#AtoZ 1981 Songs to Remember - "Z" is for "Zerox"
I chose 1981 music as my theme this year. My newest novel The Summer of Princess Diana is set in the summer of 1981, and oh! the music! Let’s take a look back at a pivotal time in the music industry.
Not much to choose from for the letter "Z," but actually, this song by Adam & The Ants is pretty appropriate. Adam Ant is so symbolic of 1981, with his punk-rock look, his electronic/synthesized music. (By the way, Adam Ant was born Stuart Leslie Goddard, but that name certainly wouldn't fly in 1981 punk-rock clubs, would it?)
The song title is spelled with a "Z," but the lyrics do refer to a Xerox copier. According to Wikipedia, whereas Xerox machines are used to make paper copies of documents and other visual images, Xerox (Zerox) is used as a metaphor for plagiarism in the song's lyrics:
Lock up your brain 'Cos I'm here again
I'm never bored I'll steal your chords
Ooh-ooh Zerox Machine Ooh-ooh Zerox Machine
Give me a line Or a middle eight
I've got the best So I want the rest
Ooh-ooh Zerox Machine Ooh-ooh Zerox Machine
Let's get together Before its too late
Collect up the ideas And duplicate
Filling up the forms Send them off tonight
And you'll be the owner Of the copyright
Of the copyright Of the copyright
Times of the essence Get your ears to the ground
However else Can the hits be found?
I may look happy, healthy and clean A dark brown voice and suit pristine
But behind the smile there is a Zerox Machine
Thanks for coming along on this journey with me! I hope you had fun revisiting some old songs. Many of these were a big part of my life in 1981, especially from April to September, when I was in Switzerland and, yes, working as an au pair for a family very much like the Brusadins.