April 13, 2003

Dressed to ill

The TV was full of pop nostalgia on Saturday. Channel 4 had a retrospective on Smash Hits magazine that featured a lot of stars that have since disappeared without trace. On ITV, you could see the fate of some of them. In the latest twist on reality TV programming, a bunch of Eighties popstars travel around the US on a bus and perform to audiences in different towns. Each week, viewers in the UK vote one of the performers off the bus. To complete the humiliation, the ejected one sings out the programme, usually with an even more forced smile than usual.

I don't watch it (it's so bad, even my wife won't watch it) but since it's on just before the football, I usually see the closing scene. This week, it was the turn of someone called Leee John - it transpired that he was the lead singer with Imagination, a band that had a few hits in the very early Eighties.


Imagination were known for two things,

all their songs were sung in a high falsetto, despite the fact that the band consisted of three strapping fellows,

their outfits were simply atrocious, even by the admittedly low standards of the Eighties. I remember seeing them on Top of the Pops wearing what seemed to be gold miniskirts and glitter. (if you don't believe me, check out the gallery here)



Now, in the Eighties, all I knew about Imagination was that I hated the sight and sound of them. However, in 1982, I went to London on a family holiday. Alighting off the back of a double-decker bus one day, I noticed that one of the other passengers had dropped a large set of keys as he got off. I shouted after him, and handed him his keys. He thanked me profusely, and as he turned to leave, he commented," These are the keys to my studio, all my outfits are there. I'm the dress designer for Imagination", and strode off


Now it was time to pick my jaw off the footpath.

a) I couldn't believe that Imagination had a dress designer,
b) I could imagine anyone would admit to such a role,
c) I can't believe I let him escape.


Posted by Monasette at April 13, 2003 10:31 PM
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