Heard If God Were One Of Us by Joan Osborne on radio - a very rarely heard or played track.

It sounded brilliant - great lyric (remember the Pope on the phone from Rome?).

Which made me think that everyone has one hit in them - Joan disappeared without trace.
Norman Greenbaum is one of the best examples - Spirit In The Sky is a classic but what else did Norman do? That doesn't count here - it's often played and covered.

More titles we don't seem to hear?

I think you will find that Norman quit to become a preacher and that was the only record released ever. I sang it for my Dad one night in a show on one of the 3 occasions he ever turned up, a wonderful song and a wonderful moment for me.

Both songs you mentioned have great and wonderful simple lyrics.

I think that the New Radicals` "You Only get what You give",should be listed here, fantastic song and lyric. quote.."Don`t give up, you`ve got a reason to live." unquote.
Brilliantly simple and uplifting and a great tune.

Music can inspire, even if the writers of it quickly decide to take a back seat.

Excellent choice Mart, another rarely played gem.

Some of the Gold stations and shows really should pick up on this.

OK Here's another - GRATEFUL DEAD, A Touch Of Grey

Never hear it, terrific track.

Another thing, no other crossover song grabbed my attention more than "Dry Your Eyes Mate", by the Streets.I never liked any of Mr Skinners other work, but that tune was such a wow!...and summed up human emotions along with the way people were speaking at the time to each other.

I really can`t recall who sent that over to me, all I know is that it was not out yet and I just felt that with what we were doing at the time, it simply all had to be ripped up and started again.

Obviously not on the "Where are they now?" list, but I have to say that I felt the act would be at the time.


ok, "Proclaimers" , "400 Miles", many records, but that is sadly the only one that the public care about.

I heard that Norman Greenbaum quit to become a farmer. His album certainly hinted at an interest in animals, and the wonderfully weird 'Milk Cow' was the B Side of 'Spirit in the Sky'.

One of my favourite one hit wonders was The Chanter Sisters with 'Sideshow'. I still dig it out and play it.

Also Grapefruit with 'Come down to the station'.
"Come down to the station,
I will see what I can pin on you.
This generation,
I don't know what it is coming to."

Ageless!

Yesterday I heard Men at Work's Land Down-under on the radio.

It's still a very enjoyable track but hadn't heard it for years.

Men at work's hit was a classic. Another one from that era that I loved was Since Yesterday by Strawberry Swichblade. Fantastic song very rarely played. I was never sure about the polka dot goth image though!

The great unheard Men At Work track was the follow up to Down Under, so unheard I cant recall the title, but it was great and a great album too.


Dominic, "Geoffrey did indeed buy himself a "Milk Cow", and what a great song that was by Norman as a B side. Interesting chords and should have been the follow up single to " Spirit" and not shoved on the reverse. these days of course, we can shove 1 title out only as a release.

Oooh! The Icicle Works "Love is a Wonderful Colour".

XTC-Sargent Rock or what about De-Lite's Groove is in the heart!?

XTC can make me weep over a lyric they are wonderful.

So last night I had this weird dream.
I was at an Awards Show with Sandie Shaw and won the BEST MALE SINGER prize.

When I got it we realised it was so cheap and worthless that they had simply printed over several previous winners who hadn't bothered to collect it.
It was gold, but tacky.
Before me Vince Hill and Chris Andrews had won and failed to get it.

I asked Sandie "what's Chris doing these days?" (he wrote several of her biggest hits).

She said he'd left the business and was running a big company.

Then I woke up!

Which made me think of a classic, little heard hit for this thread...

YESTERDAY MAN by Chris Andrews.

Hmmm, I shall say little about weird dreams! lol

Whilst this thread has developed, a song that does not seem appropriate as we talk about the producer a lot, but the Honeycombs "Have I the Right" has not left my head for days.(the gorgeous pink PYE label)

I used to hit a chair with 2 table knifes, and drum along with it, nobody told me it was a bleedin` bath being hit at the time!

I love how you can hear the guitarist really sweat on the actually rather easy part of the second movement of the solo as if his life depended on it, which of course, it probably did!

Well last night, I heard the wonderful "Woolly Bully".

You hardly ever hear that one any more, absolutely brilliant , what a great and simple groove.
It made me think, that simple, great 12 bar pop songs, just don`t get made anymore. Why is this?
Are we supposed to have outgrown the ethic? The band are not great, they are trying their hardest, but it`s the vibe of the whole thing that caught my ear.

It doesn`t matter how great a musician or a producer is, sometimes magic happens for what appears to have been about 5 quid spent and people just trying their best.
I`m very into early surf and garage music at the moment as well, the sheer horror of turning on a 2 track tape machine and going for a "take", fascinates me.

If , for example "Derek" the bassist , naffed up a take, it all had to be done again! Marvelous.

My early recordings were made just like that, as were the Rollng Stones, in Regent Sound Studios in Denmark Street - one little mono tape recorder.

Then we discovered TWO machines and over dubbing took off.

I believe Jack Johnson went back to a similar technique for his new album.

I used to overdub on 2 cassette recorders and then Tommorows World announced the Portastudio! Not credited enough for changing the face of music are those little machines. I`m sure they opened doors for many people into the industry who are probably still there.

There was on 90`s hit that was recorded on one, a point for anyone who recalls it!
The story went that the record company had the track redone, and preferred the original demo, but the act took ages to find the cassette that they had done it on at their flat! But they did, and it was remastered and went to number one.

"S-S-S-Single Bed" by Fox from 1976, written and produced by the hugely underrated Kenny Young and Herbie Armstrong and sung by the divine Miss Noosha Fox - she sounds like Clare Grogan five years before Altered Images came along. Whatever happened to her - she should have been a HUGE star!

What about Eddy Grant and the Equals 'Baby Come Back'?

And from the same era, Mungo Jerry 'In The Summertime'.

And Tom Tom Club 'Wordy Rappinghood'

Well don`t forget Mickey that the Tom Tom Club were a side project of the Talking Heads when there seemed to be a rift between David Byrne and the Weymouths.

Mungo Jerry is a difficult one for me to categorise as I bump into the guy a lot!

Noosha Fox, now that was a babe! What a fantastic sexy voice. This is where the TOTP era ending got it so wrong. She was iconic! The day after her first BBC performance none of my friends talked about anything else but her.
The more music that is put out there under this current "non system", the less mystery we can create around an artiste and that sells.

Ok, my turn, "Calling All the Heroes" by It Bites. Wonderful band, so talented, one hit.

Two more great recent oldies on this same station I heard and loved today...

No Scrubs - TLC - what a great track and whatever happened to them (I know one died).

And that Maroon 5 hit (their only one).