FIRST HOUR
Even The Bad Times Are Good (The Tremeloes)
(1967) ... intriguing start which feels as though you are eavesdropping on a party in the studio. With the background 'atmos' continuing in the background, it quickly erupts into an upliftingly cheery chorus
So Good To Be Back Home Again (The Tourists)
(1980) ... second and final Top 10-er for the band featuring Dave Stewart & Annie Lennox ~ before they became Eurythmics
Arms of Mary (Sutherland Brothers & Quiver)
... from the first of today's featured years ~ the great coming together of the Sutherlands who had previously been best known for writing Rod Stewart's chart-topper Sailing with the band Quiver who had been around for a few years without chart success. Arms of Mary was the song they had long been waiting for, reaching the Top 5
Tribute to Jerry Lee Lewis (1935-2022), last of the legendary '50s rock'n'rollers
Great Balls of Fire (Jerry Lee Lewis) (1957-58) ...... the 'piano-pounding wild man of rock' with his signature song which peaked at # 2 in America but went one better over here
What'd I Say (Jerry Lee Lewis) [1961) ... more rhythm and blues than rock 'n' roll, with a long, rhythmic piano intro before the vocal kicks in. Ray Charles' original had been a US hit two years earlier, but failed to chart in the UK
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In The Morning (The Coral)
(2005) ... band from the Wirral with their second highest placed chart hit, peaking at # 6, two years after Pass It On (# 5). Both are under two and a half minutes - which makes them two of the shortest chart songs of the 21st Century to date
Newsround Tameside: 46 years ago ~ 1976
Love Me (Yvonne Elliman)
... US soul singer who had recently been working with Eric Clapton, and previously best known for the show stopping ballad I Don't Know How To Love Him on the original 1970 various artists double album of Jesus Christ Superstar. Love Me was her first time on the chart in her own right ~ a couple more hits would follow
The Killing of Georgie Part I and II (Rod Stewart)
... a true story sensitively told ~ Rod wrote the lyrics and the music and was rightly applauded for tackling a subject where few other writers or performers would have have ventured at that time. * When asked about writing a song with a gay theme, he said: "It's probably because I was surrounded by gay people at that stage. I had a gay PR man, a gay manager. Everyone around me was gay. I don't know whether that prompted me into it or not. I think it was a brave step, but it wasn't a risk. You can't write a song like that unless you've experienced it. But it was a subject that no one had approached before. And I think it still stands up today." [ * W]
More More More (Andrea True Connection)
... disco-tastic one-hit wonder, # 5 on the American Billboard Hot 100, and climbing one place higher on our chart. Fast forward to 1999, the familiar instrumental riff from More More More was famously sampled in Steal My Sunshine by the Canadian band Len.
The Girl of My Best Friend (Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires)
... recorded in 1960 for the album Elvis Is Back which marked the King's return to civilian life after his US army service. Sixteen years later , having never previously been a single in the UK, it made the Top 10 - the first of two consecutive releases from the vaults. The follow up Suspicion did just as well - in fact, both singles peaked at # 9 [W]
My Resistance Is Low (Robin Sarstedt)
... Hoagy Carmichael song from the '30s which unexpectedly became a Top 3 smash in '76 ~ completing a Sarstedt family hat-trick. Robin's older brothers had already 'been there, done that'. Peter Sarstedt had topped the chart in '69 with Where Do You Go To (My Lovely?) and a few years before him, eldest sibling Richard had been a hit parade regular as Eden Kane
Jungle Rock (Hank Mizell)
... slice of obscure late '50s rockabilly, which sank without trace in the US, only to resurface, unexpectedly in the Netherlands, years later. Eventually it was reissued as a single and became a UK # 3 as well as topping the Dutch chart
That's Me (Abba)
... a track on their # 1 album Arrival and also the B side of Money Money Money, written by Abba's regular creative trio Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson, * A greatest hits compilation by Agnetha released internationally in 1998 was named after the song as, apparently, it was one of her favorites from the Abba years [* W]
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The Addams Family (Andrew Gold) (1996) ... from the album Halloween Howls: Fun and Scary Music, staying true to the spirit (!) of the original '60s TV theme and clocking in at a mere 1 min 25 secs. In the next hour, we'll remember a rival show from the same era....
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SECOND HOUR
Coming Around (Travis)
(2000) ... tuneful, timeless guitar pop ~ Coming Around made the Top 5 as a stand-alone single although it was later added to a special live limited edition of the album The Man Who
Ooh Do U Fink UR (Suggs & Paul Weller)
(2022) ... instantly hummable song by the newly-formed vintage duo who had long been awaiting a chance to work together ~ Madness frontman Suggs, 61, and Paul Weller, 63, were inspired by a phrase they remember from their schooldays in the 1970s. Perhaps they were also thinking of Slade's tongue-in-cheek mis-spelling of song titles in that same era. The track has been described as a "gloriously sunny, optimistic and defiant Motown influenced stomper"
Cherish (Madonna)
... teaser track for our second featured year, not to be confused with those other Cherishes - by Kool & The Gang (1985) and David Cassidy (1972, album title track) ~ they are all different songs
Absolutely Lyricless ~ the instrumental break
Theme From The Munsters (Jack Marshall)
(1965)... US comedy horror achieving higher ratings than its much more famous rival The Addams Family, which made a successful transition to the big screen [W]
Gremlins main theme (Jerry Goldsmith)
(1984) ... American black comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante and written by Chris Columbus, and starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday and Frances Lee McCain, with Howie Mandel providing the voice of Gizmo, the main mogwai character [W]
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Monster Mash (Bobby 'Boris' Pickett & The Crypt Kickers)
(1962 US, 1973, UK)... fun from start to finish, on Halloween as on any other day ~ a #1 in America which made it into our Top 3, 11 years later.
Homeward Bound (Simon & Garfunkel)
(1966)...from their album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme which largely consists of acoustic pieces, mostly written during the time Paul Simon was living in England the previous year [W]. Legend has it that Homeward Bound was inspired by his experience of waiting to change trains at Widnes station while on tour
Newsround Tameside: 33 years ago ~ 1989
You On My Mind (Swing Out Sister)
... much played on the radio, but not one of their biggest hits, peaking at # 28. Swing Out Sister's style of music had previously been described as cool, sophisti-pop. You On My Mind, lead single from their second album Kaleidoscope World, sits under that general banner but also has a retro '60s feel, taking the sophistication to a new level
If Only I Could (Sydney Youngblood)
... Top 3 hit in several countries - the follow up Sit And Wait proved just as popular in Austria, Belgium and Sweden but could only manage # 16 here
Wouldn't Change A Thing (Kylie Minogue)
... Kylie's seventh hit with the Stock Aitken Waterman 'Hit Factory' - all of which had reached either # 1 or - as in this case - # 2.
The Second Summer of Love (Danny Wilson)
... not as everyone thought, an individual musician who had given his name to the band - a la Manfred Mann ~ Scottish trio Danny Wilson - brothers Gary and Kit Clark and Ged Grimes - did exactly the opposite, adopting a male name from the title of a 1952 Frank Sinatra film. Meet Danny Wilson was a favourite of Gary and Kit's dad. The Second Summer was their second hit (# 23) a year after their first Mary's Prayer eventually made the Top 3 [W]
Be With You (The Bangles)
... upbeat follow up to their chart-topping ballad Eternal Flame. Drummer Debbi Peterson takes the lead vocal on Be With You which she co-wrote
My Brave Face (Paul McCartney)
... one of a handful of songs written by Macca and a certain Declan McManus, aka Elvis Costello. This instantly likeable single and trailblazer for the McCartney album Flowers In The Dirt was a distinctly 'Beatley' blast from Paul's musical past
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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 30/10/2022:
https://www.questmedianetwork.co.uk/on-demand/
