FIRST HOUR
Harlem Shuffle (Bob and Earl)
(1969) ... a UK Top 10-er six years after it had been a hit in the US, successfully covered in the mid '80s by The Rolling Stones
My Brother Jake (Free)
(1971) ... straight in with a nice bit of blues piano and an instantly catchy vocal 'hook' ~ every bit as good as All Right Now, rightly regarded as a rock classic. The writers, lead singer Paul Rodgers and bass guitarist Andy Fraser, apparently were inspired by someone they had met and become great friends with, reggae singer Horace Faith... My Brother Horace didn't really work as a lyric, though, so they had to think of a different name and Jake was what they came up with...
Wings Of A Dove (A Celebratory Song) (Madness)
... from the first of today's featured years ~ having had a long run of hit after hit, Madness deserved great credit for coming up with something different and were rewarded with one of their biggest ever, peaking at # 2. Featuring not only a gospel choir but also a steel band, Wings of A Dove was the band's 14th Top 10-er and 16th chart entry in all
All aboard the big red bus!
... two songs to remember Una Stubbs, the much-loved actor and TV personality who died earlier this month, aged 84. From her breakthrough role in Summer Holiday, she went on to enjoy a long and successful career
Dancing Shoes (Cliff Richard & The Shadows)
(1963) ... one of several new songs written specially for the film by Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch
Summer Holiday (Cliff Richard & The Shadows)
(1963) ... second of two chart-topping singles from the poptastic soundtrack, hot on the heels of the double A side The Next Time / Bachelor Boy
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Northern Lights (Renaissance)
(1978) ... singer Annie Haslam has been a constant presence throughout most of the band's long history, amid numerous changes of line-up. Renaissance have usually been categorised as 'prog rock' although Northern Lights, their only hit single, has more of a folky acoustic feel
Newsround Tameside: 38 years ago ~ 1983
Don't Try To Stop It (Roman Holliday)
... three minutes of pure pop with a relentless rockabilly beat and a ridiculously catchy chorus
Long Hot Summer (Style Council)
'83 was the start of a soulful new chapter for Paul Weller after The Jam had split the previous year. Style Council hit the ground running with their first four hits before the year was out. Long Hot Summer achieved the highest chart position, # 3
I'll Tumble 4 Ya (Culture Club)
,,, from their debut album Kissing To Be A Clever, a Top 10 hit in the US and Canada and a # 1 in Australia as a double A side with Karma Chameleon. Surprisingly never a single in the UK even though it was always a highlight of their live set
Who's That Girl? (Eurythmics)
.... a vintage year for Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart with four Top 10-ers
Love Blonde (Kim Wilde)
... two years on from her first flurry of success, Kim had hit a blip, a succession of not-so-high chart placings. Love Blonde - peak position # 23 - is one of those that you don't tend to hear much these days
Boxerbeat (JoBoxers)
... foot-stomping crowd-pleaser which became the Boxers' first - and biggest - hit, peaking at # 3
Don't Talk To Me About Love (Altered Images)
... last major hit for the Scottish indie band ~ lead singer Clare Grogan who has since become better known for her acting roles and occasional TV and radio presenting apparently was a source of inspiration for Gary Kemp when he wrote True, the Spandau Ballet classic which topped the chart in '83
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SECOND HOUR
Call Me Round (Pilot)
(1975) ...following up a # 1 is never easy ~ the single after the chart-topping January was another catchy song with that distinctive Pilot sound, but could only manage a lowly # 34
Tribute to Don Everly (1937-2021)
By way of a tribute, following the sad news earlier today of the death of Don Everly, of The Everly Brothers, two of the duo's greatest hits.
Walk Right Back (The Everly Brothers) (1961, highest chart position # 1)
All I Have To Do Is Dream (The Everly Brothers) (1958, highest chart position # 1)
From 1957 to 1965, they had well over 30 singles in the UK which made the Top 40, of which nearly half reached the Top 10, including four # 1s~ the two mentioned above, as played on the show, plus Cathy's Clown (1960) and Temptation (1961). Don Everly was the elder brother - Phil , two years his junior, died in 2014, aged 74.
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This Little Bird (Marianne Faithfull)
... teaser track for our second featured year~ written by US singer songwriter John D Loudermilk best known for his hit earlier in the decade The Language of Love. This Little Bird was Marianne's third Top 10-er - all three songs were by famous or soon-to-be famous writers and performers ~ the other two were As Tears Go By (Mick Jagger and Keith Richards) and Come And Stay With Me (Jackie de Shannon)
Absolutely Lyricless ~ the instrumental break
... from famous TV ads ~ with a chocolate connection...
Return of Django (The Upsetters)
(1969) ... one-off hit by the house band for legendary Jamaican reggae producer Lee 'Scratch' Perry - those of us of a certain vintage may remember it accompanying a Cadburys Fruit and Nut TV ad produced by Terry Gilliam of Monty Python fame ~ although in more recent years, it was also adopted by the Inland Revenue (now HMRC) for one of those ads reminding you to complete your tax return
The Night Rider (Alan Hawkshaw)
(1972) ... the music forever associated with the Milk Tray man in the famous ads ~ one of the best known tunes by a prolific composer of TV themes, previously a member of Emile Ford and The Checkmates who had a handful of hits in the late '50s and very early '60s. Later he played on an early David Bowie song (In The Heat of The Morning) and worked with The Shadows, Cliff Richard, Olivia Newton John and others
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From A Distance (Nanci Griffith)
(1987)... played today in tribute to the folk-country singer songwriter who died recently, aged 68. From A Distance is the song for which she is most famous ~ but perhaps surprisingly, it was not her own composition. * The writer Julie Gold sent her the song, as she had done already to numerous other artists and record companies, only to find that no-one wanted to record it... until Nanci replied that she loved it so much the moment she heard it ... * Her interpretation was the first to be released ( album: Lone Star State of Mind). From there, interest soared, with other performers queuing up to cover the song. The best known version is by Bette Midler (1990, US # 2, UK # 6) followed by Cliff Richard (1991, UK # 11) [* Source: Wikipedia]
Suburban Homeboy (Sparks)
(2002) ... from the album Lil' Beethoven, a very likeable, radio-friendly single from the Mael brothers, up to the high standard of their '70s heyday
Newsround pre-Tameside: 56 years ago ~ 1965
Long Live Love (Sandie Shaw)
... Sandie's second # 1 was one of four written by Chris Andrews who had a couple of hits in his own right Yesterday Man ( # 3) and To Whom It Concerns (# 13) all within the same year
In Thoughts of You (Billy Fury)
... his final Top 10-er in a long run which began at the end of the previous decade
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (The Animals)
... cover of a song recorded the previous year by jazz pianist and singer Nina Simone
Here Comes The Night (Them)
... band which launched the career of Van Morrison, with the second and biggest of two hits within a few months of each other
Leave A Little Love (Lulu)
... a slow, soul ballad in complete contrast to her debut the previous year with Shout!
I Got You Babe (Sonny & Cher)
... chart-topper both sides of the Atlantic, one of the best duets ever ~ here, the song returned to the top spot exactly 20 years later, courtesy of UB40 and Chrissie Hynde
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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
