JULY 1974

The month was a drizzly washout, so “Beach Baby” got stuck at number 13 (appropriately unlucky). Thunderthighs sang backing vocals on “Walk On The Wild Side” and “Roll Away The Stone” and contrary to popular myth Helen Terry wasn’t one of them - Karen Friedman, Dari Lalou and Casey Synge were their names, and they recorded an apparently really good but never-released album (it isn't online so I can neither confirm nor deny that opinion). Yes, it still sounds to me like she’s saying “fuck him" at the end and the BBC agreed for a time and banned the record.

 

The Zoo Gang was yet another Lew Grade series about a bunch of intermittently-famous actors – in this case, ageing Nazi hunters from the forties - sorting out International Criminals. It starred John Mills, Lilli Palmer, Brian Keith and Barry Morse and from memory nearly all of the show’s budget went on paying them (and presumably McCartney for the theme). I only ever saw it on STV at quarter to five on Sunday afternoon and the show only lasted for six episodes.

 

Carole King did go out with Neil Sedaka for a bit – she even wrote an answer song called “Oh Neil” – but ultimately married Gerry Goffin instead; that turned out to be a mistake. I knew about this because it was in The Story Of Pop which I bought every fortnight. Oddly enough “Laughter In The Rain” wasn’t quite as big a hit in Britain as “Beach Baby” and both songs did much better in the United States.

 

Radio 1 didn’t put “Rock Your Baby” on its daytime playlist until it had climbed to number three, despite all its DJs being fully aware of the high demand for it in the clubs where they worked. I guess it wasn’t one for the station’s idealised demographic of neurotic housewives in their thirties but as a game-changing number one it’s up there with “Rock Around The Clock.” Timmy Thomas on organ and drum machine and Harry “K.C.” Casey on electric piano so of course it’s going to sound like In A Silent Way, which I knew because my father had a copy. R.I.P. to George’s wife Gwen McCrae, who was supposed to sing the song but couldn’t make the studio date so her husband stepped in instead.

 

Unsurprisingly “The Baᴎgiᴎ’ Maᴎ” only made it one place higher, to number 3. Everything Maria Muldaur has recorded is worth listening to; “Midnight At The Oasis” saw one of Joe Boyd’s rare chart appearances as producer and boasts some sterling lead guitar work from Canada’s Amos Garrett (more or less; born in Detroit but grew up in Toronto then Montreal). The B-side is performed by a band including such luminaries as Ry Cooder and Jim Dickinson. At the time I didn’t know about the first Stylistics album and in particular “People Make The World Go Round,” but the Three Degrees triumphed in that “chart battle,” with both the Stylistics and Stephanie de Sykes having to settle for second place.

 

Fourteen-year-old Bernadette Whelan was killed in an audience crush at David Cassidy’s White City Stadium concert on 26 May 1974. Cassidy was obviously shocked by what happened but releasing a live album (Cassidy Live!) so soon afterwards was an emotional and commercial misfire. His “Please Please Me” cover struggled to reach number 16 and his pop career never really recovered. White City Stadium was demolished in 1985.

 

Robert’s Robots was a relatively shortlived children’s sitcom of the early-mid seventies about an egghead inventor (played by the tailor from The Italian Job) and his comedy robots, one of whom was indeed called Abigail. Lots of Goon-type faux-surreal humour, which was typical of children’s sitcoms at the time. But the opening title sequence is genuinely frightening, as if B.S. Johnson had lived and been given license to write and produce a kids’ TV show loosely based on the middle section of The Parallax View. We recorded one episode on a brand new Philips radio-cassette recorder which my father had bought in April 1974. Only one channel and no stereo because (a) it was early days and (b) we were skint, but it came with its own microphone that you could tape to the TV speaker, enabling an audio recording of the show to take place. The other show I remember us doing that with, a couple of years later, was an episode of BBC 2’s zero-budget The End Of The Pier Show (Johns Wells, Fortune and sometimes Bird, Madeline Smith, Carl Davis etc.); “Murder On The 9:36 To Didcot,” which guest-starred Percy Edwards as a bird-impersonating Hercule Poirot, and Peter Sellers as, um, essentially Hitler. Does the broadcast even still exist?

