Prepare for a hearty serving of sonic sausages and lyrical spuds. This commemorative playlist of my British past is comfort food for your ears. A digest of nostalgic and sentimental songs from my soul kitchen.
| Title | Artist | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Making Your Mind Up | Bucks Fizz | Written by Andy Hill and John Danter. Bucks Fizz, a British pop group formed for Eurovision, represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981, held in Dublin, winning the contest. The became known for their catchy pop and choreography. |
| Save Your Kisses for Me | Brotherhood Of Man | This song recorded by British group Brotherhood of Man, created by the writing team Tony Hiller with band members Lee Sheriden and Martin Lee, represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1976 held in The Hague, winning the contest. |
| Claire | Gilbert O’Sullivan | Written by O’Sullivan himself and inspired by the daughter of his manager. Gilbert is an Irish-English singer-songwriter known for his quirky and heartfelt lyrics. The lyrics reflect a sweet, platonic affection for a child. |
| You’re Sixteen (You’re Beautiful and You’re Mine) | Ringo Starr | Originally written by the Sherman Brothers (Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman), it was first performed by American rockabilly singer Johnny Burnette, in 1960. Ringo’s version brought a rock ‘n’ roll flair. Former Beatles drummer Ringo had a successful solo career. The lyrics praise youthful beauty and infatuation. |
| Living Doll | Cliff Richard | This song, written by Lionel Bart, was originally intended for the singer Duffy Power before it was used for the soundtrack to the film Serious Charge, which was Cliff Richard’s movie debut. In 1986 Cliff did a humorous, anarchic re-recording of this song for BBC’s charity appeal Comic Relief, featuring the cast of BBC’s comedy Young Ones series. |
| You’re My Best Friend | Queen | Written by bassist John Deacon about his wife. Queen was a British rock band blending glam, opera, and hard rock. Deacon played an electric piano on this track. The lyrics express deep gratitude and love toward a life partner. |
| See Emily Play | Pink Floyd | Written by Syd Barrett, one of Pink Floyd’s original members. Allegedly inspired by a dream and a girl named Emily. The original title was “Games For May”. Pink Floyd pioneered psychedelic and progressive rock. The song delves into the surreal and whimsical world of the mind. |
| Blackberry Way | The Move | Written by guitarist/vocalist Roy Wood. The Move vocalist Carl Wayne refused to sing on the song, so Wood handled the lead vocal. Richard Tandy, who later played keyboards with Wood’s next band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), played harpsichord. The Move were a British rock band known for orchestral experimentation. The lyrics mourn lost innocence and nostalgia, a reaction to the growing pessimism in 60s society. |
| She’s Not There | The Zombies | Written by keyboard player Rod Argent featuring the breathy vocals of lead singer Colin Blunstone. Some of the chord changes Rod Argent used were inspired by Brian Hyland’s 1962 song “Sealed With A Kiss”. The Zombies were a British invasion band with a jazz-infused sound. The song tells of a mysterious woman who disappears from the narrator’s life. |
| Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Cryin’ | Gerry & The Pacemakers | Written by the band members, it meant to comfort someone experiencing heartbreak. Gerry & The Pacemakers were a Liverpool band and contemporaries of The Beatles. They were part of the Merseybeat sound emanating from Liverpool, England. The song was produced by Beatles producer George Martin. |
| Release Me | Engelbert Humperdinck | Plea for freedom from a failing relationship written by Eddie Miller, Dub Williams, and Robert Yount, inspired by traditional country ballads. Engelbert Humperdinck (born Arnold George Dorsey, 2 May 1936) is a British pop singer known for smooth baritone voice and romantic ballads, described by AllMusic as “one of the finest middle-of-the-road balladeers around”. When Dorsey teamed up with Gordon Mills, his former roommate In 1965, who had become a music impresario and the manager of Tom Jones, he changed his name to Engelbert Humperdinck, borrowed from the 19th-century German composer of operas such as Hansel and Gretel. |
| What’s New Pussycat | Tom Jones | Written by Burt Bacharach for the move of the same name. The lyrics, written by Hal David, are a cheeky serenade to a lover. Sir Thomas Jones Woodward (born 7 June 1940), known as Tom Jones is a Welsh powerhouse singer famous for his full-throated, robust baritone voice and charisma. |
| Love Is All Around | Wet Wet Wet | Wet Wet Wet are a Scottish soft rock band formed in 1982 that covered the Troggs’ 1960s hit “Love Is All Around” for the 1994 film “Four Weddings and a Funeral. Reg Presley, lead singer of the Troggs, wrote “Love Is All Around” in about ten minutes, inspired by a TV broadcast of the Salvation Army band Joystrings performing an evangelical song titled “Love That’s All Around” |
| Love Is All | Roger Glover | “Love Is All” is written by Eddie Hardin based on a song featured in ‘The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper’s Feast’ named ‘Love’s all you need’, which was inspired by The Beatles’ song ‘All You Need Is Love’ (1967). The song was sung by American heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio. Roger Glover, a Welsh bassist, songwriter, and record producer, is credited with developing the title for the Deep Purple’s iconic song “Smoke on the Water” Roger Glover left Deep Purple in June 1973, because Ritchie Blackmore insisted on his dismissal simultaneous to the departure of Ian Gillan. |
