FIRST HOUR
Love Hurts (Jim Capaldi)
(1975)....well-deserved Top 5 hit for the ex-Traffic drummer. Songwriting duo Boudleaux Bryant wrote the song in 1960 for The Everly Brothers. Several artists have recorded it, including Roy Orbison, Emmylou Harris and Nazareth ~ whose slow, bluesy version had recently been a major hit in the US, Norway & The Netherlands, but here in the UK, Jim Capaldi's uptempo, radio-friendly re-working in the same year (1975) was by far the most successful
Do You Believe In Magic (The Lovin' Spoonful)
(1965) ... their debut single which did well in America, but failed to make the grade over here
Joyride (Roxette)
... from the first of today's featured years ~ first chart-topper in their home country for Swedish duo Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle, # 1 in several European countries, Australia, Canada and the US, reaching # 4 in the UK
From opposite ends of the '60s ~ American singer, British band
You Got What It Takes (Marv Johnson)
(1960) .... peaking at a very respectable # 5 , eventually overtaken by Showaddywaddy's version (1977, # 2)
Suddenly You Love Me (The Tremeloes)
(1968) ... a typically bright and breezy Tremeloes hit ~ one of three songs imported from Italy which they successfully interpreted with English lyrics
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My Ever Changing Moods (The Style Council)
(1984)... two versions to choose from which are noticeably different to each other. The single ~ with its video featuring Paul Weller and Mick Talbot riding on two wheels in colourful cycling attire - moves along at a fairly brisk pace . A slower version can be found on their debut album Café Bleu with a solo vocal by Weller, accompanied by acoustic piano. My Ever Changing Moods was, and still is, Weller's most successful song in the US (including his work with The Jam, The Style Council and as a solo artist)
How Can I Be Sure (Dusty Springfield)
(1970)... originally recorded by The Young Rascals in '67, How Can I Be Sure was only a minor hit for Dusty whose chart career had taken a downward turn. Two years later it wa David Cassidy's first # 1
Newsround Tameside: 30 years ago ~ 1991
Beautiful Love (Julian Cope)
... 10 years on from Reward ~ his biggest hit with Teardrop Explodes
Hippychick (Soho)
... trip-hop trio from London ~ sisters Jacqueline and Pauline Cuff and producer Timothy London - reached # 8 here and # 14 in the United States
Cry For Help (Rick Astley)
... after a succession of Top 10-ers, this was his first single independently produced away from the Stock Aitken Waterman Hit Factory, but turned out to be the last we would hear from Rick until his resurgence of the past few years
People Are Strange (Echo & The Bunnymen)
... cover versions were not really their thing, so this came as something of a surprise. The Bunnymen recorded The Doors' song for the soundtrack of the 1987 film The Lost Boys. The single was first released in '88, peaking at #29, five places higher than the '91 reissue
The Shoop Shoop Song (Cher)
... five weeks at No.1 for Cher with a song from the same era as her only previous UK chart-topper I Got You Babe (Sonny and Cher, 1965). The Shoop Shoop Song was originally a hit in '64 for Betty Everett. Cher recorded her version fo Mermaids, the film in which she also starred
Every Beat Of The Heart (The Railway Children)
... best known song and highest placed (# 24) chart single by the band from Wigan, comprising Gary Newby (songwriter/vocals/guitar/keyboards), Brian Bateman (rhythm/guitar), Guy Keegan (drums), and Stephen Hull (bass)
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SECOND HOUR
Come And Get Your Love (Redbone)
(1974)... biggest US hit for the Mexican-American-Native American band known mainly on this side of the pond for Witch Queen of New Orleans (1971, UK # 2, US # 21). They released several other singles which failed to trouble our chart - Come And Get Your Love being one of them. Fast forward to now, I find myself humming it all the time since it popped up in a TV ad
I Don't Blame You At All (Smokey Robinson & The Miracles)
(1971)... Motown hit which seems to have been largely forgotten, even though it did well chart-wise (# 11)
Bobby's Girl (Susan Maughan)
... teaser track for our second featured year ~ one of the most memorable pop singles of its time ~ a lively, punchy vocal performance backed by a sparkling production featuring Wally Stott's orchestra and chorus
Absolutely Lyricless ~ the instrumental break
... titles which mention a musical instrument
Sailor's Hornpipe (Mike Oldfield)
(1973) ... short but sweet final 'track' ** of his ground-breaking album Tubular Bells ~ a foretaste of his instrumental hit singles which would follow over the next few years ~ In Dulci Jubilo (the Christmas one!), Portsmouth and his re-working of the Blue Peter theme (** bear in mind, the entire album is a continuous composition, with one section flowing seamlessly into the next)
Bongo Rock (Incredible Bongo Band)
(1973) ... much played on the radio, often as a backing track for the presenter to talk over (!) but missed out completely on a chart placing
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Cloudbusting (Kate Bush)
(1985)... five minutes of perfection from the Hounds of Love album ~ as a single it was the middle one of three, book-ended by Running Up That Hill and the title track
Chicken Payback (The Bees)
(2005) ....radio friendly single to bop along to with nonsensical chanted lyrics, reminding me ever so slightly of Dave and Ansil Collins' 1971 chart-topper Double Barrel Their sound is generally classified as indie rock or psychedelic rock, but embraces a host of different styles and influences including 1960s garage rock, country, jazz and reggae (Source: Wikipedia)
Reflections: 59 years ago ~ 1962
Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (Neil Sedaka)
... one of his best known songs, successfully covered 10 years later by The Partridge Family ( # 3, 1972)
Like I Do (Maureen Evans)
,,, by far her biggest hit, a new entry on the chart at the end of '62, reaching the Top 3 early in '63.
Goodbye Cruel World (James Darren)
... Top 3 hit in the US, # 28 here. According to Wikipedia, it's about a man left brokenhearted by a 'mean fickle woman' who decides to join the circus. He doesn't mind being shot out of a cannon, and plans to tell the world that she 'made a crying clown' out of him
I'm Just A Baby (Louise Cordet)
... the only major hit for a singer who also happened to be a god-daughter of Prince Philip
I Remember You (Frank Ifield)
... first of four No.1s in an amazingly successful 12 month span from mid '62 to mid '63. I Remember You held on to the top spot for seven weeks and was 1962's best selling single
Wonderful Land (The Shadows)
... lyricless bonus ~ # 1 for eight weeks, one of the biggest instrumental hits ever
Good Luck Charm (Elvis Presley)
... here's yet another outstanding chart achievement during the year ~ four UK chart toppers for Elvis. Good Luck Charm was the third in the sequence
Things (Bobby Darin)
... Top 3 on both sides of the pond, 'a walk in the park' for one of pop's first singer-songwriters
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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)
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.
- MW
