Just in from work, just seen the programe on interactive, very good programme, lots of variety.

 

First of all though, thanks to davetaylor for the links, much appreciated. And thanks to popchartfreak for the Bob Marley answers. Not too sure about the answer to your question, pop. "The Sun Is Shining" is the really big hit Marley had in the 1990's in the UK, maybe that is the one you are referring too.

 

My own favourite Marley track was "Could You Be Loved", made at a time, I believe, when he knew that he was terminally ill. Great artist.

 

And I agree with you on this week's show, popchartfreak. Began tamely with The Smurfs, but then plenty of variety, wih reggae from Marley and Steel Pulse, brilliant ballad from Justin Hayward from The War Of The Worlds soundtrack.

 

Good rock from The Buzzcocks and City Boy, maybe more mellow rock from Showaddywaddy, but a great bit of early girl power, if you like, from Clout.

 

San Jose with an Andrew Lloyd-Webber instrumental - with a suited Lloyd-Webber on stage! - ELO, who John Lennon once called the sons of The Beatles, with Wild West Hero, very tuneful and well put together number.

 

Bit of disco -ee soul from A Taste of Honey, Marshall and Hain with the memorable Dancing In The City, legs & co adding a bit of sexy spice to John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John's long running number one.

 

 

Very pleased indeed with this week's offering from July, 1978.

 

Trivia question on The Buzzcocks this week, or not so much them, but their origins. As many artists as possible, please, who came from Manchester.

 

If everyone participates on this one, then this should be a long, long list!

 

All the best,

 

BC B-)

Manchester has done pretty well! Let's start with Oasis, James, Inspiral Carpets, Stone Roses, The Smiths, The Hollies, Elbow, Hurts, Joy Division, New Order.

 

That's taking a fairly narrow definition of Manchester.

Just in from work, just seen the programe on interactive, very good programme, lots of variety.

 

First of all though, thanks to davetaylor for the links, much appreciated. And thanks to popchartfreak for the Bob Marley answers. Not too sure about the answer to your question, pop. "The Sun Is Shining" is the really big hit Marley had in the 1990's in the UK, maybe that is the one you are referring too.

Trivia question on The Buzzcocks this week, or not so much them, but their origins. As many artists as possible, please, who came from Manchester.

 

If everyone participates on this one, then this should be a long, long list!

 

All the best,

 

BC B-)

 

yes that's the Marley track, well done!

 

Mancs: were Herman's Hermits and Take That the poppier sounds of Manchester? Sort of....?

I didn't get round to re-watching last week's but here are some notes from this week

 

 

Terrible disco rubbish from the Saturday Night Band (were they hoping someone would come up with a better name later?) over the chart (it was a top 30 Tony, not top 20) followed by the Boomtown Rats.

 

Suzi Quatro with a song that just missed out on the top 40, peaking at 43. Nowhere near as good as songs like Devil Gate Drive. This was another Chinnichap composition (in case you couldn’t guess).

 

Andrew Gold with a very seventies haircut and what was to be his third and final top 40 hit.

 

Standard 70s soul from the O’Jays.

 

Some bloke called Steve Voice (father of The Voice perhaps). He couldn’t really be said to have returned to obscurity as he never really emerged from it. “His first TOTOP appearance but it won’t be his last” says Tony Blackburn. I suspect it was his last and deservedly so.

 

Bob Marley cut but there’s always the repeat

 

Renaissance with the wonderful, gorgeous, brilliant Northern Lights. As you can guess, I liked this song. I loved the album A Song For All Seasons too.

 

Voyage - yet another song that could only be from the seventies. Daft Punk with extra calories as somebody tweeted.

 

Racey - another first timer. This wasn’t a hit but, unfortunately, that didn’t deter them and they came back with more.

 

And, of course, John and Olivia are still number one. Yawn.

 

Finally, Blue Oyster Cult to play us out so it’s a good finish.

That song by Steve voice was terrible, quite apropriate that it was called On The Shelf, as it completley missed the charts, his single was obviously left on the shelf too! :lol: (just read Steve Voice later had success writing hits for Kelly Marie in 1980/81)

 

Andre Gold song was good

 

Maybe surprising that Raceys single Baby Its You missed the charts as it was written by Chris Norman of Smokie. Their two big hits would be written by Chinn & Chapman.

