FIRST HOUR
Sky High (Jigsaw)
(1975) ... pure '70s pop at its finest, with one of the catchiest choruses ever!!
Ice In The Sun (Status Quo)
(1968) ...one of Quo's earliest hits in a hugely successful, long-lasting career which would span the next few decades
It's A Shame (The Motown Spinners)
... from the first of today's featured years ~ American soul group 'The Spinners' were known here as The Motown Spinners to avoid confusion with the equally well established English folk group of the same name. They clearly had to drop the 'Motown' tag when they signed with Atlantic Records but became the 'Detroit Spinners' for the UK market
Festive Cheery Tunes from a classic Christmas album...
A Christmas Gift For You, produced by Phil Spector in 1963, featuring a roster of artists ~ male and female, solo singers and groups performing a selection of seasonal 'standards'
Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (The Crystals)
Frosty The Snowman (The Ronettes)
Another song from the same album, by a solo artist is coming up at the start of the second hour
---------------------------
Ring Out Solstice Bells (Jethro Tull)
(1976) ... quirky seasonal single in celebration of the Winter Solstice, the day with the shortest daylight hours, in the week before Christmas
Newsround pre-Tameside: 51 years ago ~ 1970
I Hear You Knocking (Dave Edmunds)
.... the Christmas no. 1 ~ not the slightest bit Christmassy, but a terrific performance, by any reckoning, well deserving of its five weeks at the top
Whole Lotta Love (CCS)
... instantly recognised as the '70s Top of the Pops theme tune. CCS took their version of the Led Zeppelin classic into the Top 20
New World In The Morning (Roger Whittaker)
... a familiar face on many a TV show, known not only for his distinctive baritone singing voice but also his trademark whistling and guitar playing. New World In The Morning combined all three
Baby I Won't Let You Down (Pickettywitch)
... third and final chart hit for the Opportunity Knocks winning group with lead singer Polly Brown
Snowbird (Anne Murray)
... she was the first Canadian female solo singer to reach # 1 on the US.chart, and also the first to earn a Gold record for one of her signature songs, the very hummable Snowbird (UK, # 23)
It's Wonderful (Jimmy Ruffin)
... as far as the UK was concerned, 1970 was his most successful year with three singles in the Top 10 ~ Farewell is A Lonely Sound and I'll Say Forever My Love were the other two
Feliz Navidad (Jose Feliciano)
... title song of a Christmas album by the Puerto Rican singer-songwriter best known for Light My Fire. Feliz Navidad - 'Happy Christmas' - is one of the all-time most played songs of the festive season in America. While it was never a hit here, it seems to have become ever more popular as the years have gone by
---------------------------
SECOND HOUR
Winter Wonderland (Darlene Love)
(1963) ... as promised, another standard from the album A Christmas Gift For You ~ covered by countless recording artists through each successive generation since 1934
I'm The Urban Spaceman (Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band)
(1968)... their only chart hit, produced by Gus Dudgeon and Apollo C Vermouth – alias the ever versatile Paul McCartney
Dear Jessie (Madonna)
.. teaser track for our second featured year ~ Dear Jessie was the fourth single from Like A Prayer, one of the year's best selling albums. It fared much better here than elsewhere, ultimately reaching # 5. Written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard, the song was inspired by Leonard's daughter Jessie...The track is composed more like a children's lullaby rather than a pop song, and features strings, synthesizer and strummed acoustics. Trumpets are then introduced following a change in tempo Lyrically, the song evokes a psychedelic fantasy landscape, in which pink elephants roam with dancing moons and mermaids [W]
Absolutely Lyricless ~ the instrumental break
... timelessly festive tunes spanning the centuries
Troika ** (Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
(1978) ... famous sleigh riding tune from the Lieutenant Kije Suite by Prokofiev. It's the classical work which inspired Greg Lake song I Believe In Father Christmas.(** Russian word which literally means 'three of a kind', referring here to a three-horse open sleigh)
In Dulci Jubilo (Mike Oldfield)
(1975) ... the multi instrumentalist previously best known for the concept albums Tubular Bells and Hergest Ridge, re-working a traditional Christmas carol ~ English title: Good Christian Men Rejoice
---------------------------
I Was Born On Christmas Day (Saint Etienne)
(1993) ... Bob Stanley, member of the band who helped to write the song, actually was... born on the 25th December. He turned 27 in the year it was a hit. Tim Burgess, lead singer with The Charlatans supplies guest vocals [W]
Christmas Song (Gilbert O'Sullivan)
(1974) ... stops you in your tracks with the opening line 'I'm Not Dreaming of a White Christmas', Gilbert's simple, heartfelt plea for peace and goodwill to all
Newsround Tameside: 32 years ago ~ 1989
When You Come Back To Me (Jason Donovan)
... Top 3 single at the end of a year when the Hit Factory - aka the production team of Stock, Aitken Waterman had dominated the singles chart
Beauty's Only Skin Deep (Aswad)
... a year on from the chart-topping Don't Turn Around, Aswad deserved to do much better than a # 31 with this '60s toe tapper which had previously been a '60s hit for The Temptations
I Won't Back Down (Tom Petty)
... his album Full Moon Fever yielded three singles with varying degrees of success sales-wise I Won't Back Down (# 28) became his biggest ever in the UK, with not only his fellow Traveling Wilburys but also Ringo Starr turning up to play. The other singles Running Down A Dream (# 55) and Free Fallin' (# 64) continue to receive radio play despite their very disappointing chart positions [W]
Good Thing (Fine Young Cannibals)
... two ex-members of The Beat, bassist David Steele and guitarist Andy Cox, with lead singer Roland Gift ~ a trio from Birmingham who developed a distinctive style. Good Thing, true to its name, is a toe-tappingly upbeat, feelgood song which became one of their biggest hits here and went all the way to the top in America. Chart success came two years after its first appearance in the film Tin Men, set in Baltimore, US, in 1963. FYC appeared as a nightclub band - the song's retro soul/ R &B style clearly fits that setting. On the record itself, Jools Holland makes a guest appearance, playing piano [W]
Lambada (Kaoma)
...... group with French and Brazilian connections celebrating the latest, hottest dance sensation which was sweeping the nation
---------------------------
A Merry Jingle (The Greedies)
(1979) ... one-off festive stomper by a short-lived supergroup featuring Phil Lynott, his Thin Lizzy bandmates Scott Gorham and Brian Downey, together with Sex Pistols Steve Jones and Paul Cook
---------------------------
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 19/12/2021:
