FIRST HOUR
Shout To The Top (The Style Council)
(1984) ... keyboard player Mick Talbot providing one of the brightest, punchiest, best intros ever
A Hazy Shade Of Winter (Simon & Garfunkel)
(1966 US, 1991 UK) ... originally a stand-alone single in the US, it eventually reached a wider audience on their 1968 album, Bookends, but only became a UK hit as a reissue in the early '90s, by which time The Bangles version had given the song a much higher profile (1988, # 11) [W]
Lookin' Through The Windows (The Jackson 5)
... from the first of today's featured years ~ the title track of the group's sixth album. As a single it became their latest UK Top 10-er at a time when 14-year-old lead singer Michael had recently had his first solo successes
Girl groups with similar names
Please Mr Postman (The Marvelettes)
(1961) ... Motown's first American chart-topper ~ up-and-coming Liverpool band The Beatles liked what they heard and made it a mainstay of their regular live set. Later on, they would record a version for their second album, With The Beatles. Fast forward to the mid '70s, Mr Postman finally delivered a UK hit single, courtesy of The Carpenters
He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' (The Velvelettes)
(1965) ... a fairly modest sized Motown hit in the US , successfully covered here in the early '80s by Bananarama & Fun Boy Three
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Sleigh Ride (KT Tunstall)
(2007) ... from a six-track EP of festive favourites which also includes KT versions of Fairytale In New York, Lonely This Christmas and Mele Kalikimaka (Christmas In Hawaii)
Newsround Tameside: 50 years ago ~ 1972
Rock Me Baby (David Cassidy)
(1972) ... top teen heart-throb rocking up the tempo in a dramatic change of pace and style compared with the light and frothy teen pop of Could It Be Forever (# 3) and his cover of the slow-building, soaring ballad How Can I Be Sure ( # 1) earlier in the year. It was a brave move but possibly a little too soon to do something so radically different - Rock Me Baby peaked, disappointingly, at # 11
Keeper Of The Castle (The Four Tops)
... their first single and album title track after leaving Motown for pastures new with the ABC label in the US (Probe in the UK)
What Made Milwaukee Famous (Rod Stewart)
... one side of a stand-alone double 'A' single - What Made Milwaukee Famous, a country song previously sung by Jerry Lee Lewis was coupled with a bluesy version of Angel - the original by Jimi Hendrix had appeared on his posthumous album released the previous year, The Cry of Love
Stay With Me (Blue Mink)
..,. soothingly soulful ballad, a fine performance by lead singer Madeline Bell, as far away from the mainstream of early '70s teeny pop and 'glam' as you could possibly imagine... and the complete opposite of its early '70s namesake Stay With Me - the barnstorming 'rock classic by The Faces (vocal by Rod Stewart)
Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (John & Yoko with the Plastic One Band & the Harlem Community Choir)
... the title speaks for itself, loud and clear as a plea for peace on earth ~ a US hit in '71 which made our Top 5 a year later
Crazy Horses (The Osmonds)
... who could have predicted that the brothers previously known for their bubblegum pop and soppy ballads would literally rock up on Top of the Pops with a song like Crazy Horses.??!! If only they had released it under a different name, young lads like me might have owned up to liking it (almost) as much as the girls going crazy for anything and everything Osmond-related
Merry Christmas Darling (The Carpenters)
... another of those much played seasonal songs over the years, not a massive hit but much played ever since
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SECOND HOUR
All Those Years Ago (George Harrison)
(1981) ... written and sung by George, with Paul McCartney on backing vocals and Ringo Starr on drums ~ a fitting tribute to their old band-mate John Lennon, who had died a few months earlier
That'll Be Christmas (Thea Gilmore)
(2009) ... Thea's wry observations of the impending festivities and life in general at this time of year deserved to reach a much wider audience, especially with its nod to a certain seasonal classic, with a name-check for Jona Lewie
Then He Kissed Me (The Crystals)
.... teaser track for our second featured year by one of two girl groups in producer Phil Spector's roster of artists, along with The Ronettes who are on the playlist later in the hour. Then He Kissed Me became Then I Kissed Her when covered a few years later by The Beach Boys
Absolutely Lyricless ~ the instrumental break
... with a distinctly festive flavour
Jingle Bells (Gheorghe Zamfir)
(1984) ... Romanian pan flute player, who has released over 200 albums, racking up total sales of 400 million+ at the last count
We All Stand Together (Humming Version) (Paul McCartney & The Finchley Frogettes)
(1984) ... B side of Macca's seasonal smash with The Frog Chorus, expertly produced by his old friend and mentor from The Beatles era, George Martin. The tune was written for the soundtrack of Paul's pet project, the cartoon film Rupert & The Frog Song
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Back In The Night (Dr Feelgood)
(1975) .... top song from the deepest recesses of my '70s memory bank. While attracting its fair share of airplay which helped to get them noticed beyond the London pub rock scene, it never came close to being a hit. A few moments of magic to remember guitarist and creative force Wilko Johnson who died last month
Santa Tell Me (Ariana Grande)
(2014) ... one of the more memorable new Christmas songs of the past two decades from an EP which also featured the much covered Santa Baby
Newsround pre-Tameside: 59 years ago ~ 1963
24 Hours From Tulsa (Gene Pitney)
... new entry on the chart in December '63. ~ his first time on the UK chart as a performer, having written He's A Rebel, 1962 hit for The Crystals
You Were Made For Me (Freddie & The Dreamers)
... their third single in a row to make the Top 3, a fine run of form which they were unable to sustain during the following year
I Wanna Be Your Man (The Rolling Stones)
... Lennon and McCartney song on The Beatles' second album With The Beatles which became a hit for another up-and-coming group who were about to become their biggest rivals. In '63 The Beatles ruled supreme and it was almost a foregone conclusion they would would claim the seasonal top spot *
Frosty The Snowman (The Ronettes)
... as hinted at earlier ~ the other girl group to receive the Spector 'big wall of sound' treatment. The legendary album A Christmas Gift For You included seasonal standards sung by The Ronettes The Crystals, Darlene Love and Bob B Soxx & The Blue Jeans
Don't Talk To Him (Cliff Richard & The Shadows)
... one of only a very few songs in Cliff's long career for which he can claim a writing credit (jointly with Shadows guitarist Bruce Welch)
I Want To Hold Your Hand (The Beatles)
... Christmas No.1, crowning glory of a phenomenal few months when Beatlemania had taken the entire country by storm
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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 11/12/2022:
