FIRST HOUR
Free Electric Band (Albert Hammond)
(1973) ... considering he's had such a prolific career as a songwriter, with classics spanning the decades, big hits for The Hollies, Starship, Aswad # and many, many more, it's hard to believe the relentlessly upbeat, feelgood Free Electric Band has remained his only UK hit as a singer in his own right. Also fair to say, it deserved to do much better than a # 19 ( # The Air That I Breathe, Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now, Don't Turn Around)
Tribute to Charlie Watts (1941- 2021] [1] *
Paint It Black (The Rolling Stones)
(1966)... * first of two today paying tribute to Charlie Watts, drummer with The Stones since 1963, who has died, aged 80. Always the 'quiet one' of the band, he let his pounding drum beats do the talking. Paint It Black is widely regarded as one of his finest performances on record .
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/charlie-watts-rolling-stones-songs/
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The Sign (Ace of Base)
... peaking at # 2 in the first of today's featured years, nine months after their chart-topping debut All That She Wants
Acceptance, agreement, a seal of approval...
Okay! (Dave Dee, Dozy. Beaky, Mick & Tich)
(1967) ... midway through an impressive run of more than a dozen Top 40 singles, this was their third hit to reach # 4
That's Nice (Neil Christian)
(1966) ... one hit wonder, much played on the offshore pirate radio stations of that era. His backing group were The Crusaders ~ although, clearly, not the '70s jazz funk band of the same name (biggest hit - Street Life)
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My Man, A Sweet Man (Millie Jackson)
(1972) ... popular Northern soul floor filler, # 50 was its highest chart position. Millie Jackson is probably best known in the UK for duetting with Elton John (Act of War, 1985, # 32)
Newsround Tameside: 27 years ago ~ 1994
Midnight At The Oasis (Brand New Heavies)
... 'send that camel to bed, slip out to a sand dune and kick off a little dust!' ~ successfully reworking the 1973 hit for Maria Muldaur, The Heavies reached # 13, eight places higher than the original
You Gotta Be (Des'ree)
... two years on Feels So High, another high impact soul ballad from Des'ree ~ # 20 was the highest position for the original release of You Gotta Be, which she was able to improve on slightly the following year wihen a re-mix reached # 14
Parklife (Blur)
...classic '90s Britpop, with Phil Daniels, the actor best known for playing the lead character in the film Quadrophenia giving the spoken word narrative between each rousing chorus
Searching (China Black)
... British pop reggae duo with the first - and biggest by far (# 4) - of three Top 40 hits. ** 1994 in British pop music was notable for a growing reggae/pop crossover trend. Artists such as Ace of Base, Chaka Demus & Pliers and Pato Banton (with the help of UB40), took their radio-friendly 'pop/reggae' hits to the top of the UK charts.... (** Source: Wikipedia)
I'll Stand By You (The Pretenders)
... eight years on from their last chart appearance, this was the one to take Chrissie and co back into the Top 10, for the first and only time in the '90s
Saturn 5 (Inspiral Carpets)
... Oldham's standard bearers in the Madchester music explosion of the late '80s-early '90s with a Top 20 single from their fourth album Devil Hopping
Shine (Aswad)
... after successfully venturing into mainstream pop reggae in the late '80s, Shine was a return to their roots. more of a rhythmic chant than a conventional pop song, but ultimately proved to be one of their highest placed chart singles (# 5)
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SECOND HOUR
Make Your Own Kind Of Music (Mama Cass)
(1969),... instantly familiar song from the prolific writing partnership of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, surprisingly, never a hit this side of the Atlantic. Fast forward several decades, 21st Century popster Paloma Faith covered the song which featured in a TV car ad and charted at # 28
Tomorrow's (Just Another Day) (Madness)
(1983).... their first outing as a six-piece after keyboard player Mike Barson decided to leave. The long run of one hit following another would go on for another three years, with this one reaching # 8
Tower of Strength (Frankie Vaughan)
... teaser track for our second featured year ~ by the Liverpool-born song and dance man/ all-round entertainer who had already had several chart hits. His turbo-charged cover of Tower of Strength, written by Burt Bacharach and Bob Hilliard and previously a US hit for Gene McDaniels gave him a Christmas # 1. Frankie - known as 'Mr Moonlight' after his signature song - once said: *** "I was never just looking for songs to record... I wanted songs I could do in my act, songs that I could give a performance to... Tower of Strength was right up my street.".... taken at its full throttle [the song] was perfect for Frankie Vaughan with his stylised kicks. He promoted fitness and his illustrated feature for the 1962 Radio Luxembourg book of stars was entitled 'How To Be A Tower Of Strength And Stay Fit' [ *** Source: 1000 UK Number One Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh)
Absolutely Lyricless ~ the instrumental break
... two of the top TV themes of their time with a countryside connection
Galloping Home (Black Beauty theme) (London String Chorale)
(1973-74) ... if you or your children were growing up in the early to mid '70s, you'll instantly recognise this as the theme of ITV's popular Sunday tea-time series, London String Chorale released as a single and made it to # 31 on the chart in '74
All Creatures Great And Small (Johnny Pearson Orchestra)
(1978) ... from the much-loved BBC series of the same name, based on the books by veterinary surgeon turned author Alf Wight, who wrote under the pseudonym James Herriot. The theme's composer Johnny Pearson directed the Top of the Pops 'house band' from the mid '60s until the early '80s. He enjoyed chart success firstly with Sounds Orchestral (Cast Your Fate To the Wind, 1965) and later with the Johnny Pearson Orchestra (Sleepy Shores - theme of the BBC drama series, Owen MD, 1971). Fast forward to 2020, a reboot of All Creatures Great And Small with an all-new cast successfully debuted on Channel 5 and a second series is due on screen in the autumn
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Really Saying Something (Bananarama & Fun Boy Three)
(1982) ... faithful re-creation of a '60s US hit for The Velvelettes originally titled He Was Really Sayin' Something. A Top 5 debut single from the Bananas' brilliantly named first album Deep Sea Skiving, officially it was their chart debut, although they had already sung backing vocals on the Fun Boys' It Ain't What You Do (It's The Way That You Do It). This time, the roles were reversed
Tribute to Charlie Watts (1941- 2021] [2] *
Tumbling Dice (The Rolling Stones)
(1972)... * second of two in tribute to Charlie Watts ~ lead single from the Stones' double album Exile on Main Street
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Newsround pre-Tameside: 60 years ago ~ 1961
You Don't Know (Helen Shapiro)
having made her chart debut at the tender age of 14 with Don't Treat Me Like A Child (was that a deliberate choice?!) Helen would have two # 1 singles to her name by the end of the year ~ You Don't Know and Walkin' Back To Happiness
Cupid (Sam Cooke)
... legendary singer & songwriter whose influence was far reaching, inspiring cover versions too numerous to mention of his best known songs - Cupid was no exception, with Johnny Nash enjoying similar success in '69
The Writing On The Wall (Tommy Steele)
... final chart hit for Britain's first rock 'n' rolling teen idol who was en route to becoming all-round showman entertainer and a star of stage and screen. Sebastian Lassandro, a long time fan and friend of Tameside Radio has written the newly published definitive guide to Tommy's career spanning more than six decades:
Let's Jump The Broomstick (Brenda Lee)
... Little Miss Dynamite was clocking up one chart entry after another in the early '60s, but her best run of form would come with a run of six Top 10 singles over the next couple of years
Let There Be Drums (Sandy Nelson)
... lyricless bonus ~ one of the most memorable instrumental tunes to make the chart in any era. Let There Be Drums has featured in TV shows and films far too numerous to mention, a classic which has really stood the test of time
More Than I Can Say (Bobby Vee)
.... one of five Top 10-ers in what proved to be his most successful year in the UK
Runaway (Del Shannon)
... co-written with electric keyboard player Max Crook who created its distinctive sound ~ # 1 here and in America
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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
