Lopez Blogs

FROM ABBA TO INDUSTRY...

The finest ever mixed sex pop group performing their finest ever song!

Pop music is proper bonza really isn't it? I mean, I love boy bands (I still mourn the loss of near-massive Digital and Avenue, but have high hopes for Avenue; viva the Take That concert tomorrow night!!!) and girl groups are quite wonderful (while Girls Aloud can't be bothered to promote their singles, I am quite happy awaiting Red Blooded Women, Candy Coated Chaos and The Dolly Rockers to become massive; viva GA supporting Coldplay in Sept!!!) However, some of my very favourite pop groups of all time are mixed sex combos. Abba happen to be my favourite group of all time. Steps reached a pinnacle of pop with amazing tracks like Deeper Shade of Blue and You'll Be Sorry. S Club in various formats delighted with Don't Stop Moving, Sundown and the grossly underrated Hey Kitty Kitty. Heck even less successful acts like All*Stars (ooo remember Sam Bloom? He was fine!) had entirely brilliant tunes like Love Is. So it's definitely about time that an amazing mixed sex combo entered the pop charts again to dazzle with their dance routines, enchant with their catchy melodies and wow with some beautifully blended harmonies. Enter Industry...

Industry interviewed on Xpose

4 piece combo Industry first caught the eye of the blogging world in April when Chartrigger bought them to the attention of a soon to be adoring public (and later did a proper interview with Donal!) Lee, Donal, Morgan and Michele have been busy working on a selection of brilliant new tunes, videos and a live show that will wow audiences at the Pussycat Dolls concert in Killarny this summer. The Irish and Swedish debut single, My Baby's Waiting, is a sunny slice of perky pop that is perfect for the summer months with a sun-drenched video and a chorus so delicious that you are screaming for seconds by the end. No matter what trends temporarily dominate the charts, I'm always thrilled when proper pop makes a return, so took every opportunity to feel completely ugly by sitting down with the glorious looking boys and girls of Industry and ask them some very serious questions...

The group at cool Swedish club Le Bon Palais (taken by Filipe Cederholm)

Despite being very disappointed that Donal hasn't bought me an edible offering (he writes a brilliant blog called Good Mood Food), I'm quickly won over when the conversation starts off with the pop idols of the group - and Donal declares that Abba were his idols growing up, followed by Michael Jackson (of course - find me a pop group that doesn't have the former genius, current nutter as an idol!) and the boombastic Queen. The group quickly agree with Michael Jackson and throw in some other suggestions as diverse as Backstreet Boys & Marvin Gaye (Lee - who starts to croon "let's get it on" but sadly/mercifully stops just short of grinding his hips) and Kylie, Spice Girls and Take That (Michele). In fact, Michele, like my good self, turns out to be quite the enormous Take That fan. " I loved them when I was 10 years old and I adore them now with the comeback albums. They are so so talented and have had huge success and longevity!! I just wish Robbie would come back now and my life would be complete!! " I can't help but absolutely agree with all of that, except of course I have completely resigned myself to Take That being amazing as a four piece. Michele is also rather enamoured with the career of the Spice Girls, with Geri being her favourite. I then ask what nicknames the group would give each other ala the Spice Girls...

Donal ~ Myself and Lee would be drag spice!
Lee ~ Uh, actually I'd be spice man! Or Rocky Spice...
Michele ~ Morgan would be Thumper, Lee would be the Naked Cowboy and Donal would be Pavarotti...
Morgan ~ Michele would be tinkerbell, Lee would be Lala, Donal would be Minerva and I would be Explicit.

Amazing stuff. Strange, bewildering amazing stuff. It's clear there is a love of pop music history and fun within the group and I wonder which artist's careers they would like to emulate. Michele and Lee both like Take That (with Rocky Spice also admiring U2, though probably not their recent chart positions!). Morgan is all about Destiny's Child, while Donal goes for the more diverse Robyn ~ "She is the comeback queen and she is so creative and quirky, I love how all her stuff really has her personality throughout". All the group seem to adore Robyn and how she's stayed in control of her career. It's part of the reason they decided to work in and launch their debut single in Sweden. Lee thinks the debut single will go down well with "the sweedies", and is an ideal product for that market. There is quite an indepth discussion about different pop artists from Sweden that the group love - lee recommends a soul singer called Samuel Ljungblahd, while Donal reels off literally everyone from Lena PH, Carola, BWO, Mans Zelmerlow, Amy Diamond to September, Shirley Clamp, Patrick Isaksson and Hello Saferide. I try to get him interested in my beloved Oh Laura, but apparently he already has the album and it wasn't for him :( Donal - the wikipedia of swedish pop! And of course, mention acts from Sweden and inevitably Abba comes up. Morgan is firmly of the opinion that Abba songs are perfect first time round and nobody should cover them. Lee's not a huge fan, but admits to liking a bit of Super Trooper for a laugh. Michele however is more enthused and raves on about her and Donal's priceless Abba impressions of tracks like Waterloo; Donal even offers up a bit of Voulez Vous' "ah ah" bit - and i ask him whether he has heard of my latest obsession, the Hotel Rival track... "I absolutely love that track, have you heard the latest the latest track from the Benny Andersson band? LOVE IT! I'm pretty sure Lee could write us a fancy little number about a hotel too, we could call it "Come stay at Casa De La Industry", it would have an amazing chorus, and lots of people would like to come and stay in our hotel, and we would leave mints on their pillow and love in their hearts." I'll take that as a yes then. HURRAH!

