I had a similar experience when I was 15 (I recently turned 22). I was hooked when I saw the video for "Breakfast" and bought the "Sulk" album from HMV. No one else like them/Billy. This might be their finest moment.
Such a brilliant,witty & sadly underrated tune from the Associates which never got the real success it deserved as in comparison with the songs in the charts at the time the originality of a song like this absolutely shone through....Respect!
The record company thought the Associates were getting out of hand and decided to let the single down. By then music business pressure and drug-induced shenanigans had taken their toll and the band was at the end of the road... Billy Mackenzie ran away from London soon after this TOTP appearance. He spent a few weeks in Dundee, not answering Rankine's calls (or the record company's for that matter) Rankine was left stranded in London, having to deal with WEA on a daily basis, rehearsing with a 9-piece (!) band by day (a neverending world tour was on the cards with new dates being added every single day) and working at night on the useless afectionate punch remix LP - in his own words "this was heavy shit". Success really destroyed Billy's and Alan's friendship and mutual trust.
it was still a modest hit. this was a great time for pop-1982 but don't forget though the public preferred novelty records and corny shit like tight fit and bucks fizz
I don't agree that the remixed The Affectionate punch was "useless" at all. Unnecessary perhaps but there are a good few songs on the remixed version that at least give us an interesting alternative take on those songs. Do you really think that the remixed Amused as always was not worth hearing? And if you do, then I think it's a fair question to ask whether you would've still thought that if you didn't have the original to compare it to?
Such a joyous band & one of the few distinct ones of their era. More talent than they managed find ways to get it out there. Another thing is that ANY BAND thats had Martha Ladly in it was blessed at by the GODS !! I almost listen to them with a tear in my eye all the time. All kinds of reasons & out of happiness and missing people like them mostly. Beautiful people.
I've sometimes felt that really my fave Associates single should be one of the earlier, darker, more experimental tracks. Even Party Fears Two and Club Country are, arguably, a bit edgier. But no....it's this one that always thrills me the most. 18 Carat Love Affair makes me feel euphoric, but also slightly sad, as it was to be their last real taste of mainstream success. Billy looks so happy in this clip, just goofing around as usual. An incredible individual, still sorely missed.
wouldbecardsharp I agree - much as I love White Car in Germany, Message Oblique Speech and others there is something so joyous about this song that it is impossible to resist. The video is so good, I could watch Billy larking around with Martha all day long. He truly is the lost star.
As students in Amsterdam in the early eighties we recognized his talent... but now I realize he was outstanding... he matches and outpasses Carl Wilson or the brothers Gibbs, Billy covers the entire range...
Effortlessly cool. Very adult, very sexy, huge fun. Love love love the lyric, the music, the band. Their best single. One of the best ever, of any time, in my view. Billy Mac - unbelievable singer. Try singing along! Alan Rankin: fantastic musician, composer, arranger. Whatever happened to pop music??
At the time this one was my least favourite, now it almost brings me to tears. I used to prefer their more sinister edge, like the amazing "Skipping" and "It's Better This Way". But how can you hear this soaring, exuberant slice of the pop sublime and see Billy in his charismatic, glowing prime and fail to be gloriously transported?
What a weird and wonderful group The Associates were. McKenzie's voice is just ridiculous. It's sad they never hung around given the wildly differing sounds of the few records they made in that 2-3 year period. They really could do it all...the pop attack of "Sulk", the weird back room vibe of the "Fourth Drawer Down" singles...
billy was a great looking guy, who was so talented, he had a unique voice which separated him from the rest. The Associates should have the same recognition in my opinion as the smiths or simple minds for example they where that good, they where an excellent band
From the start Alan Rankine sits playing the first of two guitars that had been specifically made by Harrods entirely from chocolate, at a cost of £600. During the second verse 1:54 Billy is seen holding the now detached head, while surely marking a Top of the Pops first - 2:00 Rankine feeds it to the audience and then picks up and continues with the second confectionary six string.
Couldn't agree more with that last part. I remember the first time I heard this, thinking that he's not so much singing the song, he's bloody shouting it! And you're not *meant* to do that, are you? But with Billy, somehow, it worked. :-) And that smile - could melt Antarctica. :-)
Brilliant Band, who wrote great songs but took the whole music industry with a pinch of salt, Alan Rankine strumming a Chocolate Guitar in the clip is typical😂
@Muribelle Have you seen Billy's Ronnie Scotts performance of "No", with Howard Hughes on piano? Considering that for the most part this version is just voice and piano, you might expect it to be somewhat less disquieting; you'd be wrong! Being able to hear the piano so clearly, you realise what a strange melody it truly is and some of the chords seem.......well, discordant! Surely one of the weirdest "pop" songs ever recorded.
I used to have a haircut like his, almost all gone now tho. :O( If you're young and have hair-Experiment with it,grow it, dye it, gel it, it won't be there (or in as good condition) forever (well, 'til yer about 40)
Its not just about the voice, its about charisma. Tony Hadley had little. Billy swam in it. Both had great voices , althought Tony Hadley used his in a very conservative way, it never sounded experimental like Billies. I think Billy took chances with his voice, Tony hadley didnt. I think it made the associates far more interesting because of Billies experimentation with his voice. It worked well and seemed effortless to say the least.
just how gorgous dus billy look in this totps clip. i loved his music bk then but was too young too fully appreciate the greatness of his talent. Now older & wiser i have all hs back catalogue & am mesmerised by it. sadly i can never see him live. wot a waste. gone too soon rip mr mackenzie
It's not a video as such but rather a Top of the pops appearance. I can assure you though that bands who could laugh at themselves at that time were few and far between. It just wasn't the done thing, I believe!
@MikesDanceVids They put ALL of todays bands in the shade and virtually all of their contemporaries as well. To my mind one of the greatest and most unusual sounding of bands. How many bands are capable of writing songs of the quality of "Skipping" or "No"? These songs keep on improving with age.
Ha ha - love it! :-D Funnily enough I was imagining just this scenario the other day with Billy. Thank fuck X factor wasn't around back then. Simon Cowell is killing music - and should be illegal!
I told you not to meet me here I can't be seen with you whispering in my ear I don't mind holding hands But not in front of company It's not the done thing 'round here, baby Next weekend we'll be on our own And we can spend some time together all alone But if she knew what I was doing She'd throw the ring back in my face An 18 carat love affair Would then be stamped "repair" So we can't be seen in this place Love affair An 18 carat love affair I don't know which side I'm on But my friend John said not to care Love affair An 18 carat love affair She might write to Evelyn home If left alone and in despair Please don't leave any clues around The last time we... She found some lipstick on the ground I said an Avon girl had called Free samples on display She left her card But I threw it away But if she knew what I was doing She'd throw the ring back in my face An 18 carat love affair Would then be stamped "repair" So we can't be seen in this place Love An 18 carat love affair
I remember watching this on TOTP in Aug 1982. A 12 year old kid....what the ...how the hell can a man sound like that? Just beautiful.....RIP Bill. Bearhug & love. Tx
@sgtrayelwood Post "Sulk" it wasn't truly The Associates. MacKenzie/Rankine solo could never be The Associates. "Wild & Lonely", which is effectively a Billy solo LP is still a good record. I do think "Just can't say goodbye" is a great vocal performance from Billy, particularly the last verse, which he sings really high & with such apparent emotion. "Where there's love" is another great track from that LP. I can't see why "Just can't say goodbye" & "Fire to ice" couldn't have been big hits.
COWELL: Well,What Do You Thnk Louie? WALSH:Don't Exactly Know,Simon-It's...It's..It's a bit beyond my scope!How bout you Si? COWELL:You Know,Tell you what it is young man(patronize,patronize)Your..........(wait for it,wait for it)....really quite good!!! Now then!! (I am speaking!) If you can take a bit of advice from someone in the know (Namely-Me)...Lose the Hi-Pitched voice n' your on the way to the final(WOW!)!
