Barry White - You're The First. The Last, My Everything

Released in the winter of 1974, this classic soul record was massive in the UK charts. Barry was just having solo success after the hits he produced with the Love Unlimited Orchestra. The song original was based on a previously unheard country track by Peter Radcliffe. Barry changed the lyrics and the title, set it to a disco beat and classic single is made.

The single got to number 2 in America and did better here in the UK and got to number 1 for 2 weeks just before Christmas 1974, which Mud's Lonely This Christmas knocked it off the top for the converted Christmas number 1.

Philip Lynott - Yellow Pearl

Here is a great track from the late great Thin Lizzy leader. Back in 1980 Phil released a solo album, Solo In Soho and had a couple of reasonable hits for him. When Midge Ure was a temporary replacement for Gary Moore during Thin Lizzy's tour, between rehearsals and sound checks for the shows, Midge would often try to write the basic Yellow Pearl tune on the keyboards. When Phil was recording his album, he remembered the tune and asked Midge if they could work on it to make it a proper track. The song isn't about much apart from making a thought about the technology that was beginning to hit the west in the early 80's with a lot of it coming from Japan. Phil made the lyrics up as he sang and they basically are a load of lyrics that rhymed but nothing more that that, no hidden messages. It was released as a single in early 1981 and managed to reach number 56. It's release in clear vinyl managed to push it so far but not enough to reach the top 40.

In 1981 Top Of The Pops which had been a must watch TV show every Thursday night, was caught in the middle of a strike at the BBC which meant many shows were off air for the weeks of the strike. During this time, they had decided that the format of the show need updating to follow the trends of the new 1980's. The show complete with a new title sequence needed a new and exciting theme tune, as it had previously used Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love. The producer of the show had liked Yellow Pearl and asked Phil to write a new theme tune for the show. Phil had asked what would they like and the reply was something like Yellow Pearl, so Phil replied "so why don't you use that?" The instrumental track was remixed by Midge and also featured his Ultravox band mate Chris Cross and Midge's old band drummer Rusty Egan (who were all involved with the New Romantic sound that was current in 1981). The single was remixed and reissued in a new sleeve which stated it was the theme to the show and reached a more respectable number 14 in the UK charts.

I love this track, it is such exciting electronic track and always manages to get on my playlists. I love electronic music anyhow and no doubt many a track since has been influenced by this single! I've included the remix version on my Spotify playlist as it is so much more full of life than the original track, although that is a great song in itself! Check out the Spotify link here http://open.spotify.com/user/1158943663/playlist/5Jn1HAojaqM3cPMko6MN4b

Pet Shop Boys - Go West

This 1993 single was a cover of the Village People hit from 1979. In 1992 Derek Jarman asked the Pet Shop Boys to perform at an aids awareness show he was putting on and they decided they would sing this song. They liked the song and decided to release it as a non album single, but for some reason they decided to postpone the release until the following year and include it on the Very album. The guys added an extra verse to the song which helped add extra meaning to the song, plus an all male Broadway choir made it a huge hit for the duo and a huge anthem on the gay scene too which helped the single reach number 2.

Such a large song needed a larger than life video made with CGI and had shots of Neil and Chris in full uniform walking across Red Square. A singing statue of Liberty, Russian imagery and walking Russian soldiers, gave the viewers plenty to watch in an East West image stuffed video. Here's the CD sleeve

M - Pop Muzik

Released 35 years ago, this single is still very much remembered and liked and is often found on compilation albums. Robin Scott who was the brains behind M released this single in March 1979 as a song that told how pop music brought everyone together, a simple statement put on a simple pop track. When it was released it came on a double groove 12'' single which meant that the a side and the b side tracks were all on side a of the 12'' single, so it was pot luck when the needle landed to what track you actually listened to! A gimmick indeed but it annoyed a lot of people who only wanted the 12'' mix of the single!

