Olivia Newton-John -- Twist of Fate

By Alan Light via Wikimedia Commons

The last time I brought Olivia Newton-John into Reminiscings of Youth was a little over a year ago when I wrote about her early 1970s ballad "I Honestly Love You". When I look back on her career from that time forward a decade, it's amazing how much she changed her style. And yes, I'm well aware that we are approaching the 4th anniversary of her passing.

From a well-scrubbed country lass back in those 1970s to a New Wave diva of the early 1980s (and a disco gamine in between...along with her time in "Grease"). Yep, I'm referring to the above music video for her October 1983 hit "Twist of Fate" which I saw a lot on the video shows. I'm not sure whether a lot of folks actually watched the movie that it was attached to, the 1983 "Two of a Kind", starring Newton-John and her old buddy from "Grease", John Travolta, but the song and the video sure were popular. 

As I mentioned, "Twist of Fate" was a synthpop/New Wave-y concoction produced by David Foster and created by Steve Kipner and Peter Beckett that was catchy and pretty much screamed "I'M OF THE 80'S!" in its arrangement. Maybe it could have gotten folks onto the dance floor as well. But it was the music video that got my attention at least with a glammed-up Olivia strutting into a seemingly futuristic court. I swear that she looked halfway to becoming a live-action version of Memphis Group art. I think even the singer mocked herself in a later interview about how much lipstick she spackled onto her mouth for the video, although I thought she looked dang hot to be honest.😉

In Canada, "Twist of Fate" reached No. 5 on RPM while in the United States, the song peaked at No. 5 as well. So, what was up on the Oricon charts on October 24th 1983, a few days after the release of this OJN hit? Just for fun, let's go with Nos. 18-20.

18. Tomio Umezawa -- Yume Shibai （夢芝居）

19. Yuki Katsuragi -- Bohemian （ボヘミアン）

20. H2O -- Omoide ga Ippai （思い出がいっぱい）

Yuki Katsuragi & Daisuke Inoue -- Gray no Asa ni（グレイの朝に）

 

This song is even more poignant when I consider that both Yuki Katsuragi（葛城ユキ）and Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）are no longer around with us. "Gray no Asa ni" (On a Gray Morning) is a fitting power ballad as a B-side to growly Katsuragi's arguably most famous rock song "Bohemian"（ボヘミアン）from May 1983.

Written by Ryo Shoji（東海林良）and composed by the late Inoue as a duet involving Katsuragi and Inoue, "Gray no Asa ni" seems to be a elegy to a relationship and perhaps the beginnings of new hope in the future. Although there is still some rock in there, I think the melodic inspiration for the ballad also comes from some Motown soul. I like the song but at this point anyways, the sudden crescendo into an epic horn fanfare kinda goes a little too high into the stratosphere. However, if there were ever a joint tribute to Katsuragi and Inoue, this would be the ballad to send them off with.

Yuki Katsuragi (Sayoko Tanaka) -- Yoru wo Kaeshite（夜を返して）

 

It was a good "Uta Con"（うたコン）tonight. Not only did folks like enka star Yoshimi Tendo（天童よしみ）and pop singer Ayaka（絢香）appear but it was also the NHK debut of Atarashii Gakko no Leaders（新しい学校のリーダース）with their breakthrough hit, "Otonablue"（オトナブルー）.

However, I was stunned by the revelation that rock singer Yuki Katsuragi（葛城ユキ）had passed away a year ago from cancer at the age of 73 as reported on the show. I had no idea about the death but Nanase Aikawa（相川七瀬）appeared to pay tribute to her friend with her cover of Katsuragi's most famous hit "Bohemian"（ボヘミアン）from 1983. 

I had wondered whether I would only add a blurb at the end of my original article of "Bohemian" noting her passing but then I looked up her J-Wiki profile and discovered some information. Katsuragi had actually been born Sayoko Tanaka（田中小夜子）in Okayama Prefecture. She actually debuted as a singer under her real name in November 1969 at the age of 20 although aside from that fact, there is literally no other information about her until she took on the stage name of Yuki Katsuragi in 1974.

The hard rock "Bohemian" is the only song that I know Katsuragi for, so it was with some surprise that her debut single under Tanaka, "Yoru wo Kaeshite" (Bring Back the Night), was a song straddling enka and Mood Kayo. Written by Hiroshi Mikami（三上博司）and composed by Keiji Saito（斉藤敬二）, Tanaka's slightly raspy and resonant vocals remind me of the music that singer and actress Keiko Fuji（藤圭子）was singing at the time. 

I realize that it's a year late but I would still like to give my condolences to her family, friends and fans.

Commodores -- Turn Off The Lights

 

In the name of transparency, this particular article had meant to be the ROY article of the week but when I saw the news about it being Stevie Wonder's birthday today, I just had to get "Sir Duke" up there. But I will still get this ROY up here today as well, because it is also an old radio favourite of mine.

Now I realize that the Commodores have released their fair share of hits such as "Three Times A Lady", "Nightshift" and "Lady (You Bring Me Up)", but there is something about "Turn Off The Lights" from their 10th studio album "Commodores 13" which was released in September 1983 that still gets me shimmying away in the chair (yes, I know...I really should get some active exercise). 

Strangely enough, just like with Microchip League's "New York, New York" that I covered as a ROY a couple of weeks ago, I had been wondering about which band performed this song. Of course, with Commodores singing out the title in the refrain, that was easy enough to figure out but for whatever reason, it took some years to find out who did sing it, despite knowing all about the group hitting the top of the charts, especially with "Nightshift". However, I finally did resolve the identity puzzle and whenever I need a mood uplifter, "Turn Off The Lights" is one of my go-to songs. Considering the year of release, I don't know whether this would still be a disco song or a post-disco song (maybe Marcos V. can enlighten me here), but the main point is that "Turn Off The Lights" takes me to my happy place. All thanks to Commodores member William King and his wife, Shirley Hanna-King for coming up with this one.

So, what were the Oricon Top 3 for September 1983?

1. Anri -- Cat's Eye

2. Irene Cara -- Flashdance...What A Feeling

3. Yuki Katsuragi -- Bohemian （ボヘミアン）

Yuki Katsuragi -- Bohemian （ボヘミアン）

One of those hits that just makes me think of day-glo headbands and hair metal again. Well, I wouldn't say "Bohemian" is quite in that range of music, but the opening screeching guitar for some reason reminds me of Quiet Riot or Big Country (sounds a bit like bagpipes, don't they?). And then there is that rasping bellow from Yuki Katsuragi（葛城ユキ） herself when she screams out "BOHEMIAN!!!"She stood out in a sea filled with cute aidoru.

The surprising thing I found out about her 6th single was that it had been written by Ryo Aska（飛鳥涼）of Chage & Aska fame and composed by Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）. But remembering how the song sounded, I can imagine the lyricist tackling this one as well. Released in January 1983, "Bohemian" peaked at No. 3 on Oricon, and became the 21st-ranking song of the year.

In another cross-Pacific comparison, her voice sounds somewhat familiar to that of Bonnie Tyler (of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" fame). Strangely enough, Katsuragi did cover a couple of her songs: "Sitting on the Edge of the Ocean" and "Holding Out for a Hero".

December 5th 2023: J-Canuck here stating that I've found the original version of "Bohemian".