FIRST HOUR
January February (Barbara Dickson)
(1980) ... written by Alan Tarney, perhaps best known for We Don't Talk Anymore, #.1 for Cliff Richard the previous year
1-2-3 (Len Barry)
(1965)... with that big, vibrant ’60s sound, just about the closest that a British act ever came to matching those legendary Motown anthems of that era
The Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades (Timbuk 3)
... one-off hit from the first of today's featured years ~ Timbuk 3, formed by husband and wife Pat and Barbara MacDonald, hailed from Wisconsin, USA
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Rooftop rock
... exactly 30 years ago, on 30 January 1991 (a Wednesday), Manchester band James played a surprise lunchtime concert - on the roof of the Piccadilly Hotel - next door to Piccadilly Radio. The free show for the fans announced that morning brought the city to a standstill as a crowd of around 5,000 gathered in Piccadilly Gardens. For anyone lucky enough to be in the city centre that day, including yours truly, it was a truly amazing sight , a magical, never-to-be-forgotten event in Manchester music folklore. Two songs on the show from the band's all-too-brief but nonetheless brilliant set list that day. First off, though, I couldn't resist....
Up On The Roof (The Drifters)
(1963)... written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King reaching number 5 on the U.S. pop singles chart and number 4 on the U.S. R&B singles chart.[1] In the UK it was a top ten success for Kenny Lynch,
Sit Down (James)
(1989) ...the original version, released on the Rough Trade label two years before the famous concert on the roof. Sit Down was one of the highlights of their set that day as it had proved to be in many previous live appearances. The band recorded a new, rockier version with a definite end rather than a fade and were rewarded with their biggest ever hit a few weeks after the gig (#2, April '91)
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Beautiful Noise (Neil Diamond)
(1976)... a belated 80th birthday salute to the singer-songwriter, here with a popular album title track and much played Top 20 single. A song from a few years earlier follows in the 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
Newsround Tameside: 34 years ago ~ 1987
Surrender (Swing Out Sister)
... at the time, they were a two-thirds Manchester band ~ singer Corinne Drewery hailed from Nottingham, but keyboard player Andy Connell and drummer Martin Jackson were both Manchester lads
Alone Again (Or) (The Damned)
... punk pioneers who had recently had a resurgence after covering an epic song from the late '60s (Eloise, 1986, # 3). This time, they revived another song from the same era by American band Love which was widely admired and had been a turntable hit here, but was nowhere near as well known
If You Let Me Stay (Terence Trent D'Arby)
... debut single which did much better here than in his native US
Magic Smile (Rosie Vela)
........ she successfully enlisted two of her musical heroes, Steely Dan's Donald Fagen and Walter Becker to play on her debut album Zazu. Though critically acclaimed, it went largely unnoticed in the U.S, but fared better in Europe. Magic Smile, the single taken from it, made the Top 30
Stand By Me (Ben E King)
... re-issue from 1961 which went all the way to the top after featuring in one of those iconic TV ads for Levi jeans. It had also been 'borrowed' as the title song of the recently released film of the same name. John Lennon covered Stand By Me on his Rock 'n' Roll album and released it as a single (1975, # 30)
Coming Around Again (Carly Simon)
... album title track and hit single here and in America, which also featured in Heartburn, a film starring Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep. Carly's occasional UK chart hits during the '70s and '80s seemed to follow a pattern of every five years or so ~ the aptly titled Coming Around Again is next on the list after Why (1982) ~ preceded by the Bond theme Nobody Does It Better (The Spy Who Loved Me) in '77. Her UK debut was in late '72 / early '73 with You're So Vain, followed , just a few weeks later, by The Right Thing To Do
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SECOND HOUR
I Feel Love Coming On (Felice Taylor)
(1967) ... co-written and produced by Barry White, long before he came to prominence as a performer
Cool Like You (Blossoms)
(2018)... Stockport's finest with the title track of their second album. Worth checking out on YouTube are highlights of their pre-lockdown gig at Stockport Plaza. (11-02-2020), likewise a stack of live tracks available on Spotify ~ look for Blossoms In Isolation / Live from the Plaza Theatre, Stockport
If I Had Words (Scott Fitzgerald & Yvonne Keeley)
... teaser track for our second featured year based on a familiar melody from Saint Saens' Organ Symphony No.3. Next up, another classical connection...
Absolutely Lyricless ~ the instrumental break
... early '60s instrumentals, titles inspired by flying insects...
Bumble Boogie (B Bumble & The Stingers)
(1961) ... re-working The Flight of The Bumble Bee, the famous tune by Rimsky-Korsakov. A year later, the equally familiar March from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite inspired The Stingers' biggest hit, Nut Rocker
Beatnik Fly (Johnny & The Hurricanes)
(1960) ... their speciality was to seek out familiar old tunes and give them a rock beat. Beatnik Fly ~ second in a run of seven hits in all - was their take on an American folk song Blue Tailed Fly, also known as Jimmy Crack Corn
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Come Home (James)
(1990) ... continuing the thread of thought from earlier ~ one of James' earliest chart successes, Come Home reached # 32, six months before it featured in their 'live on the roof' lunchtime gig for 5,000 Manchester fans, 30 years ago this week, on 30th January 1991
Shilo (Neil Diamond)
(1967 & 1970) ... a long-time favourite from the early phase of his career when he was starting to break through as a performer having already had some notable successes as a songwriter ~ I'm A Believer and A Little Bit Me A Little Bit You - hits for The Monkees and The Boat That I Row - Lulu.
Newsround Tameside: 43 years ago ~ 1978
Love Is Like Oxygen (The Sweet)
... their first Top 10-er for nearly three years but sadly it was to be the last of a long run which stretched back to the start of the decade
I Can't Stand The Rain (Eruption)
... Euro-disco-funk group signed by the Hansa label after supporting Boney M on tour. Following their cover of Ann Peebles '73 song, they returned ta year later with One Way Ticket
Floral Dance (Terry Wogan)
... five years ago today we lost a broadcasting legend. RIP Sir Terry (3rd August 1938 - 31st January 2016)..... Brighouse and Rastrick Band's Floral Dance had missed out on becoming 1977 Christmas # 1 to Wings' Mull of Kintyre, On his radio show Terry had regularly sung along to B&R's instrumental with all his customary zest and enthusiasm - and was persuaded by a record company to release a vocal version, which reached # 21 early in '78.
Uptown Top Ranking (Althea & Donna)
... ... a memorable performance by Jamaican teenage singers Althea Forrest and Donna Reid – then 17 and 18 years old respectively which saw them join the ranks of the classic one-hit wonders - just the one No.1 hit and nothing else - ever
I Don't Want To Go To Chelsea (Elvis Costello & The Attractions) .... their second Top 20 hit, following on from Watching The Detectives
Denis (Blondie)
... first time on the chart in the UK for Debbie and co ~ sung as 'Denee, it had previously been a US hit in the '60s for Randy and The Rainbows
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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
