THE MOTELS - TOTAL CONTROL LIVE VERSION

[arpionatore]

Listen too "Controllo totale",Italian version of Anna Oxa.

[arpionatore]

Splendid song and performance.

[nessawassohere88]

Extraordinary performance!! 

[ronnoco22]

Martha Davis....you rock!



[fastfreddy4429]

i held her leg on new years eve 1982 at anold movietheater turned for ten long seconds ilove her eyes

[stewscuda]

The Motels are a band that will be copied!! I'M 50 and this style is coming back. Just fun music to relate too. Enjoy

[joeysn7hvn]

Great

[hagglebert]

I saw her year ago at the chance in pough town. I think she was more wasted than me.The only thig missing in video is a bottle of whiskey.

[7575047]

The vulnerable songwriting, sax, swaying tempo and bass, Martha's voice and sensitive delivery...damn. This is MY kind of music. I could loop this for years.

[7575047]

Fucking hot!

[MrSanford25]

matland thought nothiing at this time fu mooooooo

[andrew1236]

I LOVE this one!

[stoned1966]

oohhhhh Martha I think I just.....

[TheAussieSlayer]

brilliant sax playing

[FlashFace]

R.I.P. John Carter. Thanks for signing the Motels to Capitol Records back in '79. Rock on, brother.

[TheVagolfer]

One of my favorite female 80' singers. She couldn't belt it out like Ann Wilson or had the range of Pat Benatar, but she had her own style and a sadness in her singing only Billy Holiday could match.

[radiobirdman74]

Im lookin for the song hungry anybody know????

[Chewi77]

I can't believe they stole this tune off Gwen Steffani (cool)... Haha!

[rtok07]

I Love the drag off the cigarette in mid verse,,,, classy lol

[radiobirdman74]

@rtok07 me too.she is hot

[GreenChilliD]

Her voice is so perfectly broken.... mesmerizing...beautiful

[sandndude1]

she's off her face.

[FXMAN66]

Cant wait to see them in Phoenix in April!!!!

[GraceDragonfly]

Yep....she did! thanx!

[GraceDragonfly]

what happened to the ciggie??

[MiserablerHurensohn]

@GraceDragonfly At about 1:57, she drops it and steps on it. Watch her body motion and you'll spot the little twist that people make when they stamp out a butt.

[BacotSia]

She reminds me of Mandy Moore on this video. She also kind of looks like the singer of a German band called Rosenstolz.

[gageboy14]

She's f-ing hot!

[ManilaSyndicate]

One of the underrated groups of the time.

Martha was quite the beaut and she looked like a nice gal too. Could have done away with the cigarette though. :-)

[rebecca1257]

she looks smashed ...

[TinyFlix]

I like how she does a Tay ZOnday and moves away from the mic for a puff on a fag

[kevhar12]

This song made me fall in love.

[ogflyhere]

Oh god what a bitching wonderful song.

[wadesterz48]

Martha Davis...MMMMMMMMM

[unclecider]

what a lovely song. i remember the motels from when traveling in N.Z in 84. well done martha and the band. much prefer your version of poker face though.

[unclecider]

what a lovely sexy song, i remember this from 84 when i was traveling in N.Z. martha you and the are not forgotten, even lady gaga has covered your stuff.

[MysticGoddessGA10]

HOT HOT HOT

[fimmwolf]

great voice, great delivery

[malibumut]

Any moment maybe you, maybe never with you...

[bzzzzap]

when she kneels in front of the sax, I gasped. So great.

[nessawassohere88]

The desperation is intoxicating...

[55adube]

Great band, great singer. Christ, what a sexy girl. Even given all that, this particular performance is absolutely one for the ages!

[rogerson61]

@55adube so many memories from this album.... i was in love with a girl that i couldnt have named kate.... i still love her.

[dmwoodhouse]

This is still one of my favourite tracks.......30 years on & I'm still loving it !!!!

[bluesmanzzz]

@ cageeo227 Well said!

[munkeefonk]

that is so good its ridiculous.

[freirishfarm]

Loved this song ever since I first heard it on John Peel

[uppon2]

I fall in love everytime i experience this song/video.

Ciggarette, Eyes, Voice, Sexy - I miss the 80s. Best era of all time.

[yelldagain]

One of the most beautiful songs ever written...and a perfect performance of it live...

[alex270960]

¡¡ PURE FEELING!!

[gypsyrollerband]

Martha you are a real lead singer ! You are the greatest

[badintentions2]

she could have been one the sexiest women in the world except for the complete lack of self esteem....

[jackmorales]

@badintentions2 she's cute coz she's self conscious.

[badintentions2]

@jackmorales true but that also makes her an easy target. there's nothing sexy about a woman who is an easy target for seduction.

