Why This Synthpop Sensation Was Rejected in America

What's popular in one country doesn't always translate to the next. But what's strange about Vanessa is that this blonde former model who sang in perfect English seemed to check all the right boxes for success in America. Her story is part of a broader narrative of musical trends, when disco died in the US, but kept on thriving in Europe.
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Editing by Aldo Pinheiro
Special thanks to Peter Shapiro, author of "Turn the Beat Around: The Secret History of Disco"
0:00 A-ha - Take On Me
0:05 Blondie - Heart of Glass
0:10 Vanessa - Upside Down
1:59 Telex - Moskow Diskow
2:31 Donna Summer - I Feel Love
2:42 Giorgio Moroder - From Here to Eternity
3:12 Giorgio Moroder - Utopia (Me Giorgio)
3:57 K.C. & The Sunshine Band - Get Down Tonight
4:12 Kool & The Gang - Ladies' Night
4:17 Rick James - Super Freak
4:23 Silver Convention - Fly Robin Fly
4:27 Boney M - Rasputin
4:54 Surface Noise - The Scratch
5:00 Falco - Der Kommissar
6:00 Connie - Leder Meisje Droomt Van Liefde
6:18 Vanessa - In the Heat of the Night
6:38 Cerrone - Supernature
7:09 Vanessa - Upside Down
8:41 Vanessa - Cheerio
8:50 Vanessa - Gimme Love
8:59 Vanessa - Yummie Yummies
9:07 Yahoo - Situation
9:13 Thompson Twins - Lies
9:18 Vanity 6 - Nasty Girl
9:43 Vanessa - Hocus Pocus
9:52 Vanessa - Bitch

[@Bandsplaining]

Corrections: Your boy got his early 2000s Discovery channel shows mixed up and said "Hot Rod" instead of "Chopper" -- my apologies to Paul, Junior and Mikey 😂

[@coyoteartist]

Well to be fair, a motorcycle is a motor vehicle and the OED definition doesn't specify automobile. So yeah if you're adding more power to your bike, it could be fair to say it's hot rodded. Still I did cringe

[@MrNightshade2010]

actually sandras version of "heat of the night " did better

[@andrewdunbar828]

Well everything else about this actress and her movies made up for it.

[@djosearth3618]

Timestamp [8:20]

[@angeljaime8548]

There's so many unknown artists lost in obscurity with interesting histories. Do more of these type of videos.

[@ricdotdev]

Not being known by Americans doesn't mean one is already "unknown" and "lost in obscurity".

[@mrcave86]

All of these acts are really well-known in Europe to this day...not even close to obscurity

[@dabadoo7631]

yea like Sugar Man, who came back !

[@TheGrifhinx]

Americans insisting they're the center of the universe. That was the problem.

[@Kevinb1821]

Even on streaming sites they never push obscure old stuff. If you tell it to play similar music to third eye blind for example you’re just gonna hear the same 100 songs.

[@MrLiljon63]

As a German, I find it really funny to see Frank Farian in a video like this. Your research goes really deep, fantastic work

[@jztouch]

As a teenager in small town Oregon growing up in the 80’s we always had foreign exchange students from Europe and around the world. We had a French student live with our family so I got to meet and befriend students from all over the world at regional meetups. I loved their colorful new wave style and they introduced me to so much music I wouldn’t have heard otherwise. I never heard Vanessa but I did hear a lot of music with that vibe. It definitely left me with the impression that Western Europe was a fun and uninhibited place to be young! I’ll check out Vanessa…

[@DarknessUnresolved]

I always felt like Disco never really "died" it just evolved into Electronica and EDM. Basic vibe is clearly still there. But I hadn't realized how much of a stark difference there was between american and European scenes, which is quite telling! And it also explains all those massive raves (as well as a huge UG scene) happening in Europe as far back as the late '80's, to which the U.S. spent several years playing catch-up.

[@Heike--]

"HE WHO CONTROLS THE SPICE, CONTROLS THE UNIVERSE!" -- Eon, Spice (1990)

[@80ssynthfan48]

It absolutely never died. Think of the late 90s/early 2000s stuff by Kylie Minogue. And even in the 80s disco still persisted, especially in Eastern Europe.

[@MichaelWilliams85]

America had as many scenes as all of Europe. Disco lived on as techno and house in the states in places like Detroit

[@ColinsCity]

@@80ssynthfan48 even Kylie's 80s music is italo-disco/hi-nrg, disco never died in europe but as new technologies came out they were incorporated into the genre which created the italo-disco sound, that classic 70s disco sound didn't come back until the 90s/00s but it always feels like america only likes dance music genres for a very short time even though multiple genres can co-exist at the same time

[@TheSpookyDuke]

There was no such term as electronica or EDM in the 80s. We called it techno (Depeche mode) and synthpop.

[@funkg]

Disco music in the USA transitioned into 'post-disco' rather than disappearing, adapting and evolving similarly to its European counterpart with tracks like "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life" by Indeep, "Get Down on It" by Kool, and "Thanks to You" by Sinnamon. These tracks were notably popular in NYC clubs like Paradise Garage, and among the city's gay nightclubs where Hi-NRG music also found a footing. Moreover, Chicago's nightclubs continued to play disco and post-disco into the early 1980s and beyond, contributing to the evolution of house music, techno, and eventually EDM.

[@International72521]

Can you do a video about Sandra, europop singer and her then husband Micheal Cretu who spearheaded the Enigma project, and the world beat/ new age music genre?

[@Dr.Quarex]

Sandra was absolutely who I guessed he would be talking about if it was a woman and not a band, and in the latter case I figured it was Modern Talking, who as far as I can tell were basically the Beatles of synthpop yet somehow I never heard of them once before I started actively seeking foreign music online

[@LuDux]

@@Dr.Quarex More like AC/DC of synthpop (according to haters)

[@billslocum9819]

Northern European countries had this strong tradition already established by the 1960s and 1970s called "schlager," basically very light uptempo pop with simple, often silly lyrics about love and life. By Vanessa's time, it had become a reliable bastion for the disco sound. Only one band made anything like the impact in America using that model that they had in Europe: ABBA. And they were mold-breakers who still managed one #1 here.

[@juniorjames7076]

Thats fascinating. thanks

[@TheHesseJames]

But then, ABBA was in a league of their own. I wouldn’t compare them with the rest of the Euro Disco Trash.

[@billslocum9819]

@@TheHesseJames ABBA wasn't trash, but they came out of the same schlager tradition that spawned European dance music.

[@DutchmanAmsterdam]

Schlager was and is pretty much an exclusively German phenomenon. Luckily because it's horrible.

[@TheHesseJames]

I‘m German and I had to endure a lot of Euro Disco Pop in the Eighties but I’ve never even heard of her.

[@markshulusky6680]

Too cold. Come on, can't you even damn her with faint praise?

[@erik5374]

I think this video should have been about the European big tit bimbo’s that tried to make a career in music during early eighties with silly songs. The Dutch had Vanessa, UK had Samantha Fox, Italy had Sabrina. I can’t think of a German equivalent right now.

[@murmerjangle3016]

If you've never even heard of her you should consider yourself a lucky person. LOL.

[@Blink-cx8eh]

Same, in the early 80s I listened to a lot of new wave / synthpop and lived in Germany, and never heard of her when I know dozens of other europop artists that never made it to the US (or are one-hit wonders over there), e.g. every other group in the video, like Boney M. Maybe she was big in the Netherlands, but she clearly was as much a nobody in wider Europe as in the US. This video seems to overstate her popularity by a lot.

[@Blink-cx8eh]

So I googled for her a bit, and she only ever entered the charts in Netherlands and Belgium. Her albums didn’t do much there either, but she had some successful singles. As to the rest of Europe, we ignored her, just like the US

[@a18minut0s_]

I would love to see a Bandsplaining video about some of the Progressive Rock of Argentina.

[@swampy1584]

Can't beat a bit of 80's euro disco Giorgio was a genius

[@-xirx-]

He absolutely was

[@yurypozdnyakov5177]

One and ONLY! I'd compare him with Hans Zimmer in the world of 80's cinema music

[@coyoteartist]

@@yurypozdnyakov5177 I've been trying to think of who else would have been able to pull off that brilliant soundtrack to Metropolis that this dude did. Zimmer would probably be the only answer.

[@stellaVista]

Her album was only released in the Netherlands and some singles also in Spain and Italy. To have a hit in Holland you only need to sell a few thousand records. Even in neighboring Germany she is totally unknown. Where did you find her?

