Kondo（近藤真彦）and Hikaru Genji（光GENJI）.

I was definitely wrong on that point. Johnny is actually the stage name for Masato Asanuma（浅沼正人）, and he has been the guitarist for the rock n' roll band THE CRAZY RIDER Yokohama Ginbae ROLLING SPECIAL（横浜銀蝿）all these years. However, outside of his time with the group, Johnny has also had his solo career with six singles, a couple of albums and four BEST compilations.

His second single from June 1982 was "Hyaku-man Doru Baby" (Million Dollar Baby) which was composed by him and written by Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）. A cool Kawasaki ride of a song with a guitar solo as a heck of an engine, Johnny's vocals lightly soar over the pavement as he implores his girl that she is indeed every penny of those million bucks. The thrumming single, which hit No. 1 and finished the year as the 32nd-ranked song, never got onto any of Johnny's original albums but did make it onto the 1984 "Johnny vs. Yokohama Ginbae"（Johnny VS 横浜銀蝿）.

The single was released on King Records, and many years later, Johnny ended up becoming one of the senior operating officers of the recording company and its second creative director. Just out of trivia's sake, a million dollars in 1982 would now be worth a little over three million today.