The single reached number 2 in the UK in May 1979 but was stopped by Art Garfunkle's Bright Eyes. The single managed to get to Number 1 in the states almost 6 months after it peaking in the UK. It came off the album New York, London, Paris, Munich which failed to chart in the UK but managed a low entry in the US charts. Pop Muzik had a remix and re entered the charts in 1989 and managed to reach number 15. Here's the single

Stevie Wonder - Superstition

Another hit single from Stevie Wonder, this great track was released here in the UK in early 1973 and managed to climb to number 11 but did so much better in the States as it got to number 1. Stevie played many of the instruments on this single, including the drums, he wrote it and also produced the track which mentions a few of the superstitious tales of old. Taken from the 1972 album Talking Book which managed a number 16 chart placing here had enough sales to make it a gold album, but I don't think Stevie's UK success matched the States as in chart placing's. Shooting forward to 1986 and Peter Gabriel released Sledgehammer which gives a nod to Superstition. Here's the single

Alice Cooper - From The Inside

I'm not a huge Alice Cooper fan, although I saw him live in the late 80's and he was awesome, but I really like this unbelievably over looked album by Alice. Released in 1978 it was a concept album based about his stay in a New York institution for his alcoholism. This is a raw Alice, with help from Elton John's side kick Bernie Taupin and a couple of Elton's band mates, they helped create an album with each track with a storyline of a situation and character who he had met in the institution. From The Quiet Room about a guy in a padded cell to avoid self harm (also my favourite track on this album), with Millie And Billie which is a tale of two lovers which one is married who kill her husband to be together. There's Nurse Rosetta about a nurse that tuned on the inmates with a verse describing just what happens when he sees her! There is also the single How You Gonna See Me Now about an unsure Cooper wondering how a partner will treat him once he is freed. The single was a fairly big hit in the US but only managed 61 in the UK charts.

The album didn't chart in the UK which is a real shame as I think it is a classic. The album artwork was great too, featuring opening doors on the front cover and doors on the back which opened too all revealing Alice in various shots of the institution. To me, when I listen to this album it seems such a personal album but also bringing the other inmates to life too, where those people he sings about really there? I think it also a lot more of a softer rock album with, dare I say strings added to a couple of tracks! An album I think should be listened to from start to finish and follow the story to the final track singing about the inmates in Inmates (We're All Crazy). Originally released on Warner Brothers, try and listen to it if you can as it is a shame it wasn't such a bigger hit. Here is the sleeve from the cd!

Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights

In celebration of Kate receiving her C.B.E from the Queen today I thought I'd post probably her most well known single here today. Released in January 1978 this single slowly climbed the UK charts and got to Number 1 early March and was there for 4 weeks. This was the first number 1 single by a female to be sung and written by the same person. Originally the record company wanted her to release another track as the first single but Kate insisted it was to be Wuthering Heights and luckily for her, an EMI engineer came into the meeting and said how good Wuthering Heights was and it should be the first single. It was released in a small run in a picture cover and it is worth about £30!

The single is based on the book by Emily Bronte but it was the film she watched first, then read the book afterwards. The single had 2 videos (still a new thing in those days) the first and most well known was the studio dancing video with the smoke and film effects, the other was shot out doors with a similar dance routine but this was used for America but has been shown here. The song came off her first album The Kick Inside which hit number 3 of 1978. At the time of release, you either liked her or hated her, I didn't like the single first off, I couldn't get into it until it was dropping out of the charts, then I suddenly got it and thought it was an amazing track, so different to anything around at that time. Here's the single, in the classic EMI bag!

Classic Pop

My new fave magazine, Smash Hits for grown ups as I've described it before now. I used to collect Smash Hits and the first issue I have goes back to 1979 but stopped buying it when it went towards a younger generation. So I've been looking for a really good magazine for years and last year this mag made it's debut on the shelves and is a great read. The latest issue number 4 came out yesterday (4th April) but bought it today and I'm slowly making my way through it. It's always good to read about the old bands and to know that they are still around (in some form anyhow) and are still interested in their output and also that they are still around even to this day! A great read, go check it out!

The Buggles - Video Killed The Radio Star

A fantastic pop song from 1979, was originally from an album released in 1978 by Woolley & the Camera Club called English Garden. Written by Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes & Bruce Woolley this synthpop classic is about nostalgia and technology, about a radio star who's career is cut short by television. Released on Island Records in September 1979 the single climbed to number 1 in November of that year. Although the song was from 1979 is has been featured on many 80's compilations. Surprised at the single's success the band had to rush back into the studio to record a follow up single and came up with The Plastic Age and the album The Age Of Plastic, although the single hit the charts nothing came close to the success of Video!

