“I Can’t Wait” is a song by American group Nu Shooz, originally recorded in late 1984 and featured on the band’s second album Tha’s Right the following year. The song was remixed by Dutch DJ and producer Peter Slaghuis: this remixed version is the one that appears on the 1986 album Poolside. In the US, the remixed version of the song reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart in late March 1986, remaining atop the chart for two weeks. Soon afterwards, the song appeared on the Hot 100 chart, where it climbed to No. 3 in mid-June of that year, and remained in the top 40 for 15 weeks and it reached No.2 on the R&B/Soul singles chart. In the UK, the song reached No. 2 on the chart.
“Heart and Soul” is the debut single by British ensemble T’Pau, released in 1987 from their debut album Bridge of Spies. The song is notable for its usage of various vocal overdubs, causing Decker, essentially, to be duetting with herself on the original studio recording. This makes the song, in its initial studio form, impossible to perform live without additional backup singers. Instead, Decker often performs what she calls a “basic” version, explaining to Songfacts: “I rap the first two verses then cut to the melody for the verse before the chorus. No one really notices or minds as I cover the essential dynamics of the song. It works well.” Upon its initial release in the UK in February 1987, the song was not well received, entering the bottom of the chart and falling out immediately after. But in the United States, the song received heavy airplay, and the Pepe Jeans advertisement enabled it to reach No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1987. Due to the exposure, the song was re-released in the UK that same month; this time it became a hit, equalling the US peak of No. 4 in September.
“To Cut a Long Story Short” is a song by the English new wave band Spandau Ballet, released in October 1980. It was their first single, and they began recording it before they were signed to a record label because of the interest they had generated with a debut concert for patrons of the exclusive weekly London nightclub the Blitz as well as a Christmas party at that establishment. After having tried other popular genres, the band had been preparing to make their debut as performers of dance music and wanted the public to associate them with the young crowd who met at the Blitz every Tuesday. They needed their guitarist/songwriter, Gary Kemp, to come up with something that they could feel confident about presenting to the top tier of the club’s regulars at their first performance. The fact that they had little money to spend on the music video for “To Cut a Long Story Short” did not prevent the band from wearing historical military outfits. They kept the same look for their debut on TOTP, emphasizing that their image was as much a part of their performance as their music. The single received mixed reviews at the time of its release, but when it got as high as number 5 in the UK, several other UK groups that were influenced by the Blitz crowd were signed to record labels and began charting in the US as part of the Second British Invasion as well as at home.
“It’s My Life” is a song by the English band Talk Talk. Written by Mark Hollis and Tim Friese-Greene, it was the title track on the band’s second album and released as its first single in January 1984. It reached number 46 in the UK, but did better in several other countries. In North America, it entered the Top 40 in both the US (No. 31) and Canada (No. 30). It peaked at number 1 on the US Dance Club Songs Chart. The single was re-released in the UK in 1985, but reached only number 93. In 1990, however, “It’s My Life” was reissued again to promote the compilation album Natural History: The Very Best of Talk Talk. This time, the song was a hit in the UK, reaching number 13, the band’s highest chart-placing single in its native country.
“You Might Need Somebody” is a song written by Tom Snow and Nan O’Byrne, and first recorded in 1980 by American singer and guitarist Turley Richards. In 1981, Randy Crawford covered the song for her album Secret Combination. It was the second single released from the album. Her version reached number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, making it her fourth highest-charting single on that chart. The version also peaked number 39 in the Flanders region of Belgian singles chart in 1981 and in the New Zealand chart one year later.