Wish Billy had have moved into acting, The music didnt work out after this album. Why did he not work with producers like Trevor Horn, or Stock Aitken and Waterman, they could have written him some good songs like they did for Rick Astley, Jason Donovan and other Male acts Like Dead or Alive, If I was his manager would have suggested this to him. He was a great singer.
haha I know your joking but bare in mind the keyboard player is Canadian and the bassist is English. Having said that a lot of good music has come from Scotland and a lot of not so good music. But a lot of Scots musicians seem to have a "workmen-like" ethic towards there music except the Cocteau Twins etc.
Well it is a she and her name is or was Martha Ladley and she was previously in Martha and the Muffins who did "Echo Beach". She was married to British producer Stephen Street. Apperently she is back in Canada working as a designer and she looked damn hot, especially in this video
Anyone who attempts to quetion Billy's divine status really needs professional help.He was far too talented for today's grubby,cheap and nasty X Factor/Everywhere's Got Talent if we can syndicate the TV rights world.Thankfully!
Yes, they were an excellent band. An interesting sidenote is how they would fare on todays X-Factor, what with Billy's voice and the like. They would probably be demolished by the judges, which goes to prove how shit these talent shows really are...
I had a similar experience when I was 15 (I recently turned 22). I was hooked when I saw the video for "Breakfast" and bought the "Sulk" album from HMV. No one else like them/Billy. This might be their finest moment.
Such a brilliant,witty & sadly underrated tune from the Associates which never got the real success it deserved as in comparison with the songs in the charts at the time the originality of a song like this absolutely shone through....Respect!
Never gets old ... Carry the mood from this time with me forever
I agree. It's worth more than everything Duran Duran ever wrote put together.
It's garbage
One of the greatest tunes, ever. Truely a gem.
Listen to the instrumental version called Nothinginsomethingparticular. As Christmassy a tune as you could make without intending to.
He looks like the missing Kemp brother ala Spandau Ballet.
Billy was mesmerising. A real one off. Loved him so much ❤️💙♥️
People who are still to be born will enjoy this immense talent!! I hope his family that he left behind will be so proud of him!! Rip Billy 🙏
ANOTHER SCOTTISH GEM, RIP BILLY MACKENZIE.
watching this just makes you want to cry when you think of this mans talent breathtaking
how can anyone put tony hadley in the same catergory as billy mackenzie vocally, please, ha!!!
Great chemistry between billy and martha. Im suprised she didn't end up pregnant after this totp performance
This takes me back.....I wish I had a time machine I would head straight back to the early 80s
Still one of the most beautiful men I've ever seen ❤
Oh ! What a L💖 vely thing to say !
Also martha ladley one of the most beautiful women ive seen. 😍
@@freedom4life123 yes ! I concur I would have been all over her.
How is it that this song was not a huge hit? Billy was so handsome and talented. Watching this breaks my heart.
The record company thought the Associates were getting out of hand and decided to let the single down. By then music business pressure and drug-induced shenanigans had taken their toll and the band was at the end of the road... Billy Mackenzie ran away from London soon after this TOTP appearance. He spent a few weeks in Dundee, not answering Rankine's calls (or the record company's for that matter) Rankine was left stranded in London, having to deal with WEA on a daily basis, rehearsing with a 9-piece (!) band by day (a neverending world tour was on the cards with new dates being added every single day) and working at night on the useless afectionate punch remix LP - in his own words "this was heavy shit". Success really destroyed Billy's and Alan's friendship and mutual trust.
it was still a modest hit. this was a great time for pop-1982 but don't forget though the public preferred novelty records and corny shit like tight fit and bucks fizz
+Martin Farnworth Don't forget Marillion was just around the corner too!
I don't agree that the remixed The Affectionate punch was "useless" at all. Unnecessary perhaps but there are a good few songs on the remixed version that at least give us an interesting alternative take on those songs. Do you really think that the remixed Amused as always was not worth hearing? And if you do, then I think it's a fair question to ask whether you would've still thought that if you didn't have the original to compare it to?
M DS thanks for this I didn’t know about this at all wow 😮
Such a joyous band & one of the few distinct ones of their era. More talent than they managed find ways to get it out there. Another thing is that ANY BAND thats had Martha Ladly in it was blessed at by the GODS !! I almost listen to them with a tear in my eye all the time. All kinds of reasons & out of happiness and missing people like them mostly.
Beautiful people.
One of best 80's bands ,but most under rated.
I've sometimes felt that really my fave Associates single should be one of the earlier, darker, more experimental tracks. Even Party Fears Two and Club Country are, arguably, a bit edgier. But no....it's this one that always thrills me the most.
18 Carat Love Affair makes me feel euphoric, but also slightly sad, as it was to be their last real taste of mainstream success. Billy looks so happy in this clip, just goofing around as usual. An incredible individual, still sorely missed.
wouldbecardsharp I agree - much as I love White Car in Germany, Message Oblique Speech and others there is something so joyous about this song that it is impossible to resist. The video is so good, I could watch Billy larking around with Martha all day long. He truly is the lost star.
I think Billy was a little under the influence here....and RIP Alan Rankine...loved his chocolate guitar playing.
Same here.
What a vocal range, what a talent; 'Sulk' was such an impact on me back then.
One of the best songs ever written. Always looked forward to seeing The Associates on TOTP. Billy was a true star. Much missed.
It's terrible song
brilliant and under-rated, lyrics, vocals, charisma he had it all - RIP Billy
billy mackenzie,what a voice !incredibly unique,what a sad waste when billy took his life,sadly missed,colin sheffield
As students in Amsterdam in the early eighties we recognized his talent... but now I realize he was outstanding...
he matches and outpasses Carl Wilson or the brothers Gibbs, Billy covers the entire range...
This has been my earworm since Alan passed away a couple of weeks ago. What an utterly brilliant duo they were...
you said it - so iconic and amazing time capsule loved Billy so much back in the day may they both RIP
Oh no! Didn't know that..... how sad.... but maybe they'll team up again now 🥲🙏
Nobody sings like Billy.Rip x
Effortlessly cool. Very adult, very sexy, huge fun. Love love love the lyric, the music, the band. Their best single. One of the best ever, of any time, in my view. Billy Mac - unbelievable singer. Try singing along! Alan Rankin: fantastic musician, composer, arranger. Whatever happened to pop music??
William Mac the light will NEVER go out.
At the time this one was my least favourite, now it almost brings me to tears. I used to prefer their more sinister edge, like the amazing "Skipping" and "It's Better This Way". But how can you hear this soaring, exuberant slice of the pop sublime and see Billy in his charismatic, glowing prime and fail to be gloriously transported?
Probably their only track you could have a bop to!🎉
miss you bill
Brilliant song from one of the best 80s outfits at the time. There is nobody compares to that voice, wonderful!!
Is this really a song
I'll second that, tremendously underrated. There's been no one can sing like him.
He was hot
So sad he is gone, great talent. Great looks and those dimples...
to die for this look - so sad he left the world too soon
Superb stuff,Associates were a terrific band and this song takes me straight back to that time in my past
Pure class
What a weird and wonderful group The Associates were. McKenzie's voice is just ridiculous. It's sad they never hung around given the wildly differing sounds of the few records they made in that 2-3 year period. They really could do it all...the pop attack of "Sulk", the weird back room vibe of the "Fourth Drawer Down" singles...
Rip billy Mackenzie taken too young he was a genuine talent. His music is timeless betta than the crap we have now
These and Big Country were huge around this time. Scotland had talent ... 1:54
billy was a great looking guy, who was so talented, he had a unique voice which separated him from the rest. The Associates should have the same recognition in my opinion as the smiths or simple minds for example they where that good, they where an excellent band
Martha ladley looks fantastic, that smile and knowing look at 1.54 is heart meltingly gorgeous.
The biggest voice of the 80s and very unique !
Beautiful man Beautiful voice. Check out say by the creatures. Siouxsie wrote it about him after Gorgeous Billy committed suicide. She was his friend
From the start Alan Rankine sits playing the first of two guitars that had been specifically made by Harrods entirely from chocolate, at a cost of £600. During the second verse 1:54 Billy is seen holding the now detached head, while surely marking a Top of the Pops first - 2:00 Rankine feeds it to the audience and then picks up and continues with the second confectionary six string.