[askysbottom]

Flashback...to Pasadena, Calif...on Los Robles, KROQ we played early Martha & Motels! No other boring LA station would! Saw live @ Country Club in Reseda & The Golden Bear in Huntington Beach! Martha had such stage presence....she makes the body go through piloerection (goosebumps....chills!)  Prime time for the best in tunes, the 80's second only to the 60's.......

[ramsenacka]

a good song, good lyrics, a great singingvoice, best attitude and you will never need to show your tits or have ten dancers behind you

[SuperStevie67]

This song takes me back years, & still love it now as much as i did back then...

[otis85705]

Hey Brian- I'd sell my soul for total control!LOL

[otis85705]

cageo2207-couldn't have said it better!

[cageo2207]

There is nothing better than a beautiful singer with an old school mike, a 3/4 smoked cigarette, a wedding ring and eyes that control you, backed by one hella tight group of players.

[varsume]

Two things that are a complete turn off to real men, smoking and tattoos. The rest just pretend to like it because they have no other choice, they take what they can get.

[otis85705]

@varsume tattoos may not turn you on but they sure turn on my old man!

[varsume]

remember I said real men - let me put it another way - if a man had a choice between a women with clear, unblemished skin who was healthy and didn't smoke or a women with tattoos and a cigarette in her mouth with yellow teeth and horrible smokers breath - who do you think they'd choose? People compromise or they would be single forever

[otis85705]

I do agree about the smokes and yellow teeth- nasty!But I gotta say even real men like tattoos.I know my mans a real man and there was no compromise here!

[varsume]

everybody compromises - not just men - most men want a Playboy bunny and most woman wants a Chippendale's dancer - then reality hits and we compromise with what's available - after, for the rest of our lives, men toss off thinking of other women and women vibrate thinking of other men

[Timmybear]

@varsume - I have no interest in a Playboy bunny as a gay man, but I also have no interest in a Chippendale's dancer. Honestly, I don't think I've ever evaluated someone's teeth in terms of a relationship - it wouldn't occur to me as relevant. The smoking might enter into it, but only because I don't believe in dating anyone who drinks, smokes or does drugs.

[Timmybear]

@Timmybear - I'm more into a Zach Galifianakis or Seth Rogen (old style) than a Brad Pitt.

[badintentions2]

@cageo2207 if only she had the confidence to back it up. she had everything else going for her.

[vonsmitty1313]

I bought the first Motels album when it was brand new,and fell in love with Martha Davis instantly. It would've sold better if it hadn't had that grotesque album cover,with the old lady in the bathing suit on it. What was up with that,anyway?

[fun2bmates]

I agree totally...lol

[fffrankieee0]

awesome!!

[maddmatt66]

I'd like to know what she's saying while she's holding the mic for the sax.

[varsume]

she's saying "my hole is just as big"

[coolcatzattack]

damn, loss of innocence and the heartbreak of lost love... its all there. pure music and musicians. someones got to bleed for the rest of the herd.

[jae828]

love the song but honestly - and maybe its the generation I'm born into - the cigarette!!??! And where is she flicking her ashes??

[86lenny]

Love Martha but my God is she so fucked-up or what in this video ?

[Bag0fRats]

Didn't she do a lot of heroin in the day ?

[yudasgoat2000]

Subaru uses this song in their TV ads, here in NZ

[alibechandhermit]

This is my favourite vide on the internet

[001dylan]

lol somking while singing

[Abuamina001]

Mashallah. One of the greatest 80s tracks & a fond memory of the period. Yes, grossly, grossly under-rated.... such great lyrics.....

[richardwadd]

She is dressed like my maths teacher but so politicaily incorrectly sexy!

[richardwadd]

too true!! same here

[jackmorales]

@richardwadd yuy endy toy manyy wordys withy the letter why?!

you might like "a clock work orange"

[richardwadd]

@jackmorales good point

[BOOMER751]

Wow! Awesome quality! Thank you for reminding me how cool this band was

[ScottAln05]

Better than the album version, instrumentals stronger, Martha just as good.

[vinestreet1]

This song was recordet for German TV show "Musikladen" in 1979. You can find more live performances by "The Motels" at mybeatclub com.

[holden1787]

Girls have lost that crazy youth that was so wildly attractive in the 80s. This performance is the best portrait I've ever seen of it, with the one exception of growing up in that time..

[rupertps]

I was crazy about them every week (Wednesda?) at Madame Wong's in Chinatown (Los Angeles)...sometimes only 5 or 6 customers until the word got around, Polynesian Review the other nights. Eventually you couldn't even get in the door. Enjoyed them most with the Jourard brothers playing.

[gubban159]

what a gem of a performance, and a reminder of hot crazy youth. just brill.

thank you.

[ramsenacka]

the most underrated band of the 80ths (in europe anyway) and the most underrated female singer - This was the 80ths, serious, beatifull, sad, looking beyond the 70ths,...

