Go West & the Brits

There were many great pop duos back in the ’80s. For some strange reason, I hear one on the radio and memories of the others come flooding in, nearly all of them with light soulful vocals and lilting pop melodies. Wham, Roxette, Hall & Oates, Tuck & Patti and others. So it was not at all surprising that I got the same reaction when I heard that Go West will be coming over to do a show at the Newport Performing Arts Theater of Resorts World Manila on March 25.

It is nice to learn that the guys of Go West are still around and actively performing. The group dates back to 1982 when it was formed by lead singer Peter Cox and guitarist and singer Richard Drummie in England. They proved easy to like from the onset and had a hit right away with their first single, We Close Our Eyes. A succession of big sellers followed like Dancing On The Couch, Call Me, Eye To Eye, Don’t Look Down (The Sequel), Never Let Them See You Sweat and that monster tune King Of Wishful Thinking.

Hearing that song done live is already reason enough to watch Go West perform at RWM’s Newport. King Of Wishful Thinking was used in the soundtrack of the huge box-office hit Pretty Woman. The movie has weathered the years and is still a joy to watch and so has the music. The soundtrack is also an excellent representation of pop hits from various eras, ranging from the title song from the ’60s, Roy Orbison’s Pretty Woman to Roxette’s It Must Have Been Love and Go West’s breezy but heartbreaking King Of Wishful Thinking. “I’ll get over you/I know I will/I’ll pretend my ship’s not sinking/and I’ll tell myself I’m over you/because I’m the king of wishful thinking.” Ouch!

Go West is one of those pop groups whose members, thankfully, also happen to be excellent musicians. They did their songs right. That is what makes their music so enjoyable to listen to even after so many years. The Aces and Kings The Best of Go West collection a treasure. It has the hits, We Close Our Eyes, The King Of Wishful Thinking, Call Me, Faithful, some rarities The King Is Dead, I Want To Hear It From You, Tears Too Late, some wonderful covers like Tracks Of My Tears, originally by Smoky Robinson and What You Won’t Do For Love, by Bobby Caldwell and some originals From Baltimore To Paris and Healing Hands, that I believe should have made the charts. Now I am starting to wonder which songs they will do in their Manila show.

Cox and Drummie also have solo careers going and have in fact recorded and released their own albums. Yet it is nice to find out that they go back to Go West beginnings once in a while.  Watch this show produced by Redstone Media Productions and Resorts World Manila. I am sure it will be enjoyable. Tickets are available at Ticketworld (891-9999); Ticketnet (911-5555); SM Tickets (470-2222); and at Resorts World (908-8000 local 7700).

More things Brit and it is the 2015 Brit’s Awards which incidentally Go West won as Best British Newcomer in 1986. This was held at the O2 Arena in London last week. Favorite Brit boys of the moment Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith both got awards but Ed only got one while Sam got two. How much luckier can this guy get. Remember, he also did great at the Grammys. Here now is the winners’ list.

British Male Solo Artist:  Ed Sheeran

British Female Solo Artist: Paloma Faith

British Group: Royal Blood

International Group: Foo Fighters

British Breakthrough Act: Sam Smith

Critics Choice: James Bay

MasterCard British Album of the Year:  X by Ed Sheeran

British Single of the Year: Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars.

International Male Solo Artist: Pharrel Williams

International Female Solo Artist: Taylor Swift

British Producer of the Year: Paul Epworth

British Video: One Direction, You & I

Brit’s Global Success:  Sam Smith

Still on the Brits. The top-selling tunes in the UK at the moment are the following: Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding; Take Me To Church by Hozier; Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars; Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Gray) by The Weekend; FourFiveSeconds by Rihanna and Kanye West and Paul McCartney; Gravity by DJ Fresh feat. Ella Eyre; Sugar by Maroon 5; The Nights by Avicii ; Doing It by Charlie XCX feat. Rita Ora; and Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran.

The Top 10 albums are Smoke + Mirrors by Imagine Dragons; In The Lonely Hour by Sam Smith; X by Ed Sheeran; If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late by Drake; Texas 25 by Texas; Wanted On Voyage by George Ezra; Hozier by Hozier; 1989 by Taylor Swift; Wonder Days by Thunder; and Title by Meghan Trainor.