Love the chocolate guitar!!!!!
'Sulk' was the best of them, and they were great.
Such an amazing voice rip Billy
Couldn't agree more with that last part. I remember the first time I heard this, thinking that he's not so much singing the song, he's bloody shouting it! And you're not *meant* to do that, are you? But with Billy, somehow, it worked. :-)
And that smile - could melt Antarctica. :-)
Adore this song and this band. Awesome performance!
best of the early 80s. RIP Billy
Beautiful, beautiful Billy ....xxx
Sadly this song wasn’t a huge hit. I know unbelievable. Compared to the crap that was out at the time.
miss you billy
Brilliant Band, who wrote great songs but took the whole music industry with a pinch of salt, Alan Rankine strumming a Chocolate Guitar in the clip is typical😂
Terrific. Difficult to see that it's chocolate, but heard the brilliant Alan Rankine (RIP) talk about it in a few interviews.
Wonderful !!!
Billy *still* warms my world today. Thanks again for it all, wee man. RIP Billy. x
even now in 2023 still rocking it in my world ...
Gorgeous! Out of this world beautiful music, such beautiful people, such poise, such a voice,......
Love this band ! Love this man !
@Muribelle Have you seen Billy's Ronnie Scotts performance of "No", with Howard Hughes on piano? Considering that for the most part this version is just voice and piano, you might expect it to be somewhat less disquieting; you'd be wrong! Being able to hear the piano so clearly, you realise what a strange melody it truly is and some of the chords seem.......well, discordant! Surely one of the weirdest "pop" songs ever recorded.
This song is pure magic way ahead of its time and today.s drab charts
Couldn't agree more, simply brilliant clever lyrics and the amazing Billy RIP
RIP Billy.You were absolutely fucking amazing and totally original.You are very sadly missed... :-(
I used to have a haircut like his, almost all gone now tho. :O( If you're young and have hair-Experiment with it,grow it, dye it, gel it, it won't be there (or in as good condition) forever (well, 'til yer about 40)
Suberb.
I have a big smile on my face now, thanks.
A great band from a time and a decade that holds a lot of good memories
One of my very favourite tracks of the '80's. Boy, could Billy sing!
Before His Time.
What a sad loss Billy is. So young, with so much to give.
40 years ago this summer 😭😭
HIs 'Wild is the Wind' on Old Grey Whistle Test is heartbreaking.
It's not OGWT, it's STV's Don't Look Down, but apart from that detail, yes, I agree.
They had so many good songs, this possibly being my favourite, wonderful!
Alas... The last great Associates ditty.
l heard him sing a cover version of "you only live twice"live on tv ...great voice with a great vocal range
Dundee's favourite son crushing... great to see Martha too. Wow the Associates were the best!
One of my favourite bands...What a voice!
Utterly magical from magnificent billy
Very much missed 😢
Its not just about the voice, its about charisma. Tony Hadley had little. Billy swam in it. Both had great voices , althought Tony Hadley used his in a very conservative way, it never sounded experimental like Billies. I think Billy took chances with his voice, Tony hadley didnt. I think it made the associates far more interesting because of Billies experimentation with his voice. It worked well and seemed effortless to say the least.
pure 80,s classs nothing like ths now
Oh that voice...
As good as Tonly Hadly. Voice range.
so awesome.
all schools should make pupils listen to sulk
Always come back to this on you tube, how come its unavaiable at times. Need my Martha fix
Brian Likings yeah, I was thinking that - had to trawl Google for it then realised its back on this!
just how gorgous dus billy look in this totps clip. i loved his music bk then but was too young too fully appreciate the greatness of his talent.
Now older & wiser i have all hs back catalogue & am mesmerised by it.
sadly i can never see him live. wot a waste. gone too soon rip mr mackenzie
CLASSIC STUFF FROM A MASTER!! & SCOTTISH ASWELL
BILLY MacKenzie YOU WERE AMAZING
Back when recording artistes could take the p*ss in their own video's ... love it.
It's not a video as such but rather a Top of the pops appearance. I can assure you though that bands who could laugh at themselves at that time were few and far between. It just wasn't the done thing, I believe!
