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From: psychelatte
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  • Seen these guys live this year, completely awesome. totally agree that they should have made it big!!!

  • Mainstream music in the 80's was AWFUL. The Hair Bands just made it worse. Radio here in Virginia Beach ignored most of the new music that was coming out, particularly bands from abroad, choosing instead to play stuff from bands now labeled Classic Rock. I was fortunate enough to be near a small record store called Electric Smiles that catered to those of us who wanted more. Found my first copy of Script of The Bridge, and I was hooked.

  • I been pushing this band for 10 years now on any internet site I could find (forums and places like youtube). I've come across a few others but it has always seemed like very few people knew of them in the states. I first learned of them around the time they came out in the early 80s by listening to college radio stations in Northern California. Forgot about them until around 1988 when a co worker made me a tape of the Sun and the Moon and told me it was 2 members of ChamUK.

  • @Shad0wBalrog

    Actually the shitty stuff from the 80's were all of those bands you mentioned except Guns. The rest are just dudes who looked like ladies in the 80's, no talent cock rock that made rock a joke back then. Also, G N' R ironically were very influenced and into punk,Slash loved the Sex Pistols, Duff was in several punk bands before joining and Steven Adler is seen rocking a t-shirt by the punk band TSOL in the Sweet Child O Mine video. You're a moron and The Chameleons were underrated.

  • Punk and all that shity stuff from the '80 sucks. Gimme Skid Row, Guns n Roses, Motley Crue, Cinderella, Whitesnake, WASP. Thats the real music. Who like punk or something, will probably like this. I think its crap.

  • I agree, is a great and fantastic band

  • havent heard something intresting here sorry ......

  • Indeed... I was always thinking the same... why the Chameleons didn't reach the masses.... Finally I had the occasion to ask directly to mr. Mark Burkess itself after a gig in Rome....

    It was one of the most emotional conversation of my life... he said... "in a certain period of my life I did take decision I choised the music and not to be a pop star..."

    That's all folks... that's really all... and explain all

    Great Man Great Band

  • Indeed... I was always thinking the same... why the Chameleons didn't reach the masses.... Finally I had the occasion to ask directly to mr. Mark Burkess itself after a gig in Rome....

    It was one of the most emotional conversation of my life... he said... "in a certain period of my life I did take decision I choised the music and not to be a pop star..."

    That's all folks... that's really all... and explain all

    Great Man Great Band

  • Indeed... I was always thinking the same... why the Chameleons didn't reach the masses.... Finally I had the occasion to ask directly to mr. Mark Burkess itself after a gig in Rome....

    It was one of the most emotional conversation of my life... he said... in a certain period of my life I did take decision I choised the music and not to be a pop star...

    That's all folks... that's really all...

    Great Man

  • Here is the complete list of the tracks and its albums 1.- In shreds (The Fan & The Bellows) 2.- Inside Out (Strange Times ,Bonus tracks) 3.- The Healer (Tony Fletcher Walked On Water) 4.- Mad Jack (Strange Times) 5.- Free For All (Tony Fletcher Walked On Water)

  • please can I have a list of the songs in this great medley,thanks.

  • I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 80's and first heard The Chameleons UK on LIVE105 FM. Thanks to Steve Masters; a great DJ who used to play "Tears" and "Swamp Thing" all the time. Memories of these songs are worth more to me than all the money in the world!!!

  • Iand to beautyfuul female friendsaw them in 95 atthe elmacombo in torontoalso she saw them in enland and just floorerd her

  • They were great and still the music lingers on.

  • i totally agree

  • timing and exposure ... this is what they lacked ..

    what a shame ...

    if only more people got to hear their music ... i can easily imagine them selling out theaters, and posibly some arenas ...

  • try smokin a fatty,get on the level and listen to "second skin"or "monkeyland"(google it)it doesnt get much better than that!!

  • I caught these guys @ the old 9:30 in DC back in the day. They said it was the first time anyone had moshed to The Chameleons!! hehe.

  • Thanks for this compilation. I really like your choice of songs.

  • brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Great video - cheers

  • Comment removed

  • Why did`nt this band bet more recognition? My mate said to me that Echo and The Bunnymen seen this band as competition and a threat at 1 point. Whether that`s true or not i don`t know as i only discovered them about 4 months ago. But listening to them i can certainly hear why coz they are truly gifted musicians and songwriters. I kick myself for not knowing about this band years ago coz i`m nearly 30!

  • i get addicted to The chameleons when i go high, especially Strange Times!