 

Just another three weeks of Olivia & John to go!

Edited July 5, 201312 yr by fiesta

That song by Steve voice was terrible, quite apropriate that it was called On The Shelf, as it completley missed the charts, his single was obviously left on the shelf too! :lol: (just read Steve Voice later had success writing hits for Kelly Marie in 1980/81)

 

Andre Gold song was good

 

Maybe surprising that Raceys single Baby Its You missed the charts as it was written by Chris Norman of Smokie. Their two big hits would be written by Chinn & Chapman.

 

Just another three weeks of Olivia & John to go!

And, of course, Chinn and Chapman (Chinnichap) wrote a lot of Smokey / Smokie's material as well as some of Suzi Quatro's later hits.

Yes, that Racey number did sound very smokie-ish.

 

Late night entry from me, thanks to all for the Manchester suggestions, Manchester has indeed done remarkably well over the years. And yes, Take That and Herman's Hermits were indeed the pop side of the scene!

 

All in all, I agree with Suedehead's comments on this week's edition. Northern Lights was a great song, pity that the artists who had a hit with it, Renaissance, did not, to my knowledge, go on to have any more big hits, as far as I can recollect. Not familiar with that album, Suedehead. Maybe I should check it out.

 

Agree with Feista as well, Andrew Gold's song was actually a good song, but was never going to be as commercially successful as Lonely Boy or Never Let Her Slip Away.

 

Wish they had played out with a much longer version of BOC's classic Don't Fear The Reaper. That record should, quite simply, have been a monster hit.

 

With John and Olivia still at number one, the trivia question centres on male and female duets - that is, just one man and one woman equates to the whole act.

 

As many as possible to have hit the UK charts over the years.

 

All the best,

 

BC B-)

Edited July 6, 201312 yr by blackcat

For some reason Mac and Katie Kissoon were the first answer to come to mind after the obvious Elton John and Kiki Dee. Then there was Dollar as well as Sonny and Cher, Ike and Tina Turner, The Carpenters, Frank and Nancy Sinatra and Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman. In more recent years the featured artist has let to the likes of Rihanna featuring Jay Z and a whole host of other pairings.

Abi & Esther Ofarim, Womack & Womack, Peaches & herb, Yvonne Keeley & Scott Fitzgerald, R & J Stone, Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood (the best m/f duo), Ashford & Simpson, George Michael & Aretha Franklin, Marvin gaye & many female partners, Michael & janet Jackson, and a million more...

Edited July 6, 201312 yr by popchartfreak

Renee and Renato, Roxette, Nina and Frederik

 

Not sure which is the worst out of that three!

Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood (the best m/f duo)

 

:dance: :dance: :dance: Oh yes :dance: :dance: :dance:

:dance: :dance: :dance: Oh yes :dance: :dance: :dance:

 

thanks and hooray! I've got "Sand" played on Radio 1 and Radio 2 as requests so far, I'm trying to spread the good word :lol:

There's no programme this week because of The Sky At Night. It then moves to Wednesday while the Proms are on.

Very much a mixed bag tonight.

 

 

Gladys Knight over the rundown. Not one of their best songs.

 

Sham 69 - it’s surprising how young some of these people look. At the time I just thought of them as being quite a bit older than I was but some of them were not. Actually, he is five years older than I am so he’s well old.

 

A Taste Of Honey - every bit as boring as I remember it.

 

Justin Hayward - lovely song from a terrific album. The 2012 remake should be ignored as a pointless exercise.

 

Saturday Night Band - more tedious 70s disco. It really hasn’t aged well.

 

New Seekers - don’t remember this at all although it made number 21. I suspect I’ll have forgotten it again in a minute or two. It was their final hit - unless they are planning a surprise - and unnecessary - comeback.

 

City Boy, ELO and Clout all cut from this shortened version.

 

Raydio - more 70s disco pap. It really wasn’t a great era for dance music quality-wise. Give me Get Lucky over this dross any day. Oh, and some vocoder too! Raydio included Ray Parker Jr who redeemed himself a little by writing Ghostbusters.

 

Marshall Hain - still Dancing in the City. I thought this was OK at the time. I feel better now.

 

Child - probably the worst of the four versions of It’s Only Make Believe to reach the top ten.