[@Bandsplaining]

A year ago I was making these shorts where I'd visit record stores and add snippets of audio as I'm flipping through the bins. It was a ton of effort to create and the videos never really took off, but I discovered A LOT of cool stuff this way: kzbin.infoi183s8JqQbA?si=ZzIGVj-To1WK1iy4

[@Bandsplaining]

The single was actually released in Germany, as well as Spain, Italy, France, Portugal and Brazil. But who knows how many of these were even printed 🤷 www.discogs.com/master/96072-Vanessa-Upside-Down-Dizzy-Does-It-Make-Me

[@romangiertych5198]

She does have a German Wikipedia page at least, it's the only language with one, other than Dutch.

[@egregius9314]

I was kinda shocked to see a Bandsplaining about her. As a guy growing up in the NL in the 80s/90s, I mainly knew her for being married to one of the richest guys in the Netherlands, owner of the former largest chain of record shops (Free Records Shop, whose first shop was

[@Bandsplaining]

I've been eager to see what the reaction would be from Dutch viewers, and that all makes a lot of sense 😂. I was anticipating there might be some responses of "her?! really?!"

[@Dr.Quarex]

I immediately wondered if this video was going to be about Sandra or Modern Talking, which really goes to show how many absolutely huge synth artists there were in Europe who America just refused to give a chance

[@TLC673]

God Sandra is so good, been obsessed with her the past couple years

[@Pehmokettu]

The Soviet synth scene was also huge but unfortunately many of the great artists and bands from those times are not very well known outside the ex Soviet Union countries. I have found plenty of good Soviet synth music from KZbin and Spotify. But those are just a tip of the Iceberg.

[@Heike--]

We had our own artists, what do we need Euros for anyway? Your attitude is like we owe you something.

[@nukeputin420]

​@@Heike-- calm down lil guy

[@noneofyourbusiness4616]

​​@@Heike-- Hard to imagine how limited a mind would have to be by incurious nationalism to think like this.

[@jessicadoyle5613]

So can we get a sequel dedicated to the unlikely Eurodisco crossovers that *did* do something in the US? Thinking specifically of Tarzan Boy and Laura Branigan covering Raf.

[@avramrosenzweig6866]

my name is Giovanni Giorgio, but everyone calls me.... Giorgio

[@bicyclist2]

I've never heard of her before. I love all the 80's synth pop stuff. I grew up listening to Yazoo and Thompson Twins. It's always the rare and obscure stuff that's the best. I would have bought her music had it been available. Thank you.

[@ekids.bassment]

btw Vanessa later married one of Dutch richest man (they are now divorced) and adopted children who later on, robbed them, and Vanessa forgive them. She is an amazing woman with a bizarre life-story.

[@seenthefuture86]

Patricia Paay, was another attractive Dutch singer in the late 70's/early 80's who never broke into the U.S. (Malibu, Beggin')she was formerly married to Adam Curry of MTV headbangers ball, and Patricia posed in Playboy in 2009 at 60.

[@aliyai4000]

honestly i'd love a video showing the parallel between the american and the european music scenes in great detail from then to now since there's quite a few interesting divergences as you've said (with the disco demolition ending it in the US at least on the literal side and yet thriving and evolving to great extents in europe), as well as how some artists you'd have thought they could've easily passed for the other like the case for vanessa (even if i thought it was about sandra initially, guess we have the same view among the commenters lmao). sure most of you will be like "but europe can't be counted as one knowing there's a bunch of countries inside it, different cultures, traditions, sounds, etc etc", yes, true, but there are some similarities that have transcended the language barrier and have become cult classics and chart toppers. there's like a ton of examples to base upon, from the arisal of several music movements and also their "demise" as a chart reigner, to artists who managed to have transitioned well internationally to have a fruitful career abroad but not as big in US (and i think it also applies viceversa?), and if there is anyone i feel like could do this topic justice it's bandsplaining. good video. sure i don't think i've heard of her (even if upside down sounds a bit familiar) but it's an interesting perspective of how you'd think an artist has the it factor to gain popularity abroad and yet it didn't work. in her case i think her label and management didn't market her anywhere else but netherlands and a handful of countries nearby and seemed fine with the little fame she had.

[@danstone8783]

Great channel name. I am glad this showed up in my YT recommendations. This is exactly the kind of thing I like to watch and relax with.

[@alonso1050]

In united states disco also evolve into Hi-NRG, The flirts, Divine, Laura Branigan, Stacey Q, Paul Lekakis. Even Canada had Lime

[@jussikuusela7345]

The Flirts were one of the few "Italo" acts of the US, I think... Tony Carrasco has been involved with projects considered Italo-Disco. Linda Jo Rizzo of The Flirts fame visited Finland last summer (I think it was her first gig here) in an Italo event, hosted by a Finnish record label owner who publishes old and new Italo-Disco. She also spoke a bit about the weirdness of making disco music in a country that wasn't very accepting to it at the time. Laura Branigan made an Italo cornerstone internationally known by her cover of Raf's Self Control - to the point that many people think her recording is the original. Even I did. Baltimora's Tarzan Boy got around some, but I think it was quite all about his exo-European success - not even all Italo enthusiasts consider him really worthwhile in the genre.

[@alonso1050]

@@jussikuusela7345 Al Corley was popular in france with Square rooms wich is almost an italo song and EG Daily

[@jussikuusela7345]

​@@alonso1050nice song too

[@Novaheart1998]

She was very obscure here in Canada. I listened to Sandra and I had alot of her records in the 80's, she wasn't that big over here but Vanessa was unknown. There are a few other 80's artists that were not well known here in North America but were in Europe, like Vicious Pink.

[@evanos7]

euro disco - Italo disco has evolved to be a significant part of the European cultural identity...it was a blessing that this kind of music was not appreciated in the U.S accordingly as this made the dinstiction between the two cultural worlds much more definite and enhanced even more clearly what it means to be a refined European despite the fact that in most tracks some kind of english is used as the main languange...when in the States were idolizing Madona we were dancing with Sandra...when in Europe were (and still are) finding melancholic mystery and electric dancing charm in an alternative sound like for ex.:Helicon's You see"...in the U,S they didht even know what is this about.....that has been one of the privilleges to be European

[@OoOoOo-we3dn]

RIP Falco gone too soon

[@troysvisualarts]

Excellent video, being a fan of Euro electronic disco as well as US disco, I noticed US never really jumped onboard with the futuristic electronic dance sound like Euro dance groups have done. There were some exceptions such as Rinder & Lewis, Arpeggio, Patrick Cowley who used sequencers and synthesizers a lot but otherwise US dance groups stuck to their big band sound with a bit of Arp synth in between, whilst it sounds brilliant, in comparison to the futuristic sounds of Giorgio Moroder, Dan Lacksman, Space, Kraftwerk etc. it was a bit behind the curve! Never heard of Vanessa before surprisingly, very attractive woman, good singer and she had a great healthy outlook on life being a celebrity from what I see in this video!

[@Dfanch]

Funny, we just covered this era in my pop music studies class. Good stuff, as always.

[@hatecubed]

This makes me even happier to know that there's a release titled, 'The Very Best of Vanessa'

[@Stelios78910]

Never heard of her. She’s got some bangers though. Fascinating story as ever Mr Splaining. 🇳🇱

[@thingeeeeeee]

i know many metalheads that love synthpop, specially Erasure for some reason 🤔

[@wardrich]

I felt personally called out by that part of the video LOL

[@jacquesrioux9356]

It is so simple to understand why Samantha was not succesful in North America: her image was so cheesy! Teenagers and young adults of early eighties were fascinated by synthpop artists who was looking cool. No A&R rep will risk his reputation for Samantha. This has nothing to do with talent but image.

[@erichanson134]

Forgive me if you already covered them since I’m a new subscriber, but, I think one of the biggest “Europeans” who deserves a mention is Jennifer Rush. Imagine, an American who tries to make it big internationally, has hits around the world, fails to break it in North America, but ends up singing and writing one of the biggest songs at the time, and eventually, having it covered by one of the biggest artists of the 90s, Celine Dion. The song being “The Power of Love”

[@eightiesmusic1984]

It is Europeans not "Europeans". It is inexplicable that Jennifer Rush was not highly successful in America. The Power Of Love was a massive hit in Britain and elsewhere, and she had other hits in Europe. Her sound is not dissimilar to other music of the eighties and early nineties and her voice is next level. I think she is the best female vocalist ever to record pop/ rock music- others are very good but her voice is unbelievably rich and powerful. Much, much better than Celine Dion.

[@Hondunu]

Thanks for introducing me to Vanessa, I found these songs to be really soothing.

[@jeannehall6546]

Disco has evolved into Club Music, Dance Pop, EDM, and Synth Pop. There is also an element of Disco in Techno Pop.

[@raydunn8262]

Two things: 1. Disco didn't die in the USA. Songs just weren't referred to as Disco, that's all, like Pop Music by M and Funky Town by Liips Ins. 2. Giorgio M won an Oscar fior best soundtrack for Midnight Expeess in 1978. The most famous track, The Chase and others, are like EDM.

[@evhbombastic]

Funny how Blondie is called "synth-pop" by one generation and "punk rock" by an other. Way to cover all of the bases "bandsplainers".

[@nickadams2451]

I always tell people disco didn’t die in Europe it evolved.

[@johnnymidnight2982]

Disco didn't totally die in the US either. It went underground and reappeared most directly as Techno and House in the mid 80s. We even had popular "post Disco" artists like Michael Jackson, earlier Prince and (sort of) Madonna. Disco reappeared in mainstream charts with the advent of Freestyle and New Jack during the late 80s, but those scenes had a big Latin/ Hip-hop influence and lost the bounce bass and 4-on-the-floor beat.

[@-xirx-]

😅

[@erikheddergott5514]

If this Stuff was so not compatible in the USA, how come Donna Summer was so big in the USA? Discotheque was always a French Word. Not even the English Spelling in the USA can hide that. The T.K. Sound of Miami was Producers Music, so was Proto Disco from Philly. The Netherland Pop of the 70ties had a bad Repetutation in Europe too.

[@FrozenAfricaPrincess]

In case you ever want to make another video about other European/American curiosities, how about the myriad German hiphop crossovers with popular US rappers of the 90s and early 00s that I feel like nobody knows about outside of Germany. There are so many from RZA to Lil Kim to KRS One, GZA and many more. RZA in particular had a huge number 1 hit over here.

[@FrozenAfricaPrincess]

After I left this comment I did a little deep dive of my own and all I can say is a good place to begin looking, is DJ Tomekk‘s discography.

[@juniorjames7076]

Wu Tang Clan had huge influence on late '90s/early 2000s French Hip Hop- groups like IAM, Saian Supa Crew, etc.

[@aestroai8012]

Thanks for introducing me to Vanessa! I'm sure I've seen here LPs in crates growing up as I was looking for Metal and hard rock. After my teenage years in DNB and Techno I want to hunt them down. Just the allure alone is worth a buy.

[@kajuiceboi3592]

Great video!

[@04opocin]

And yet, during the first half of the 1980s Billboard magazine published a ''Hot Dance / Disco'' chart... Not to mention that at the time dance clubs in most European countries were still called ''discothèques''.

[@mikabreto]

Since we’re all here, I just want to give a shoutout to Desireless and “Voyage Voyage”. I had never heard this song during its active radio rotation, but, thanks to P2P networks in the early 2000s, I gained access to European compilations that opened my ears to a lot of music that never crossed the Atlantic. Desireless had three things that appealed to me: she was French, a female vocalist, and the beat was pumping, without the vapidness of most EuroDance music from that era. Voyage Voyage is on my permanent endless playlist because it hits as hard as Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” while, to my ears at least, it doesn’t suffer from being overplayed. Worlds away from the Europop sound of Desireless is a random, but cherished, find that I wanted to share: Agnetha Fältskog’s “Jag var så kär”. It’s the B side to her 1967 single, “Följ med mig”, made several years prior to her association with ABBA. “I Was So In Love”, as its English translation suggests, was a tender ballad she wrote about the breakup of a relationship. Its melancholic tone instantly reminded me of “Flower of Carnage” by Meiko Kaji, which plays over the death of O-Ren Ishi-i in Kill Bill Volume 1. I could totally see Tarantino using “Jag var så kär” in one of his films. Keep bandsplaining!

[@dcanmore]

Voyage Voyage was a big hit in the UK

[@jbird976]

You know what did and did not play in the US was very much up to the gatekeepers

[@gnardawgyt]

Great video :)

[@edouardoneill]

This difference between USA and Europe lasted all the way into the 90s. I remember going to the US in my teens and being shocked they had hardly any eurodance, which was the only music I listened to.

[@timothyrenar5498]

Simple. The U.S. in the early 80's was moving more toward the New Wave, Metal and Rap era and away from what many in the U.S. would call the Bubble Gum music which included the eurodance music. Americans wanted music that wasn't so light and fluffy like gag me with with a spoon valley girlish kind of music. Americans wanted to see actual bands with wild hair, spandex and spinning and playing electric guitars. I grew up as a kid in the 80's in the U.S. and trust me where I lived you better not be playing that eurodance stuff unless you want to get beat up or people thinking you were gay. The U.S. was doing it's own thing and left that euro stuff back in the 70's during the 80's and in the 90's we left the hair Metal scene and went to Grunge with bands like Alice IN Chains and Nirvana. in the USA we felt that we have moved on but we weren't sure why Europe didn't.

[@HerraTulitikku]

Her music reminds me on the music from the Dolly Dots or LUV, but only by a soloist, it's a very typical dutch sound from that time.

[@B0K1T0]

0:08 Of course I have! Although I was born in the Netherlands, in the early 1980's ;) 1:15 lol, perfect English with a perfect Dutch accent :P

[@jr8209]

Can't find her stuff on spotify. Oh wait.. FOUND IT. Thanks youtube hero!

[@unsuccessfullyjari]

Absolutely positively bonkers that this was about Vanessa! I love it. As a Dutch man, I could easily see why you picked her. It could have also been easily about Sandra from the Czech Republic (?)

[@user-jp5nc8zf7m]

Or Luba in Canada. Or Mitsou.

[@MrNightshade2010]

sandra is german and apparently covered "heat of the night" in an ediger fashion.... its here on yt

[@erichanson134]

When I think of Dutch artists who were trying to make it big… I also think of of Lisa Boray. I only stumbled on to her a few years ago but she had some bangers. “Break It Out” being one. I also enjoy her cover of Angela Bofill’s “Something About You.” Still trying a full copy of her Searchlight album.

[@dnikkithatsame5990]

So awesome doing a euro disco video and I learned a new artist

[@anadraham2995]

Well this was fun‼️

[@schtuff.8207]

Interesting parallels in her energy to that of Kylie Minogue - just a few years later Kylie would be making hyper bubblegum europop that didn't translate over despite moving her sound with the times until the early 00's. Except in Kylie's case, I think she could have had more US success sooner. And after! Her and Carly Rae Jepsen have the most underrated teams backing them up, and are just the most underrated female popstars out there.

[@fishflake1209]

Kylie actually found success in the U.S. almost immediately: her cover of “Loco-Motion” reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988. Her absence from the American charts in the 1990s reflects how none of the “mall pop” acts she was lumped in with had much success in the new decade.

[@TayWoode]

America already had Tiffany, Debbie Gibson etc, they felt they didn’t need or want Kylie and as a result missed out on some good classics that were hits everywhere else around the world

[@SpikeAsks]

Bedankt, Vanessa!

[@zakfulci854]

I actually remember "Upside Down", but I didn't know who performed it. Fun!

[@razorbackjack7880]

And she had a peacock chair album. Because of course she did.

[@ericvernooij2917]

Oh. Also: Tatjana Simic is a Dutch-Croation singer in much the same vein, although she did it the other way around, acting first and then making some pop songs, including an album with Mike Stock and Matt Aitken.

[@en3rgyman]

I'm from Belgium, we speak the same language and share a lot of culture with our neighboring country, yet I have never even heard of her. I love your video's, but this one seems a little strange to me. It's like you are blowing her fame and influence out of proportion

[@Bandsplaining]

Understandable criticism! Perhaps I should have been clearer: Vanessa's records were released in a few neighboring countries and I believe she made a TV appearance in Italy, but her "superstar" status was limited to The Netherlands. The premise I was more going for was about how the *entire genre* of electronic disco was popular in Europe, yet virtually unknown in North America. That includes artists like Telex, Giorgio Moroder, Cerrone, etc. in addition to lesser-known ones like Vanessa. It's always difficult to summarize a complex premise like this into a title that will also be clickbait-worthy. So I usually suck it up, simplify it, then hope viewers will appreciate the complexity of the video itself 😂

[@dv2483]

She had a bit of airplay on the radio but I'm not sure she broke into the top 10 of the charts. thx for mentioning Telex! Belgian Kraftwerk ;-).