When MTV started in America in August 1981 Video Killed The Radio Star was the first video to be shown on the new station, very much true to the single's title! The band released another album but split up, Horn and Downes joined Yes for a while and Trevor Horn became a top producer in the first half of the 80's to work with the likes of ABC, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Dollar! Here's the single which still is a classic and still sounds great!

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

Arcade Fire have always been favourites with the critics and when they released this, their third album the praise was heaped onto the band. The album, was inspired by the upbringing of two of the band members, Will & Win Butler in a suburb in Houston, Texas. It was recorded in Canada and New York and when the band finished a track, they pressed it onto a 12'' acetate and used it for the master for the CD, therefore the album and CD sound both the same! The sleeve for the album featured 8 variations of the cover too!

Released in the UK in August 2010 it went straight to number 1 in the UK and the US charts and won a Grammy the following year and a Brit for Best International Album. In June 2011 they released an expanded version of the album with a couple of extra tracks and a dvd about the album.

It is an album I never tire of listening to, it has got some great songs on, my faves being Suburban War, Sprawl II and Month Of May but don't take my word for it, go give it a listen!

Tears For Fears - Shout

With news this week that Tears For Fears are going to be back in action this year, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of their first album, I thought I'd feature this single that shot the band into superstardom around the world. Released in November 1984 and got to number 4 in January 1985 and hit the top spot in America the same year. It was off the classic album Songs From The Big Chair and Shout was a change of sound as the band sound was going more towards a synth pop, rock, stadium band sound. The song was basically about protesting rather than keeping quiet, but to think about what you are protesting about rather than just going ahead and just have no idea why you are protesting, also the single lasted over 5 minutes but was still played heavily on the radio. A classic single for classic times, I think it is from one of the last great years for UK pop music!

Roger Daltrey - Giving It All Away

In between a tour break by The Who, Roger Daltrey set about recording his solo album, Daltery. In 1972 The Who were recording in the studio where writers Leo Sayer and David Courtney were recording material for Leo Sayer. Roger liked what he heard from them and asked if they would write some tracks for his forthcoming solo album. As David and Leo had loads of tracks demoed and half written they let Roger choose. He Chose Giving It All Away, a powerful ballad that really suited Roger's voice, full of emotion and power. The track was a hit and reached number 5 in 1973 and was his first solo hit single. This also started the career of Leo Sayer as a few months later he was to have his first hit single too and he also recorded his version of his song on his second album Just A Boy.

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

Tomorrow (January 28th) sees the release of a deluxe version of Rumours celebrating the 35th anniversary of the album coming out. As everyone knows the album when originally released was a masterpiece and has sold around 40 million copies, so expect that number to rise from tomorrow.

It is amazing really when you read about how the album was recorded amongst the relationships in the band breaking down, the McVie's had just divorced and only talked to each other about music. Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks were in an on off relationship too. These troubled times come through in many of the lyrics and John McVie suggested the title of the album as he reckoned that everyone in the group was writing about each other in the band. To learn more about this classic album I suggest you look on Wikipedia, the full detailed story is there and it is quite a read!

Several singles were released off the album but didn't really do a great deal here in the UK as everyone was buying the album, which helped push it to the top of the charts. Over the years each track off the album has become a classic in it's own right and I think all the tracks at one point were often played on the radio.

My story of the album came in mid 1985, I had been staying with friends just outside of London. I had taken my Walkman with me for the journey home and I remember saying to my friend that I would like to buy a cassette for the bus ride home but couldn't think of one I wanted. She suggested Rumours as it was such a good album as she had a copy, so I bought it, I didn't play it till I was on my way home. When I started listening to it, I realised I knew the album, never heard the album before but all the tracks were often on the radio but never knew who it was. I loved it and played it several time that ride home so when I listen to the album it reminds me of that time!

Here is the cover of this classic album

Abba - Dancing Queen

Probably Abba's most well known worldwide hit, more of a case of where it didn't charts I think! One of the most successful and remembered songs from the 1970's was released in August 1976 off the album Arrival and went straight to number 1 in the UK and in America too. The song became a huge disco hit, even though the single isn't really a disco track and an ultimate party tune that always gets people up dancing! The song had been recorded the previous year and I remember watching a TV show about the band and Freda said in the show how she cried when she first heard the backing track as it had such a beautiful tune, also on the same show, they showed a bit of film of them recording the song with an extra verse that never made the single. Over the years, the members of Abba have said that when they recorded the song, they all knew it would be a massive hit.

