FIRST HOUR
Roll Away The Stone (Mott The Hoople)
(1973)... they were certainly on a 'roll' with their third Top 10-er in just over a year, the fourth of six Top 40 hits in all
They Don't Know (Kirsty MacColl)
(1979)... the original version which fell by the wayside ~ four years before Tracey Ullman took the song to the dizzy heights of # 2 with Kirsty joining her on backing vocals
Cecilia (Suggs featuring Louchie Lou & Michie One)
... from the first of today's featured years ~ breathing new life into a familiar Simon and Garfunkel song which surprisingly, had never charted in the UK
'Hat' sounds like a hit...
Hats Off To Larry (Del Shannon)
(1961)... retaining the distinctive style of the chart-topping Runaway, a dead cert for the Top 10
Wherever I Lay My Hat (Marvin Gaye)
(1962 & 1969) ... one of his early Motown recordings, which eventually resurfaced as the B side of his '69 hit, Too Busy Thinking 'Bout My Baby. Fast forward another 14 years ~ Paul Young famously topped the chart with his much slowed down version
We have another hat song from a different era later... all three songs on today's playlist are in celebration of Hats Off To Denton! ~ a sculpture trail of giant hats* in the Tameside town which in times past was one of the main centres of the hatting industry (* until 13th March)
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What Does It Take To Win Your Love (Jr Walker and The All Stars)
(1969)... with such a long lead-in before the vocal kicks in, you might be forgiven for thinking this was an early-in-the-show Lyricless bonus ahead of the main feature. For a song only just over two minutes, though, it's fair to say at least half is instrumental, mostly featuring the trademark saxophone of the man himself
Newsround Tameside: 26 years ago ~ 1996
Don't Look Back In Anger (Oasis)
... Noel Gallagher's first lead vocal on an Oasis 'A' side. the band's second # 1 was always an outstanding song but has gone on to achieve iconic status as THE Manchester Anthem
Town Without Pity (Eddi Reader)
... second of two solo hits for the one time Fairground Attraction singer. Town Without Pity was an old Gene Pitney song, from the film of the same name in the early '60s
How Deep Is Your Love (Take That)
... 'farewell' single by the four remaining Take That-ers, Robbie Williams having already exited stage left a few months before. Their Bee Gees cover was a dead cert No.1 as millions of young fans were left distraught by the group's official announcement that they were splitting ~ "one last single and that's it, there will be no more". If only they had known that, if they could fast forward 10 years, the story would have not so much a happy ending as a new beginning....
I Just Wanna Make Love To You (Etta James)
.... the power of TV advertising was proved yet again when the latest Diet Coke ad borrowed the unashamedly attention-grabbing song from the American blues and soul singer's 1960 debut studio album
Real Love (The Beatles)
... ... John Lennon song written in the late '70s ~ he recorded rough demo versions, but never got round to finishing it. His widow Yoko gave the tapes to Paul, George and Ringo who got together in a studio with Jeff Lynne - and the result was a second new Beatles single, following on from their completion of another Lennon original, Free As A Bird. Fast forward to 2014 - a much slower version of Real Love, with piano and orchestra, was a hit for Tom Odell after featuring in a famous name store's Christmas TV ad
In Too Deep (Belinda Carlisle)
... peaking at # 6, her highest chart placing since (We Want) The Same Thing, which had reached the same position in October 1990
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(I Love You) When You Sleep (Tracie)
(1984) .... an Elvis Costello song, apparently written with Tracie in mind. It was one of the tracks on her debut album Far from The Hurting Kind, produced by Paul Weller, her musical mentor who wrote some of the other songs. Tracie can claim the unique distinction of singing backing vocals on Beat Surrender, Weller's final single with The Jam and his first with The Style Council, Speak Like A Child, She toured with the new band while also performing as a solo artist as part of a Respond Records package tour. [W]
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SECOND HOUR
For Your Love (The Yardbirds)
(1965)... written by a then up-and-coming Salford-born songwriter, Graham Gouldman ~ his first hit, long before making the breakthrough as a musician in his own right with 10cc
Blue Hat For A Blue Day (Nick Heyward)
(1983)... continuing with the 'hat' theme from the first hour ~ the last of three Heyward solo Top 20 outings following the break-up of Haircut 100
Born With A Smile On My Face (Stephanie de Sykes & Rain)
... teaser track for our second featured year, which had its first public airing in the much maligned ITV soap Crossroads ~ Steph checked in as famous pop star guest at the fictitious Midlands motel
Absolutely Lyricless ~ the instrumental break
... a kind of cocktail and a fruity liqueur
Tequila (The Champs)
(1958)... ... based on a Cuban mambo beat, with a title which is the name of the city in Mexico where the drink of the same name, made from the blue agave plant originated
Apricot Brandy (Rhinoceros)
(1968) ... senior listeners who can remember the early years of BBC Radio 1 - and radio 'anoraks' everywhere, regardless of age - may recognise this as the long-time theme tune of the daily show What's New. Rhinoceros, an American rock band had formed the previous year through auditions conducted by Elektra Records. Although well respected in many circles, the band ultimately did not live up to the label's expectations. Disappointing, diminishing sales figures inevitably led to a parting of the ways after three albums [W]
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Listen To Your Radio (The Donkeys)
(1981)... punchy power pop with a relentlessly catchy chorus ~ add to that the fact that it's a song with 'radio' in the title which gave it a head start with plenty of airplay from the likes of Mike Read, who was then presenting the breakfast show on BBC Radio 1. With so much in its favour, it deserved to take off and become a decent sized hit, but sadly The Donkeys - from Wakefield, West Yorkshire - disappeared back into obscurity after this, their fifth unsuccessful single
Backfield In Motion (Mel & Tim)
(1969)... American football-inspired US Top 10-er, popular over here in the clubs and much played on the radio, but missed out on the chart, even when it was re-released in the mid '70s
Newsround Tameside: 48 years ago ~ 1974
Year of Decision (The Three Degrees)
... title track of the first studio album they recorded for the Philadelphia International label, produced by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Their next single, also on the album was the # 1 When Will I See You Again
1984 (David Bowie)
... from the Diamond Dogs album, a stand-out track strongly influenced by the funk-soul of Isaac Hayes' Theme from Shaft. I always thought it should have been a single here as it was in the US. It would also have made a great film theme. In fact, as with other songs on the DD album, Bowie apparently had it in mind for a stage musical which ultimately never happened [W]
Until You Come Back To Me (Aretha Franklin)
... The Queen of Soul with a song which Stevie Wonder had written with Morris Broadnax and Clarence Paul in the late '60s. Stevie's own version finally saw the light of day three years after Aretha's on his anthology album Looking Back [W]
Everyday (Slade)
... unleashing a slow-building, piano-led ballad as their next single was a major shift from Slade's barnstorming, big blast of hits over the previous three years. The gamble paid off, though ~ Everyday made the Top 3 and with such a heartfelt, soaring chorus was guaranteed to get the crowd singing along whenever they played live
Star (Stealers Wheel)
... deserved to be at least as successful as the previous year's Stuck In The Middle With You, (UK # 8, 1973), but sadly # 25 was as good as it got for 'Wheelers' Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan
You're Sixteen (Ringo Starr)
... reviving an early '60s hit for Johnny Burnette, with a guest appearance by Paul McCartney playing the kazoo ~ Ringo with a little help from (one of) his friends...
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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 20/02/2022:
