After 20 years of telling students to never trust Wikipedia, that's always my first stop when checking something...Showaddywaddy's singles discography suggests their records weren't even released in North America; no column for North American releases. God, they were huge in the UK--although their heyday was actually the second half of the '70s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Showaddywaddy#Discography
Tony Orlando & Dawn were maybe the definitive example of DC's variety-show entertainer.
― clemenza, Thursday, 14 January 2021 19:48 (three years ago) link
Or as I thought of them as a kid overhearing the radio back-announcements, the trio of Tony, Orlando, and Don.
― Halfway there but for you, Thursday, 14 January 2021 19:53 (three years ago) link
There is, of course, also “the Continent”. Darts (who are late 70s) were very popular in the Netherlands as well, simultaneously with their UK chart success. Showaddywaddy less consistently so, but they were big in Germany. “Under The Moon Of Love” was their (only) big continental hit (in 1976-77, most of their big hits are in the second half of the decade).Mud, who were huge in the mid-70s, straddle glam and retro rock-n-roll, I guess.
― partyin' maskless with Rudy G. and Vanilla Ice, it's a gas gas gas (breastcrawl), Thursday, 14 January 2021 19:56 (three years ago) link
Discogs backs up the fact Showaddywaddy never got released in North America. Nobody's loss.
― stirmonster, Thursday, 14 January 2021 19:57 (three years ago) link
Sorry for the derail, but I'm now obsessed with Showaddywaddy.
First charted single (hit #2): "Hey Rock and Roll."Second charted single (only made it to #15): "Rock 'n Roll Lady."
(Band takes a time out and tries to figure out what went wrong.)
Third charted single: "Hey Mr. Christmas."
― clemenza, Thursday, 14 January 2021 19:59 (three years ago) link
Helen Reddy was way smarter than that, though, Dr. C. I spent time with her comp a few years ago; the sharpness of the songcraft and performance impressed me. "Angie Baby" and "I Am Woman" may be Hollywood's idea of feminism, but it's Reddy's too, and she sold the idea to millions of Winston-smoking TV watchers..
― meticulously crafted, socially responsible, morally upsta (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 14 January 2021 19:59 (three years ago) link
x post. They were blundering about until 1976.
― stirmonster, Thursday, 14 January 2021 20:07 (three years ago) link
I sort of fancied Showaddywaddy lead singer Dave Bartram:https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/singer-dave-bartram-of-english-pop-group-showaddywaddy-16th-march-picture-id604552919maybe MJ liked the looks of him to:https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f6/c3/30/f6c33080e28a7d184c876d7923362cfb.jpg
― partyin' maskless with Rudy G. and Vanilla Ice, it's a gas gas gas (breastcrawl), Thursday, 14 January 2021 20:10 (three years ago) link
I had NO idea who the hell Showaddywaddy were until I ranked Brit hits a few months ago, my god.
― meticulously crafted, socially responsible, morally upsta (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 14 January 2021 20:12 (three years ago) link
Helen Reddy's commercial descent was oddly abrupt. Her greatest hits LP (which is killer) stayed on the chart for almost the entirety of 1976 and went double platinum; but then after 1977 she never charted another album, though she kept producing them for a while.
― Josefa, Thursday, 14 January 2021 20:23 (three years ago) link
more ILM threads than [enter your favourite artist]:
Showaddywaddy C/D
Say Something Interesting About Showaddywaddy
Best Songs On Showaddywaddy's Greatest Hits!
Option VotesHey Rock'n'roll 8Under The Moon Of Love 5Three Steps To heaven 3Chain Gang 2Trocadero 1Heartbeat 1Heavenly 1Rock'n'roll Lady 1Hey Mr Christmas 1King Of The Jive 0Sweet Music 0Johnny Remember me 0
prize content!
― partyin' maskless with Rudy G. and Vanilla Ice, it's a gas gas gas (breastcrawl), Thursday, 14 January 2021 20:27 (three years ago) link
Interesting to me to see Showaddywaddy's approximation of 50s garb (updated drape coat and brothel creepers) vs. Sha Na Na's Brylcreem and black leather jackets a la Fonzie.
― Three Rings for the Elven Bishop (Dan Peterson), Thursday, 14 January 2021 20:28 (three years ago) link
Mud mixing things up:https://i.pinimg.com/originals/75/8b/0d/758b0d78a1c6b9fc5e1c8d12d298c0e3.jpg
― partyin' maskless with Rudy G. and Vanilla Ice, it's a gas gas gas (breastcrawl), Thursday, 14 January 2021 20:31 (three years ago) link
and then there was the time Showaddywaddy supported Einsturzende Neubauten.....
― stirmonster, Thursday, 14 January 2021 20:33 (three years ago) link
There's a YouTube clip of Mud doing "Tiger Feet" on TOTP that's just wild.
― clemenza, Thursday, 14 January 2021 20:35 (three years ago) link
By far the most fascinating Mud-related fact is of course that guitarist Rob Davis (the glammest of the bunch) would end up co-writing Kylie’s “Can't Get You Out of My Head” and “Come into My World” with Cathy Dennis. He also had a hand in Fragma’s “Toca's Miracle” and Spiller’s “Groovejet”!
― partyin' maskless with Rudy G. and Vanilla Ice, it's a gas gas gas (breastcrawl), Thursday, 14 January 2021 20:53 (three years ago) link
waht
― meticulously crafted, socially responsible, morally upsta (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 14 January 2021 20:54 (three years ago) link
Yes! I've been reminded of this truth many times over the years, but it never ceases to amaze me. Low-key one of the most miraculous pop careers of all.
― partyin' maskless with Rudy G. and Vanilla Ice, it's a gas gas gas (breastcrawl), Thursday, 14 January 2021 21:01 (three years ago) link
i had long thought Rob Davis had had a hand in the early KLF releases but am becoming increasingly convinced i have completely imagined this.
― stirmonster, Thursday, 14 January 2021 21:07 (three years ago) link
He did however definitely write several Saint Etienne songs.
― stirmonster, Thursday, 14 January 2021 21:08 (three years ago) link
I went into this thinking it would be some elaborate hoax, but apparently it's true.There it is, 7 September 1987: http://www.fromthearchives.com/en/chronology1.html
― partyin' maskless with Rudy G. and Vanilla Ice, it's a gas gas gas (breastcrawl), Thursday, 14 January 2021 21:10 (three years ago) link
I only know Showadaddy from one of those Hipgnosis album cover books, one of their records has an epic gatefold street scene thing going on
― brimstead, Thursday, 14 January 2021 21:13 (three years ago) link
Showaddywaddy, whatever
x post Indeed! Stevo who ran their label at the time, Some Bizzare, was famed for coming up with mad ideas guaranteed to generate lots of press and all the music papers of the time of course lapped it up.
― stirmonster, Thursday, 14 January 2021 21:14 (three years ago) link
@ Alfred - No diss intended on Reddy! I also spent some time with her best-of a couple years back after my brother got obsessed with her for a minute. US #8 "Ain't No Way To Treat A Lady" is her stealth best earworm, I think.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoaRbhlWji4
But she's absolutely perfect for this thread insofar as, post-"I Am Woman," she had five top ten hits, including two number ones, and I suspect none of them have been heard outside of Sirius specialty stations since, I don't know, the early 90s? She should be at least as well known as Captain & Tennille.
Wiki indicates that she transitioned more into a stage acting career, and she unsurprisingly did a ton of TV guest spots. There were abortive plans for her to have a sitcom in 1981, where she would star as a single mother living on Lake Tahoe. Maybe if Pete's Dragon had been better, or a bigger hit, she might have been more familiar to later generations as an on-screen presence... I bet should could have hosted a beloved 80s kids' musical program or something.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 14 January 2021 21:18 (three years ago) link
Rob Davis here at age 71 in the 2018 Xmas Celebrities edition of the BBC quiz show Pointless, along with other UK pop luminaries like Sonia and two-thirds of Bananarama: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXYzbbOx82Y
(his segment starts at 17:50)
― partyin' maskless with Rudy G. and Vanilla Ice, it's a gas gas gas (breastcrawl), Thursday, 14 January 2021 21:27 (three years ago) link
Great clip. He's very humble. Who is the Larry David lookalike behind him?
― stirmonster, Thursday, 14 January 2021 21:32 (three years ago) link
Roger McGough of The Scaffold, who had the 1968 UK Xmas number one with "Lily the Pink" (which is the reason he's on there).
― partyin' maskless with Rudy G. and Vanilla Ice, it's a gas gas gas (breastcrawl), Thursday, 14 January 2021 21:39 (three years ago) link
Thanks. i sense i will get sucked into watching the whole thing.
― stirmonster, Thursday, 14 January 2021 21:48 (three years ago) link
There was a Teddy Boy revival in the 70s
― visiting, Thursday, 14 January 2021 22:03 (three years ago) link
Yeah, I love Crazy Cavan. That white suit above looks like disco Teddy Boy though.
― Three Rings for the Elven Bishop (Dan Peterson), Thursday, 14 January 2021 23:05 (three years ago) link
Seven of the top 50 and four of the next 50 held prominent places in my heart when I was aged 3-7 playing my parents singles on their aging Technics turntable. Billy Don't Be a Hero, Chick-a-Boom, Playground In My Mind, Spiders and Snakes, Cowboy's Work, Monster Mash (which shouldn't count, but does), and The Streak, plus Which Way You Goin' Billy, The Way We Were, My Girl Bill, and that version of The Lord's Prayer were all in their collection. So were The Joker, Won't Get Fooled Again, and Rocket Man, but they didn't make the impact of the Sonny & Cher tune, for example, which got my vote because I didn't think anyone else would care for it.
― Iannis Xenakis double fisting Cutty Sark (Tom Violence), Friday, 15 January 2021 03:29 (three years ago) link
re: "monster mash," the spin counts used for this feature were collected over a seven-day period, so obviously the fact that the table on the link shows zero spins for the song reflects that the data collection was done over a non-halloween week
weirdly, in addition to being reissued in 1973 and becoming a big hit again, it had apparently seen a reissue in 1970, but that time only went to #91
― dyl, Friday, 15 January 2021 06:04 (three years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP1bg1R5XQc
― Bidh boladh a' mhairbh de 'n láimh fhalaimh (dowd), Friday, 15 January 2021 14:55 (three years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Wednesday, 20 January 2021 00:01 (three years ago) link
Went for "Tubular Bells" but actually probably think of the album rather than the single.
― The GeirBot (Geir Hongro), Wednesday, 20 January 2021 22:43 (three years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Thursday, 21 January 2021 00:01 (three years ago) link
I'm pretty certain I never heard the single edit of "Tubular Bells" on my local stations (Hey, Geir.) And I always thought "Ben" was kind of barfy even back then. Otherwise all the other multiple vote getters are ace.
― Three Rings for the Elven Bishop (Dan Peterson), Thursday, 21 January 2021 18:20 (three years ago) link
4 Helen Reddy hits / 0 votes
a Reddy reappraisal should start about now
― Josefa, Thursday, 21 January 2021 18:31 (three years ago) link
Words get in the way: top two are instrumentals, #3 is essentially an instrumental, and #4 is close.
― clemenza, Thursday, 21 January 2021 18:55 (three years ago) link