MUSIC 101: The 1980s

With
M U S I C
P L A Y E R !

The music that matters.

The MUSIC PRIMER Series!

A fun INTRO into the great musics
of each decade
in one Music Player!

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M U S I C
1 0 1 :
1 9 8 0 s !

MUSIC 101: The 1980s
by Tym Stevens
This is a Spotify player. Join up for free here.

101 SONGS
FROM 101 GREAT ALBUMS!
In chronological order,
one album per act,
one song per album.
Punk! HipHop! New Wave!
Funk! Hardcore! Psychedelic!
World! GoGo! Industrial!
Metal! Blues! Grunge!



From 1980 through 1989!
A crash course in crucial!

Music Primer series:
350 Albums: 1956-2020
The 1950s
The 1960s
The 1970s

The 1990s
The 2000s

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The Music Player contains one song each
from these 101 classic albums!

1 9 8 0
01) David Bowie, "Scary Monsters"
Art Rock.

02) Grace Jones, "Warm Leatherette"
New Wave Dub Disco.

03) The Cramps, "Songs The Lord Taught Us"
Psychobilly.

04) Devo, "Freedom Of Choice"
New Wave.

05) The Cosmopolitans, "Wild Moose Party"
Frat Garage.

06) The Specials, "More Specials"
Mod Ska.

07) The Soft Boys, "Underwater Moonlight"
Punkadelic.

08) Peggy Scott, "Great Scott"
Soul and Disco.

09) Split Enz, "True Colours"
New Zealand New Wave.

10) The Undertones, "Hyptonized"
Punk Pop.

11) The Delmontes, "Carousel" (rec. early '80s)
Mod Pop.

12) Professor Longhair, "Crawfish Fiesta"
New Orleans gumbo.

13) X, "Los Angeles"
L.A. Punk.

14) Rockpile, "Seconds Of Pleasure"
Mod Power Pop.

15) The B-52s, "Wild Planet"
Punk Mod.

16) Capt. Beefheart And His Magic Band, "Doc At The Radar Station"
Post Blues.

17) Squeeze, "Argybargy"
Mod Pop.

18) Utopia, "Deface The Music"
Beatlesque tribute.


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1 9 8 1
19) The Rolling Stones, "Tattoo You"
Rawk.

20) The Knack, "Round Trip"
"Revolver"-esque Pop.>

21) The Go-Go's, "Beauty And The Beat"
Mod Pop.>

22) Gang Of Four, "Solid Gold"
Punk Funk.

23) Pretenders, "Pretenders II"
Beat Pop.

24) Black Flag, "Damaged"
Hardcore Punk.

25) The Police, "Ghost In The Machine"
Art Reggae.

26) Buzz And The Flyers, "Buzz And The Flyers"
Rockabilly.

27) Girlschool, "Hit And Run"
All-female British Metal.


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1 9 8 2
28) Zapp, "Zapp II"
Electro Funk.

29) The Fabulous Thunderbirds, "T-Bird Rhythm"
Blues Soul.

30) The Spongetones, "Beat Music"
Beatlesque Pop.>

31) The BusBoys, "American Worker"
New Wave Soul.

32) Kas Product, "Try It"
Coldwave.

33) Barrence Whitfield And The Savages, "Barrence Whitfield And The Savages"
Rockabilly and Garage Rock.

34) The Atlantics, "Atlantics" (rec. early '80's)
Punk Wave.

35) Bruce Springsteen, "Nebraska"
Eerie singer/songwriter.

36) War, "Outlaw"
L.A. Funk.

"DJ's spinning/ I said my, my..."


37) The Clash, "Combat Rock"
Punk Dub Protest.

38) Marvin Gaye, "Midnight Love"
Erotic Soul.

39) The Prisoners, "Come To The Mushroom"
Art Punk.

40) Pigbag, "Dr. Heckle And Mr. Jive"
Alternative Dance.

41) Roxy Music, "Avalon"
Art Wave.

42) Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five, "The Message"
New York HipHop.

43) Paul McCartney, "Tug Of War"
Beatles coda.>


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1 9 8 3
44) Malaria!, "Compiled: 1981-1983"
Coldwave and Industrial.

45) Liquid Liquid, "Optimo" (early '80s)
Punk Funk.