[@jonhillman871]

i think a lot of pop music acts outside of the usa who didn't make it in the states is because they were "made for tv." they had videos and studio recordings but they could not tour the clubs and play their music live.

[@Heike--]

This. They were totally artificial and had no substance to them whatsoever. Apparently Europeans loved this, but Americans wanted to listen to music made by actual *people*.

[@amgineco]

Awesome woman.. with a FANTASTIC ATTITUDE about this life.. Admire her LONGEVITY AND ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET!!

[@windyleecarr]

I could perfectly understand a video about Sandra Cretu (undeservedly nothing in the UK or US but huge all over Europe). Vanessa, on the other hand, I personally don't really see the appeal other than the obvious 'assets'. Nice to see someone giving some love to a potentially overlooked and obscure act though, whoever they are. So kudos for that.

[@0therun1t21]

I love the lyrics to Tiger Baby by Silver Convention, they're adorable, all 2 lines.--- Tiger baby, ahahh you're driving me crazy Tiger baby ahahh, why are you so lazy?

[@danp420]

it's BLONDIE not blonde lol

[@beeftartar]

Makes me wish disco was big in the US. Anyone know of a disco spot in the Seattle area?

[@Heike--]

DEATH BEFORE DISCO

[@georgewhite1972]

I'm from England and I have definitely never heard of her until now.

[@Samplesurfer]

I would love to see your analysis of the Big Charting success of "Divine" with the High Energy Disco "Shoot your shot"

[@jesperschultz2727]

Dear American. Don't worry too much if you never heard about this girl. Europeans didn't either. I've been following music for over 40 years and never ever heard about this girl before.

[@johnkountouris3288]

Always loved her Italio Disco music though only recently discovered her song Dont Say A Word. I think its one of the most gorgeous sad songs, sunset girl is really amazing and Dynimate and upside down are classics. The synth work is still really AMAZING.

[@douginprague]

She was unknown in the UK too, like a lot of Euro pop bands churned out in the 80s. A lot of those euro songs just weren't strong enough to break the UK. However Brits had their own acts like that, like Samantha Fox, who had a huge talent or two. And later all the Stock, Aitken, Waterman acts which IMHO were in a totally different league to euro pop Vanessa.

[@TayWoode]

Uk also had Sonia, Sabrina, Sinitta all PWL produced as well and the occasional Spagna style etc. Basically anyone with a one word name beginning with “S” and ending with “A”

[@pandaeyes42]

Giorgio also perfected the moustache!

[@SuperHDJ_]

I've been a Vanessa fan for a long time, starting with this video when i first of her.

[@gotmilk91]

So who's the Harvey Weinstein of the music biz back then?

[@ericvernooij2917]

OMG! I love her! Cheesy as f*ck but so well done.

[@bobhebel4116]

Vanessa's "Upside Down" was obviously an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of Olivia Newton-John's worldwide smash hit "Physical". Their music videos are also practically identical. Both songs tapped into the aerobics craze of the eighties, as exemplified by Jane Fonda's Workout and Pat Benatar's sweaty headband. Personally, I rather enjoy this tune. It's got that catchy early 1980s new wave sound, which La Bionda and other such proto-Italo Disco artists did so well.

[@MrEdrazo]

And so it was Miquel Brown's "So Many Men, So Little Time".

[@yurypozdnyakov5177]

Noice! Gotta hard feelin of the Ottawan, still, thank you for this jewel

[@sportscaryungred]

The heck is that buzzing noise at 7:55? I've heard it in another Bandsplaining video about Limewire and it's bugging me lol

[@Bandsplaining]

Are you talking about the synth?

[@sportscaryungred]

@@Bandsplaining That was unexpected... yeah. I'm pretty curious to what it is, is it supposed to be some shepard tone

[@PierreBezemer]

Bandsplained is trying to find out if he can still get a piece of Vanessa's hair :P

[@johnkountouris3288]

Dont say a word is such a beautiful song. Super underrated artist.

[@TheBadVideoMaker]

An excellent artist at the moment is @ALIKAMUSIC, well known in Estonia and who gained some additional exposure through Eurovision. But beyond a widespread fan base, has little popular exposure. It has always been the case that there are good music stars in many European countries who do not get the exposure that they deserve elsewhere in Europe, let alone in the USA. I cannot see that this Vanessa even broke the UK, and sadly I do think that exposure in the UK does increase the likelihood of exposure in the US. Looking at her Wikipedia page, I would have said that Vanessa was a relatively minor pop star even in the Netherlands with Upside-Down being her biggest hit.