| Smoke On The Water | Deep Purple | “Smoke on the Water” by English rock band Deep Purple, was based on true events, chronicling the 1971 fire at Montreux Casino in Switzerland. It is considered the band’s signature song and its guitar riff, played by Ritchie Blackmore on a Fender Stratocaster, is considered to be one of the most iconic in rock history. Blackmore later claimed that the main riff is an interpretation of inversion of Symphony No. 5 by Ludwig van Beethoven. |
| Can’t Get It Out Of My Head | Electric Light Orchestra | “Can’t Get It Out of My Head” is a song written by Electric Light Orchestra (also known as ELO) frontman Jeff Lynne, partially in response to his father’s criticism that the previous songs he wrote didn’t have any tune, wanting to show that he could write a song with a beautiful melody. |
| Go Now! | The Moody Blues | Composed by Bessie Banks’ husband, Larry Banks and Milton Bennett, “Go Now!” (adding an exclamation mark) was made popular internationally in 1964 when the Moody Blues, an English beat group from Birmingham, recorded it, with Denny Laine on guitar and lead vocals. |
| She Came In Through… | Joe Cocker | Written by Paul McCartney, inspired by fan intrusion. The Beatles gave this to Joe Cocker, who released it in 1969 a few months after The Beatles released theirs. Moody Blues keyboard player Mike Pinder stated in a documentary that the inspiration for the song actually rests with an incident that happened to them. He claimed that a groupie climbed through an open bathroom window and spent the night with Moody Blues band member Ray Thomas. Pinder and Thomas are said to have told McCartney about the incident the next day, who began strumming on a guitar and improvised the opening line. |
| Something | The Beatles | Written by George Harrison; inspired by his wife Pattie Boyd. Harrison gave the song to Joe Cocker, who released it late in 1969 on his second album, Joe Cocker! which came out about a month after The Beatles issued it on Abbey Road. |
| Brown Sugar | The Rolling Stones | Mick Jagger wrote this song inspired by themes of race and sexuality and initially titled it “Black Pussy”. Black backup singer Claudia Lennear, one of Ike Turner’s Ikettes and American-born singer Marsha Hunt, a member of the the musical ‘Hair’ cast in London and mother of Karis Jagger, have been cited as the inspiration for the song. The Rolling Stones recorded it at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, which had opened in May 1969. Jimmy Johnson, a guitar player for the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (also known as “The Swampers”), engineered the sessions. |
| Dedicated Follower Of Fashion | The Kinks | Ray Davies wrote this satire on the British fashion scene, as a tribute to Carnaby Street and its ethos, linked forever to the fashion explosion that happened particularly in Britain during the so-called Swinging ’60s. |
| Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum | Middle of the Road | “Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum” is a song by Scottish band Middle of the Road. The song was written by British singer-songwriter Lally Stott and Italian brothers Giosy and Mario Capuano. It was first released as a single in Italy in March 1971 and used in a short film by car manufacturer Fiat to promote the launch of the Fiat 127. Middle of the Road also recorded and released a version in Spanish. The song is about a rivalry between the MacDougall Highland Scottish clan and the MacGregors, known to have been among the first families of Scotland to begin playing the bagpipes in the early 17th century. |
| Callow La Vita | Raymond Froggatt | Written and originally recorded by English country-influenced singer-songwriter Raymond Froggatt. The song became a success in the UK after being recorded by the Dave Clark Five, retitled as “The Red Balloon”. |
| My Friend Stan | Slade | This song was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Chas Chandler. It was Slade’s first release following drummer Don Powell’s near fatal car crash in July 1973. |
| Blockbuster! | Sweet | “Blockbuster!” (also sometimes listed as “Block Buster!”) was written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. This glam rock style song with its Muddy Waters-inspired blues riff, markedly similar to that featured on David Bowie’s “The Jean Genie”, was the Sweet’s sole UK No. 1 hit. |
| Whole Lotta Love | Led Zeppelin | The song is an adaptation of an early blues song “You Need Love” of 1962 by Muddy Waters written by Willie Dixon. Jimmy Page’s riff from this song is considered as one of the greatest of all time. The part running from 2:22 to 2:39 is popularly called the “freakout”, where engineer Eddie Kramer and Jimmy Page were “twiddling every knob known to man”. |
| Rockin’ All Over The World | Status Quo | This song was written and originally recorded by John Fogerty. Status Quo recorded their own, heavier arrangement of Fogerty’s song for their 1977 album ‘Rockin’ All Over the World’. In July 1985, Status Quo opened Live Aid at Wembley Stadium with “Rockin’ All Over the World”. |
| Rock and Roll Part 2 | Gary Glitter | Written by Gary Glitter (born Paul Gadd) and Mike Leander, improvised from a beat from a song called “Shag Rag, That’s My Bag”. There is a “Rock And Roll Part 1,” with lyrics that repeat “Rock And Roll” instead of “Hey”. Metal band Iron Maiden’s first single, “Running Free,” was based on this song’s beat. |
Sources
The information sources of the song facts include, but are not limited to, Wikipedia, songfacts.com, discogs.com, secondhandsongs.com, YouTube and artists’ related websites.
