Hot Chocolate - I Believe In Love

What a great tune by Hot Chocolate! I love how loud the hi-hats are in the mix. It reminds me of how loud the hi-hats are on the Blond album. I first saw this video courtesy of my friend Jessica. This comes from a series of VHS tapes called Music Unlimited that had all these music promos filmed in the early 70's of artists like The Equals, Tony Hazzard, Emitt Rhodes and The Sweet among others. Anybody know the history of these clips?

Peter Noone sings Tony Hazzard

Peter Noone released a handful of good singles on RAK in the early 70's. After RAK, he made only one single on Phillips before moving on to Casablanca records: 

(I Think I’m Over) Getting Over You / All Sing Together - Phillips 1973. The A-side was written by the great Tony Hazzard. 

Here's what Alan Betrock had to say about this single:

Peter Noone - "(I Think I'm Over) Getting Over You" (Phillips)
By Alan Betrock, Phonograph Record Magazine, January 1974

How could Peter Noone make a comeback if he's never really been away? After Herman's Hermits disappeared from the American charts, they continued to have mild success in their homeland, and Peter, on his own, recorded some wonderful solo singles. One, David Bowie's "Oh You Pretty Things" even dented the British Top 30. Having been a pop star at the tender age of 15, Peter is one up on the Gerry Marsdens, Freddie Garrity's and Billy J. Kramers of the world, who are all at least a third of a century on in years.

Noone's freshness, vitality and appeal stems from this youthfulness. This is his trademark, and his unrestrained versatility makes him a prime choice for guest spots on British variety shows. He can be seen every week on the "telly" - a well rounded vaudevillian much like Davy Jones - who can appeal to the tots, the teens, and the 'mums and dads'.

On this side of the Atlantic, Peter is still quite an unknown entity. His commercial resurgence began with the British Invasion Package Tour which showcased Noone's professionally entertaining and endearing stage act. He took the critics and audiences by storm, gathering raves from most corners. His television appearance on Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin, and Midnight Special have not been so stellar as the nature of the medium tends to cram Peter's one-hour performance into six minutes. But at least these shows help to get Peter's name known again, and his recent Sonny & Cher gig gave him more valuable exposure.

All of this is nice, but Peter will never really be back until he can rid himself of "Mrs. Brown," "A Kind Of Hush" and all the others. If he is pigeon holed as a mere revival act, the novelty will quickly wear off, then it's back yo the pubs again. So Peter has taken a major step in attempting to establish himself as a current performer. He has shelved his old label, hired a new producer, and released a new single.

The result is available on Peter's debut Phillips release. Writer Tony Hazzard (remember "Ha Ha Said The Clown", "Fox On The Run", and "Goodnight Sweet Josephine"?) penned this ditty, and Tony Atkins produced it. It's a good combination of styles, and melodic too, with Peter's double-tracked voice soaring throughout. A steady piano rhythm carries the song which is accented by a nice use of strings. This use of strings is most thankfully tasteful, avoiding the usual pitfall of overdramatic and unneccessary arrangements. "Getting Over You" combines Noone's Bowie phase with middle Bee Gees, and adds a great high falsetto of his own. This is a good start and if Peter keeps putting out strong records, and getting airplay, he just might be back - this time to stay.

Extra: Because You're There, a Graham Gouldman-penned B-side from 1972.

Greg Shaw - Selections from Jukebox Jury Nov. 1975

DWIGHT TWILLEY BAND -"You Were So Warm - Shelter 40450
The screaming rockers of "I'm On Fire" show a softer side here, recalling shades of the Byrds and the Searchers. The flip, "Sincerely,"' introduces the Zombies as well. I think that what I like most about the Twilleys, apart from the impeccability of their sources, is the cleanness, the bare simplicity of their sound. They never over-produce, and they're not afraid to be tastefully derivative. This will bomb in the discos, but they don't care--the girls they want to reach are too young to do the hustle anyway.

BAY CITY ROLLERS -"Saturday Night" /"Marlina" - Arista 0149
Like everyone else, I'm a little appalled that these dorks should be considered for even a moment, by anybody at all, to have anything in common with the Beatles. But at the same time; I've liked almost all their records, beginning with "Keep On Dancing" in 1971. For a hard pop group (not quite Slade or Sweet, but more than Middle of the Road) they're not bad. "Saturday Night," a 1973 single in England, is currently on its way to becoming their first U.S. hit. The closest thing to a hard rocker they've done, its success here may say something about American tastes, since none of their more characteristic earlier efforts fared as well. In fact, "Saturday Night" started out as the B-side of this disc, backing the more tuneful (somewhere between Rod Stewart and Albert Hammond...) "Marlina:' actually their latest recording. Since their progression over the last four
years has been from harder to softer, the question is raised as to what they'll do for a follow-up if "Saturday Night" becomes a hit, short of raiding the back catalog still further--not that anyone in this country would be much the wiser.

WARWICK - "Let's Get The Party Going" - RAK 211 UK
The one RAK record I'd really like to see out here is "Let's Get the Party Going" by Warwick, which sounds like the Jook attempting to turn the Ronettes' "Be My Baby" into a modern post-glitter classic. Doesn't quite overwhelm, but comes close, and is worth searching out (RAK 211, in England).



By Greg Shaw - Jukebox Jury column, PRM Nov. 1975

Ricky Wilde 45 reviews

Ricky Wilde is a favorite here at pop45. He is the son of pre-Beatles British rocker Marty Wilde and the younger brother of Kim Wilde. He made records on Jonathan King's UK label before he was even a teenager.

I Am An Astronaut/Hertfordshire Rock
UK Records #18 - 1973
Ricky was only 11 when this record was released. The A-side is a really catchy novelty song with lots of bizarre sound effects and an inventive arrangement. The tune reminds me of "Neanderthal Man" by Hotlegs with the sounds from "Space Oddity". Dr. Demento has played this one on his novelty radio show.

Hearing the B-side, "Heretfordshire Rock" for the first time is an intense experience. The arrangement is really vicious, with feedback, crunching guitars and drums and loud handclaps. Ricky sounds like a teenie Suzi Quatro on this one. the lyric "Heretfordshire Rock" sounds more like "I'll Treat You Rough".

Mrs. Malinski/Cassette Blues
UK Records #59
We have never heard this single. Somebody please send us a copy!

Teen Wave/Round & Round
UK Records #63
"Teen Wave" is a (pre)teenage rock n' roll anthem in the vein of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues" or the Jook's "Crazy Kids". The arrangement sounds like a Giorgio Moroder/Chicory Tip song because of the early use of synthesizers. It really has a great Glitter chorus with the backup singers yelling "NO!"

"Round and Round", the B-side, is a cool little song with acoustic guitar, tom tom drumming and bells.

I Wanna Go To A Disco/Bad Boy
UK Records #70
"I Wanna Go to A Disco" sound even more like Chicory Tip than "Teen Wave' does. The synth upfront and like the Chicory Tip song "Good Grief Christina", it sound like an updated Beach Boys surf song. The "Oo Ba Ba" backup vocals emphasize this. I can really relate to "Don't cut my hair..." part.

I have the DJ promo, so it doesn't include "Bad Boy", which is a cover of Marty Wilde's biggest Fifties hit.

April Love/Round And Round
UK Records 45-49013
"April Love" is a cover of Pat Boone's hit song. They probably thought that Donny Osmond's revival of "Puppy Love" made this a good idea. It wasn't.