Label: Bus Stop
Year of Release: 1974
There's a pile of records in the corner of my living room (or living room/ kitchen combination, since that's actually what it is) which are all set to upload to this blog. Some of them don't live in the mini-tower of vinyl for long, because as soon as I buy them I'm desperate to share them. Others live there for quite some time until I get totally desperate for blog content. Then there are others - we'll call these the "guilty finds" - that I'm not overly keen on myself, but I know a lot of people online have been making a fuss about. "Wouldn't it be good to track down an mp3 of this one?" someone will say on a forum, and I'll go all quiet.
So then, the full story behind this record for me is that some enterprising ebay seller told me the B-side "Citizen Jones" was "psychedelic pop". The 1974 release date should have caused alarm bells to ring, but I put in a low bid and subsequently won the thing. Obviously, the very last thing this record is is popsike - if we're going to bracket it in that category, then the theme tune to "Sorry!", Brotherhood Of Man, Abba, Ken Dodd and that music Thames Television used to play when they were just opening up for the morning are also popsike, and God knows what else as well. Naughty e-bay seller (Although small snatches of it to remind me of Sleeper's "Vegas", strangely).
This record is actually a very chirpy and standard piece of seventies pop, with the able harmony noises of sisters Rosemary and Patti Gold with friend and associate Wendy Baldock on vocals. It has received an enormous amount of love online over the last couple of years, and whilst I have to admit I personally can't share the same degree of enthusiasm for its contents, it's easy to understand how others might - in terms of delivery and arrangements it's absolutely pitch-perfect, and has a sunny, cheerful chorus which doesn't irritate with any displays of pushiness. This is a subtle and pleasing record which still sounds as if it had enough in the way of hooks to be a hit, whilst not really being the kind of thing I'd ordinarily listen to myself.
The band apparently enjoyed a lot of appearances on the mainstream television shows of the day (including everyone's favourite barrel of absurdities "3-2-1") but never quite managed to make it on to "Top of the Pops" or indeed enter the charts.
And as for the "Bus Stop" record label (most famously home to Paper Lace) try getting away with such a wanton breach of copyright for your company's logo now...
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