Class singer brilliant band
I was thinking exactly that it annoys me that Billy McKenzie and the Associates are ignored they are still unique and different.
From a young fan.
That voice...
@MikesDanceVids They put ALL of todays bands in the shade and virtually all of their contemporaries as well. To my mind one of the greatest and most unusual sounding of bands. How many bands are capable of writing songs of the quality of "Skipping" or "No"? These songs keep on improving with age.
Ha ha - love it! :-D Funnily enough I was imagining just this scenario the other day with Billy. Thank fuck X factor wasn't around back then. Simon Cowell is killing music - and should be illegal!
Oh Martha!!
I told you not to meet me here
I can't be seen with you whispering in my ear
I don't mind holding hands
But not in front of company
It's not the done thing 'round here, baby
Next weekend we'll be on our own
And we can spend some time together all alone
But if she knew what I was doing
She'd throw the ring back in my face
An 18 carat love affair
Would then be stamped "repair"
So we can't be seen in this place
Love affair
An 18 carat love affair
I don't know which side I'm on
But my friend John said not to care
Love affair
An 18 carat love affair
She might write to Evelyn home
If left alone and in despair
Please don't leave any clues around
The last time we...
She found some lipstick on the ground
I said an Avon girl had called
Free samples on display
She left her card
But I threw it away
But if she knew what I was doing
She'd throw the ring back in my face
An 18 carat love affair
Would then be stamped "repair"
So we can't be seen in this place
Love
An 18 carat love affair
@raindog951 I love Billy's on stage joking around with Martha.
Majestic.
I remember watching this on TOTP in Aug 1982. A 12 year old kid....what the ...how the hell can a man sound like that? Just beautiful.....RIP Bill. Bearhug & love. Tx
55 now . This was the best days of my life
I hope my children w
Early 80’s just fantastic
This takes me back to..ahem.puberty.pretty girls in final year of school disco.Steven Boswell.edinburgh
@sgtrayelwood Post "Sulk" it wasn't truly The Associates. MacKenzie/Rankine solo could never be The Associates. "Wild & Lonely", which is effectively a Billy solo LP is still a good record. I do think "Just can't say goodbye" is a great vocal performance from Billy, particularly the last verse, which he sings really high & with such apparent emotion. "Where there's love" is another great track from that LP. I can't see why "Just can't say goodbye" & "Fire to ice" couldn't have been big hits.
COWELL: Well,What Do You Thnk Louie?
WALSH:Don't Exactly Know,Simon-It's...It's..It's a bit beyond my scope!How bout you Si?
COWELL:You Know,Tell you what it is young man(patronize,patronize)Your..........(wait for it,wait for it)....really quite good!!! Now then!! (I am speaking!) If you can take a bit of advice from someone in the know (Namely-Me)...Lose the Hi-Pitched voice n' your on the way to the final(WOW!)!
Wish Billy had have moved into acting, The music didnt work out after this album. Why did he not work with producers like Trevor Horn, or Stock Aitken and Waterman, they could have written him some good songs like they did for Rick Astley, Jason Donovan and other Male acts Like Dead or Alive, If I was his manager would have suggested this to him. He was a great singer.
haha I know your joking but bare in mind the keyboard player is Canadian and the bassist is English. Having said that a lot of good music has come from Scotland and a lot of not so good music. But a lot of Scots musicians seem to have a "workmen-like" ethic towards there music except the Cocteau Twins etc.
Spectacular version. Thanks for uploading' DEEJAYENPS
Well it is a she and her name is or was Martha Ladley and she was previously in Martha and the Muffins who did "Echo Beach". She was married to British producer Stephen Street. Apperently she is back in Canada working as a designer and she looked damn hot, especially in this video
Anyone who attempts to quetion Billy's divine status really needs professional help.He was far too talented for today's grubby,cheap and nasty X Factor/Everywhere's Got Talent if we can syndicate the TV rights world.Thankfully!
Yes, they were an excellent band. An interesting sidenote is how they would fare on todays X-Factor, what with Billy's voice and the like. They would probably be demolished by the judges, which goes to prove how shit these talent shows really are...