  • Comment removed

  • The Chameleons are way greater in sound, lyrics and just as a band than the Cure....every song is a true GEM....and these four guys are TOP underrated musicians!!!

  • best band to come out of middleton, viva north mcr!!!!

  • I still can't believe that they weren't bigger than, say, U2 or the Cure. They're a much better band, better songwriters. Maybe too intelligent for the masses? Let's hope they get some of the credit they deserve in the near future. I saw Mark Burgess and some musicians at the Echo in LA play a set of all Chameleons songs. It was unbelievable. Go see them if they play in your town.

  • Don't get me wrong, I love The Chameleons and all... but bigger and better than The Cure? You go too far.

  • To each his own. I also like The Cure, but feel that The Chameleons were/are a better band. Just my opinion. And it's obviously not shared by most. :)

  • lol, fair enough

  • I agree with you, even Mark said, they didnt look for mass recognition...boy, what a great band...

  • I am a The Cure big fan, but after listening to the Chameleons, i truly believe, The Chameleons are better musicians and songwriters, just listen to the guitarr arragment, or some details.Its like they are two kind different books, one its very cool, and the other, very cool and deeper..:)

  • I agree... The Chameleons are definitely more complex and deeper with their music. It's too bad they didn't release more albums.

  • Im an idiot? i wonder why you said that

  • how the fuck did u2 & pimpled minds get one over on this classic band pisses me off ! boneon is a preacher & does adverts for a blackberry fone = sold out & shite

  • interesting work, thanks to share the chameleons!

  • What is the song after "Inside Out" called? It reminds me of Mad Jack.

  • 'The Healer', written just before their first split. It's on the Fletcher EP

  • For £8 its worth a look see

  • shame

  • Check out Second skin at the Mcr Academy on the 19th September 2009

  • Best band ever!!!!! Too many great memories to mention....

  • The Fletcher EP is a work of genius. Script of the Bridge is beyond awesome. WDAMB is wonderful. Tears is the greatest single of all time. Really this band was touched by the hand of God. I'm not joking.

  • Agrre with the post the best bad, never got commercial like the cure did, saw them in NYC, the Ritz in the 80's

  • Simply the greatest band ever.

    Been with them since '83...in HS....then Strange Times got me through college.

    Then the thrill of meeting them and seeing them reunite live in England...Leeds and Manchester.

    The world missed out on the Chameleons.

  • The masses generally miss the point. That doesn't mean you and I shouldn't pay attention, and it doesn't mean the masses should be discounted.

  • In Virginia Beach in the 80's, like probably everywhere else in America, the radio played all that commercial crap. My music salvation was a little record store called " Electric Smiles". There, I could hear and buy great stuff like The Chameleons, Sad Lovers and Giants, The Smiths, and The Sounds. My girlfriend and I met because of a common love of music, never regarded by the mainsteam, but embraced by those of us who want a lot more. Thanks for the music!!!!

  • ignored by the masses...fuck the masses

  • thats right. they are our Heros, not the one of mixes people. this , need an access ...-Your life must to going through a certain path to be inspired.

  • The majority is always wrong!

    That is why America is supposed to be a Republic, (as opposed to a democracy)

  • you got that right!

  • Awesome band and true 80's echo of hard core punk bands. This side of Killing Joke, the Stranglers and the Dead Kennedy's. Nice pick.

  • America is a third world country when it comes to music. Don't even bother to comment. Just get mad and join me and others in making music that was actually made to sound good. I think people forget that part. That it should sound good. But record companies "make" everything geared to pre-teens. Resist.

  • greatest band ever ignored by the masses...well said

  • wow...didin't know about them...cheers!

  • this was a truly great band,,,,,,,got to see them al over europe

  • You forgot "The Sound" and "Sad lovers and giants"........Music today is shit.......and it's sad

  • the bands of today are a pile of shit compared to the Chameleons and Comsat Angels. The guitar work by the chameleons is truly haunting, and absolutely timeless. A truly great crime that these bands have been ignored by the masses. Music today sucks! at least we can listen to the Chameleons and Comsat angels knowing that they are the true greats. Long live alternative bands of the 80s!

  • @mugabesunny just gets worst and worst. disney crap

  • @mugabesunny have you heard of Future World Moves....some people say we sounded a little similar...check us ooot man!

  • I agree.  This band should have been absolutely Huge!

  • Wow...can't believe I missed these guys in the day...the trials of growing up in Indiana.  Remind me of Joy Division...cool sound.

  • Nice work. Check out my Chameleons clips.

  • one of the most interesting bands during the Eighties for me !

    they where different somehow and performed an outstanding sound.

    does anybody know if they still playing live ?

  • there were a few brilliant bands at the time - the Chameleons, the Comsats, the Cure. I still don't know what makes some break through and not others - how did Gary Numan cut it - for example? Script for a Bridge - still good.

  • this was one of my favorite bands in high school.

  • They're still my favourite "to guitar to band" I absolutely love the way the sounds are created.

    I couldn't believe it when I heard some Germans playing our favourite little Manchester band on a campsite in Spain circa 1987.

    Strange Times is must to any budding Chameleons Fans. But they're all good.

    Shame they never really got anywhere. They often feature in NME and the like as number one bands who should have been big.

  • Nostalgia comes up... the 80's produced the best alternative music ever and the chameleons were definitely in the top 5!

    Amazing songs and live performances...

    Wonder why time has to fly sometimes...

  • Even the bands of today in Britain are nuthin compared to this awesome setup ... Arctic monkey's think they were first here and i just cant stand that... Loads of eighties sounds though coming back thanks to this. Thanks for this !

  • uhhhh there were huge....

  • I agree, they were a breed of their own.

    also The Sound was another ignored by the masses.

  • the vidio is ok ,but,mark ,dave,reg ,f#@k*%G,a light year ahead of some the wankers who made it realy big ,and got there on there shirt tails

  • Well, now I know where the Jarman brothers from The Cribs get their inspiration from....

  • Sounds like The Cure and The Clash after their DNA gets mixed in that machine that turned Jeff Goldbloom into a bug... Which is a good thing, unless there are 'side effects'... like an annoying saxaphone...

  • they do sound good. They kind of sound a lot like the Cure to my ears though.

  • Hi Checkout my Youtube of something I took last weekend ( 15th March), which may be of intrest to you

  • Fantastic band . Fabulous sound of the guitars .I agree with you all : The Chameleons should have been a more popular band .

    "Tears" is one of the most beautiful song ever written

  • Here is the complete list of the tracks and its albums:

    1.- In shreds (What Does Anything Mean? Basically)

    2.- Inside Out (Strange Times ,Bonus tracks)

    3.- The Healer (Tony Fletcher Walked On Water)

    4.- Mad Jack (Strange Times)

    5.- Free For All (Tony Fletcher Walked On Water)

  • If you like this band I'd suggest starting with 'Script of the Bridge' or 'What does Anything Mean - Basically?'

  • Oh yah! The mark burgess auto-biography will be here soon. Coming around the same time is the 25th anniversary edition of "Script of the Bridge" Remastered, baby!!!! God, I hope they do Second Skin the justice it needs!

  • Second skin. Life changing.

  • Just used the "Buy It Now" feature on eBay to purchase a copy of STRANGE TIMES. Can't wait 'til it arrives. In the meantime, I'll treat my ears to some Joy Division & The Comsat Angels. Thanks for the info, BTW!

  • It's 'Inside Out', I'm sure it's track 3 on the Strange Times bonus CD and bl**dy good it is too!

  • What is the name of the song that begins at 0:55?

  • Yeah I like the sound of the start of it too (at 0:55 I mean). Anyone know then? Come on!

  • Ahh it says earlier on in the comments, 'Inside out' on the swamp thing album. Mentiones that it is fairly rare though. Arghen

  • its THE BAND... 4 people like we are....

  • Chameleons & Comsat Angels!

    Both from another space!!

  • By 'cock' you mean the life-giving member of the musical god, which they suck greatly?

  • mark burgess side project THE SUN AND THE MOON!is brilliant too!

  • I still have the handwriten set list of their PARIS ( unforgettable )live in dec 2000..I can fax it to anyone interested..

  • Es una de las mejores bandas de la historia.

    QUÉ BUENOS!!

  • you know why they didnt make it big. its the lyrical content back then too much drug talk wernt gonna get you big the media and the uk couldnt handle the fucking truth. i love them and will for ever.the best band ever in the uk

  • "Strange Times" one of the greatest album sleeves of all time !

  • Un des plus grands groupes de tous les temps ! Merci pour avoir posté cette vidéo

  • Discovered the Chamelons when I was a student in 1981 in Montpellier (France). What a pleasure to see them alive thanks to Internet. Indeed a great band. What a pity they never had the success they deserved.