46) Bad Brains, "Rock For Light"
Hardcore Punk (+ Reggae).

47) Sly And The Family Stone, "Ain't But The One Way"
Funk redux.>

48) The Creatures, "Feast"
Polyrhythmic PostPunk.

49) Was (Not Was), "Born To Laugh At Tornados"
Art Soul.

50) Tears For Fears, "The Hurting"
Soulful New Wave.

51) King Sunny Ade, "Synchro System"
Nigerian Jùjú.

52) Talking Heads, "Speaking In Tongues"
Art Funk.

53) Dicks, "Kill From The Heart"
Political Hardcore.


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1 9 8 4
54) Katrina And The Waves, "Katrina And The Waves I"
Beat and Motown.

55) The Art Of Noise, "Who's Afraid Of...?"
Synth Pop Dub.

56) The Fuzztones, "Leave Your Mind At Home"
Garage Rock.>

57) Cocteau Twins, "Treasure"
Ethereal Wave.


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1 9 8 5
58) The Untouchables, "Wild Child"
Ska and '60s Soul.

59) John Fogerty, "Centerfield"
Swamp Rock.

60) Koko Taylor, "Queen Of The Blues"
Chicago Blues.

61) Jesus And Mary Chain, "Psychocandy"
Fuzz Alternative.

62) Mark Stewart, "As The Veneer Of Democracy Starts To Fade"
Industrial Conscious Rap.

63) Various Artists, "The Indestructible Beat Of Soweto"
South African Mbaqanga collection.

64) Eurythmics, "Be Yourself Tonight"
Soul Wave.

65) The Smiths, "Meat Is Murder"
Alternative croon.

66) LL Cool J, "Radio"
Def Jam HipHop.

67) Thee Mighty Caesars, "Beware The Ides Of March"
Garage Rock.


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1 9 8 6
68) The Delmonas, "5!"
All-female Garage Rock.

69) African Head Charge, "Off The Beaten Path"
World Dub.

70) Let's Active, "Big Plans For Everybody"
Pop Psyche.

71) Marcia Ball, "Hot Tamale Baby"
Soulful Blues.

72) Film soundtrack, "GOOD TO GO"
Go-Go Funk collection of Washington D.C. bands.

73) Peter Zaremba's Love Delagation, "Spread The Word"
Psyche Pop.

74) Run-DMC, "Raising Hell"
Hard Rap.

75) XTC, "Skylarking"
Alt Psyche.


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1 9 8 7
76) Tom Waits, "Frank's Wild Years"
Art Cabaret.

77) Wire, "The Ideal Copy"
Alt Industrial.

78) Guadalcanal Diary, "2x4"
Jangle Pop.

79) Love And Rockets, "Earth Sun And Moon"
Alt Goth.

80) Public Enemy, "Yo! Bum Rush The Show"
Conscious Rap.

81) Omar And The Howlers, "Hard Times In The Land Of Plenty"
Texas Blues.

82) R.E.M., "Document"
Alt Americana.


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1 9 8 8
83) The Primatives, "Lovely"
Alt Pop.

84) The Smithereens, "Green Thoughts"
Beat Rock.

85) Bootsy Collins, "What's Bootsy Doing?"
P-Funk.

86) L7, "L7"
All-female Grunge.

87) Living Colour, "Vivid"
Afro Punk.

88) Cowboy Junkies, "The Trinity Session"
Moody Roots.

89) Last Exit, "Iron Path"
Harmolodic Thrash.


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1 9 8 9
90) Bonnie Raitt, "Nick Of Time"
Soul and Blues.

91) Pixies, "Doolittle"
Alternative Rock.

92) 3rd Bass, "The Cactus Album"
Alt HipHop.

93) Bob Dylan, "Oh Mercy"
Political singer/songwriter.

94) Barry Adamson, "Moss Side Story"
Cinematic seeds of TripHop.

95) Lou Ann Barton, "Read My Lips"
Soul and Blues.

96) Lobos Negros, "Lobos Negros"
Spanish Rockabilly.>

97) Nine Inch Nails, "Pretty Hate Machine"
Industrial Rock.

98) Queen Latifah, "All Hail The Queen"
Conscious Rap.

