FIRST HOUR
Standing On The Inside (Neil Sedaka)
(1973) ... recording his previous album Solitaire at Stockport's Strawberry Studios with the house band 10cc worked so well that going with the same set-up again seemed almost a foregone conclusion. The next album, The Tra La Days Are Over helped further in rekindling his career. Standing On The Inside, a punchy, upbeat song which made it into the Top 30 was the first single taken from it
Ain't Too Proud To Beg (The Temptations)
(1966) .. the one which gave them their first real chart run in the UK ~ 13 weeks in all, peaking at # 21
My Guy (Tracey Ullman)
... from the first of today's featured years~ not the Mary Wells classic, but a 'girl singing about a guy' version of the Madness song My Girl('s Mad At Me). Tracey's video famously featured a surprise cameo appearance by the then Labour leader, Neil Kinnock
Fame and Fortune(s)
Get Away (Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames)
(1966) ... second of three No.1s in the mid '60s, with a gap of about 18 months from one to the next ~ he had several other hits on the chart in between, but aside from his hat-trick of chart-toppers, none of them made the Top 10
Storm In A Teacup (The Fortunes)
(1972) .... co-written by Lynsey de Paul ~ just a few months later she released her own version, which appeared as the B side of her debut hit, Sugar Me
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Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) (Frank Wilson)
(1965) ... genuine, bona fide Northern Soul ~ one of the rarest of the rare, much sought after by collectors. Only a very few copies of the original vinyl ever saw the light of day ~ one of which sold for an eye-watering £25,000 in 2009
Newsround Tameside: 38 years ago ~ 1984
I Gave You My Heart (Didn't I) (Hot Chocolate)
... they had managed at least one chart hit every year since 1970 - 25 in all - but other than reissues, this would be their last
Robert de Niro's Waiting (Bananarama)
.... peaking at # 3, still up there among the highest placed in a hugely successful run of singles
More More More (Carmel)
... the video was filmed in Manchester, their adopted home city. Singer Carmel McCourt, bassist Jim Parris and drummer Gerry Darby met as students at Manchester School of Art. See the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpQ9VbOjqSU
It's A Miracle (Culture Club)
... their sixth hit in a row was also their first to miss out on the Top 3, but only just ~ let's face it, # 4 was hardly a massive flop
Run Run Away (Slade)
... continuing their early '80s second coming with a song which Noddy Holder described as being 'like an old Scottish jig, but with a rock beat' , featuring co-writer Jim Lea on electric fiddle [W]
Cherry Oh Baby (UB40)
... fourth single from their Labour of Love 'covers' album released the previous year. Cherry Oh Baby by Jamaican reggae singer songwriter Eric Donaldson dates back to the early '70s and was also covered by The Rolling Stones on their 1976 album Black and Blue [W]
Lucky Star (Madonna)
... follow up to Holiday which had given Madonna her first major success at the start of the year. Lucky Star missed out on the Top 10 (# 14) but it was to be only a brief, minor blip. From then on she was unstoppable with a phenomenal run of success which would endure over the following two decades.
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SECOND HOUR
I'll Always Love My Mama (The Intruders)
(1974) ... first of two for Mother's Day, dedicated to Mums everywhere ~ a single on the Philadelphia International label, which had been a US hit the previous year and just missed out on a Top 30 placing in the UK. Their biggest hit here, Win Place or Show (She's A Winner) reached # 14 in the same year. Another 'Mother' song next....
Lullaby (Melanie B)
(2001) ... Scary Spice showing a more gentle side ~ the music video was filmed in Morocco and features Mel B with her two-year-old daughter Phoenix Chi [W]
Tell Him (Billie Davis)
... teaser track for our second featured year ~ instantly catchy with a chant-a-long chorus revived a dozen years later by '70s glam rock/pop band Hello. In 1997, the duo Quentin & Ash - Caroline Quentin and Leslie Ash, aka the two girlfriends in TV's Men Behaving Badly also made the chart with a version in similar style to Billie Davis
Absolutely Lyricless ~ the instrumental break
... quirky, one-hit wonders with titles which are strangely similar to the artists' names
El Bimbo (Bimbo Jet)
(1975) ... topped the chart in France and several other countries. In the UK, sufficient numbers of returning holidaymakers and many others who had heard it being constantly played in clubs and on the radio went out and bought the single, taking it to # 12
Groovin' With Mr Bloe (Mr Bloe)
(1970) .... originally written for Wind, a US studio group who released it as a B-side. Stephen James of Dick James Music heard the tune and wanted to release it in the UK and tried unsuccessfully to secure the rights. His next move was to record it himself with other musicians, resulting in this one-off Top 10-er which spent a total of 18 weeks on the chart The harmonica player Harry Pitch can also be heard on Ronnie Hazlehurst's theme tune for the BBC sitcom Last of the Summer Wine [W]
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Electric Guitars (Prefab Sprout)
(1997) ... radio-friendly single from their album Andromeda Heights which sadly failed to register chart-wise
How Beautiful Life Can Be (The Lathums)
(2021) ... instantly appealing slice of summer pop by a young band from Wigan for whom great things have been forecast
Newsround pre-Tameside: 59 years ago ~ 1963
Come On (The Rolling Stones)
... Chuck Berry song which became the Stones' first single. It just missed out on a Top 20 place, but stayed in the hit parade for 14 weeks. Come On is a no frills, plain and simple rhythm and blues track ~ Brian Jones' harmonica playing is its stand-out feature
Misery (The Beatles)
... side 1 track 2 of Please Please Me, the Fab Four's debut LP. Misery is one of eight Lennon & McCartney originals on the album - the first of what would be a constant flow of new material over the next few years. The other six tracks were cover versions
Island of Dreams (The Springfields)
... by the end of the year, Dusty would leave her brothers behind to fly solo with I Only Want To Be With You, the start of a mega-successful new career
Like I've Never Been Gone (Billy Fury)
... four years after his chart debut, the hits just kept on coming for one of the biggest stars of the pre-Beatles era
Rhythm of The Rain (The Cascades)
... full marks to the sound effects department for the suitably stormy, attention-grabbing start. Rhythm of The Rain reached # 5 here and # 3 in the US. It was once and once only on our chart for The Cascades but the song was introduced to a new generation when Jason Donovan took it into the Top 10 in 1990
Pipeline (The Chantays)
... an eerie sounding lyricless bonus, which has often been heard in films and TV shows
You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry (The Caravelles)
... two girls from Lincolnshire who reached the Top 10 here and in the US, but then were never heard of again
The Night Has A Thousand Eyes (Bobby Vee)
... terrific title and lyrics, which recommend honesty as the best policy ~ don't tell porky pies, there is always someone watching, waiting to catch you out
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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 27/03/2022:
