FIRST HOUR
Break Away (The Beach Boys)
(1969) ... much more successful here than in the States, co-written by lead singer Brian Wilson and his dad Murry, using the pseudonym 'Reggie Dunbar' [W]
Heaven Must Have Sent You (The Elgins)
(1966, US, 1971, UK) ... Motown toe-tapper which finally took off over here on the Northern Soul scene
Overjoyed (Stevie Wonder)
... single taken from the album In Square Circle, in the first of today's featured years. The sleeve note for Overjoyed mentions the 'environmental percussion' sounds that can be heard on the track, including 'crickets, nightingale and additional bird sounds, an ocean, pebbles in a pond and crushing leaves' [W]
Thoughts of summer ~ and simple pleasures
Day Trip To Bangor (Fiddler's Dram)
(1979-80) ... one-off Top 3 sing-a-long for a group of musicians and singers who met through the University of Kent and the local folk scene
On The Beach (Cliff Richard & The Shadows)
(1964) ... upbeat, feelgood song from the soundtrack of Wonderful Life. On The Beach was undoubtedly one of the high points of Cliff & The Shads' third film musical following the success of The Young Ones and Summer Holiday, A Cliff song from a different phase of his career is on the playlist later in the show
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Grey Seal (Elton John)
(1970) ... original version * of a song Elton re-recorded three years later, becoming a much played track on the double album Goodbye Yellow Road. I always thought it deserved to be a single, but with such an abundance of riches to choose from, the likes of Candle In The Wind, Bennie And The Jets and not least, the title track, Grey Seal was never likely to be a contender. [* B-side of a non-charting 1970 single Rock and Roll Madonna, later included on the album Lady Samantha, a compilation of rare EJ recordings from the vaults]
Newsround Tameside: 36 years ago ~ 1986
Hounds of Love (Kate Bush)
... Top 20 single - title track of Kate's fifth studio album released the previous year which had already supplied two sizeable hits Running Up That Hill and Cloudbusting
If She Knew What She Wants (The Bangles)
... ... in between their two 1986 Top 10-ers, If She Knew... was the follow up to Manic Monday, which although similarly radio-friendly, stalled at # 31
Just Say No (Grange Hill cast)
... the BBC's long running children's series hit the headlines when one of its most popular characters, Zammo McGuire began experimenting with drugs and became addicted to heroin. The controversial storyline sent out a powerful anti-drugs message to young viewers, echoed by the song Just Say No, which was released as a single and made it into the Top 10
Bad Boys (Miami Sound Machine)
... featuring lead singer Gloria Estefan, who was set to become a mega-successful solo artist by the end of the decade
Theme From New York,New York (Frank Sinatra)
... first released in 1980, but only made the lower reaches of the chart. Second time around, it soared to the dizzy heights of # 4, Ol' Blue Eyes' biggest UK hit single since My Way (1969)
Sheep (The Housemartins)
... the lads from Hull were awaiting their big breakthrough when their second single Sheep made the lower reaches of the chart in the early spring of '86. Within weeks, they finally struck gold third time lucky when Happy Hour made the Top 3. By the end of the year, Caravan of Love had taken them all the way to the top
Borderline (Madonna)
... second time around for the song which had been only a minor hit on its original release in the UK. Fast forward two years, Madonna had become one of the biggest stars on the planet, and Borderline had no trouble at all making it into the Top 3 as a re-issue
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SECOND HOUR
Delta Lady (Joe Cocker)
(1969)... Top 10 single for the Sheffield- born singer, from his second album co-produced by Leon Russell... who also wrote Delta Lady, on which he played piano, organ and guitar
There She Goes (Sixpence None The Richer)
(1999) ... the original by Liverpool group The La's had been a minor hit in the late '80s, but finally made the Top 20 as a reissue in 1990. Sixpence None The Richer gave it a much gentler, stripped back acoustic feel
Devil Woman (Cliff Richard)
... teaser track for our second featured year which marked the beginning of a new chapter in Cliff's career, Devil Woman was widely hailed as one of his all-time greatest hits
Absolutely Lyricless ~ the instrumental break
... completely contrasting '50s tunes ~ from 'PG' to 'PB'
Peter Gunn theme (Duane Eddy)
(1959)... Henry Mancini's theme tune for the American TV show of the same name gave Duane Eddy a UK Top 10-er bolstered by that famous trademark twangy guitar sound, Fast forward to the mid '80s. he joined forces with Art of Noise for a revamped version which reached # 8, almost equaling the success of the '59 original
Puffin' Billy (Melodi Light Orchestra)
(1952) ... theme tune of Children's Favourites, BBC radio's long running record request show for younger listeners on the Light Programme, the popular music station which split into Radio 1 and Radio 2 in 1967. Puffin' Billy has also been heard on countless steam train nostalgia shows and documentaries, as a constant reminder of its original title
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One Fine Day (Carole King)
(1980)... revisiting one of the many hit songs from her '60s writing partnership with Gerry Goffin. One Fine Day was written for The Chiffons in 1963
Reaching Out For A Friend (The Coral)
(2018) ... very hummable song from the album Move Through The Dawn. The Coral are probably still best known for their run of hits in the '00s including Dreaming of You, Pass It On and In The Morning
Newsround Tameside: 46 years ago ~ 1976
Ships In The Night (Be Bop Deluxe)
...band from Wakefield who had been gigging for years on the pub rock circuit ~ 'Ships' finally gave them a hit, but success proved to be short lived, The band split amid high hopes of greater glory as a solo artist for charismatic front man and songwriter Bill Nelson, but sadly it wasn't to be
Love Really Hurts Without You (Billy Ocean)
... much played Motown-esque crowd pleaser which just missed out on a No. 1 ~ further successes followed but the top spot eluded him for ten years ~ he finally got there with When The Going Gets Tough (The Tough Get Going) in '86
Kippers For Tea (Bob Williamson)
... Bolton 'folk comedian' who made regular appearances on Granada TV in the '70s ~ here sending up Brotherhood of Man's chart-topping Eurovision winner Save Your Kisses For Me
I Love To Love (But My Baby Loves To Dance) (Tina Charles)
... three weeks at # 1, a well deserved success in her own right for the long-time session singer
Jolene (Dolly Parton)
,,, finally became a hit here three years after topping the US country chart. Dolly is on record as saying that Jolene was inspired by a red-headed bank clerk who flirted with her husband Carl Dean at his local bank branch around the time they were newly married [W]
Girls Girls Girls (Sailor)
...feisty Top 10 follow up to A Glass of Champagne which sounded as though it could have been from a film or stage musical ~ fun from start to finish
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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 17/04/2022:
https://www.questmedianetwork.co.uk/on-demand/
