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It's hard to know which is the more surprising cameo in a video: Andy Warhol in 'Misfit' or Brian Wilson in this. He certainly looks pretty staggered by it.
Now, there's no getting away from the fact that I enjoyed this record in 1987. At that point, I really knew nothing about musical history other than the Beatles. I can't have not heard any Beach Boys songs, but I don't think I realised they were a band from olden days until my mum happened to mention it. I didn't know there'd been a time without hip-hop music, and I'm pretty sure I've never heard the original of 'Wipeout' - if I even realised that was an old song, I didn't know it was an instrumental and that getting some veterans who weren't the original group to sing a chorus that wasn't even part of the original was in any way an odd thing to do.
So, how does it sound now? Well, it goes without saying that it's not the first Beach Boys record my adult self would want to draw your attention to, but by the standards of their 1980s recordings, an honest novelty song is actually quite a relief. It's certainly less embarrassing than Mike Love schmaltzfests like 'Getcha Back' or 'Kokomo', to say nothing of the justly forgotten 'Problem Child'. I'd resent this were it all the Beach Boys were known for, but luckily it isn't.
The Fat Boys also appear on: Now 13 (with Chubby Checker)
The Beach Boys also appear on: Now 33 (with Status Quo)
Available on: The Beach Boys Collection
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