  • This band was facing a grunge and metal explosion. Kids were bored with stuff then. timing is everything. Alot of perky chick bands too at that time.

  • THE CHAMELEONS THE BEST BAND EVER!!!

  • The Chameleons are dead. Long live the Chameleons!

  • I love this band!!

    Noonan

  • GREAT GREAT BAND MIKE

  • Check out this rare performance he did for our video show !!!! youll love it !!!!!

  • I never ignored them.

  • I concure.

  • i love this band!!!! and they're friendly too, mark burgess actually replied to an e-mail i sent him :)

  • DAVE FIELDING-UNITED FAN=FACT

  • Agreed on all points. True representatives of something great...and just out of reach.

  • one of middletons greats,should have been mega.

  • That they didn't hit it big commercially has always

    baffled me. Theirs is my definitin of perfect sound..

  • Music's Best Kept Secret

  • I saw Mark in San Francisco at Red Devils Lounge 2 months ago. only 10 people in the club watched him and BIRD. He's such a great performer. The world doesnt know what they're missing.

  • The Chameleons - were huge.

    Gave me a lot of pleasure then and now still!

    Thanks to them.

  • fielding is RED!

  • The only other member of the band with any interest in football was John Lever, and that poor sod supports Blackpool. Still, nice to see you're acting the good little munich and lying through your teeth. Newton Heath rent boy pov.

  • Hello,

    I was of the first to listen The chameleons, Snif snif !!!!!!!46 years old now Aie Aie Aie

    What is the name of the last song of the video ?

    Thank you.

    Thierry from Paris

  • the last song is called "free for all" i think !! it is from the bonus edition of the return of the roughnecks comp. i think...

  • Thank you for your answer.

    Thierry

  • Is this the band that did "Childhood ?" please forgive me if I am wrong but that song is so haunting.

  • Yeah it is. It's off the their album Strange Times. Came out in 86.The first single off of it was Swamp Thing.

  • sorry....i don't think so.

  • 10 puntos.

  • quite simply 'the greatest band ever'

  • Burgess is BLUE!

  • I saw them live in Paris in december 2000...fantastic 2 hours show with all the "classic" songs played...only 300 people there..great memories !!!!

  • "Inside Out" is a great song. I have it on my Strange Times CD [1986]

  • Have loved the Chameleons since I first heard "In Shreds" on 91x in San Diego waaaayyyy back in the early '80s.

    IIRC, they pre-date fellow Manchester band, The Smiths, by just a few months. And are just as good, [actually better], in my mind.

    Ahh... what should've been...

    /Got lucky and heard in time that they were playing the States a few years back... and got to see them. Wow. Just. Wow.

  • I bow to thee and i bow to the vid creator...Long live the chams!

  • great! what is track 2???

    I love the peel sessions album best

  • track 2 is "inside out". a rare bonus track on some copies of "strange times" cd, along with "paradiso" and the original version of "tears."

  • Chameleons UK was a great punk band. I owned Strange Times on cassette tape, vinyl till it go scratched, and special ordered the CD for $25 back when that was still a pain in the rear to do.

  • What is the name of the first song by them on this video?

  • In Shreds

  • Magnificent! Thank you, this is one of the bands that got me thru the day at one point in time. Fantastic, thanks!

  • Great job, great pics. I was obsessed with the Chams from 1982 when I first heard In Shreds. Still adore Script of the Bridge to this day. Was astounded when I wrote to Mark at the time Sun And Moon LP was released and he actually wrote a personal letter back to me answering all my questions about The Chams and why they split. He even included free Sun and Moon T-shirts and badges, I nearly cried in happiness. God bless him!

  • oh Mark is great. i just contacted him myself, about his new band "Bird" and when he'd release his autobiograhy. he replied and i received reply on Valentine's day !!

  • Hello,

    The video is super.

    I was of the first to listen The chameleons, Snif snif !!!!!!!46 years old now Aie Aie Aie

    What is the name of the last song of the video ?

    Thank you.

    Thierry from Paris

  • My favourite band! View from a hill is my favourite song. Great video.

  • thanks very much ! yeah View from A Hill fabulous. my fave song might be "The Healer"which should have been released as a single.

  • absolutely agree with you man! up the down escalator!!

  • So hard to think of a favourite-

    up the down escalator, View from A Hill, Dont Fall

    Monkeyland, Intrigue in Tangiers, Second Skin

    Paper Tigers- live clip on here is ace!

    Nostalgia- sorry this just a list now.

  • great band

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