It’s an occasional memory – but a grim one. I once tuned to Radio 1 and heard the unmistakable lilt of the repetitive but beautiful melody of Black’s Wonderful Life. It hadn’t been a hit yet, but I had bought it a while earlier.
“Oh good”, I thought – and then
“this is one of my favourite songs”
At this point I stopped thinking and listened…the couple of minutes that followed should have been a blissful swim in Colin Vearncombe’s perfect, sunshiney aural world. Here comes those feelings of serenity and inner peace that will kick in when I hear that song. Yay!
But instead, Col sings #No need to run and hide…it’s Ga-ry Davies on Radio wuuun…#. And then the song itself properly starts.
By now though, everything is spoiled. It’s slightly-off milk, it’s the cup of tea that’s been allowed to cool for a bit too long so it’s got a skin on top. It’s just not right is it?
And then I thought of another one of my favourite songs – “Atmospherics” by Tom Robinson. Similar thing happened there. The chorus “Listen to the radio…woo-oo…Listen to the radio” was changed to “Mike Read on the radio…woo-oo…Readie on the radio”.
Tom was already on thin ice with the chorus of “Listen to the Radio”. All but guarantees airplay, that ploy. But it was that treacherous use of an affectionate nickname for the big be-shaded berk that sealed the deal in terms of sending that song into the bin, forever sullied and soured.
I am thinking that bands did this a lot. Are there others?
“So you had better do as you are told…”
I don’t suppose Mr Costello really counts, does he?
😉
The Who did one too. Will have to check you tube. I seem to remember “talking bout my favourite station” to My Generation. Thin Lizzy also.
And famously so did Jimi Hendrix – ‘Radio 1, you stole my gal, but I love you anyway.’ I think that’s how it went.
See The Who Sell Out, which is full of radio jingles. Some of them are real, some not.
The Kane Gang were destined for great things until “Smalltown Creed” was turned into “Wooo Gary Davies, woo hoo Gary Davies on your radio…”
The Boo Radleys did this with ‘Wake Up, Boo!’; thus cementing their plummet from being eclectic and somewhat iconoclastic brilliant outsiders to fawning Britpop also rans, scraping at the door of Cool Britannia for some scraps of the lads mag driven filthy lucre.
It was for Chris Evans’ breakfast show and it baffled the 15/16 year old me that the people who had made ‘Lazarus’ would want to prostitute themselves in such a way.
What an innocent lad I was back then.
The rest of that album is bloody good. Wake Up was irritating then and hasn’t improved with age. In fact it now sounds like the music from Deal or No Deal.
Rick Witter wants you to know that The Link is easy.
This is my favourite. Makes me laugh just thinking about it.
Around the time The Little River Band released this track Happy Anniversary as a single it coincided with the 10th anniversary of Wunnerful Radio One. They recorded a special jingle that guaranteed lots of free airplay and strong ticket sales on their 1977 UK tour.
Also relive the memories of those old jingles on this website.
http://www.radiorewind.co.uk/radio1/jingles_menu_page.htm