FIRST HOUR
Sky High (Jigsaw)
(1975) ... pure '70s pop at its finest, with one of the catchiest choruses ever!!
Kiss Me (Sixpence None The Richer)
(1999) ... band from Texas who also charted with their version of The La's song, There She Goes. Their name was inspired by a passage from the book Mere Christianity by CS Lewis [W]
It's A Shame (The Motown Spinners)
... from the first of today's featured years ~ American soul group 'The Spinners' were known here as The Motown Spinners to avoid confusion with the equally well established English folk group of the same name. They clearly had to drop the 'Motown' tag when they signed with Atlantic Records at which point they became the 'Detroit Spinners' for the UK market
Canine companions
The Puppy Song (David Cassidy)
(1973)...one side of a double A which gave him his second UK # 1, coupled with Daydreamer. The Puppy Song was written by Harry Nilssson, or Nilsson as he was usually credited. The hook line 'Dreams are nothing more than wishes' became the title of David Cassidy's latest album
I Love My Dog (Cat Stevens)
(1966) ... his first chart hit which peaked at # 28 ~ followed within a few short months by the much more successful Matthew and Son (1967, # 2)
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Da Doo Ron Ron (The Crystals)
(1963).... having debuted the previous year with He's A Rebel (# 19) this was the first of two UK Top 10-ers within a few months
Newsround pre-Tameside: 52 years ago ~ 1970
Nothing Rhymed (Gilbert O'Sullivan)
... singer-songwriter who immediately stood out from the crowd with his cloth cap image but more importantly, the quality of his songs, Nothing Rhymed being a superb, stand-out example. The cap was a fairly shortlived gimmick which did the trick - it got him noticed. More than fifty years on, Gilbert is still performing live and writing songs - one of his latest Take Love, on which he duets with KT Tunstall, made our daytime playlist on Tameside Radio earlier this year. A solo hit from KT is coming up in the second hour...
I Hear You Knocking (Dave Edmunds)
.... the official 1970 Christmas no. 1 ~ not the slightest bit Christmassy, but a terrific performance, by any reckoning, well deserving of its five weeks at the top
Snowbird (Anne Murray)
... she was the first Canadian female solo singer to reach # 1 on the US.chart, and also the first to earn a gold record for one of her signature songs, the very hummable Snowbird (UK, # 23)
Woodstock (Matthews Southern Comfort)
... three weeks at the top for the British country rock / folk rock band with a Joni Mitchell song also covered in the same year by Crosby, Stills and Nash [W]
It's Wonderful (To Be Loved By You) (Jimmy Ruffin)
... as far as the UK was concerned, 1970 was his most successful year with three singles in the Top 10 ~ Farewell is A Lonely Sound and I'll Say Forever My Love were the other two
Baby I Won't Let You Down (Pickettywitch)
... third and final chart hit for the Opportunity Knocks winning group with lead singer Polly Brown
Ride A White Swan (T Rex)
... it was out with the old, in with the new as the folky acoustic Tyrannosaurus Rex made way for Marc Bolan's new electric line-up with the short and snappy new name T Rex. Ride A White Swan reached # 2 towards the end of 1970 with the band's next few releases going on to even greater success
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SECOND HOUR
Get Ready (The Temptations)
(1966 US, 1969, UK).... from the mid '60s heyday of the Motown sound through to the mid '80s, The 'Temps' had several chart entries, but only three UK Top 10-ers ~ this was one of them
The Incidentals (Alisha's Attic)
(1998) ... arguably the most memorable of the duo's handful of hits in the late '90s. Shelley and Karen are the daughters of Brian Poole, original frontman of The Tremeloes in the early '60s
Why Do Fools Fall In Love (Diana Ross)
... teaser track for today's featured year ~ giving a fresh lease of life to a famous '50s hit by Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers
Absolutely Lyricless ~ the instrumental break
... colourful names with TV and film connections
Blue Peter (Mike Oldfield)
(1979)... the kids show famous for John Noakes, Shep the dog and sticky back plastic had been on our screens for just over 20 years when the BBC decided the iconic theme tune - originally known as Barnacle Bill - should be given a makeover for the impending new decade. Mike Oldfield, having had previous chart success with quirky instrumentals rose magnificently to the challenge with each stage of the re-arranging and recording process being captured on camera and shown on the programme. The revamped theme was released as a single and made the Top 20
Scarlett O' Hara (Jet Harris & Tony Meehan)
(1963) ... one of a handful of instrumental hits for the duo who were previously with The Shadows. Bonus points for knowing Scarlett O'Hara was a character in the big screen epic Gone With The Wind
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Black Horse And The Cherry Tree (KT Tunstall)
(2005) ... her career took off following a critically acclaimed live performance of Black Horse on BBC2's Later With Jools Holland. It went on to become the first of four Top 40 hits that same year [W]
High Time (Paul Jones)
(1966) ... flying solo for the first time after leaving Manfred Mann and eventually to be recognised as a man of many talents - singer, actor and broadcaster. In recent years he has continued to play live dates with The Blues Band and with The Manfreds
Newsround Tameside: 41 years ago ~ 1981
Wedding Bells (Godley and Creme)
...... Kevin and Lol, having left 10cc in the mid '70s to work on their own projects, returned to the chart with two in a row in the autumn of '81 ~ Wedding Bells following on from Under Your Thumb
Stray Cat Strut (The Stray Cats)
... rockabilly band who scored a hat-trick of hits - best remembered, though, for lead singer Brian Setzer's fabulous, 'quiff-tastic' '50s hairstyle
I Go To Sleep (The Pretenders)
... written by Ray Davies and first released by The Applejacks. I Go To Sleep was never recorded by The Kinks, but Davies's demo can be found among reissue bonus tracks of their second studio album Kinda Kinks. It was the second time The Pretenders had covered one of his songs ~ their debut hit was Stop Your Sobbing (1979, # 34 ) Chrissie Hynde, the Pretenders' singer was reportedly in a relationship with Davies at the time [W]
Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl) (Haircut 100)
... ... writing in the October '81 issue of Smash Hits, critic Fred Dellar described the band's debut single as "doing for jazz-funk what Dexy's once did for R&B". Although not overly impressed by the song, he praised their musicianship as "both impeccable and exciting." [W]
When She Was My Girl (The Four Tops)
... first time in a decade that the Tops were in the Top 10. Fast forward to 2022, a new version of When She Was My Girl with a very similar sounding arrangement to the original can be heard on Bruce Springsteen's new album of classic soul covers, Only The Strong Survive
It Must Be Love (Madness)
... made the Top 10 in December '81, exactly 10 years after the original by Labi Siffre - who made a surprise guest appearance in the video
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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 20/11/2022:
https://www.questmedianetwork.co.uk/on-demand/
