Rachel Sweet

Rachel Sweet was 15 when she had her first hit B-A-B-Y which made the Top 40 in the UK, her 'sweet' and powerful country tinged vocals and retro rock songs appealed to critics but didn't make a big impression with record buyers, her debut album Fool Around, flopped. This didn't deter her label, Stiff Records from putting out a follow up in the shape of the wonderful Protect The Innocent. A much better album in my opinion with a brilliantly sinister sleeve, if the public weren't buying her as trashy 'jailbait' country singer, why Stiff thought dressing her up like some sort of teenage child snatcher, would help her catch on, I'll never know! I just love this album, in particular the single Jealous, and Foul Play!

Probably fed up of not making any money out of her undeniable talent Rachel signed with US label CBS for her next album, Then He Kissed Me, and scored another UK hit with a cover Everlasting Love, which showed off her slightly cleaned up image. Another highlight is Shadows of the Night, later a hit for Pat Benatar, Rachel's ever so slightly country tinged version is my favourite, although I am a big fan of Pat's version too. A further popular single was Then He Kissed Me/Be My Baby which combines the two classic 60's songs into one 80's pop gem! She recorded one further album for CBS, Blame It On Love, which included the single Voo Doo, and it did even worse!

When thinking about the music for his upcoming movie, Hairspray, in 1988, director John Waters remembered Rachel and asked her to perform the theme tune. The full version of Rachel's song can be heard at the beginning of the movie and she even made a music video for the MCA Records single. I can't for the life of me think why it didn't get used in the musical, as good as a lot of the songs that were especially written for that, the majority of them aren't anywhere near as good.

Rachel landed her own TV show shortly after, The Sweet Life, which aired on what is now Comedy Central in the US. There are quite a few clips on youtube, and Rachel seemed to have a sense of humour about her flop pop past. She was also seen in the movie Sing alongside Patti LaBelle, which I reviewed awhile ago now...

She also provided the singing voice of Alison in John Waters' Cry Baby in 1990, and can also be seen in the TV version of Gypsy in a small role alongside Bette Midler. I also read somewhere, while digging around for pictures for this post that she also wrote and performed the theme tune to Clarissa Explains It All, I'm not sure whether to take that seriously or not...

Since having her own show Rachel has become more involved behind the scenes as a producer and writer on Dharma and Greg (hey, a girl's got to eat!), for example! She was also the producer behind the ill-fated Legally Blonde: The Series! Crappy TV shows aside, her music rocks, thankfully a lot of it is available and her debut LP was re-issued last year on CD and Download with bonus tracks, I hope Protect The Innocent follows suit in 2009!

Video: B-A-B-Y (1978)

Video: Then He Kissed Me/Be My Baby (1981)

Video: Everlasting Love (1981)

Video: Hairspray (1988)

Sing, 1989

STARRING: Lorraine Bracco (Miss Lombardo)

Most popular for her starring roles in The Medicine Man and the top rated TV series The Sopranos.

Jessica Stern

(Hannah)

Stern has been a popular actress for over 25 years, guest starring on a vast array of TV series, she also had a starring role in the short lived Emmy nominated series Earth 2 in the late 90's.

Peter Dobson

(Dominic)

Dobson has, and continues to be a popular television and movie actor, much like Stern.

Patti LaBelle

(Mrs. DeVere)

Soul legend LaBelle has only had supporting roles in a few movies to date. They have always been overshadowed by her successful career as a recording artist. Her biggest hit was 1985's On My Own a worldwide hit and duet with Michael McDonald. Perhaps she is still best known for her LaBelle hit Lady Marmalade and her 1985 pop single New Attitude. LaBelle is a best selling author and has her own range of clothing, perfumes and accessories. Her first Gospel CD was released in November 2006.

Rachel Sweet (Cecilia)

Sweet was a recording artist throughout the 80's, perhaps best known for singing the theme tune to John Waters' Hairspray and scored minor Top 40 UK hits with B-A-B-Y and a cover of Everlasting Love. She also provided the singing vocals for Amy Locane in John Waters' Cry Baby. Sweet has gone on to be a successful producer working on Dharma & Greg and George Lopez.

Cuba Gooding Jr. appears in a small part toward the end of the movie.

PLOT: A teacher (Bracco) returns to her down trodden neighborhood to work in the local school. She is put in charge of the annual Sing competition but unfortunately the school is due to be shut down and soon Sing is under threat! The kids must work together to make sure the competition takes place for the sake of their dying neighborhood!

No sex, no nudity, some bad language. 15/PG-13

THOUGHTS:

Lorraine Bracco is absolutely awful in this film, it has to be said! She is about as street and tough as a bowl of soggy jelly. Her dancing is pretty decent in the one scene her only obvious 'talent' is called up though. The first half is pretty dull, but it gets going when Patti LaBelle shows the kids how to throw down with a rather striking performance, or as Mrs DeVere calls it - "how we pay the rent!" The problem is that there's very little dancing in the beginning of the movie, and of course the dance routines and ridiculous songs are the only reason to watch these kind of movies! The finale, however, is great fun, watch out for a great performance by singer Rachel Sweet.

CAN I BUY IT?: Used on VHS. Columbia/Tri-Star Pictures