99) Julee Cruise, "Floating Into The Night"
Cinematic Dream Pop.>

100) Chris Isaak, "Heart Shaped World"
Rockabilly croon.

101) Nirvana, "Bleach"
Grunge.

"Raise expectations to a new intention..."

© Tym Stevens

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The Music Primer Series:*
1) 350 GREAT ALBUMS That Will Change Your Life!: 1956-2020

2) MUSIC 101: The 1950s

3) MUSIC 101: The 1960s

4) MUSIC 101: The 1970s

6) MUSIC 101: The 1990s

7) MUSIC 101: The 2000s


* The albums heard on the Decades series are different than the 350 Albums overview.


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Further Study, dept.:

• Revolution 1950s: The Big Damn Bang of Rock'n'Roll!

• 1950s Rock, C: The '80s disciples, with Music Player!
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• BEATLESQUE Albums: 450 Alternate Universe BEATLES Albums You Need!, with 2 Music Players!

• BEATLES 'Reunion Anthology': 1970-Now, with Music Player!

• 'Why We Love YOKO ONO (Or Should)!', with 2 Music Players!
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• Sly Stone > Prince, with Music Player!

• "APACHE", HipHop's Sacred Secret Beat! - Bongo Band > Bambaataa > EVERYONE EVER

• "Amen Break" - How 6 Seconds From 1969 Propel All Modern Music
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• 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY - Its Transcendent Influence on all Pop Culture, with Music Player!

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• 2000 Great Albums on Pinterest!


• The Real History of Rock and Soul!: The Music Player Checklist

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McCARTNEY-esque: All-Star Homage Playlists To His BEATLES And SOLO Styles!

To honor PAUL McCARTNEY's unending impact on music, here are two Music Players of famous artists imitating him.

One playlist tributes his many BEATLES styles and the other homages his SOLO styles.

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T H E
B E A T L E S :
McCartney-esque Tribute

Here are 150 artists from every era and genre, lovingly imitating Paul's styles with THE BEATLES. The songs are arranged in "sonic order", meaning each of Paul's Beatles styles in order sonically from 1962 to 1970; the early MerseyBeat, the Folk Pop, the Psychedelia and Baroque Pop, and finally the boogie Rawk and piano Hymn sounds.

There are favored guests and many surprises along the way.

You would expect THE RUTLES, BADFINGER, ELO, CHEAP TRICK, THE BANGLES, CROWDED HOUSE, and ELLIOTT SMITH.

But how about SIOUXSIE SIOUX, GENE SIMMONS, ELASTICA, THE BETA BAND, and QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE?

Because THE BEATLES' sounds and fashions were so fluid, they are a nexus point for every possible angle of Rock music. Without boundaries and only possibilities, they have influenced every kind of band in their wake. This takes us to the current wave of youth who wear Beatles T-shirts and listen to acolytes like SUPERGRASS, KOMEDA, SLOAN, THE DONNAS, GRANDADDY, KAISER CHIEFS, TRAVIS, BON IVER, PANIC AT THE DISCO, and THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS, all here.


Welcome to an alternate universe of BEATLES music
you've never heard!

This is a Spotify player. Join up for free here.

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P A U L
M c C A R T N E Y :
McCartney-esque
Tribute

Here are 150 artists from every era and genre, lovingly imitating Paul's SOLO styles. The songs flow in basic chronological order with his peers responding to or covering Paul's styles from 1970 to today; the piano Ballads, the boogie Rockers, the power Pop, the robo Synth, the beatle-ish Renaissance, the avant collages, and the new acoustic Classics. (Some artists are arranged in "sonic order', meaning they are placed next to songs where their sound matches that era.)

Again there are favored guests and many surprises along the way.

Paul's influence has no boundaries. His optimistic vitality, expressed though raunchy blues, hymnal piano, renaissance strumming, ethereal harmonies, and experimental noize, speaks to everyone.

Here are acolytes from every era and angle:
From the '70s and THE MOVE, ELO, CHEAP TRICK, QUEEN, NILSSON, EMMIT RHODES, and TODD RUNDGREN.

To the '80s and ELVIS COSTELLO, SQUEEZE, XTC, THE BANGLES, THAT PETROL EMOTION, and CROWDED HOUSE.

