FIRST HOUR
You Take Me Up (Thompson Twins)
(1984)... at the height of their success You Take Me Up with its stand-out harmonica and melodica solo became the Thompsons' highest placed hit, reaching # 2
That's When The Music Takes Me (Neil Sedaka)
(1973) ... his first Top 20 entry with a new single for more than a decade, a success which owed a great deal to where and with whom it was recorded - in England, at Strawberry Studios in Stockport, with the house band of four highly accomplished musicians who happened to be the recently formed 10cc. Having struck up such an amicable and fruitful working relationship, it was almost a foregone conclusion that Sedaka would return to Strawberry to work with the same team on his next album The Tra La Days Are Over
He's A Rebel (The Crystals)
... teaser track for the year we are featuring across both hours of today's show ~ first UK hit for the American girl group, written, before he was famous, by Gene Pitney
All about the numbers
Living By Numbers (New Musik)
(1980) ... synth-pop band led by Tony Mansfield, songwriter, record producer and former member of the Nick Straker Band, on the chart with one-off hit A Walk In The Park the previous year. Living By Numbers (#13) was by far the most successful of three New Musik singles to reach the Top 40 [W]
2-4-6-8 Motorway (Tom Robinson Band)
(1978) ... described by writer and critic David Quantick as "somewhere between a terrace chant (or a demo marching song) and a Bruce Springsteen song" [W]
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Lemon Tree (Fool's Garden)
(1995-96) ... quirky, but radio friendly song which was a hit across Europe and eventually here in the UK for German group Fool's Garden
Newsround pre-Tameside: 60 years ago ~ 1962 (Part 1)
Bobby's Girl (Susan Maughan)
... one of the most memorable pop singles of its time ~ a lively, punchy vocal performance backed by a sparkling production featuring Wally Stott's orchestra and chorus
Love Me Do (The Beatles)
(1962) ... unknown to most record buyers outside Liverpool, the Fab Four's first single was released on 5th October 1962, 60 years ago this past week, eventually climbing to # 17 on the national chart just before Christmas. On its 20th anniversary reissue in 1982, Love Me Do finally became a Top 10 -er, reaching # 4. The B side is on the playlist towards the end of the show
Let's Dance (Chris Montez)
... a classic of its time with pounding drums and very distinctive electric organ sound, Let's Dance had a repeat run in the upper reaches of the chart 10 years later (see also Little Eva, second hour *)
V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N (Connie Francis)
... the gimmick of spelling out the title had the desired effect to make it a feelgood smash hit for the summer holidays
It Might As Well Rain (Carole King)
... Goffin-King song written for Bobby Vee but unexpectedly eclipsed by Carole's own recording which had only been intended as a 'demo' version. The Goffin-King partnership produced numerous hits for other artists, but Carole's next appearance as a recording artist was almost a decade away ~ her 1971 album Tapestry
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Two of the best Bond songs ... 5th October 1962 was a pivotal moment in popular culture: not only the date of The Beatles' first single release, as mentioned earlier, but also the premiere of the first James Bond film Dr No. 60 years on, the mega-successful franchise now extends to 26 films with six different actors taking the title role
Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney & Wings)
(1973) ... written by Paul and Linda for the soundtrack to Roger Moore's first appearance as 007
The Living Daylights (a-ha)
(1987) ... song which has gone on to have an enduring life of its own as one of the band's most played songs in live concerts, but was also the theme to the first of only two Bond appearances by Timothy Dalton, [W] One more official Bond song will follow later along with one which was totally unofficial but 'inspired by...'
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SECOND HOUR
You Haven't Done Nothin' (Stevie Wonder)
(1974) ... first single from the album Fulfillingness' First Finale, ahead of Boogie On Reggae Woman. With a funky clavinet riff to rival 1972's Superstition and a cameo guest appearance by The Jackson 5, You Haven't Done Nothin' is a pointed criticism of the US administration of President Richard Nixon ~ by no means the first time a set of lyrics by Stevie Wonder were a social commentary on the world around him [W]
Just My Imagination (The Cranberries)
(1999) ... instantly endearing, championed by the late Terry Wogan on his Radio 2 breakfast show but sadly, missed out on a chart place in the UK. Thankfully, it was a different story beyond these shores: # 15 in Italy, # 10 in Belgium and... # 2 in Iceland
It Started All Over Again (Brenda Lee)
(1962) ... Little Miss Dynamite had been a regular presence on the chart since the turn of the decade and continued to clock up hit after hit in today's lone featured year ~ more to come later...
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, Released as a single, Galloping Home 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, enjoying 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 is now into its third series
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For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton)
(1981) .... another Bond song as promised ~ having played Live and Let Die which opened the Roger Moore era, For Your Eyes Only was his fifth appearance in the role. Sheena Easton who had been 'discovered' in a BBC talent search only two years earlier joined the elite roster of artists invited to sing a Bond theme
Sleeping With The Enemy (Daniel Takes A Train)
(2020) ..ska-inspired track intended as an tongue-firmly-in-cheek, alternative take on James Bond
Newsround pre-Tameside: 60 years ago ~ 1962 (Part 2)
TOP 5: week ending 06/10/1962
[5] The Locomotion (Little Eva)
... looking for someone to sing the surefire hit you have just written? Why not ask the baby-sitter?! That's how Little Eva got her lucky break with Gerry Goffin and Carole King. Returned to the Top 20 as a reissue 10 years later (* likewise, Let's Dance by Chris Montez, first hour)
[4] Sheila (Tommy Roe)
... US # 1 with distinct echoes of Buddy Holly's Peggy Sue. Tommy Roe had a couple more Top 10-ers the following year but is best known for Dizzy, his UK chart-topper at the end of the decade
[3] It'll Be Me (Cliff Richard & The Shadows)
... a UK # 2 for Cliff and a Top 10-er in several other countries ~ not bad at all for a song which began life as the B side of Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On, a 1957 hit for Jerry Lee Lewis [W]
[2] She's Not You (Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires)
... his third of four UK No.1s in '62 ~ the others were Rock-A-Hula Baby / Can't Help Falling In Love, Good Look Charm and Return To Sender
[1] Telstar (The Tornados)
... chartwise, one of the biggest instrumental hits ever, # 1 here and in America. It was the second British single to top the US Billboard chart that year, following the success of another famous instrumental, Acker Bilk's soothing Stranger On The Shore ~ a greater contrast to the feisty, futuristic Telstar you could hardly imagine
PS I Love You (The Beatles)
... B side of Love Me Do, the Fab Four's debut single ~ PS Love You was another early Lennon & McCartney song to see the light of the day, a trailblazer of what would follow
Don't Ever Change (The Crickets)
... another hit from the prolific partnership of Gerry Goffin and Carole King ~ giving The Crickets their biggest UK hit (# 5) since the death of original front man Buddy Holly three years earlier. The lead vocal on Don't Ever Change is sung by Jerry Naylor (W)
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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
If you missed any of the show, you can catch up online after 15:00 on Sunday 09/10/2022:
https://www.questmedianetwork.co.uk/on-demand/
