Features Terry Hall (photo) - The Fun Boy's New Colours.
Other features - Paul Young, ABC, Cyndi Lauper, Big Country, The Alarm, China Crisis, UB40, All in Colour.
Plus: Lennon, McCartney, Numan, Icicle Works.
Cover photo by Mike Prior.
Page 2
BIG COUNTRY - WONDERLAND Lyrics
If you could feel
How I must feel
The winds of quiet change
If you could see
What I must see
Still hidden in the rain
But when the thunder rolls
It comes and covers up my soul
And you will take my hand
And be with me in wonderland
Chorus
I am an honest man
I need the love of you
I am a working man
I feel the winter too
If you could hear
What I must hear
Then nothing would replace
The fifty years of sweat and tears
That never left a trace
But when I look at you I see
You feel the same way too
And you will take my hand
And be with me in
Wonderland
Repeat Chorus
You still remember other days
When every head was high
I watched that pride be torn apart
Beneath a darker sky
With innocence within ourselves
We sing the same old song
And you will take my hand
And make believe it's wonderland
I need the love of you
I am a working man
I feel the winter too
Repeat Chorus
Wonderland, wonderland
Wonderland, wonderland
Words and music Stuart Adamson. Reproduced by kind permission Virgin Music Ltd. On Mercury Records.
Big Country - Wonderland (The Tube, 17.02.1984), uploaded by Big Country.
Page 3
CONTENTS
NEWS 5 Ultravox New singles 5 Simple Minds Tour dates 7 Pretenders New singles
SONGS 2 Big Country Wonderland
CHARTS 42 Out of the hat UK Albums 47 UK Singles ...and Donna Oldfield does
COLOUR 36 The Alarm The Rhyl thing
FUN 15 Whispers More ear bending 40 Puzzles
COMPETITIONS 22 Simple Minds 'Speed Your Love' 12-inches
Page 5
NEWS
Simple Minds play a few extra dates before going off on a six-week tour of Europe, followed by the US and Japan.
Because of demand, they'll be doind a matinee show at the Belfast Ulster Hall on February 22, and a fourth date at the Glasgow Barrowland and ballroom on March 2.
They also wish to apologise to fans who haven't been able to get tickets for the tour, saying they'll be back on the road as soon as possible.
Page 7
RECORDS
The Pretenders follow up their hit single '2000 Miles' with another song from their 'Learning to Crawl' album.
Written by Chrissy Hynde, 'Middle Of The Road' is out on February 3.
Page 15
WHISPERS -
This is the Modern Whirl
Stuart Adamson may miss hearing about his possible Grammy Award. He's stuck away in Fife
scribbling new songs with the phone off the hook and the doorbell disconnected...
Page 22
COMPETITIONS
SPEEDING FINE
Captain James T. Kerr of the starship Simple Minds has a straightforward message for you this week: 'Speed Your
Love To Me', the title of the Minds latest single.
We've got 25 copies of the 12-inch so we can zap hi love to you for the price of a galactic postacrd. Just send it to Simple Minds, No. 1,
Room 2614, Kings Reach Tower, Stamford Street, London SE1.
Pages 36 & 37
THE STAND
Maureen Rice makes The Alarm stand up for their beliefs. Mike Prior makes them stand up for a picture.
In the recent backlash against all things electronic, The Alarm emerged on the crest Of the guitar wave. Following
the chart success of '68 Guns', their concerts attract huge audiences of air-punching devotees. To their fans they are power, glory and inspiration. To
their critics they're a bunch of pretentious posers playing at mock-heroics. With their new single 'Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke?' heading
chartwards, I spoke to guitarist Dave Sharp and bassist Eddie MacDonald about the music and the message... How do you feel about being 'this year's thing'?
Dave: "It's ridiculous. We've never courted any type of fashion movement. "A good song is a good song, it goes beyond fashion. Good
music should always be this year's thing." Eddie: "We're deliberately anti-fashion. One of the blokes who promotes our concerts was telling me the other day that he's always amazed
at the cross-section of people we get at our gigs. "There's skins, punks, new romantics, hippies, old people, kids - we're talking past fashion and image
and straight from our hearts to theirs."
And what are you saying? Dave: "We're saying - you matter. You're unique and you can be strong if you just believe in yourself." Eddie: "Yeah - we're saying that faith and power can get you anything."
What do you mean by that? What kind Of faith and power can get you exactly what?
Dave: "That depends on what you want. I honestly believe that any person - every person - has the potential to control their own destiny.
"Everyone is born equal, with equal opportunity and freedom to make their life what they want it to be."
I don't agree. You can't say that it's an equal race with everyone at the same place in the starting line.