 

And they’re still bloody number one. And there's plenty more of this torture to come. Still, it did keep the Smurfs off the top for six weeks.

 

And we play out with Showaddywaddy knowing that we may never hear Jimmy Savile saying their name again.

:lol:

 

I ended up flicking through the channels whilst having my dinner and ended up watching the last 15 minutes of TOTP 1978.

 

'Dancing in the City' is a nice enough song. Nothing incredible but not something that makes me cringe listening to the track.

 

Child - probably the worst of the four versions of It’s Only Make Believe to reach the top ten.

 

I was wondering what this was as I've never heard it before. It sounded typically late 70s MoR pop music with no redeeming features. I've forgotton how the song went already.

 

Wasn't sure which part of 1978 this edition of TOTP was from so I have to admit, I did smile when 'You're The One That I Want' came on. Shame they never played the video from the film. Did they ever show music videos on TOTP or was this something that was introduced during the 80s?

 

Again, I didn't know what the song over the closing credits was. So it was Showaddywaddy then? Not their finest moment then. One could argue that there weren't many to begin with. :D (ouch!!!)

:lol:

 

I ended up flicking through the channels whilst having my dinner and ended up watching the last 15 minutes of TOTP 1978.

 

'Dancing in the City' is a nice enough song. Nothing incredible but not something that makes me cringe listening to the track.

I was wondering what this was as I've never heard it before. It sounded typically late 70s MoR pop music with no redeeming features. I've forgotton how the song went already.

 

Wasn't sure which part of 1978 this edition of TOTP was from so I have to admit, I did smile when 'You're The One That I Want' came on. Shame they never played the video from the film. Did they ever show music videos on TOTP or was this something that was introduced during the 80s?

 

Again, I didn't know what the song over the closing credits was. So it was Showaddywaddy then? Not their finest moment then. One could argue that there weren't many to begin with. :D (ouch!!!)

They did show clips of the film at the time. However, the BBC would have to pay for the rights to show it again so they substitute a Legs & Co performance.

 

Dancing In The City was played on the radio a lot at the time. However, it is another song that sounds very dated now so it's not likely to get a lot of airplay any more.

 

The programme is from 20 June. They are all being shown roughly 35 years after the original date although the Savile and DLT programmes are not being shown and it is replaced by The Sky At Night once a month.

Haven't seen the episode yet, but 70's disco was great (even if the individual tracks in this episode were average) which is why the likes of Robin Thicke & a million rappers sample them constantly. Get Lucky, incidentally, owes a lot to Nile Rodgers - of the brilliant Chic organisation? Just watched Despicable Me 2, full of Pharrell Williams tracks doing 70's-sounding great new disco/funk/soul songs, and there's a rousing kiddie version of YMCA at the end - which almost every kid in the cinema got up to do the arm movements to. Sounds like it's passed the test of time to me as their parents weren't even born then....!

 

Child: rubbish largely, Glen Campbell did the definitive version.

 

Marshall Hain still sounds great to me, I'm not too bothered in the issue of dated sounds: most of the current dance poppers will sound dated in 50 years time, just as records from the 50's and early 60's do now. Doesn't mean they dont have period charm...

 

New Seekers was a good vocal-harmony comeback hit, catchy tune after a few listens even if the NS were doing a Sugababes at the time (as in, original line-up not in evidence).

 

I guess they cut the best tracks as they'd already been featured, pity....

Child: rubbish largely, Glen Campbell did the definitive version.

 

No, Conway Twitty did in the 50's. ;)

Very late entry from me this week, but got nothing new to add, really.

 

Will be better editions.

 

Thank you to all for your female/male duet answers.

 

As JT and ONJ are still at number one, how about a few more long running UK number ones as this week's trivia. And also, which record has spent the most weeks at the top of the hit parade?

 

All the best,

 

BC B-)

The longest was the 18 weeks for I Believe in three separate spells (but the same chart run) for Frankie Laine. The longest in one run was the agonising 16 weeks for Bryan Adams' awful Robin Hood theme. Other long runners (at least nine weeks) have included Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen), Crazy (Gnarls Barkley), Umbrella (Rihanna), Love Is All Around (Wet Wet Wet), Two Tribes (Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Mull Of Kintyre / Girls School (Wings).