Sunday, November 19, 2017

Neneh Cherry - Buffalo Stance

Although American readers may remember Neneh Cherry as a one hit wonder, she actually had two top 10 hits ("Kisses on the Wind" is the song that you forgot about).  And while her period of commercial success was brief in the U.S., she had a longer stretch in Europe.  For instance, in Britain Cherry had 10 top 40 singles, running through the late 1990s.

Interestingly, Neneh Cherry was born in Sweden, and is the stepdaughter of jazz musician Don Cherry (hence the surname).  After moving to London as a teenager in the late 1970s, she became active in the punk scene but soon expanded into other musical genres.  This would eventually lead to catching lightning in a bottle, as "Buffalo Stance" became a huge hit (reaching #3 in both the U.S. and U.K.)

The song refers to a photo shoot stance, and is named after the Ray Pretri's Buffalo group.  It also pays homage to Malcolm McLaren's 1983 song "Buffalo Gals" (which it samples from).  The catchy tune combines dance and hip hop elements, while the video is a perfect late 1980s timepiece:


However, the 1988 hit version of the song was actually a re-make (cover?) of a 1986 Morgan McVey B side, "Looking Good Diving With The Wild Bunch" that featured Neneh Cherry.  Morgan McVey were comprised of Jamie Morgan and Cameron McVey, and released one single ever - 1986's "Looking Good Diving."  Two years later, Cameron McVey and Neneh Cherry were an item (they married in 1990) and McVey was producing Cherry's solo album ... and well, you know the rest.