TheThorne
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*Hillside, slip and slide, feel the pain, it's no surprise!*
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Post by TheThorne on Nov 11, 2015 17:08:56 GMT 1
Robson & Jerome weren't bad. If they arent bad that must mean all music is good and they are the least good ever then.
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Post by Earl Purple on Nov 11, 2015 17:31:04 GMT 1
I like many of the songs that Robson & Jerome did. I just don't like them singing them. I prefer the original artists. Or other versions.
"White Cliffs Of Dover" is one of the songs they did. Aside from Vera Lynn there are "swing" versions of the song. Louis Prima did it, Jive Aces copied their version and got to #1 in my chart with it in 2005. Acker Bilk's swing version was also a hit in my retro chart of 1961.
You'll Never Walk Alone: Even the Crowd's version is better than Robson & Jerome's.
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vastar iner
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I am the poster on your wall
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Post by vastar iner on Nov 11, 2015 17:53:37 GMT 1
Shame the Wombles never had a number 1, as I'm sure it would have made most people's 100 greatest list They did - as part of Peter Kay's All-Star Animated Band. "Orinoco Flow" was acedoss. There was a bit of a run of out-of-nowhere number 1s around that time; Fairground Attraction, Yazz. Gave me hope that the SAWmill could be crushed. Alas the SAWmill was the Napoleon to the Take T**t Hitler.
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Post by Earl Purple on Nov 11, 2015 18:14:51 GMT 1
whatever "acedoss" means..
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2015 19:35:35 GMT 1
76. White Town - Your Woman (1997)
What's the connection between this and Geoff Hurst? That's a question which I'm sure you're all asking. White Town is a solo project fronted by Jyoti Prakash Mishra, and he was born on July 30th 1966, a day of excitement, drama and the nicest Russian Linesman in history.
Mishra originally formed the group in 1989 with an actual drummer and two guitarists. His inspiration was the Indie group The Pixies, who he'd seen in concert the year before. Mishra was, by his own admission, carrying a few extra pounds around this time, and came to the conclusion that if Pixies singer Black Francis (who was also overweight) could create such a great sound then why couldn't he?
White Town were a support act in the early years to groups such as Primal Scream, and they achieved a loyal following, even having their own fanzine, but wider success would require planning and of course money. Mishra used funds from The Enterprise Allowance Scheme, and released the group's debut single in 1990. Unfortunately it bombed, and the other group members began to desert the apparent sinking ship, leaving Mishra on his own to record under the White Town name, but also to produce for other Indie artists and do a spot of DJ'ing and clubbing on the side.
One such DJ spot was to change his life. In 1996 whilst spinning the turntables in Derby, Mishra played "Your Woman" to an enthusiastic audience, and despite his own misgivings, the single was distributed to various radio stations and record companies, and had the good fortune to be played on Radio One by Mark Radcliffe. White Town then signed to EMI/Chrysalis, the single was released and the rest, as they say, is history. The song reached number one early in 1997.
Surely the world was now Mishra's oyster? Well, no. He disliked the fame and media attention, and was very quickly dropped by the record company. He returned to his indie roots with a mixture of producing and DJ'ing, so White Town are almost literally a one-hit-wonder, they never returned to the top 50 again.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2015 10:11:46 GMT 1
75. Roxy Music - Jealous Guy (1981)
"Jealous Guy" is probably not Roxy's best hit single, I personally would vote for "Virginia Plain" or "Dance Away" which are both, in their own way, mini-masterpieces. But it was the groups only UK chart-topper, and it is a damn fine tribute to John Lennon after he was murdered in December 1980.
Although the song originally appeared on Lennon's "Imagine" album in the early 70's, it has its roots in the Beatles famous meeting with the Maharishi Yoga a few years earlier. The encounter prompted both Lennon and McCartney to write their own song, Lennon's was called "Child Of Nature", and although Lennon himself tried to smuggle the song into the "White Album" recording sessions, it was ultimately rejected by the group.
A few years later, after a tweaking of the lyrics, and a tweaking of the break-up of the biggest group in the world, Lennon added the song to the "Imagine" album, but decided not to release it as a single.
By the time of "Jealous Guy", Roxy Music were more or less Bryan Ferry with a backing group. Some of the original members were still present such as Phil Manzanera, but the group was being seen more as a play-thing for Ferry. The first incarnation of the group lasted from 1971-1976, with the tremendously inventive line-up which also included Brian Eno. They reformed two years later with Ferry now more of a lounge lizard, but his great voice coupled with the professional attitude of the group meant that they still produced some worthy singles.
