Year of Release: 1985
I have to confess I knew absolutely nothing about this single until I received a tweet about it from the Football and Music website a couple of weeks ago, leaving me with a tricky conundrum. Should I order a copy online knowing I wouldn't receive it in time to prepare a topical blog entry to run neatly alongside the US election? Well, you're reading this, so obviously I did and timing be damned.
There again, it's not as if the single itself was ever timed neatly with an election, nor actually (so far as I can ascertain) released in the USA, so I can probably be forgiven. The sleeve of "The President's Girl" presents itself as a strange piece of countrified patriotic Americana, which I suspect is probably just irony on everyone's part, because the single is actually a very punchy, jittery piece of mid-eighties pop. Optimistic and frothy, it's occasionally a bit silly and hyperactive with its quiz show styled horn fanfares, but it still whiffs of a possible hit. Obviously though, it didn't break through.
Tessa Niles is, of course, an enormously successful session singer from my hometown of Ilford, who despite her humble suburban London beginnings has worked with artists as varied as ABC, David Bowie, Pet Shop Boys, Marillion, Living In A Box, Duran Duran, Bros, The Higsons (er... that one's a bit unexpected!), Suede, Gary Numan and Grace Jones, and a whole host of other stars besides. The vocals on this single provide lots of hints as to why she was so heavily in demand, but obviously the attempt to launch her as a star in her own right failed and these days her solo career barely features in any career summarising biog.
Besides this single, she worked with Shakatak's Bill Sharpe on the Sharpe and Niles single "Famous People", and released a second solo single in 1986 entitled "Tough Girls". Neither really took off and she returned to performing on arena stages across the world for major artists.
She's written a biography entitled "Backtrack" which reflects on her career, which is available now.
If you can't hear the music below, go straight to the source.
5 comments:
I went down that rabbit hole and discovered this via from a previous song you posted (where she was the backing singer on the single). The first and big question that will probably never be answered is: Why ? Why did they choose this subject. Ronnie Reagan was the president at the time and there's nothing that really elicits any attention to his daughter at all. It's all very weird. Might have to get her book just to find if there are any clues in there !
Sounding almost as hyperactive as, er, "Hyperactive" by Thomas Dolby, and I'd wager quite possibly the best single released on Rainbow, whose artistes included Su Pollard and past-best-by Chas and dave.
Yes, I nearly mentioned that the label's biggest hit was "Starting Together" by Su Pollard, a song everyone tried to claim was 'my favourite' at school.
"That's your favourite song, you're always singing it! You bought it in Woolworths at the weekend!"
Ilford, ay? I'm one of those football groundhopper types (I've been to about 800 grounds - I would say I need to get out more, but...) and I ticked Ilford FC off my list one night after work in London about 30 years ago - alight at Seven Kings station, roast dinner and a couple of pints at "The Cauliflower", then off to the Cricklefield Stadium!
Tessa Niles – Tough Girls
have?
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