 

But yes, Robert’s Robots. The episode we recorded included, amongst other things, Abigail the robot doing a Marlene Dietrich pastiche. Back then, you see, children were treated as intelligent and able to get such references without recourse to demographicsplaining.

 

My father bought Pretzel Logic because he considered Steely Dan jazz. Didn’t they cover Ellington and rip off Horace Silver on that album? Well, that’s jazz.

 

7 July

 

THUNDERTHIGHS: Central Park Arrest/Sally Wants A Red Dress (Philips 6006 386)

 

 

A much more spectacular and disturbing wall of sound from Lynsey de Paul, who wrote the song, and the great John Cameron, who arranged it, this siren-laden tango is like the Shangri-La’s coming out of a time machine into the seventies and all their dreams have turned horrible. In a fair world this would be a huge hit, but it doesn’t sound like she’s saying “Book him” at the end so it probably won’t be.

 

 

 

PAUL McCARTNEY & WINGS: Band On The Run/Zoo Gang (Apple R 5997)

 

 

Top quality pop, built by the sound of it from sticking a couple of unfinished songs together (a bit like side two of Abbey Road). I think McCartney’s really singing about being stuck in the Beatles and breaking free when they split up. He begins the song miserable and ends it triumphant. Good to hear an ITC theme tune on the B-side. That ITC sign scares me a bit.

 

 

 

TERRY JACKS: If You Go Away/Me And You (Bell 1362)

 

 

Rather obvious follow-up to “Seasons In The Sun” and he just kind of whimpers the song rather than standing up for himself. Won’t be as big a hit.

 

 

 

NEIL SEDAKA: Laughter In The Rain/Kiddio (Polydor 2058 494)

 

 

Like Carole King – for whom he wrote “Oh Carol” (it didn’t work) – Sedaka’s time just seems to have come around again and he sounds much happier and more settled than when he did quivering oh-go-out-with-me-will-you teenybop. He sounds grown-up is how he sounds. Should be a big hit in the current weather.

 

 

 

GEORGE McCRAE: Rock Your Baby/Rock Your Baby (Pt. 2) (Jay Boy BOY 85)

 

 

Now this is SENSATIONAL. According to Record Mirror it’s been the number one song in the clubs for about a month on import and it’s now whammed into the charts without much (any?) play on Radio 1 (though Tony Prince plays it all the time on Luxembourg). It’s just…WOW. Two keyboard players, organ and electric piano, so it sounds a bit like In A Silent Way by Miles Davis in places, the way the two work with each other. So much going on, but so…catchy! Number one.

 

 

 

SLADE: The Baᴎgiᴎ’ Maᴎ/Ƨhe Did It To Me (Polydor 2058 492)

 

 

You get the feeling that this just automatically went in at number 4. It won’t go top either – a very average rock song. But another picture sleeve; we should get more of those.

 

 

 

 

14 July

 

THE INTRUDERS: Win, Place Or Show (She’s A Winner)/Memories Are Here To Stay (Philadelphia International PIR 2212)

 

 

Not one of the best Philly Sound records. Comparing your girlfriend to a racehorse – no wonder you can’t get one, fellas.

 

 

 

THE MAIN INGREDIENT: Just Don’t Want To Be Lonely/Goodbye My Love (RCA Victor APBO 0205)

 

 

Now this is MUCH better – a proper soul ballad done with feeling and imagination. No need for any comedy sports commentators on this one.

 

 

 

MARIA MULDAUR: Midnight At The Oasis/Any Old Time (Reprise K 14331)

 

 

Real class – the type of song you hear more on Radio Clyde than Radio 1. Suggestive but sophisticated, whereas in Britain it’d be all Carry On oo-er missus say no more rot.

