Classic Albums: Helen Love - Radio Hits

Author: Silke

Sometimes a glum and miserable day (as we've been having of late here in London) can be cheered up in an instant by the most ridiculously simple thing. It can be the tiniest bit of news, a song on the radio, a call from someone and suddenly "hey ho" your "heart goes boom".

For me a wave of sweet and warm happiness overcame me when I heard the news that Helen Love - who I had thought to be one of the many groups from the early 1990s that hadn't stood the test of time - are due to release a new EP called "The Bubblegum Killers EP" in the New Year. The news immediately made me dig out Helen Love's first CD album Radio Hits and I was cheered up beyond believe listening to it. To be honest I had totally forgotten how peculiar and wonderfully kitsch and jolly it is!

For those of you unfamiliar with Helen Love, the group was formed in Cardiff in 1993 by Helen Love (vocals), Sheena (guitar), Roxy and Mark (Casio keyboards and drum machines) and the members are Wales's self-proclaimed biggest fans of the Ramones.

"Radio Hits" is a repackaging of all the Helen Love singles and EPs up to 1994 and thus a short but sweet, jovial introduction to their early lo-fi punk sounding trash-pop tunes.

I know it sounds cheesy but their music can only be described as The Ramones meet bubble gum pop: with supersonic punk guitar riffs, poppy and tacky keyboard jingles and drum machine beats and of course the shout-along punk grrll vocals. What I love about it most are their uniquely innocent, simple and silly teenage-like lyrics though.

For example in "Formula 1 Racing Girls" Helen sings "I bought these jeans to make you love me / I cut a hole so your hand would fit" and Riding Hi has probably the laziest lyric in the world: "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, it's great to be alive".

"Joey Ramoney" and "Greatest Fan" are tributes to guitarist Sheena's favourite Ramone and it just says it as it is: "Sheena's in love with Joey Ramoney / Wants to be his one and only / Sheena's in love with Joey Ramoney". (Incidentally, Joey became a great supporter of the group).

Pure happiness weaves itself throughout the album and "Summer Pop Radio" and "Love; Kiss; Run; Sing; Shout; Jump!" both remind me of hanging out in the summer sun and being in love.

However, my favourite track on the album is "Punk Boy 1" as it is full of romanticism and sweetness. Helen sings "Do stars explode when he walks you home / On a cool and clear evening / D'you wanna put him on like your favourite song / Or never wanna hear him" and it sounds really stupid, but to this day I work on the very same principle when I meet a boy! Because if your heart doesn't go boom when he walks in a room, then he is quite clearly not a punk boy!

I reckon we should all remember this, and obviously listen to Helen Love and also remember (as she announces in Punk Boy 2) to "Stay young and beautiful, / 'Cos that's what you are / That's what you are!"