Romantics-What I Like About You

[Jay F]

Many Classic Hits stations play Romantics-What I Like About You. I think it sounds great on the format. What's interesting is that it was not a big hit when it was a current in the early 80s..I don't believe it hit the Top 40. It could have been on an independent label. It was a song only new wave fans knew about.

I remember how fresh it sounded in the early 80s, how it totally caught your attention. It had the opposite feel of the corporate rock that was all over the radio at the time. It sounded like they were putting the fun back into rock and roll. That could be why it works so well on classic hits today...it had a retro feel even when it was new.

 

[firepoint525]

The irony here is that the now long-forgotten remake by Michael Morales was far and away a bigger hit on the charts, reaching #28 in 1989. This is the version that I actually remember, since the station in my hometown usually did not play new music until and unless it cracked the top 40, and sometimes not even then!

 

[johnbasalla]

The Romantics were on NEMPEROR RECORDS, manufactured and distributed by COLUMBIA RECORDS.

 

[hornet61]

ROMANTICS what I like..was a great dance hit...i dj'ed at clubs for 22 yrs this was a fan favorite, mixes well with Billy Idol-White Weddfing and Huey Lewis - living for the week end for the weekend.

 

[ceaser]

It charted #49 in billboard.

 

[ixnay]

I always believed John Mellencamp's "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.", good as it was, was a blatant ripoff of WILAY.

ixnay

 

[billyg]

It charted #49 in billboard.

Acording to Wikipedia it was a #2 hit in Australia, #16 Netherlands. It should have been a huge hit here.

I always believed John Mellencamp's "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.", good as it was, was a blatant ripoff of WILAY.
ixnay

And both songs rip-off Neil Diamond's "Cherry Cherry"! ;D

I remember when MTV signed on in 1982-3 they played the Romantics video of "What I Like About You" a lot because they had a small library of videos. That video really sold that song, and it started getting airplay again as a recumbent or oldie. And the momentum helped them to finally score a big hit with "Talking In Your Sleep" in 1983.

I saw The Romantics in a small nightclub in Oklahoma City a when "Talking" was just climbing the Hot 100. They put on a great show to a packed house...good times.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_I_Like_About_You_(song)

 

[satech]

Another early '80s song which gets a lot more airplay than its non-Top-40 Billboard position would indicate is "Tempted" by Squeeze.

 

[Jay F]

Another early '80s song which gets a lot more airplay than its non-Top-40 Billboard position would indicate is "Tempted" by Squeeze.

KROQ in LA played it a lot when it was current but I never heard it on CHR at time. I remember thinking it was such a great song and should be getting more widespread airplay...and it does many years latter.

 

[firepoint525]

Another early '80s song which gets a lot more airplay than its non-Top-40 Billboard position would indicate is "Tempted" by Squeeze.

"I Melt With You" by Modern English fits into the same category. Never heard it while it was a "hit," but I've already heard it twice today!

 

[Jay F]

Another early '80s song which gets a lot more airplay than its non-Top-40 Billboard position would indicate is "Tempted" by Squeeze.

"I Melt With You" by Modern English fits into the same category. Never heard it while it was a "hit," but I've already heard it twice today!

It was a big rock song at the time, many AOR stations played it in 1983. A lot more stations play it today than when it was current. Yet classic rock is not a format you will hear it on today.

 

[firepoint525]

Seems to me that there was a missed opportunity with a number of these tunes that are bigger "hits" now than when they were "hits." Someone should have reissued them as singles when their popularity increased. With the examples mentioned here, it is obviously too late for that now, and unnecessary, too, since most of these still get as much airplay now (maybe more!) as they would have, had they been actual hits.

It's worth noting that "I Melt With You" seems to get a lot of AC and hot AC airplay lately. That never would have happened during its heyday!

 

[Starbucks]

Those 2 songs had a good push of air play when they came out in 80' and 83. I would like to also mention U2's- New Year'ss Day. These songs did not chart well at alll, but received an adequate amount of airplay to be considered familiar later on as the years go by. Stations realized when these songs start to stiff below the top 40 or 30, they phase them out due to realizing that the single at the record stores are not selling, and that's part of the way back then is not just getting request...but to sell and promote the single. Romantics became a party record, being sampled on beer commercials, and Modern English hit became more popular every year as the 80's continued as they were part of the "Living In Oblivion" scene and U2's New Year's Day single helped promote the sales of U2's debut US album, and concerts, where it get's respect as an 80's classic ,even though it didn't crack the top 50 or 45 sales.
Sometimes radio stations will overcome the week sales and still play a record that receives lots of request. Wrong timing, or the song more famous then the band at the time can result in to that.

 

[billyg]

"Tempted" and "I Melt With You" were big MTV hits, I think that's why people remember them today, even if their local CHR station didn't play them when they were current.