 

 

 

SWEET: The Six Teens/Burn On The Flame (RCA Victor LPBO 5037)

 

 

Oh dear, they’re taking themselves far too seriously now. Dull plod of a semi-song that keeps banging on about ’68; so what, grandad, I was four at the time, what are you talking about, keep up. Goes on forever and won’t be much of a hit. The B-side is straight down the line heavy metal and they sound much happier doing that so they should keep on with it.

 

 

 

 

21 July

 

THE STYLISTICS: You Make Me Feel Brand New/Only For The Children (Avco 6105 028)

 

 

Paul Gambaccini has gone on in the NME about how great this song is and he is absolutely right. Already a huge American hit and it should do the same here. The best thing the Stylistics have ever done – such a graceful and emotional ballad, sung by two voices like it was the inner mind and outer soul in conversation. It builds up and down; that sitar sounds a little out of place at first but absolutely fits. This is spectacularly brilliant. How great is Thom Bell? Up there with Duke Ellington in my opinion. When I grow up I should live my life so people can sing this song to me and mean it (and me to people).

 

 

 

JIM STAFFORD: My Girl Bill/L.A. Mamma (MGM 2006 423)

 

 

Cocktail comedy pop with a clever lyrical twist at the end (they should have put a comma in the title but that would have given it away).

 

 

 

T•REX: Light Of Love/Explosive Mouth (T. Rex MARC 8)

 

 

I don’t think Bolan knows what he’s doing any more. This is a nothing song and he’ll be lucky to get any more hits at this rate.

 

 

 

THE RUBETTES: Tonight/Silent Movie Queen (Polydor 2058 499)

 

 

Soundalike follow-up but without Paul da Vinci so it’ll be lucky to go top ten.

 

 

 

THE THREE DEGREES: When Will I See You Again/I Didn’t Know (Philadelphia International PIR 2155)

 

 

This is VERY strong. Luxurious-sounding soul and the electric piano (Bobby Parker) bubbles like a warm bath. Motown are struggling along except for Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye but Philly just press on ahead and keep putting out terrific records for today. This one could go all the way.

 

 

 

STEPHANIE DE SYKES WITH RAIN: Born With A Smile On My Face/Woman’s Intuition (Bradley’s Records BRAD 7409)

 

 

But then there’s this – the one from Crossroads. I saw the episode that featured the song and knew this was going to be a BIG hit. There she is, driving around Birmingham and singing, and the housewives have obviously gone for it in a big way. I much prefer the Philly ones – this basically sounds like a cheerful biscuit commercial - but there’s a chart battle coming up for sure.

 

 

 

 

28 July

 

DAVID CASSIDY: Please Please Me/C.C. Rider Blues-Jenny Jenny (Bell 1371)

 

 

David does the Beatles live in front of screaming girls who probably hadn’t been born when the Beatles started to get screamed at but perhaps that’s the point. His band get the chords wrong at the end but it actually works; it’s better to get it wrong but do so with conviction than to get it right but be a robot. The B-side is a live rock ‘n’ roll medley. Of course this is all affected by the terrible events at White City Stadium so fans may find listening to the record disturbing.

 

 

 

MUD: Rocket/The Ladies (RAK 178)

 

 

Mud are great, they don’t give a toss. The Sweet bore everybody to sleep whining on about Where Did We Go Wrong (I didn’t, mate, it was you who went wrong) but if Mud want to do comedy Elvis pastiches they will. All about somebody called “Abigail Rocketblast” who sounds like she should be a character in Robert’s Robots.

 

 

 

SPARKS: Amateur Hour/Lost And Found (Island WIP 6203)

 

 

Sparks really are ahead in the pop game now, though. Kimono My House – what a terrific album from beginning to finish, my favourite so far this year along with Pretzel Logic. More upbeat but less hysterical than “This Town Ain’t Big Enough” and gloriously catchy. The B-side isn’t on the album so the single’s worth getting.