[@pabblo1]

I'm Polish and have never heard of her.... yet I've heard of others, like Boney M... Interesting...

[@kelechi_77]

For some reason I feel I have heard this song before, think early KZbin had a lot of this old euro disco electro pop songs circulating around and thats how I came about it

[@user-xr2lv4ll6j]

Aah, that was a nice video.

[@Preliminimal]

please make elaborate historical accounts of the groups: Stereolab/ Joy Division / Throbbing Gristle / Kraftwerk/ and Gray Numan, thanks!

[@dinkaboutit4228]

I think any 13 year old American boy would recognize the fact that Blondie knew things that Vanessa just didn't know...

[@newforestpixie5297]

I Feel Love , Supernature & From Here To Eternity are big hit singles which have aged well for 45 yr old pieces of pop music . Britain was pretty well saved from the Total Cheeseyness of Eurodisco though . Some of the sophisticated electronica which Yello were making from 1981 has also stood the test of time . 😁👍

[@johanprx7985]

As a Dutch man I can say she was famous in Holland. And I am sure in Belgium too. But I am surprised that there is a KZbin video about her from non Dutch origin.

[@burrkittykat]

Disco didn't necessarily die in America during the late 70s/early 80s, because its largest consumer base--Black, Latino, and/or LGBTQ+ folks--were still listening to its derivative versions, e.g. Dance, Synth-Funk, or even Hip Hop. Much of these new, emerging sounds incorporated electronic music but KEPT the soul. We can hear this marrying of sounds in "Super Freak," "Planet Rock," or "Computer Love." However, I think, the removal of Soul from Euro Synth-Pop made it less appealing to these groups in America.

[@Bandsplaining]

Great point. There was a similar argument I remember from Peter Shapiro's book. He quoted an American journalist at the time who called Eurodisco "music with a metronomelike beat-perfect for folks with no sense of rhythm-almost inflectionless vocals, and metallic sexuality" (He was one of these soul/funk diehards you are referring to)

[@flower-ld5id]

From what I know it fell from favour in the mainstream but eventually mutated into house. Similar story in Europe where italo disco, synth pop, industrial music & new beat were the building blocks of trance in Goa.

[@lisapinfold506]

I've heard of her. From UK though😊

[@victorhunter8900]

Wow I admire Vanessa/Connie. By the way, her life approach reminds me of Donna Summer's: she also preferred living as a normal mother/housewife and became a businesswoman when her prime ended. I think they're right when you see other "has-been" celebrities that can't live without fame and attention, but are no longer popular.

[@samroozen6719]

Thanks for your video. 11 Top 40 hits. Please listen to her emotional song "Lidia" and her live performance of "No non l'eta". She recorded a soft jazz album in 2010 and ended up at # 1 in the European jazz Top. Have a listen to "I dont wanna talk about it". ♡

[@markshulusky6680]

I hate to kick a cream puff when she's down, but this episode really comes across like a Second City TV skit. I mean, things like "Vanessa's first album, titled... MY FIRST ALBUM"?!? You can't write comedy better than that.

[@jamespohl-md2eq]

This episode failed to mention their collaboration with Leutonian legends Yosh and Stan.

[@missachan867]

Ok, after watching this, I have a new appreciation for her. But she still scares me a bit. Also, Italo/Euro Disco might make a good subject for a video.

[@anabltc]

Robin Sparkles ✨

[@swapsplat]

I'm surprised she's such a soft singer... With lungs like that you'd think she'd be able to belt out some tunes.

[@NmpK24]

Giorgio Moroder did have some success in the US throughout the 80s due to his movie soundtracks. For Scarface, Flashdance etc.

[@markkilley2683]

Interesting, though I never heard of Vanessa until now.

[@GlennDavey]

The Profile Picture of this channel should be Dennis Hope who managed Stillwater in the early 1970's...

[@pollutingpenguin2146]

I don’t think anyone outside the Netherlands knows who this woman is lol

[@rochesterjohnny7555]

I like a lot of music but I can see why this was not popular in the US

[@known_film4081]

Rap and hip hop was evolving during that time

[@gelmibson883]

Wooo!