Top 10 Alert!
Song#: 2914 Date: 11/01/1986
Debut: 93
Peak: 4
Weeks: 23
Genre: Dance-Pop
Pop Bits: Although this English performer first got noticed as a model/pin-up girl, she already had an interest in music and even started her own band when she was in her teens. She was also involved in theater as well. The fame Fox achieved due to modeling afforded her the opportunity to attempt a career in music. She was sixteen when she signed her first record deal with the small indie label Lamborghini (yes, of the famous car company - the CEO Patrick Mimran was an artist/musician and started the label). A couple of singles were recorded and released, but nothing much came from them. Later in '86, Fox decided to leave modeling to focus solely on pop music. She signed on with Jive Records and recorded her debut album Touch Me. This first single was released in England and Europe in the spring of '86. The tune took off and it got to #3 in the UK while hitting #1 in several other countries. Its success then prompted a release in the US in the fall. After a slow start, the song gained momentum and eventually made the Pop Top 10. It was also a minor entry at Dance getting to #41. The hit helped the album get to #24. Fox's new career was off to a solid start.
ReduxReview: Instead of downplaying her modeling experience (see below), Fox seemed to embrace and capitalize on it with this single. I'm sure it helped sell records in the UK, but the song was apparently good enough on its own to catch on in the US since most folks didn't necessarily know about Fox's previous career. I was a person who didn't know, but this song certainly gave me a clue. Weirdly, I remember this song coming out and I didn't care for it. The tune came off as a bit sleazy to me, which is saying something since I was listening to racier stuff from artists like Prince. I mean, Madonna had her moments at the time, but she wasn't moaning and such like Fox is on this one. It just seemed a little bit too much for a dance-pop single at the time. Now it seems nearly innocent. Oh, how times change. These days I don't mind the song. It is pretty good dance-pop, if a little stuck in the 80s. It is certainly one you don't hear any more. It's not going to get played in supermarkets and mall stores, but it's kind of fun when it rolls up on a playlist.
ReduxRating: 6/10
Trivia: The start to Fox's modeling career was a bit unconventional and definitely wouldn't have gone over well in the US. In 1970, the British tabloid newspaper The Sun began to feature a picture of a topless glamour model on its third page. The women then became known as "Page 3" models. They would usually appear multiple times and eventually there was a Page 3 "girl of the year" selected. While the Page 3 feature was not without controversy, especially since it was a daily newspaper accessible to most anyone, it was popular and acceptable enough for it to continue for over 40 years. The one thing about the Page 3 models that would not have happened in the US is that several of them were 16 and 17 years old. Up until 2003 when it got upped to 18, the legal age for topless modeling in the UK was 16. In 1983, Samantha Fox made her first appearance as a Page 3 model at the age of 16. She became popular enough to earn a four-year contract with the newspaper and was selected as Page 3 girl of the year for three consecutive years (1984-86). When her contract was fulfilled with The Sun, Fox moved on to her music career. She would return to Page 3 for a week of photos in 1995 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the feature. The newspaper finally stopped the Page 3 feature in 2015.
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