Roxy Music were touring in Germany around the same time that the news broke of Lennon's murder, and they very quickly added the song to their concerts as a mark of respect. The reaction from the various audiences was very positive, the song went to number one in March 1981, making it the fourth chart-topper in fairly quick succession to have been written by Lennon. The two non-Lennon songs in this sequence which started in December 1980 were by a bunch of kids and a man pretending to be Italian.
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Post by rubcale on Nov 12, 2015 11:04:28 GMT 1
We should have a poll sometime of all the songs that reached number one more than once, and see who prefers the first version over the second. I reckon the first version to reach #1 will win most times, although I'd expect a few exceptions. (I'd expect Boney M to beat Harry Belafonte, for example). I like that idea. Of course, some originals would have the distinct advantage of being measured against Robson and Jerome. I bought all their singles and albums.
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Post by Shireblogger on Nov 12, 2015 11:43:34 GMT 1
White Town & Roxy Music. Two brilliant chart toppers, for very different reasons. Both would be in my Top 100, without a shadow of doubt.
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Post by Earl Purple on Nov 12, 2015 12:44:58 GMT 1
The songs that broke up the Lennon run were indeed two of the worst number ones of the 1980s, in fact if I ranked my bottom 3 those two would be in it together with "Let's Party" by Jive Bunny.
"Woman" wasn't a great song but was a lot better than either Grandma or Shaddup You Face. would have been better though if Phil Collins and Ultravox had had the #1s those weeks.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2015 13:27:52 GMT 1
Am I only the one person here, who prefer "Shaddup You Face" at # 1 in UK over "Vienna"?
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vastar iner
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I am the poster on your wall
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Post by vastar iner on Nov 12, 2015 13:36:36 GMT 1
I bet even Joe Dolce would have preferred "Vienna" at number one over his racist drivel.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2015 20:28:28 GMT 1
74. Pilot - January (1975)
It has been said that the mid-70's wasn't the greatest era for music, it was simply the decade getting its breath back after the excitement of Glam, and then clearing the decks for the variety and experimentation of new wave & punk. But I would argue that the period (approximately) 1974-1977 produced some classic songs. Although I would also concede that not many of them made number one.
Therefore I will defend Pilot and "January" to the hilt. One of my criteria for a song's inclusion on this list is whether, quite simply, I don't mind singing along with it, and I have no problems at all with this song. And of course I haven't even mentioned the guitar riff, the chord structure, and the genuinely talented singer and instrumentalists in the group.
Pilot were only a relatively short-lived group, and only had a handful of hit singles, but three of the songs are memorable: "Magic" - which is brilliant, "January" - which is very good, and "Just A Smile" - which is pretty good. That's not a bad ratio for hit singles, and much of the credit must go to the versatile and experienced members within - David Paton, Billy Lyall, Stuart Tosh and Ian Bairnson.
David Paton - who had been an early Bay City Roller - was the singer/songwriter here, and subsequently worked with musical royalty in the shape of Elton John, Jimmy Page, Kate Bush and The Pretenders. His list of album credits for other top acts is impressive, and he was still working well into the 21st century.
Interestingly, it was the unsung ladies who should really take a lot of the credit for the groups success. Pilot's manager was married, and his wife hit upon the idea to call the group "PILOT" by forming the group name around the initials of the surnames - similar to ABBA although it's a bit more contrived here - the P is from Paton, the L from Lyall, and the T from Tosh. Presumably the I and O were added to make it pronounceable.
And then there is "January" itself, or should I say herself. David Paton's wife was reading a book at the time about a girl named "January", and suggested it as a song title. Paton took this advice to heart, and effectively wrote two songs and merged them together - the chorus is about "January" whilst the verse is about the previous hit "Magic".
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Post by raliverpool on Nov 12, 2015 21:04:06 GMT 1
"Woman" wasn't a great song but was a lot better than either Grandma or Shaddup You Face. would have been better though if Phil Collins and Ultravox had had the #1s those weeks. Time for the infamous comedy satire quote by 1980s Liverpool comedian Alexei Sayle which was the punchline to his skit comparing the two main songwriters of the Beatles: "...... If Paul McCartney had written Woman, he'd have been shot."
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Post by raliverpool on Nov 12, 2015 21:11:34 GMT 1
#76, #75 & #74 are crackers.
