FIRST HOUR
Feel The Need In Me (The Detroit Emeralds)
(1973) ... soul classic which was only a minor hit in the US ~ much more successful here where it eventually peaked at # 4. Four years later ithe Emeralds were back with a newly recorded disco mix (1977, # 12). Versions by other artists have also charted ~ Leif Garrett (1979, # 38), Forrest (1983, # 17) and Shakin' Stevens (1988 , # 26)
Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile) (Van Morrison)
(1972) ... covered by Dexy's Midnight Runners 10 years later. The lyrics and feel were inspired by the legendary rhythm and blues singer and his late '50s toe-tapper Reet Petite which is quoted in the lyrics
Reward (The Teardrop Explodes)
... from the first of today's featured years ~ by far the biggest and best known of their handful of hits. Fast forward a few years, singer Julian Cope re-emerged in his own right with the likes of World Shut Your Mouth (1986) and Beautiful Love (1991).
The long and the short of it ~ long titles, short songs
(I Don't Know Why) But I Do (Clarence 'Frogman' Henry)
(1961) .... Top 5 hit here and in the US, but familiar to a younger generation who remember it from Forrest Gump, the 1994 film starring Tom Hanks and a TV ad the year before for the Fiat Cinquecento 'city car' hatchback. Fast forward to more recent times, it has once again been heard in the commercial breaks - but advertising a completely different product
If You Gotta Make A Fool of Somebody (Freddie & The Dreamers)
(1963) ... debut hit for the Manchester group ~ Freddie Garrity was the little feller in the horn-rimmed glasses who was always leaping about and generally clowning around – the kind of group who went down an absolute storm with the kids when they appeared on Crackerjack! Eventually they landed their own show on ITV ~ Little Big Time
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Looks Looks Looks (Sparks)
(1975) ... you never know what surprises lie in wait on this show ~ this is fun from start to finish, sounding like a reincarnation of the '40s singing trio The Andrews Sisters. Another Sparks hit from the same era is coming up later
Love To Love You (The Corrs)
(1996) ... single which stalled at # 62 from their debut album of the previous year Forgiven Not Forgotten. The breakthrough came with their next long player Talk On Corners and from it, a 1998 trio of Top 10 singles
Newsround Tameside: 40 years ago ~ 1981
The Kids In America (Kim Wilde)
... No..1 hit which launched the career of the decade's biggest stars ~ inevitably, at the time, seen as a home-grown rival to Blondie's Debbie Harry,. as the poster girl on millions of bedroom walls
Sergeant Rock (Is Going To Help Me) (XTC)
... band from Swindon fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (guitars, vocals) and Colin Moulding (bass, vocals) who aspired to be "completely original". Refusing to be pigeon holed as new wave, they swerved conventional punk rock, synthesising influences from ska, '60s pop, dub music and the avant-garde. XTC carved out a reputation for quirky but catchy Top 20 singles like their '79 debut hit Making Plans for Nigel and Sergeant Rock (Source: Wikipedia)
Intuition (Linx)
... biggest hit for the British soul/funk group led by David Grant who went on to have three solo entries in Top 40 and a further two with Jaki Graham, of which the best known was Could It Be I'm Falling In Love (1985, # 5)
Star (Kiki Dee)
... much played song which reached # 13 ~ her joint career highest chart position apart from six weeks at # 1 in 1976, duetting with Elton John - Don't Go Breaking My Heart
Good Thing Going (Sugar Minott)
... Jamaican reggae singer, producer and sound-system operator ~ real name Lincoln Barrington Mynott, with his only UK hit. A young Michael
Jackson had previously recorded Good Thing Going for his second solo album Ben, back in 1972
I Want To Be Free (Toyah)
... second of three Top 10 singles during the year from one of the great characters and leading lights of the new wave era. I Want To Be Free followed the Four From Toyah EP which included her signature song It's A Mystery
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SECOND HOUR
Do It All Over Again (Spiritualized)
(2002) ... 'space rock'/ new wave psychedelic band from Rugby, Warwickshire who clocked up half a dozen Top 40 singles from the mid '90s to the early '00s ~ Do It All Over Again was one of them, critically acclaimed for its 'lush soundscape or 'wall of sound' production. It also benefits hugely from having such an instantly hummable tune
Rubber Bullets (10cc)
(1973) ... Lol Creme on lead vocals for the band's first #1 single, which also appeared in an extended version on their debut album recorded at Strawberry Studios, Stockport
Captain Of Your Ship (Reparata & The Delrons)
... teaser track for our second featured year ~ unusual in its atmospheric use of sound effects (foghorn, ship's bell, Morse code) , psychedelic instrumentation and treatments including electric sitar, backwards piano, filtered vocals and phasing. Lead singer Mary Aiese O'Leary told Mojo magazine in May 2008, "I thought it was horrible — the foghorn, the way they had changed my voice with effects. But I grew to like it, and it afforded the opportunity to go over to London ... In America, it fizzled* People in England liked quirkier stuff, and Captain of Your Ship'was quirky." [Source; Wikipedia] * The single failed to make the Billboard Hot 100 but reached # 13 our side of the Atlantic. With its use of special effects, it was inevitable the track would later be 'sampled' (Doin' The Do - Betty Boo, 1990)
Absolutely Lyricless ~ the instrumental break
... two completely contrasting '50s tunes before and after the birth of rock n'roll
Blue Tango (Ray Martin Concert Orchestra)
(1952)... sounding very prim and proper in the pre rock, pre-vinyl era when the hits of the day were released on - easily breakable - shellac discs...
Red River Rock (Johnny & The Hurricanes)
(1959)... rocking it up several notches at the end of the decade. by which time, nothing would ever be quite the same again,
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She Plays (Cobain Jones)
(2021)... produced by The Coral's James Skelly and crediting The Beatles as one of his main influences,great things are forecast for the talented young singer-songwriter from Tameside who turned 20 last week. She Plays - together with Cobain's other recent releases - is available to stream and download on Spotify.
Spanish Wine (Chris White)
(1976)... with dreamy vibes and lush harmonies stirring memories of sun-drenched summer days and the Beach Boys at their very best
Reflections: 53 years ago ~ 1968
Something Here In My Heart (The Paper Dolls)
... like The Spice Girls, three decades later. they were known by their nicknames One of the trio, Tiger, was really Susie Mathis, who became a familiar, much-loved radio voice in our region in the '80s and '90s
Ain't Nothing But A House Party (The Showstoppers) ...dance floor filler which was the one and only chart appearance by the four-piece African-American vocal group formed in Philadelphia
Blue Eyes Don Partridge)
... one-man band, king of the buskers, who looked set to be a one-hit wonder but made it two Top 10-ers in a row with this successful follow-up to his debut Rosie
This Wheel's On Fire (Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity)
... one of the year's stand-out singles. taking Bob Dylan's song and turning it into an eerie duet enlivened by a swirling, psychedelic organ sound. For a younger generation, This Wheel's... is probably best known as the AbFab song ~ theme of the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous
Me The Peaceful Heart (Lulu)
.... bright and breezy, positively upbeat, destined for the Top 10 in the era when she had her own Saturday night TV show It's Lulu, watched by millions on BBC 1
I Don't Want Our Loving To Die (The Herd)
... completing a hat-trick of hits for The Herd, who soon after went their separate ways Lead singer - guitarist Peter Frampton teamed up with ex-Small Faces frontman Steve Marriott to form Humble Pie before achieving worldwide success in his own right in the '70s. Keyboard and bass player Andy Bown joined Status Quo, initially as a session man and then as a full time member of the band from '77
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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
