Best of 1986- Top 50 Singles

In early 1985, the Pet Shop Boys stormed the UK charts with "West End Girls" which would also remain their signature tune and biggest hit. Together with Erasure, they were transforming the synth pop into electro dance giving it a new face. The Communards certainly contributed to this trend as their cover of the disco classic “Don’t Leave Me This Way” was the best selling single of the year. Madonna and George Michael were still among the best selling artists further developing the pop genre and Madonna’s third studio album True Blue was the best selling in the UK.

 The following Top 50 represents the result of the 'Best of 1986 - The Singles list' from 2016 together with our in-house votes

01. The Smiths- There is a Light that Never goes out
02. New Order- Bizarre Love Triangle
03. Desireless- Voyage Voyage
04. Depeche Mode - Stripped

05. The Smiths- Bigmouth Strikes Again
06. The Stranglers- Always The Sun
07. Big Audio Dynmaite- E=MC2
08. a-ha- Hunting High and Low
09. Cyndi Lauper- True Colours
10. David Bowie - Absolute Beginners
11. Madonna - Live to Tell

12. Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush - Don't Give Up

13. Black- Wonderful Life

14. Iggy Pop - Real Wild Child

15. The Bangles - Walk Like an Egyptian

16. Genesis - Land of Confusion
17. R.E.M. - Fall on Me
18. Kim Wilde- You Keep Me Hangin' On
19. The Pretenders- Don't Get Me Wrong
20. Talk Talk - Living in Another World

One Year of The Burning Flame Blog

Today is exactly one year since this blog started on Wordpress. I really enjoyed working on it and hope I managed to deliever some useful info about some lost bands. Here is the line up of the bands that were featured here:

The Associates, Josef K, I Start Counting, Nits, Blue Zoo, D.A.F., Fiat Lux, Fay Ray, Dalis Car, Tik And Tok, Thick Pigeon, Pink Industry, Images In Vogue, Stockholm Monsters, Terry Hall, Fra Lippo Lippi, Ronny, UV POP, Polyrock,
Do Re Mi, Dark Day, Mydolls, Intaferon, Snowy Red, The Beloved, Vitamin Z,
Leisure Process, Alison Statton, Mathematiques Modernes, Foreign Press, Black, Winston Tong, Little Nemo, Max and Malcolm, Seppuku

Black

Black was a British group which was formed in Liverpool, England in the early 80’s.The main figure of this unit was the singer/ songwriter Colin Vearncombe. In 1987 they would score on of the biggest hits of 80’s music, the “Wonderful Life”.

The first incarnation of Black, consisting of Vearncombe and a cast of anonymous session players, debuted with the single "Human Features" on the local Rox label. The record quickly sold out, and soon Vearncombe was approached by the Eternal label, operated by fellow Liverpudlians Pete Wylie and Wah! With the addition of ex-Last Chant keyboardist Dave Dickie and bassist Jimmy Sangster, Black became a true band, and soon issued their sophomore effort "More Than the Sun".

The trio eventually came to the attention of WEA, which funded Black's third single "Hey Presto". The record stiffed, however, and when an orchestral rendition of "More Than the Sun" met a similar fate, Black were dropped from their contract. Some 18 months of writing and searching for a new record deal followed before Vearncombe was contacted by the tiny Ugly Man label, which issued the minor hit "Wonderful Life." Soon A&M came calling, and in 1987 Black scored a UK Top Ten hit with "Sweetest Smile" the follow-up, a reworked "Wonderful Life," was also successful.
The group's debut LP, also titled 'Wonderful Life', appeared in late 1987, and was well-received throughout Europe. Three years after their biggest hit, the group finally resurfaced in 1991 with an eponymously-titled LP featuring cameos from Robert Palmer and Sam Brown. Black soon left A&M, and after teaming with producer Mike Hedges issued ‘Are We Having Fun Yet?’ on their own mail order label Nero Schwartz in 1993.
After a prolonged hiatus, Vearncombe returned in 1999 to release a string of critically acclaimed recordings under his own name. In 2005 though he returned to the band format and name to release a new recording entitled ‘Between Two Churches’
Update:
The lead singer Colin Vearncombe sadly passed away after being in coma after a car accident. He was 53 years old.