It was re-issued in 1992 to promote the issue of the compilation album Abba Gold, which (next to Queen's Greatest Hits) has become the UK's second biggest selling album of all time. I guess that shows just how popular the band were and still are I guess. The song always gets placed high up in the best ever song polls and biggest hit charts of the music channels. A track that has survived the various generations throughout the years and will continue I guess.

Here are the scans of my singles, the first one is the most owned copy of the single, on the orange Epic label

Here is the rarer copy of the single, the first pressing when it got released back in August 1976 on the yellow Epic label. Epic records were just about to revamp the labels design and had come up with the orange version which would last for the next four years.

Slade - Merry Christmas Everybody

IT'S CHRISTMAS! A line towards the end of the song that Noddy shouts to us all in this, my all time favourite Christmas song. The track was released in 1973 and went straight to number 1, the bands third single to enter the charts at number 1, a feat that only the Beatles had achieved earlier! The demand for the single was such that Polydor had to have copies pressed up in Germany and America (which is where my copy came from), with half a million copies sold within the first week of the singles release!

It was recorded in America in September 1973 and the track was a mixture of odd bits of songs Noddy Holder and Jim Lea had written over the years. It was about a normal family enjoy the festive period while being optimistic about the future, with everyone having been through a bad time during the year (economy, strikes, a bad year for everyone!) The track stayed at number 1 for 5 weeks and stayed in the top 40 for 9 weeks in total. The track is always one that gets played the most with (according to Wikipedia) 42% of the worlds population has heard this track! Along with Wizzard, the single is always hitting the charts every year and even hitting the top 40 this year on downloads alone and they don't even sing the title anywhere in the song! For more of a read about the track, have a look on Wikipedia for an interesting story of the making of the single!

So here it is, the scan of the single in all it's beaten and worn glory, the American vinyl is slightly different with it being more of a solid feel, less flexible than a UK piece of vinyl!

On that note, I would like to wish all the people who visit my Blog a Merry Christmas Everybody! Please continue to visit the Blog and hope you enjoy the singles that I post up on here!

Ian Dury & The Blockheads - Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick

Released towards the end of 1978 and got to number 1 in January 1979, this Ian Dury single showed that the the mixture of clever lyrics and great music was a hit with the record buying public. Released on Stiff records and was backed with There Ain't half Been Some Clever Bastards, the single sold just under a million copies and in 1985 was remixed but wasn't a patch on the original.

The song came from lyrics Dury had written a few years earlier, slightly changed and inspired from the piano riff from Wake Up And Make Love With Me (off Dury's New Boots & Panties album). After several takes of the song they used one of the earlier takes for the single although not many of the band were happy with the mix. Listening to the single you get to realise just what a great songsmith Ian was, but the band were equally as good, the band playing on the single were amazing, they were so good Stiff Records often used the band as the label's inhouse band for their solo artists to record with. Ian Dury died in March 2000 but the band still play on, with guest vocalists, however good the singers are, no one can match Ian Dury!

Nillsson - Without You

This song, is my all time favourite single. Released in 1972 and I must have been about 7 years old and I kept hearing this record on the radio. It was years later before I found out who sang it and I just think it is such an emotional song, with such a sad background to it.

Without You was first performed by Badfinger who were signed to the Beatles record label Apple records. Nilsson, heard it and thought it was the Beatles. he recorded his own version of it and it got to number 1 here in the UK charts in 1972. His heart wrenching vocals about a failed relationship, just make this song and the emotion is just so raw you can feel every 3 plus minutes of it as it plays. A classic song that has a sour ending to it. In the mid 70's there was a royalties row with the writers of the song and Nilsson, they claimed they wern't getting any royalties for the song. The stress of the court case was too much and Pete Ham hung himself, several years later on Tommy Evans hung himself as well. To make matters worse, in the 1990's Mariah Carey issued her version and completely murdered the track dead with her screeching awful vocals.