A massive hit

[Nickname]

Sometimes I am a little bit surprised to see how many people think PSB are a group of the 80's. People said that because PSB don't have massive hits from 1993 with Go West and it was a cover.

My question is: do you think if psb WANT to make a massive hit they are able to do it?.
I know they probably want to do what they think is good music (with success or not) but some movements on their career in the past is like they WANTED to have a massive hit.
The first rule for that is making a cover (for example with Go West and Where The Streets Have No Name/I Can't Take My Eyes Off You).
Another rule could be a duet with a famous group or singer.
And the other rule, singing a song wrote by other song-writers.

But all these rules are dissappoiting. The good thing would be if the could have a massive hit with a song written by themselves and with no duets.

Some people think if they have a massive hit they need to do rubbish but I don't think so. I'm sure if PSB had a massive hit it would be with a song of big quality (ex: It's a sin, Westend Girls).

The thing is: supposing PSB want to create a massive hit, are PSB able to do that? (without the rules wrote above). Are they able to call the attention of the massive public in their music again?

[Zeus On The Loose]

PSB would kill for a massive hit but they're way past their sell-by date as writers to write one. So, their only option would be a fantastic cover version that could be massive as an one-off novelty record but they're too old to get away with that now.

[Vince]

They can if they WANT to... The problem is, to get a hit, they need to feel the pressure to produce/write hits... Since that isnt the case, they make music they like (CTH and Potemkin arent exactly hit-making endeavours, and were never meant to be so), and (few) fans like us enjoy such music.....

[Guest]

I know they probably want to do what they think is good music (with success or not)

Don't kid yourself, they are very much concerned about their popularity.
They almost sacked Thorsten Rasch as on orchestrator for Battleship Potemkin because what he came up with was "too avantgarde and not commercial enough".

Another rule could be a duet with a famous group or singer.

I have my doubts someone at their commercial peak would want to sing a duet with them right now. And they are most likely to proud to just be the junior partner anyway.

If everything worked out fine (songwriting, production, video etc.) they could maybe have another solid pan-european top ten hit, but not a huge, massive one like Always on my mind for example.

[Janet Street-Porter]

Their problem is that they don't get the airplay to have a huge hit again. Miracles was a fantastic pop song but how many people actually got to hear it? Even Damon from Blur who was of the next generation to PSB has to reinvent himself to get radio play on pop stations because he's fat and bald now. So until they make the Hamsterz album a huge hit will evade them.

(that said, I really hope the new single is extraordinarily good and that it's a crime when it's not playlisted by pop stations still playing James Blunt six months from now)

[glennjridge]

yeah thats what I think. cripes sake if one of their songs like miracles was played during some weepy scene in some teen movie I am sure it would be a hit.all the kids would be like who's that group I have to have it!

[markus]

They can have another hit easily, if they just dare to make another camp gay anthem...(and upset 80% of the fans) The general audience don't care about their attempts to make "serious" music, they just want candy.

[kennym]

PSB would kill for a massive hit but they're way past their sell-by date as writers to write one. So, their only option would be a fantastic cover version that could be massive as an one-off novelty record but they're too old to get away with that now.

The idea they suggested in the Face magazine way back in 1989 of a EP with four covers from 4 different generations was a particularly interesting one..

[joeythecat]

It seems that PSB wrote all of their big hits before they were actually famous. Introspective was the swan song to the big hits and also their back catalogue of old songs. Once they attained fame their muse which inspired them to write the gritty electro pop that made them famous, went elsewhere.
I think this is because of a few reasons:
they grew up
suffered personal loss
attained the monetary success that had eluded them in their youth

once the conflict there was resolved, they did not have the same downtown vibe or the desire to throw themselves into that arena, nor were they working in dodgy studios polishing their tunes themselves. Instead they were comfortable, and what they have produced since 1990 is exactly that.
That said. things are a lot different now. Hits are more about marketing than they are about songs.
But, if they were to put out a solid, fun, emotionally detached record under a different name like Gorillaz (produced with some younger people with some street credibility) then yes, they could have some hits.
As they are, they just make good music which your younger relatives may be indifferent to.

[Hmmm]

Its not the mid 80's its 2005 we all get older and every thing changes Food,Music,Fashion we all alter and move on and so do Neil and Chris so they try new ideas etc.
Some work some dont thats life .

[jamie1978]

To have a hit they need to write a good song AND release it as a single.

They have struggled immensely with this for the past 12 years, so I'm not expecting a radical change anytime soon.

[Nickname]

They have written too many sad songs these last years. It's not very attractive to see a more than 50 years old man talking about his pain and disappointment love affairs.

Anyway, I don't like the songs of Gorillaz or groups like that. I think PSB can do something much fun and more attractive. I hope they remember how their music was and they try to do something similar (not with the same sound but with the same essence of their classic songs). I hope Trevor Horn is the correct person to help them.

[joncool5]

'Flamboyant' was good enough to be a huge hit as it had a killer melody. The dated production of the track and the fact that you have a 50 year old bloke singing about flamboyance probably alienated the casual buyer.

[Nickname]

'Flamboyant' was good enough to be a huge hit as it had a killer melody. The dated production of the track and the fact that you have a 50 year old bloke singing about flamboyance probably alienated the casual buyer.

And a good video (no more mice).

[Zeus On The Loose]

'Flamboyant' was good enough to be a huge hit as it had a killer melody. The dated production of the track and the fact that you have a 50 year old bloke singing about flamboyance probably alienated the casual buyer.

Flamboyant wasn't good enough to be a huge hit. The lyrics were a massive let down and using a production line of an one hit wonder of 18 months ago wasn't a good idea. Who wants to listen to a social butterfly go on and on about a subject matter that concernes precisely noone? And the usual 'Ooh, aren't I clever' lines such as the whole middle bit and the tacky/Miyake rhyme didn't help a lot.

Miracles deserved to be massive but after years of destroying their hit potential by substandard releases and destroying their image, noone cared.