I note that successful boy-girl pop combos seem to appear in ten year cycles, with a decent ten year gap since Steps and S Club hit the big time. I wonder why Industry will succeed where my beloved Same Difference failed? Lee ponders this for a few seconds before offering "we all have something different to offer, we're very versatile in our sound, morgan has one of the best voices in the bizz, we can perform live acoustically with guitar, we have brilliant and very dedicated managment and were buzzing with a love of music and a lust to succeed!" Morgan adds that "we have a clear insight as to where we wanna see our career go and know what market we want to capture...with this confidence we know what music this market wants to hear and continue to pick songs that will suit that market,while keeping our followers interested." It's clear that all four think the management team behind them are so creative and hard working that they failing to become the next S Club is not even an option. I'm sure you have all seen the brillo video where they all look entirely beautiful (loving Donal's white on white layered top combo) and where Morgan possibly inadvertantly channels Alannah Myles :P I need to know how they keep so slim and spunky!! Lee recommends a morning gym session and a protein shake but points to Donal for healthy living. Donal suggests wholegrain foods, five a day of fruit and veg and plenty of water (and no doubt recipes from his Good Mood Food blog!!) Morgan's also all about the water and vividly tells me how it flushes out all the toxins (yum!)and Michele reckons some street dancing and hip hop will get me into shape. I choose not to notice how NONE of them think that I actually am in pretty good shape to begin with. Charmant!

Finally, I quiz them about the upcoming album and whether they have all practised their J'Ai Ho dance moves for the Pussycat Dolls support slot. Morgan's particularly excited for the support slot and tells me there will be a live band and lots of energetic bubbly songs. Lee states that the performance will be very attentive to the small details. Michele and Donal however promise to get cracking on those brillo J'Ai Ho dance moves. And frankly the album sounds like it's going to be a corker - a mix of pop, electro, r'n'b and ballads. Apparently there is an amazing ballad that Lee has written called In Ur Arms that gives Michele goosebumps. I suggest that perhaps they should give away stickers with it, just like Smash Hits used to do in the day. Donal is particularly enthused by that idea... " think stickers would be so COOL! Maybe we could have holographic ones, so it looked like we were jumping out! Now that would be fun! I hope people will be able to stick the album on and be able to enjoy each track!" As we part, I ask if they can come up with a fizzypop chorus, perhaps to put on a future b-side :P The results are of course quite amazing. Viva Industry and all who sail in them :)

Gonna drink you down like a can of fizzy pop, throw some glitter in the air ain't neva gonna stop, take a big filthy chorus show you what we got, we're Industry, peace out.

TOP 21 SONGS OF THE WEEK:

21 - Mans Zelmerlow, Hope and Glory
20 - The Killers, World That We Live In
19 - Paolo Nutini, Candy
18 - Mr Hudson, Supernova
17 - Same Difference, All Roads Lead To Heaven
16 - Annie, Anthonio
15 - Take That, The Garden
14 - Alesha Dixon, Let's Get Excited
13 - Alcazar, From Brazil With Love
12 - Pet Shop Boys, Did You See Me Coming
11 - Jason Mraz, Try Try Try (NE)
10 - Mans Zelmerlow, Home
09 - Industry, My Baby's Waiting
08 - Dolly Rockers, Je Suis Un Dolly (NE/VID)
07 - Marina & The Diamonds, I Am Not A Robot
06 - Jordin Sparks, Battlefield
05 - BWO, Right Here Right Now
04 - Elouise, One Night Only
03 - Little Boots, New In Town
02 - Sophie Ellis Bextor, Heartbreak Makes Me A Dancer
01 - "Abba", Second Best To None (4 Weeks)

Note: Little Boots may have given me the most instantly accessible, instantly gratifying yet richly rewarding album of the year so far. Amazing. See you next Sunday :)