FIRST HOUR
Harlem Shuffle (Bob and Earl)
(1969) ... a UK Top 10-er six years after it had been a hit in the US, also 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... [W]
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
It's all about the alliteration
... two word titles which double up on 'R's and 'S's (more to come later!)
Rockin' Robin (Michael Jackson)
(1972)... MJ's second solo hit had an instant appeal, not just for young fans of the Jackson 5, but for many of their parents' generation who remembered tapping their toes and singing along to Bobby Day's 1958 original
Sugar Sugar (The Archies)
(1969) ... massive hit both sides of the Atlantic for the cartoon group The Archies, four weeks at # 1 in the US followed by an eight week run here. The song was written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim - who went on to have a big hit in his own right with Rock Me Gently (1974, US # 1, UK # 2)
---------------------------
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: 39 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. Altered Images have re-convened in the past couple of years, playing live dates and releasing some new songs
---------------------------
SECOND HOUR
Sweet Soul Music (Arthur Conley)
(1967) ... Top 10 toe tapper with one of those attention grabbing intros demanding your immediate presence on the dance floor
Valerie (Mark Ronson with Amy Winehouse)
(2007) ... one of the top music producers to emerge in the '00s joining forces with one of the finest soulful voices, giving a fresh new twist to The Zutons hit from the previous year
Summertime City (Mike Batt and The New Edition)
... teaser track for our second featured year ~ The Womblemeister stepped out of his furry costume to write and sing the theme song of the BBC TV Saturday night variety show Seaside Special. Released as a single, it soon took on a life of its own, reaching a peak of # 6. Its success was well deserved ~ one of the best summer songs ever, in my humble opinion. A Wombles hit which also had recently charted is on the playlist later in the hour
Absolutely Lyricless ~ the instrumental break
... all about the alliteration (again!) ~ two more two-word titles which double up on 'R's and 'S' [continuing the thread of thought from earlier]
Rebel Rouser (Duane Eddy)
(1958) ... first UK hit by the twangy guitar man, kick starting a fabulous five year span of 20 Top 40 entries
Sucu Sucu (Laurie Johnson & His Orchestra)
(1961) ... an already familiar tune, many different versions over the years, vocal and instrumental ~ Laurie Johnson's lively arrangement was the most successful chartwise, peaking at # 9, having been adopted as the theme of a then current TV series Top Secret
---------------------------
Don't Matter Now (George Ezra)
(2017) ... lead single from his second album Staying At Tamara's ~ eagerly awaited at the time as the first new song he had released since his mega successful debut three years earlier
Sha La La La Lee (The Small Faces)
(1966)... their first time in the Top 10, with plenty more to follow for a band who would be one of the biggest musical influences on the Britpop movement of the 1990s, and were later inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. * The song is in the '60s tradition of catchy songs with meaningless titles - Doo Wah Diddy Diddy by Manfred Mann is another fine example [* W]
Newsround Tameside: 47 years ago ~ 1975
This Will Be (Natalie Cole)
... chart debut for the daughter of the late Nat King Cole, which made the US Top 10 and UK Top 40. All her other hits this side of the Atlantic were way off in the future, late '80s-early '90s. This Will Be was a bit of a one-off at the time, but perhaps the clue was in the title that we would be hearing much more from Natalie... eventually
Mama Never Told Me (Sister Sledge)
... UK Top 20 debut for the family group who came into their own later in the disco era, continuing well into the next decade
Superwomble (The Wombles)
... after many changes of musical style masterminded by maestro Mike Batt over the previous year and a half, this was The Wombles' last but one Top 40 hit. Let's Womble To The Party Tonight which followed at the end of '75 was to be the finale - until a flurry of reissues sparked a brief renaissance in the late '90s / early '00s. Superwomble was co-written with Richard Kelly and ace session guitarist Chris Spedding * who also plays on the track. It's the one where Steeleye Span - the legendary folk rock band whose latest album Mike Batt was currently producing - donned those furry suits to become Wombles for the day on Top of The Pops . * Another summer of '75 chart connection ~ he had his own solo hit which is coming up....
Motor Bikin' (Chris Spedding)
... one-off hit for the prolific musician who has released 14 studio albums and worked with just about everyone from Mike Batt and The Wombles, as mentioned above, to The Sex Pistols. Others include The Pretenders, Elton John and Roxy Music to mention just three.
I Do I Do I Do, I Do, I Do (Abba)
... surprisingly stalled at #38... their next single SOS put them quickly back on track, soaring into the Top 10 and from then on, for the next five years, the chart-toppers just kept on coming
Misty (Ray Stevens)
.... cheery country toe-tapper which started out as a slow ballad, as sung by Johnny Mathis in the late '50s (UK hit, 1960)
--------------------------
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
If you missed any of the show, you can catch up online after 15:00 on Sunday 04/09/2022:
https://www.questmedianetwork.co.uk/on-demand/