To the '90s and GUNS 'N' ROSES, ELLIOTT SMITH, FASTBALL, PAUL WELLER, CARLEEN ANDERSON, BOO RADLEYS, and THE MELVINS.

To the 2000s with SUPER FURRY ANIMALS, HOT CHIP, FOXY SHAZAM, SCISSOR SISTERS, JET, and FLAMING LIPS.


Welcome to an alternate universe of McCARTNEY music
you've never heard!


This is a Spotify player. Join up for free here.





You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll gasp, you'll remember how wonderful life is and how lucky we are. A splendid time is guaranteed for all!




© Tym Stevens

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See Also:

• BEATLE-esque: 450 Albums That Homage Specific BEATLES Albums, with 2 Music Players

B E A T L E S Q U E
Songs series,
with massive Music Players!:
• 1963-esque
• 1964-esque
• 1965-esque
• 1966-esque
• 1967-esque
• 1968-esque
• 1969-esque
• 1970-esque
• 'REUNION' 1970-Now

✭ BEATLESQUE: Christmas


• LENNONesque: Artists imitating John Lennon's BEATLES and Solo styles

• WILSONesque: Artists imitating Brian Wilson's BEACH BOYS and Solo styles

• SLICE TONES: Artists imitating Sly Stone's SLY & THE FAMILY STONE styles


• TWIN PEAKS: Its influence on 25 years of Film, TV, and Music, with 5 Music Players

• MORRICONE-esque: The influence of the Spaghetti Western sound on 50 years of Rock and Soul, with 3 Music Players


• The Real History of ROCK AND SOUL!: The Music Player Checklist

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PAUL McCARTNEY: Playlists Of His BEATLES And SOLO Songs!

To honor PAUL McCARTNEY for his timeless work, here are 2 Music Players of his BEATLES and SOLO songs!

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T H E
B E A T L E S

Here are songs Paul wrote and sang with THE BEATLES in order from 1959 to 1970.

Spotify playlist title=
McCARTNEY 1: The Beatles songs 1959-1970

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P A U L
M c C A R T N E Y

Here's an overview of Paul's solo songs from 1970 to today.

Power Pop, Techno Funk, Tough Blues, perfect Ballads, Grunge, and fun curveballs!

Spotify playlist title=
McCARTNEY 2: Solo Career 1970-Today


© Tym Stevens

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See Also:

• BEATLESQUE Albums: 450 Alternate Universe BEATLES Albums You Need!, with 2 massive Music Players!

B E A T L E S Q U E
Songs series,
with massive Music Players!:
• 1963-esque
• 1964-esque
• 1965-esque
• 1966-esque
• 1967-esque
• 1968-esque
• 1969-esque
• 1970-esque
• 'REUNION' 1970-Now

✭ BEATLESQUE: Christmas


• McCARTNEY-esque: All-Star Homage Playlists To His BEATLES And SOLO Styles!, with 2 Music Players

• JOHN LENNON: Playlists Of His BEATLES And SOLO Songs!, with 2 Music Players

• LENNON-esque: All-Star Homage Playlists To John Lennon's BEATLES And SOLO Styles!, with 2 Music Players

• BEYOND COOL: Badfinger, the Beatles of the 1970s!, with Music Player!


• The Real History of Rock and Soul!: A Music Player Checklist

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LADIES FIRST: "Porpoise Song" - Carole King > The Monkees > Lola Dutronic > Django Django

LADIES FIRST spotlights classic songs that 'she did first'.

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"A face, a voice, an overdub has no choice..."

"The Porpoise Song" is one of the coolest psychedelic songs ever made. Interpreted brilliantly by The Monkees under the spell of SGT. PEPPER, it has been covered many times by neo-psych, doom metal, and electro bands.

Carole King wrote the original in the last days of her storied songwriting partnership with Gerry Goffin. Here is her original demo. Note the Lennon/ hallmarks all over it in the piano march, wavy harmonies, and phased voices.

CAROLE KING -"Porpoise Song" (1968)



The song was written for the opening sequence of HEAD, the glorious career suicide film made by The Monkees. Here's the beginning of the film and the freewheeling chaos that follows.

(Hint: rent the movie.)

HEAD: "The Porpoise Song" (1968)



HEAD became a cult hit in the '80s when released on video, and the song was discovered again when included in VANILLA SKY (2001). Many artists have covered it like
BONGWATER w/ Ann Magnuson (1988),
TROUBLE (1995)
THE CHURCH (1999)
DJ NOBODY (2008)
AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF THE DEAD (2004)

Here's a typically radiant original song by Brian Wilson's touring buddies, Wondermints, which sounds like a merging of The Beach Boys' "Wonderful" with "The Porpoise Song".

WONDERMINTS -"Tracy Hyde" (1996)



Here's a lovely Electro-delic cover version by Canada's Lola Dutronic, in a fan video that homages the underwater film sequence with some twists.

LOLA DUTRONIC -"The Porpoise Song" (2004)



And here the jingle gets jangled when wrangled by Django Django.

DJANGO DJANGO "The Porpoise Song" (2014)




"The porpoise is laughing /
goodbye, goodbye..."

© Tym Stevens

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See Also:

• BEATLESQUE Songs: 1967-esque, with Music Player!

• HERE IN PURPLE VELVET NOW: The Psychedelic Revolution, with 2 Music Players!


• "I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone" - Paul Revere > The Monkees > Sex Pistols

• "Hey Bulldog" - The Beatles > Fanny > Ween > Shonen Knife


• The Real History of Rock and Soul!: The Music Player Checklist

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BEYOND COOL: Badfinger, the Beatles of the 1970s!

I love BADFINGER and you should, too. Here's a music player to win you over.



"Here it is, come and get it!"
BADFINGER
by Tym StevensThis is a Spotify player. Join up for free here.
BADFINGER were The Beatles' protégés, who had wonderful songs and terrible luck.

The classic line-up -Pete Ham, Tom Evans, Joey Molland, and Mike Gibbins- were together from 1970 to 1974, and had huge hits with the songs "Come And Get It" (written for them by Paul McCartney during the Abbey Road album sessions), "Day After Day", "No Matter What You Do", and "Baby Blue" (used memorably in the finale of 'Breaking Bad').

They also did the original of "Without You", a worldwide smash in 1971 with Harry Nilsson's cover of it. It has gone on to become a perennial standard covered by artists globally, including the 1996 hit for Mariah Carey.

The band is certainly every bit as influential on all the indie and power pop bands that followed as Big Star, The Raspberries, or The Modern Lovers. The latter part of the Music Player features cover versions in chronological order, from artists as varied as Ken Lazarus (Jamaica), We All Together (Peru), Tim Hardin, Leno E Lilian (Brazil), Billy Paul, The Flashcubes, Game Theory, Lon and Derrek Von Eaton (with Ringo Starr and Klaus Voorman), Midge Ure, Todd Rundgren, The Real Kids, and Harry Styles.

Their songs are excellent and eternal, and you're in good hands with BADFINGER.




© Tym Stevens

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See Also:

• "Without You" - Badfinger > Harry Nilsson

• All over, "Baby Blue"! - Gene Vincent > Bob Dylan > Badfinger > Beach Boys > Topley Bird


Hear the whole BEATLESQUE Songs series:
• 1963-esque
• 1964-esque
• 1965-esque
• 1966-esque
• 1967-esque
• 1968-esque
• 1969-esque
• 1970-esque
• 'REUNION' 1970-Now


• The Real History of Rock and Soul!: A Music Player Checklist

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THE PRISONER: Its Influence On Music, TV, and Comics

...with MUSIC PLAYER!
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"I loved THE PRISONER, which was a very odd sort of hybrid of sci-fi, mystery and character, and certainly there are elements of THE PRISONER in both ALIAS and LOST."
-J.J. Abrams
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THE PRISONER is uniformly hailed as one of the smartest and most innovative TV series ever made.

It is also one of the most influential, inspiring decades of popular culture including Rock music, television shows, and comics. Its sophisticated use of symbolism and ambiguity has excited fevered debates to the present day, inspiring such shows as Twin Peaks, Life On Mars, Mr. Robot, and The OA.

Everything comes around again and here's a charter course of the loop.

Chapter links:
a •THE PRISONER Series
b •THE PRISONER: Its Influence On MUSIC,
with Music Player!
c •THE PRISONER: Its Influence On MOVIES And TELEVISION
d •THE PRISONER: Its Influence On COMICS

This article is Spoiler-Free.
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a

T H E
P R I S O N E R :
The SERIES

Patrick McGoohan plays a nameless secret agent who resigns.

He is abducted to an unknown location called The Village, a mod and cosmopolitan 'rest home' for those who know too much.

THE PRISONER Opening Credits; music by Ron Grainer (1967)


THE PRISONER: "I am not a number"(1967)


He is renamed Number 6, but rejects it vehemently and defends his identity against a rotating parade of interrogators called Number 2.

Will he get out, and who is Number 1?

ROVER


THE PRISONER was 17 episodes that fought fiercely against the encroaching corporate/military state, and ended with one of the most surreal, challenging, and outrageous epilogues ever broadcast.

Its relentless defence of the rights of the individual against a repressive state has made it a timeless classic.

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b

T H E
P R I S O N E R :
Its Influence On MUSIC

The series' bold use of Mod Futurism, theatrical style, anti-authoritarianism, and personal rebellion ensured it as a constant inspiration for decades of Rock music.

Here are songs and videos directly homaging it.

This is a Spotify player. Join up for free here.THE PRISONER
Featuring:
The PRISONER soundtrack, Johnny Rivers, The Beatles, The Clash, The Times, Devo, Iron Maiden, XTC, The Chameleons, Imperial Drag, thenewno2, and more!


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Patrick McGoohan first achieved fame in a previous spy series called DANGER MAN. Running from 1960 to 1962, the show preceded the smash success of the James Bond films, which then ironically reignited the series from 1964 to 1968.

When the series was re-broadcast in the USA as Secret Agent, Johnny Rivers scored a resonant Pop hit with the new title theme "Secret Agent Man". It's widely theorized that the series' hero, spy John Drake, later becomes the nameless former-agent designated as Number 6 in THE PRISONER series, which brings chilling poignancy to this song's lyric, "They've given you a number, and taken away your name".

JOHNNY RIVERS -"Secret Agent Man" (1966)


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THE PRISONER was filmed in Portmeirion, a Welsh village designed like a baroque puzzle of Mediterranean styles by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis across 50 years. His direct refute of cold and symmetrical modernism for the ornate, complicated, and unique paradoxically created a postmodern and cosmopolitain futurism out of the classic past.

McGoohan recognized its rich metaphoric complexity on a vacation visit, seeing it as the ideal backdrop for his visionary series, familiar and yet alien. The village has been used many times over the years in music videos as an homage to the show.

Here's the Mod Revival band The Times giving our man a leg up...

THE TIMES -"I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape" (1982)



Altered Images also filmed their video for "See Those Eyes" (1982) in Portmeirion.

During this same period, there was a Mod/Garage band called The Prisoners who may have been named after the series.

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Iron Maiden paid tribute to THE PRISONER twice...

IRON MAIDEN -"The Prisoner" (1982)


IRON MAIDEN -"Back In the Village" (1984)


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In 1987, Jools Holland did a TV spoof called The Laughing Prisoner, written by Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie. It featured guest appearances by musicians performing in Portmeirion, including XTC and Souxsie And The Banshees.

XTC -"The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul" (1987)


XTC -"The Meeting Place" (1987)


SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES -"The Passenger" (Iggy Pop cover, 1987)


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This SUPERGRASS video was also filmed in Portmeirion with subtle winks at THE PRISONER...

SUPERGRASS -"Alright" (1995)


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The live performance album/dvd "Hullabaloo" (2002) by Muse uses imagery that was inspired by THE PRISONER...

Top: a free man
Bottom: Muse

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The final episode of THE PRISONER, "Fall Out", featured The Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" in the score. The influence of mod clothing styles, mid-'60s pop, and The Beatles still rings through the sounds, fashions, and videos of The Times, Altered Images, XTC, and Supergrass.

Fittingly, here is George's son, Dhani Harrison, cheekily taking the name of his band thenewno2 from the series and a lot of its rebel outlook in this video...

thenewno2 -"Choose What You're Watching" (2008)

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c

T H E
P R I S O N E R :
Its Influence On MOVIES And TELEVISION

THE PRISONER's themes of fascistic control, identity and individualism, mysterious internment, and interrogation and rebellion have resonated ever since.

It clearly inspired many film works, including TV series like Nowhere Man, The Simpsons, Persons Unknown, Wayward Pines, Mr. Robot, and The Oa; and films like THE TRUMAN SHOW and (quietly) ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND.


Nowhere Man intro (1995)


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The Simpsons did a hilarious tribute/parody of THE PRISONER, in which Homer was exiled to The Village and met Number 6 (Patrick McGoohan himself).

The Simpsons: "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes" (S26/E06; 2000)


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THE TRUMAN SHOW trailer (1998)


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THE MATRIX (1999)

In THE MATRIX, Neo runs through an apartment where the first episode of THE PRISONER, "Arrival", is playing on a television. This is a direct nod to thematic parallels in the film.

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Life On Mars, Season 1 trailer (2006)


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In 2009, THE PRISONER was reimagined in an alternate vision for a 6-episode mini-series, starring Ian McKellen, Jim Caviezel, and Hayley Atwell. The series loosely implied connections to the original, while also being primarily an elseworlds take on the general concepts.

THE PRISONER Mini-Series (2009)


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Persons Unknown, trailer (2010)


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Wayward Pines, Season 1 trailer (2015)


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Mr. Robot, Season 1 trailer (2015)


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The OA, Season 1 trailer (2016)


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Homecoming, trailer (2018)


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d

T H E
P R I S O N E R :
Its Influence On COMICS


Jack Kirby, the architect of most of the great concepts of Marvel and DC, loved the PRISONER series. It directly influenced the epic 4-issue storyline of FANTASTIC FOUR #84-87 (1969), set in the sinister Latverian villages of overlord Doctor Doom.

FANTASTIC FOUR #86 (May 1969),
by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Joe Sinnott.

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Marvel Comics actually attempted to do a comic adaptiation of THE PRISONER in the mid-'70s... or rather, two.

They did a partial pass with writer Steve Englehart and legendary artist Gil Kane, before Lee suggested that Kirby do a take on it instead. Incredibly, despite the pedigree of the famed creators involved, neither version was ever released. The dialogue-heavy panels and static scenes didn't lend themselves to the kind of action that Marvel felt their readers craved.

> Dangerous Minds

Pencilled page layout by Gil Kane.

THE PRISONER,
written and pencilled by Jack Kirby,
inks by Mike Royer.

The two versions finally saw print in a deluxe hardbound book published by Titan Comics in July, 2018.

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V FOR VENDETTA (1982-'88),
by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. Note the bubble chair in panel 3.
_________________________

In 1989, DC Comics published a superior illustrated sequel to the series called "THE PRISONER: Shattered Visage", by Dean Motter and Mark Askwith. The 4-issue prestige series carefully homaged and extended all the best aspects of the story, and was universally acclaimed by fans with attention spans.

The series reads like a perfectly scripted and storyboarded maxi-series ready to be made. Ahem.

THE PRISONER: Shattered Visage,
by Dean Motter and Mark Askwith.
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In 1991, illustrious author Neil Gaiman paid subliminal homage to THE PRISONER in his script for MIRACLEMAN #21, abetted by xerographic art by Mark Buckingham.

> Read it here.

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THE INVISIBLES #17 (Feb 1996),
by Grant Morrison and Phil Jiminez.
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The moment before Mina
kicks James Bond's ass in
THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN: The Black Dossier (2007),
by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill.
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"THE PRISONER: The Uncertainty Machine" (2018), a contemporary sequel by Peter Milligan and Colin Lorimer, printed in four issues and a collected edition.

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"You still have a choice.
You can still salvage your right to be individuals.
Your rights to truth and free thought.
Reject this false world of Number Two.
Reject it. Now!"

"Be seeing you!"


© Tym Stevens

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See Also:

• JOHN BARRY: The Influence Of The JAMES BOND Sound On Pop Music, with 2 Music Players

• 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY - Its Transcendent Influence on all Pop Culture!, with Music Player

• TWIN PEAKS: It's Influence On 25 Years of Popular Culture, with 5 Music Players

• How SPAGHETTI WESTERNS Revolutionized Rock Music! , with 3 Music Players

• How STAR WARS Is Changing Everything!

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