[ianni57]

OH! I'd near-forgotten interviewing Martha on this tour. We chatted for an hour by a lake with ducks quacking away in the background and my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth (or hanging on the ground somewhere). She must have got a lot of that . . .  For what it's worth, Martha, you are and were the business on every level that actually counts. Gracious, funny, unique, smart and simply rivetting on stage or record. And in person. Thanks for the memory, sombra . . .

[suzylux]

I'm weak all over. k. K? ;)

[iilooveyouxD]

i jus love this video <3

[monte6714]

WHERE ARE YOU GUYS PLAYING NEXT?

[badintentions2]

underneath the caps lock button....

[JorgeDan75]

Good performance, better than studio version

[silverfinger]

Germany, Holland or Denmark maybe. Musik Laden, or something like that, on a sign behind her at 1:31.

[brettlee1983]

this features in underbelly tale of 2 cities...

[pukekoheholdenground]

isnt it underbelly mr asia story? or is tale of two cities the same thing? sorry lol, in nz were only on first season

[philpowell49]

Great Classic! Always remember this song from the movie "Something Wild" with Melanie Griffith and Jeff Daniels with Ray Liotta in the convenience store incident.

[stewscuda]

Martha is awesome! She has a voice that can't be copied.

[johnnysalmao]

I've never seen so great performance! Martha Davis bring us so sweet emotion above on a beautiful liric.

Genial!

[oliverkloesof]

she hung on to that gag for almost 2 minutes and there was barely a drag off of it to begin with. SWEET. Then just drops it on the stage. For live, that voice was perfect man.

[123bill456]

Amy Winehouse eat your heart out, this lady is the queen of coked out singers, and the saxophone BJ is amazingly funny

[3galflings]

Love the Cigi what a legend she is! An absolute classic!

[waterloo2003]

Martha Davis, Debbie Harry...you are my 80's memory..love you brilliant girls..always looking sharp to mexxx

[badintentions2]

martha was a very sexy and sultry woman, but for whatever reason she completely lacked confidence in one sense.

might sound strange about someone who will stand up and sing infront of people but thats the paradox she was....

[rainsdude]

I agree with you badintentions2.Between the songs and interviews I've seen, she appears to have had a very pained life.

[cessna207]

i love the fact that shes smoking...and i like cheese

[thebeverlysisters]

just learn to wank

[rainsdude]

Martha was so sultry back then.This was the opening act for the Sinceros back in 1979 @ the Fast Lane in Asbury Park.She wore a white knee length dress with red lip prints.She went down on her knees and arched backwards during this song.I've been in love ever since.What a voice, what a look, what a poet!!!!

[shrike011]

One of the most powerful live, singing performances out thtere.

[Guitarsinger27]

This is the first time i seen someone smoke when they're smoking!! hahaa but this

song is soo awesome i love it,.

[veronicaoxox]

top song, old school but has best memories

[gumgirl05]

IloveThisSongToooMuch!!<3<3<3<­3...can sing great drunk and high !! .. awesome

[samoanshinobi01]

mean song

[gumgirl05]

&&. what do you mean by that ??

[samoanshinobi01]

i mean its a good song! i like it

[raynad59]

do I care if Martha smoked...NO. Every wall in my bedsit in the eightys had her on them. She was the hot sh*t if you knew music! Girls would come back and go WHERE IS THIS MUSIC FROM! Brit music was so ahead and so behind at the same time. Another band in the 80tys was JOE JOE ZEP AND THE FALCONS. Sooo good but got nokwere in the UK. Shame!

[thespy]

Vintage Motels at their best.....Thank You for posting

[thespy]

Vintage Motels at their Best....Thank You for Posting....

[GustavoGonzalezJ]

Mamacita, no me importa que fumes mientras cantes asi...

[RMAR70]

smoking sucks,doesn't help a singing voice .love this song though, and loved it in the movie "something wild" with jeff daniels

[MediaBard]

Let me translate: smoking = bad singing. This song with the smoker = good. Conclusion: pointless comment.

[RMAR70]

just cause i said smoking sux, and it doesn't help a singing voice, which is true. doesn't mean i'm supposed to hate the song,and i never complained about her singing to begin with dip shit

[MediaBard]

Oh god. You are truly fail at life. My point was that your comment was utterly useless. Saying 'smoking sux' apart from being indicative of a generally inablility to type communicates practically nothing. Please abort any children you may produce and save the rest of us the grief.

[clintanson]

"indicative of a generally inablility to type"

"You are truly fail at life".....LOL

[RMAR70]

hey moron i type just fine you obviously can't. what do you mean by you are truly fail at life. talk about a general inability to type, plus you spelled inability wrong. your parents should have aborted you to save us all the grief.

[secondeye]

No, but it does make you "that guy"

[bjbjbjbjbj]

kikkin

[lumpagogo]

Kept waiting for the drums to kick out--yet it's better than "Suddenly Last Summer."

