Great Moments In Pop – The 80s Part 40.

When I was taking a look at some Australian singles charts from the 80s recently, this was a group who stood out, as it turned out that they had made some songs that I liked the sound of. But their moment of fame was rather brief, to the point that I wondered if it was worth sharing their story because barely anybody will remember them. But then I thought that I might as well to give them a reappraisal all this time on.

Vitabeats are a husband-and-wife group who consisted of Andrew and Lissa. They follow in the tradition of other couples who had some hits in the 80s, including Nu Shooz, Timbuk 3, and of course Techno Twins! Their first single “Tough Guy” was released as early as 1983, and then this was followed in 1984 by “Cake Mix”. But 1985 was the year when they made the chart for the first time.

Firstly in March 1985 “Boom Box” was released, which reached no. 31, to become their first and only Top 40 hit single in Australia. This also meant that they got to appear on Countdown, the biggest music show around. Their highlight for me though was in August 1985, when their next single “Audrey” was released, although this only reached no. 81.

I definitely did like this one, there have been some decent singles made after 1984, honest. And according to the lyrics “all the girls look like Audrey Hepburn“. Well I’m not sure how you worked that out, but that’s rather interesting to know. Also around this time, the further single “Different Ideas” and their album “Spot The Spanner” were released, but neither of these made the chart.

I’m also fairly sure that none of their singles were ever released in any other countries beyond Australia, so there was no attempt to break them in the UK. Just about their only other release in the 80s was the compilation album “The Beats Beyond The Boom”. And they have a fan account on YouTube that almost has ten subscribers, what a legacy!

Well maybe Vitabeats didn’t really cause a sensation with the record-buying public at the time, and I don’t know much about what they have been up to since (beyond the usual “working on a few other projects”), or if they are still together, but as a fan of 80s music, I always hope that I can discover groups and then acknowledge them on this blog, whoever they are.

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