Single flashback
Never Said I Loved You - Payolas$ w/Carole Pope [1983]
We temporarily rename ‘video flashback’ as there does not seem to be a clip for this CanCon all-timer.
Back before the algorithm, having another artist feature on your record was not as common. So imagine my teenage delight to have two of my faves come together on this absolute monster of a single.
Payola$ released their third full-length ‘Hammer On A Drum’ in 1983. The band was effectively the duo of Yorkshireman Paul Hyde and future super-producer Bob Rock - who met at school in Victoria, BC.
The band co-produced, with a little help from another Brit - one Mick Ronson.
Payola$ are a key band in my musical upbringing. So much so, they led off my set of songs on Tune Tag 115 by the legendary Brad Kyle…
As for Carole Pope of she, of course, is a singer, songwriter, and trailblazer in the LGBTQ community, being one of the first openly out entertainers anywhere.
I wrote about Rough Trade and their fantastic greatest hits record here:
Never Said I Loved You - peaked #8, year-end #69
Musically we have faux steel drums and a reggae beat [where’s the 1, guys?], plus a terrific 12-bar bridge where our vocalists get the spotlight.
Lyrically, we’re listening to two vulnerable people talk themselves through their hookup and their hangups.
I really dig the idea of hearing the opposing internal monologues. He saying:
Another number in the book
He wants to ask her if she’ll talk
I’m sorry if you’ve been mislead
But I’d rather you than an empty bed
Meanwhile, she’s thinking bigger picture:
But don’t forget I need respect
Important things I must protect
My reputation at the office
Please forgive my cowardice
What they have in common, of course is reluctance to get too carried away:
But I won’t say I love you
‘Cause I only want to like you a lot
Won’t say I love you
I ain’t always this hot
Quite a pot-boiler of a three and a half minute pop song, hey?
I got to see the Payolas opening for Rush on the Signals tour back in 1982 at the Maple Leaf Gardens. I had just turned 11 and it was my first major concert and I was just getting to know who the Payolas were with "Eyes Of A Stranger" being such a huge hit. Great show!
Great song, great band, great guest.
Saw Rough Trade a couple of times, always a blast. I taped their live show at the Palais Royale off of CFNY and it still sounds good.