Obviously Roxy Music made better singles which never reached the chart summit. Whilst Pilot who were kind of a Glam-ified version of Badfinger and another act who could fall into "the Troggs syndrome" category. As I suspect most people prefer their other huge hit (see below) to their only chart-topper, and its riff inspired QoTSA's "The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret":
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Post by raliverpool on Nov 12, 2015 21:30:20 GMT 1
78. Nilsson - Without You (1972)
"Without You" is a song seeped in tragedy. It was written by Pete Ham and Tom Evans of Badfinger, both of whom committed suicide; Ham in 1975 and Evans in 1983, and both really for similar music-related reasons - disputes and depression over royalties, legal issues and mis-management. It is a shame that none of the three top-tenners from the group actually reached number 1, they would have made a worthy inclusion into this thread. In the annals of popular music I have yet to find an act who have had the sheer mixture of bad luck, and wretched management vs musical ability and talent in the world of popular music. Knowing their story, it feels like they were cursed, as with half decent management and luck they could have easily bestrided the 1970s as pop giants because they had the talent and songwriting ability in spades. If you have 30 minutes spare, take the trouble to watch this documentary on them and in particular main singer/songwriter Pete Ham. Rated in 2000 as the best songwriter to have come out of Wales:
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2015 8:17:02 GMT 1
73. Fatboy Slim - Praise You (1999)
Norman Cook is a very lucky fella. Not only is he married to Zoe Ball, and as an added bonus has one of my childhood heroes Johnny Ball as a Father-In-Law, he is also something of a lucky charm musically, contributing to the very best songs by the likes of The Housemartins, Beats International and Freak Power. But then again he hasn't had it all his own way; his real first name is "Quentin", and, perhaps more seriously, he was virtually bankrupted in the early 1990's when "Dub Be Good To Me" hit number one, and ripped off not one but two songs in the process, meaning Cook had to replay two lots of royalties.
In 1996 he adopted the moniker Fatboy Slim, named after a 1940's Louisiana Blues singer, and this is where he has achieved his most consistent success, with some genuinely inventive recordings such as "The Rockafeller Skank" and "Right Here, Right Now", and of course this particular chart-topper.
Whether any of these songs quite matches up to his original Housemartins song "Happy Hour" is of course open for discussion. Cook didn't write it - that honour went to Paul Heaton and Stan Cullimore (the guitarist, not the dodgy footballer) - but Cook's bassline helped to make the song a real standout in 1986 - it was a shame that it only peaked at 3 - and their version of "Caravan Of Love" was also a worthy chart-topper.
Cook did, however, write "Praise You", based on an original song named "Take Yo' Praise" by Camille Yarbrough, who therefore gets joint-songwriting credit here. Noted movie director Spike Jonze actually helmed the video, with Cook making a brief appearance as one of the baffled onlookers.
I have been a fan of much of Cook's music down the years. If you add together all of his bands and pseudonyms you get well past the 20-mark, with a few mis-steps along the way, but his commercial (e.g. chart success) has always been of a very high standard.
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Post by Earl Purple on Nov 13, 2015 10:23:37 GMT 1
Norman Cook's greatest success in my chart was as a remixer of Cornershop's "Brimful Of Asha", the only UK #1 of 1998 to also get to #1 in my chart, and I'll see if it makes your list too.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2015 14:08:47 GMT 1
Phil, your 70s choices are much better, than selected # 1s from 90s.
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Post by o on Nov 13, 2015 15:13:23 GMT 1
Praise you is excellent!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2015 21:22:50 GMT 1
72. The Beatles - We Can Work It Out (1965)
Okay so this is a little bit of a cheat, because although this was a Double-A side, "Daytripper" was regarded as the main track, but I have always thought that WCWIO was a sign of the group maturing, and becoming much stronger lyrically. Here you have McCartney's hope and optimism that he and girlfriend Jane Asher could patch things up after she had threatened to move to Bristol to further her acting career; and Lennon's contribution which some have read as being impatient (including Lennon himself) but I also read them as just being no-nonsense and encouraging - "there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend".
Both songs were recorded during the "Rubber Soul" sessions, but as with many of the groups chart-toppers, both were omitted from the album. The reasoning was that whichever single was released would almost certainly reach number one and probably sell a million, so let's omit it from the album so as not to affect album sales.
This was the first time in history that a Double-A side had hit the charts. The group couldn't unanimously agree which was the best song although Lennon and Harrison were both very vocal in favour of "Daytripper", but the record execs at EMI preferred "We Can Work It Out" - so a compromise was reached and the two songs were released as equals, although chart rules meant that they were released separately in the US.
The single(s) was released on the same day as "Rubber Soul" - which I regard as one of the groups finest albums - and it completed a hattrick of Christmas chart-toppers for the group. It is actually the first Christmas number-one on my list, and it won't be the last.
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