[neasburke]

greedy

[chizmuzz]

A killer performance from a genuine cool chick... they don't make like this anymore.

[neasburke]

sean burke rocks

[yelldagain]

such a beautiful song...

[nickyspencer]

Heard this in the car coming home from work - mesmorised by her voice and guitar. Haunting. Brilliant.

[georgerandotti]

Yeah..but when you are that beautiful, alluring and talented..you still look very fine "so stoned."

[SCIPIONZOULOU]

Martha est complètement défoncée sur ce clip, dommage ! c'est un fantasme d'ado qui s'effondre. Mais quel morceau d'anthologie !

[instynct1]

i love her but she is sooo stoned her its not funny

[buntepsucks]

this must never be redone.......no one sings it better than Martha

[cageo2207]

Chills, goosebumps, tears.

[vood69]

simplemente fantastico

[flamencoprof]

Just came back to say I have a story I tell my friends of a video I once saw; I say it is the most sexual video I ever saw. Then & now its true.

[maxeythecat]

Cool!! It's even got Frets Ferrari (Jeff Jourard that is ) on guitar, so this must be round the time of the first album!

Absolutely LOVED these guys in those days...I knew Michael Goodroe really well ( we used to work at a record store together) so needless to say I saw 'em play more times than I can count.

[hizwill]

One of the best ever new wave 80's songs! I saw her on VH1 bands reunited and it was pretty nice to see that she was still hanging on and doing well. Long live, "The Motels." Thanks for the post.

[mdmdawg]

is tha sax her boyfriend or does she make love to it hahahaha SHE HAS THE MOST AMAZIN VOICE EVER

[instynct1]

what a classic and original voice

[ErnieCardenasROXS]

does any have them peforming on the show "hit me baby one more time" it aired a few years ago. i would &hearts; to see it again....

[y2kcrash2000]

You go Girlllllll. 100%

[windsorboy58]

Saw the Motels in London ( Victoria?) in the early 80's...what a great night. 2 good albums, then tail off and nothing...happy days though!

[onelinergirl]

such a potent song...you can tell this performance was for real - nothing faked.

classic.

[flamencoprof]

I second that, Oh yeah! This is even better than the Video released here at the time, which impressed me so much. So natural, so sensual, the mike job on the sax, just an all-round heart-felt live performance!

[chrisfdny1]

She is such a piece....Very under-rated...I bag the crap out of her..Oh yea

[cageo2207]

I just can't stand it when those Martha Davis eyes open up in the middle of this amazing work of art.

[unsquashableme]

The all time Classic 80's hit. The lyrics/style & classic 80's pull off. The type of song you could either be seduced by OR seduce someone with...

[maise48shizina]

I was driving with a friend last week, whom im very attracted to, he started singing total control, its funny cos i always think of him when i hear the song, It felt like he had read my mind??

[hathwit7]

so much soul

[nebulous2]

Guys in the audience threw roses by the dozens on stage while this song was being performed at the Santa Cruz Civic in '82. Awsome

[SchwiegerLilly]

its 1980. my friends and i were @ madame wongs west,in west los angeles to see THE MOTELS. The show exceeded my expectations as they debuted the CAREFUL album live. The best MOTELS show i've EVER seen. Also my fave album. I snuck backstage. I lit Martha's cigarette but burned my thumb. :-) i immediately put it in ice the beer as in. Ahhh...memories! bye the way, i just caught their act 2nyt at the coach house. She's still got it.

[pandanza]

Der absolute Hammersong.

[maxeythecat]

THIS is the Motels. All that other mediocre, mainstream crap that you poor lot got fed after they got signed is just that....CRAP. It's this song that is what the Motels were all about.

[mixdontmatch]

awsome sax!!!! such a awsome song!!!!!!

[pipelinecenter]

Brilliant band. I remember seeing them at Manchester Polytechnic with Steven Morrissey

(ok Morrissey then!}, meeting them after the show and then having our photo taken together!

Happy days indeed!!

[trebol333]

Could you imagine? You arriving to your house, from a hard work day, tired, sad,

You open the door and Martha is waiting on your living room... I dont believe in love, but in this case...

[MmeDesgranges]

I read your comment months ago and every now and then it comes to mind. You nailed that feeling thank you.

[trebol333]

thanks you for your empathy... Are you who I believe?

[raynad59]

Had a poster of every LP cover they had on my wall, coolest man in Bath England because of them, the 80's rocked and I will be forever be glad I was there! nearly 50 and still mad.

[astrololee]

Ooooh!, this one was their best and great Sax too.

[Gorillamydreamz]

Oh Man, Wow! She played the sexiness, the unrelenting focus and the utter desolation of desire in this performance. And you gotta the cigarette during a television performance. Dang that was good!