Anyone who has seen the film Lovers Rock, directed and written by Steve McQueen, will recall that iconic scene where revellers at a house party sing Janet Kay’s “Silly Games” acapella, hitting that infamously sublime top note and all.
The joy, the reverence and the longing depicted in that scene encapsulates just how much power a song has to reach to the depths of your soul and speak to that part of yourself you didn’t realise needed attention.
How I wished that had been my first experience hearing that song in real life. But alas, I was about two when it was released. So it was not until 1990, when watching Top of the Tops (UK real ones will remember that show!) and Lindy Layton (who had an earlier hit with “Dub Be Good to Me” with her old band Beats International – remember them?) released her version of the song which featured Janet Kay herself on backing vocals.
I remember watching as the two of them danced and sang to an upbeat dance version of the song and later trying to emulate the aforementioned top note (and I did it y’all!). But it wasn’t until I finally heard the original that I really came to appreciate this tune in all its glory.
The song epitomises what it’s like to have a crush on a boy, you’re almost certain likes you back but won’t do anything about it, hence the game playing and the dilemma on whether to confront him.
The song is layered with innocence and sweetness but underneath all that is this yearning and desire that was maybe a bit lost on me as a thirteen year old when I saw it performed on TV.
But on subsequent listens as I got older and I could definitely relate to that unconsummated desire for your crush to stop playing games and acknowledge that you really have something together.
I feel like all the hopes, dreams, passion and wanting come through in that high note. Not unlike Minnie Riperton’s equally sublime and indelible top note(s) in her song “Loving You”.
Which is why that scene in Lovers Rock is so iconic, it perfectly captures a moment in the film. But not just that, it also captures a moment in Black British history.
“Silly Games”was the first lover’s rock song to be performed on Top of the Pops – at that time the BBC’s flagship music programme – when it was first released in 1979, and soon became an anthem of the genre.
Its historical and pop cultural significance can’t be understated as it’s of a time when Black British music was coming into its own as being undeniably Black and British, with its diasporic influences plain for all to see.
And so begins another ‘Just Heard’ journey into my musical past to discover and rediscover the best of Black British music of the 70s and 80s. I hope you will join me and enjoy the ride!
Listen to Silly Games here:
Just Read It 