I now think that I understand what qualities a hit single needs to have; Ken’s 1965 hit ‘Everyone’s Gone to the Moon’ is a classic example.
It really all boils down to three basic things if you use the above song as your template: quirkiness, simplicity and a memorable hook.
So how is his song quirky? Three reasons: it’s written in three-four time - most pop songs follow the four-four time signature - making it stand out against all the other singles in the charts at the time; it has a whirling, dream-like string arrangement (probably scored by a session musician at Decca); and the subject matter of the song comes across as a surreal, dreamy parody of a Donovan-style song (cars with engines painted green?)
Why is it simple? Three reasons: the song is written in simple, sometimes incomplete sentences, making it easy to remember; and the structure is so simple that the chorus is just a single sentence added to the end of each verse, there is also a middle-eight made up of just three lines; and the tune - in keeping with the rest of the song - is simple enough to stick in your head after just a couple of plays.
Intro - VC - VC - ME - VC - Outro
Lastly, the memorable hook (probably the most important component of any song): this is a single sentence added to the end of each verse sung in an instantly memorable sequence of notes - the chorus in most pop songs normally stands alone in direct contrast to the verses and will contain at least four lines.
So there you have it. Go away and write us all a great hit single!
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