“The More Famous I Got, the Bigger My Hive Got”: How Marie Wilson Did What I Always Wanted

Marie Wilsonlead and backing vocals

The song Just What I Always Wanted was already performed in our concert, but with different verses. When we went to see the David Essex show earlier in 1982, halfway through eight I was singing “Wilbur’s Wink, Kurt’s Kiss, Don’t Tell Hank, He Might Get Hurt,” all the names of my backing band, The Wilsations. But when it came to recording, I said to Toth Taylor, who wrote most of my early singles, including Love Man and Baby It’s True, “We can’t sing that because no one will know who they are. How about ‘Mink from Paris, ring from Rome, a whole new wardrobe in my house?'” Toth, such a brilliant writer, took it from there.

To produce the song and my debut album Showpeople, we brought in Tony Mansfield, whose futuristic New Musik had the success of the singles Living by Numbers and This World of Water. He brought modernity but captured our warmth and fun. The trumpet solo was actually a synthesizer, as were the timpani, but Paul Baltitude recorded his very loud snare drum parts in the studio hallway. I’m at the top of my range, at the end of the middle eight – a lot of Motown artists did this to make their voice sound more plaintive.

My older sister had a beehive that I really liked. When I first bought mine in 1980, I remember walking through Brent Cross shopping center and everyone was looking at it. It wasn’t long after punk and no one wanted that look. However, the more famous I became, the bigger he became! It took over 45 minutes to style and the hair was combed back – it really looked like architecture. I was trying to bring back some glamor.

I had just returned from a job interview recording vocals at Pete Townshend’s Eel Pie Studios, so I was already in character. I was wearing a ruffled dress and my beehive meant I had to tuck my headphones under my chin.

The single and album covers were inspired by the classic 1950s records by Julie London and Peggy Lee. I never wanted to be just an 80s pop singer and later switched to jazz. Some people come to my performances and say, “I didn’t know you could sing like that.” My new album combines pop, jazz and soul – a hybrid of what I’ve been performing live my entire life.

My early singles reflected my love for ’60s soul. I remember being in the studio with the Wilsations when the BBC Radio 1 roundtable was discussing Just What I Always Wanted. We were excited and played the broadcast through the speakers, but they said, “It was supposed to be retro, but it became synth.” Fortunately, the public was more enthusiastic and the book became my best-selling product.

That Taylorsongwriter, backing vocals, piano

I knew something was wrong when I walked from my local post office to Tesco and heard the single playing loud and clear from the sound systems in both places. Marie and her 12-piece band had been performing in London for about a year. We released a couple of now rare singles on my label, Compact Organization. It all operated out of a closet in my one-bedroom flat with a tiny office in Portland Place, London. One of Marie’s singles, Beat the Beat, became a hit on the radio and we thought Just What I Always Wanted, with any luck, would probably become an indie hit in the UK.

But the massive radio coverage and position in the top 10 within three weeks exceeded all expectations. The original idea for the song came to me while the band were at the BBC performing live on Radio 1. During a tea break I sat down at their beautiful Steinway grand piano and out of nowhere this short tune came flying by. I grabbed it and played it over and over again to remember it.

Then, on the bus ride home, I came up with a lyrical idea for a shopping list of the best things – things from real life or examples of what happened to Marie. “Tune from Teddy” comes from my pen name, Teddy Jones. “The Ashworth Shot” was the nickname of Pete Ashworth, the iconic photographer who took the much-imitated cover photos.

I’ve always believed that this song was so successful because it followed the list formula, much like Cole Porter’s “You’re the Top.” It brings natural structure. Tony Mansfield’s production of Space and Out of Sight sounded good – and loud – on the radio. And Marie’s vocals are so thoughtful and “high-class” in terms of mood. It really shows off her velvety sound.