Dave: "Alright, there may be social disadvantages. But there's too much fuss over politics and class struggle. "A person born into a rich family
may squander all his money and end up in the gutter, while a person born into a poor family might take a fiver and turn it into a fortune. It comes down to
you personally. "Look at us - we were just four dole-ies in Rhyl, which is a pretty depressed town, and we said: 'Right, we're on the dole doing nothing
and we want to be pop stars on Top The Pops''.
"It seems impossible, but you just work your way through it step by step. With enough strength and commitment you can do anything. "We did."
So, do you want your to change people's lives? Dave:"We want our music to be inspiring and uplifting." Eddie: "And
if you aren't happy, we'd like to inspire you enough to make you realise that you have the power to change."
Your singles so far have been very much 'anthems', and critics accuse you of mock heroics and rabble rousing. Eddie: "We don't sit down
and think - we'll write an anthem. If our songs have come out that way, it's the way we feel.
"And remember - you've only got a few singles to go on. When the album 'Dedication' comes out next month you'll get 12 tracks with all our different styles
of writing." Dave: "We've never set ourselves up as any kind of statesmen or saviours."
I can understand why people look at you that way. Your music is in the macho-posing vein - not much different from heavy metal... Dave:
"No. All I can say is buy 'Dedication' then judge us again. "We aren't posing - everything we do onstage, every word we write, is completely sincere. We
believe in ourselves, we believe in you...
You're telling people to make a stand, stick up for their beliefs... What are those beliefs? What are yours? Eddie: "We're...
inspirational. We don't try to get across any deliberate or specific message. "We all have our personal, political religious beliefs, but those are private.
We're just a rock'n'roll band. Dave: "We're saying that love and faith in yourself is not simply arrogance, but a powerful, positive force. Eddie: "There's a national disease affecting this country, and it's called pessimism. "People say, 'Look at your surroundings, how can
you be optimistic?' Well, we're hopeful people." Dave: "Lots of people have called us naive. Well, maybe we are. 'But if being more
experienced equals being cynical and joyless, then we'd rather stay the way we are."
Page 40
LYRICS
RICK SPRINGFIELD - HUMAN TOUCH
STAR CROSS
ACROSS 16.
Steve Harley's type of Rebel? (7)
DOWN 10.
Stuart Adamson's lot (3,7)
Page 43
WRITE One to 1
We really love Big Country but I read somewhere that Stuart said he'd feel stupid playing 'Fields Of Fire' at 30.
Nowt's wrong with 30, you'd still have your fans following you so don't pack it in at 30, Stuart. We still want you to be playing 'Fields
Of Fire'. Don't start singing soggy songs - not that we whould worry about that yet. Jojj and Sam, Hull
What is a soggy song? We have a right to know. Readers, write in and tell us.
OUT OF THE HAT Here's this week's random Reader's Chart and winner of a £5 record token.
1 WONDERLAND Big Country
2 LOVE IS A WONDERFUL COLOUR Icicle Works
3 HOLD ME NOW Thompson Twins
4 RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
5 NOBODY TOLD ME John Lennon
Donna Oldfield, Malden.
For this week's Readers' Chart form turn to page 16.
Page 44
PUZZLE ANSWERS
ACROSS 16. Cockney
DOWN 10. Big Country
CHARTS, Compiled by NME.
UK Singles 8 (this week), 22 (last week), 2 (weeks on chart), 8 (highest postition) - Wonderland, Big Country (Mercury) 25 (this week), - (last week), 1 (weeks on chart), 25 (highest postition) - Speed Your Love, Simple Minds (Virgin) 27 (this week), 30 (last week), 2 (weeks on chart), 27 (highest postition) - Where Were You Hiding, The Alarm (IRS) 57 (this week), - (last week), - (weeks on chart), - (highest postition) - 2000 Miles, Pretenders (Real)
UK Albums 4 (this week), 13 (last week), 2 (weeks on chart), 4 (highest postition) - Learning To Crawl, Pretenders (WEA)
5 (this week), 5 (last week), 8 (weeks on chart), 1 (highest postition) - Under A Blood Red Sky, U2 (Island) 23 (this week), 32 (last week), 2 (weeks on chart), 23 (highest postition) - The Crossing, Big Country (Mercury) 40 (this week), 48 (last week), 2 (weeks on chart), 40 (highest postition) - War, U2 (Island) 25 (this week), - (last week), 1 (weeks on chart), 25 (highest postition) - Speed Your Love, Simple Minds (Virgin) 27 (this week), 30 (last week), 2 (weeks on chart), 27 (highest postition) - Where Were You Hiding, The Alarm (IRS) 57 (this week), - (last week), - (weeks on chart), - (highest postition) - 2000 Miles, Pretenders (Mercury)
