FIRST HOUR
Magic (Pilot)
(1974) .... much played song which just missed out on the Top 10 in the run-up to Christmas. Thankfully Pilot more than made up for that slight disappointment with January, which topped the chart for three weeks early in '75
A Hazy Shade Of Winter (Simon & Garfunkel)
(1966 US, 1991 UK) ... originally a stand-alone single in the US, it eventually reached a wider audience on their 1968 album, Bookends, but only became a UK hit as a reissue in the early '90s, by which time The Bangles version had given it a much higher profile (1988, # 11) [W]
Shout To The Top (The Style Council)
... from the first of today's featured years, with keyboard player Mick Talbot providing one of the brightest, punchiest, best intros ever
'Horsey' theme songs
White Horses (Jacky)
(1968) ... a lovely, dreamy little song from the children's series of the same name which wafts over you like a gentle breeze. Jacky returned to the chart three years later with Rupert (The Bear), another TV theme, but released with her own name Jackie Lee, on the label
The Lightning Tree (The Settlers)
(1971) ... theme song from a popular ITV series about a family who live on a farm... with horses! ~ remember Follyfoot?! Singing lead with the mostly male pop-folk combo, as Judith Durham had done with The Seekers ~ is Cindy Kent, who later became a radio presenter of religious programmes and, later still, a Church of England priest. The Rev Cindy, now retired, was awarded the MBE for her services to religious broadcasting
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It May Be Winter Outside (But In My Heart It's Spring) (Love Unlimited)
(1975) .... song written in the '60s by their mentor Barry White, long before he was famous. Love Unlimited took it into the Top 20 in the UK, eight years after the original single by Felice Taylor - also produced by Big Barry - had failed to break through Love Unlimited 's version can be found on several 'various artists' Christmas compilations, although it actually charted in February '75, long after the seasonal tinsel had been taken down
Newsround Tameside: 37 years ago ~ 1984
Do They Know It's Christmas (Band Aid)
... recorded and rush released in the space of a few days, the original all-star charity single went straight to # 1... the rest is history...
I'm So Excited (The Pointer Sisters)
... a great year for them, with Automatic and Jump (For My Love) reaching # 2 and # 6 respectively. I'm So Excited just missed out on the Top 10, towards the end of the year
Skin Deep (The Stranglers)
.... lead single from the album Aural Sculpture, the shimmering Skin Deep saw The Stranglers return to the UK Top 20 after a disappointing spell of low placed chart entries
Listen To Your Father (Feargal Sharkey)
.... produced by Chas Smash, trumpet player with Madness ~ with more than a slight hint of that cheery, upbeat 'Nutty Boys' sound, I would not be surprised if other band members were involved
Love's Great Adventure (Ultravox)
... their 13th - and final - Top 30 hit was a light-hearted romp, with its accompanying video parodying the Indiana Jones film series, and as such, could hardly have been more different to the intense, dramatic feel of many of their songs
If It Happens Again (UB40)
... I always thought it was about giving a partner one last chance, having agreed to give it another go. According to Wikipedia, however, it was a political statement, a vow to leave the country if the Conservatives were to win the next election which was three years away at this point [W]
All Cried Out (Alison Moyet)
... her second Top 10-er as a solo artist following Love Resurrection earlier in the year
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SECOND HOUR
What Christmas Means To Me (Stevie Wonder)
(1967)... perennially popular festive toe tapper, one of many recorded by Motown artists in the '60s especially... often heard on the radio, but never a hit
Warm This Winter (Gabriella Cilmi)
(2008) ... keeping faith with the original 1962 US hit by Connie Francis, which had the slightly elongated title I'm Gonna Be Warm This Winter
Don't Play Your Rock 'n'Roll To Me (Smokie) ... teaser track for our second featured year when the band from Bradford led by singer Chris Norman had their big breakthrough with If You Think You Know How To Love Me ~ this was their Top 10 follow-up and several more would follow
Absolutely Lyricless ~ the instrumental break
... with a distinctly festive flavour
Jingle Bells (Gheorghe Zamfir)
(1984) ... Romanian pan flute player, who has released over 200 albums, racking up total sales of 400 million+ at the last count
We All Stand Together (Humming Version) (Paul McCartney & The Finchley Frogettes)
(1984) ... B side of Macca's seasonal smash with The Frog Chorus, expertly produced by his old friend and mentor from The Beatles era, George Martin. The tune was written for the soundtrack of Paul's pet project, the cartoon film Rupert & The Frog Song
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River (Joni Mitchell)
(1971) ... gentle piano-driven song with a different 'take' on the Christmas season. Written by Joni for her album Blue, River was never a single but has gone on to be covered by numerous artists over the years ~ in 2019 it was a chart-topper for Ellie Goulding
She Plays (Cobain Jones)
(2021) ... produced by The Coral's James Skelly and crediting The Beatles as one of his main influences, great things have been forecast for the talented young singer-songwriter from Tameside who has recently supported Paul Weller. She Plays - together with Cobain's other recent releases - is available to stream and download on Spotify.
Newsround Tameside: 46 years ago ~ 1975
All Around My Hat (Steeleye Span)
... folk rock legends who pitched themselves well and truly into the pop mainstream when they drafted in Mike Batt to produce their latest long player. The Womblemeister worked his magic and hey presto - All Around My Hat, the single and album of the same name, both made the Top 10.
SOS (Abba)
... more than 18 months after their Eurovision triumph, SOS saw Abba back in the upper echelons of the chart after a couple of lower placed entries. They turned out to be merely a minor blip. From then on, for the next few years, one Top 10-er followed another in rapid succession with several No.1s among them
The Trail of The Lonesome Pine (Laurel & Hardy with The Avalon Boys)
... those laugh-a-minute black and white 'shorts' were avidly and repeatedly watched by millions of us on tea-time telly and so, it was almost inevitable that the song Stan & Ollie sang in 1937's Way Out West would eventually be retrieved from the vaults to become a Top 3 pop smash. Only the relentless march of Bohemian Rhapsody could stop Lonesome Pine reaching the summit
I Believe In Father Christmas (Greg Lake)
... another contender for the '75 Christmas # 1 which peaked at # 2, against formidable competition from Queen. The uplifting, thought-provoking 'take' on the season of goodwill from the 'Lake' of prog rock giants Emerson Lake and Palmer is woven seamlessly into the famous sleigh riding tune, the Troika from the Lieutenant Kije Suite by Prokofiev
Right Back Where We Started From (Maxine Nightingale)
... top Northern Soul toe tapper which deservedly made it to # 8 on the chart. Maxine returned in '77 with the less well known - as in 'hardly ever played these days' - Love Hit Me, which was very similar in style and did almost as well (# 11). Fast forward to the late '80s, her highest placed hit was right back up there , covered by Sinitta (1989, # 4)
A Glass of Champagne (Sailor)
... heading for a peak position of # 2 early in '76. Rewind a couple of years, radio stations had previously given lots of airplay to their single Traffic Jam, which ultimately missed out on a chart placing
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SHOW THEME:
Rhapsody In Blue (Rick Wakeman)
written by George Gershwin, arranged by Tony Visconti
from the album Rhapsodies (A&M Records, 1979)
[W]: Source: Wikipedia
Please bear in mind: it's a live show and so, occasionally I might need to change the running order, leave a song out, or play an unplanned extra song which will not be shown in this weekly music blog.
If you missed any of the show, you can catch up online after 15:00 on Sunday 05/12/2021:
