Song#: 2395
Date: 07/20/1985
Debut: 77
Peak: 43
Weeks: 10
Genre: R&B, Dance
Pop Bits: This British trio signed on with Virgin in the UK in 1981. The following year they released three singles for the label under the name Loose End. None of the singles got anywhere, but it seems the label still had faith in the band and after adjusting the name to Loose Ends (due to a potential lawsuit regarding the name), the trio set out to record a debut album. Released in 1984, the album wasn't a big hit, but it did okay thanks to three mid-charting UK singles. It was enough to get the band signed to MCA in the US. Before the album was pushed out, the band recorded this new song and it was issued as a single on both shores. It did well in the UK getting to #13, but it did even better in the US where the song made it to #1 on the R&B chart and #12 Dance. The single crossed over the Pop chart and nearly made the Top 40. Because of the hit, the trio's debut album A Little Spice was updated to include the song and was then issued in the US. It would get to #5 R&B/#46 Pop. The song would be include on their second UK album So Where Are You? The band would have three more successful albums that would yield three more R&B Top 10's including the 1986 #1 "Slow Down." Unfortunately, they wouldn't get a song on the Pop chart again. Later on, the band was divided on their musical direction and decided to part ways in 1990.
ReduxReview: This silky groove sounds so good that even though it's not necessarily the most hooky song, it still draws you in. It has a bit of that exotic feel that is found in a lot of Sade songs. It is well done and it sets a real sensual tone. I can hear why this made it to #1 at R&B. I don't think it was a powerful enough song to cut through the synth-y din of 80s pop, but it did pretty well on the chart. If it got a little more airplay and got inside the Top 40, it might have done a bit better. Quite a tasty track.
ReduxRating: 7/10
Trivia: Double Shot! 1) With this song hitting #1 on the US R&B chart, it made Loose Ends the first British band to reach that spot. They would end up doing that feat twice. 2) When they were known as Loose End, their first single, "In the Sky" was produced for them by Chris and Eddie Amoo. The Amoo brothers had some significant success in the UK with their band called The Real Thing. From 1976 through to 1980, the band got ten singles on the UK chart including three Top 10's. Remixes of two of their early hits would also reach the Top 10 later in 1986. Chris Amoo had a side career over the years as a dog breeder. One of his dogs won Best in Show in 1987 at the Crufts show, which is the biggest dog show/convention of its kind in the UK. It is also considered the largest dog show in the world according to a 1991 certification from the Guinness Book of World Records. Amoo would continue to show dogs, but then also moved into judging them as well.
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