Song#: 1276
Date: 12/11/1982
Debut: 84
Peak: 83
Weeks: 5
Genre: Synthpop, Electronic
Pop Bits: British-born Steve Rodway's career began with this electro-new wave tune from his debut album "Horizontal Hold." The single bobbled around the bottom of the chart for a few weeks and that was about it. His album went nowhere and further singles failed to get any attention. For many artists, this might have been it - one minor charting single, usually dumped by the label, and no others interested. For Rodway, the rest of the 80s kind of went like that. But the 90s and beyond would be different (see below).
ReduxReview: I find this pretty interesting for early-80s synthpop. It's quite Human League-ish meets Thomas Dolby, which is probably when I like it. Had I heard this back in the day, I probably would have bought into this. I may have to seek out this LP. It's not the most catchy pop song, but it should have done a bit better. I think his label, Millennium, was having issues at the time so there was probably zero promotion, which doesn't help. Nice discovery.
ReduxRating: 7/10
Trivia: This early album from Rodway has long been forgotten since it got eclipsed by his 90s persona, Motiv8. As Motiv8, Rodway turned to dance music and started his own label. His 1993 single "Rockin' for Myself" took off the following year and reached #18 in the UK. But his career really kicked in when he began remixing songs. After hitting #37 on the UK chart in 1994 with a remix of The Doobie Brothers' "Listen to the Music," Rodway became an in-demand remixer. He has remixed for artists like the Spice Girls, Erasure, Pulp, Diana Ross, Robert Palmer, and Pet Shop Boys. He also continued songwriting and had a hit in 1996 when Gina G. reached #12 in the US with "Ooh Aah...Just a Little Bit."
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