Streetband

One of the enduring pop singers of the eighties was the man who opened his chart account with a number one and followed it with five further top 10 hits, and no doubt one of his proudest moments would have been when he was chosen by Bob Geldof to sing the opening line of the Band Aid charity classic, Do They Know It’s Christmas, his name is Paul Young, the man with the golden larynx he was known, but his debut chart appearance was as a lead singer with an act called Streetband who had a ridiculous novelty song called Toast.

Paul was born in Luton in 1956 and as a teenager loved football and was chosen to play for the Vauxhall Motors team who were based in his home town. In his early 20s he was invited to sing with a short-lived band called Kat Kool & the Kool Cats. Realising he enjoyed it, in 1978 he joined Streetband which comprised guitarists John Gifford and Roger Kelly, Mick Pearl on bass and a drummer called Chalky. In an early review, one scribe classed Toast as an early rap record. It had no chorus and a lyric structure which compared to no other, not even punk. Paul recalled how it all started, “Well it was my fledgling beginnings at recording so it was all a bit of a learning curve and a tremendously happy time. We were far from being the kind of band that threw TVs out of hotel windows, in fact, we carried our own toolbox with us so that if anything got broken, we could nail it back together and not be charged for it.” So how did the lyrics come about? Paul: “They were made up on the night Chaz Jankel came to see us, he was the producer and arranger behind Ian Dury & the Blockheads, and he was scheduled to produce us. Believe it or not, it all came about because we had a novice road crew and not one of them could change a guitar string. When the rhythm player bust a string, he went off to do it himself which was at the John Bull pub in Chiswick, and the rest of the band started busking on Lover, the jazz standard that I’d heard by Tony Bennett. So I wouldn’t be standing there like a plonker, I started scatting over the rhythm and arrived at the word ‘toast’ at the end of the chord sequence. It made sense, so I repeated that at the end of every chord sequence. Chaz thought it was part of the act! And I suppose the ‘Cockney-ness’ of it appealed to him. He suggested it as the b-side of our first single, Hold On. So yes, I wrote the lyrics, although I had to make it up again in the studio as it was all off the top of my head.” A quick glance at the songwriter credit on the label reveals the name Bernard Kelly, Paul explained, “It was a strange start for a singing career. We credited it to our manager as our publishing was frozen, and never saw a penny from it!” The song gained its initial publicity after Kenny Everett kept playing it on his Capital Radio show. They released two albums, Dilemma and London, both in 1979 and both recorded at the Kinks’ Konk studio in Tottenham and both failed to appeal to anyone. They toured a fair bit and Paul reminisced about it, “If we could find a room with cotton sheets for £10 a night, we thought we’d arrived. One time we nearly got killed when we were driving back from a gig and stopped to take a leak at the side of the road. We got back into our minibus but the road crew behind didn’t see us and drove straight into the bus, writing it off. Things like that make for great memories but it makes me feel sad for people who win shows such as The X Factor. They’re halfway up the ladder already. They don’t have to go through the whole slog of doing the circuit and they miss out on all the fun. It’s like being thrust into your life without having to go through your childhood, school, adolescence and everything that makes you who you are.” Paul explained what Top of the Pops was like, “Well, it was too difficult to mime, so I always did a live vocal. You remember these things better when you’re young!” The band split at the end of 1979 and Roger Kelly and Chalky left so the remaining members recruited a big brass section and renamed themselves the Q-tips named after the cotton bud. “It was more fun in the Q-Tips, once I’d learned a bit!” Paul said, “And the QT’s were more my idea, whereas I joined Streetband and was dictated to by them, but only because I knew nothing!” They were a hugely popular live draw because they did covers of Stax and Atlantic soul classics. They appeared on Old Grey Whistle Test and Rock Goes To College as well as opening for Bob Marley, Thin Lizzy and The Who. By 1982 Paul had decided to embark on a solo career which is still going when he feels like it. He took a little break as he wanted to spend more time with his family, but in 1993 he formed a new band Los Pacaminos. He explained why, “I wanted to get back to basics. I was between record labels and writing material for a new album but I wanted to play live again. I’ve always loved the Tex-Mex sound and knew a few musicians who had a similar passion for this type of music. So I asked them to join me in forming a band.
Here is "Toast" From 1978 Enjoy

The Waikikis

The Waikikis were a Belgian studio band, mostly known for their single "Hawaii Tattoo", released in the U.S. in 1964, on Kapp Records. "Hawaii Tattoo" was recorded in 1961 in Belgium and spent two months in the Belgian chart. It was a huge hit in Germany, spending 21 weeks in the Top Ten and also reached the Top Fifty in the U.S., Canada and the UK. The album Hawaii Tattoo reached the number 93 spot in the Billboard Hot 200 in 1965. Behind the scenes, record producer Horst Fuchs promoted the band’s career and pulled the strings. Composers such as Jo van Wetter, Willy Albimoor, Hans Blum and Michael Thomas (Martin Böttcher) created songs like "Hawaii Tattoo", "Carnival of Venice", "Mein Hut der hat drei Ecken", "Aloha Parade", "Honolulu Parade" and "Waikiki Welcome". The Waikikis sold their gramophone records by the millions, and some of their own creations like "Hilo Kiss" or "Hula-Hochzeit" ("Hawaii Honeymoon") made their way into the charts in several countries. In 2004 the song "Hawaiian March" was used for the ‘Prince Paul's Bubble Party’ track on the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie film soundtrack.

Here is The Wakikis With Hawaii Tattoo From 1965 Enjoy

Andy Stewart

Andrew Stewart MBE (30 December 1933 – 11 October 1993) was a Scottish singer and entertainer.

Stewart was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1933, the son of a teacher. When he was five years old, the family moved to Perth and then, six years later, to Arbroath. Even in early childhood, he loved imitating people and amazed his parents with impersonations of famous singers and actors. He attended Arbroath High School, where his father taught science.
In 1950, at the age of 16, he participated in the Arbroath Abbey Pageant, taking the part of "A Knight in Shining Armour". Up until this time, he had not thought seriously about a career in entertainment, as he had aspirations of becoming a veterinary surgeon. He then decided to train as an actor at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, where he studied until 1954. During his first year at the college, he obtained First Prize for Comedy; he also excelled in fencing, particularly at the foil.

Stewart's patriotic wearing of tartan and his use of stereotypical Scottish humour, throughout the 1960s, echoed the music hall style and songs of fellow Scot Sir Harry Lauder.
He had several international hit singles: "Come in-Come in", "Donald Where's Your Troosers?", "A Scottish Soldier" (which reached no. 1 in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, spent 36 weeks in the UK Singles Chart in 1961, charted in South Africa and India, and peaked at No.69 on the USA's Billboard Hot 100)  "Campbeltown Loch", "The Muckin' O' Geordie's Byre", "The Road to Dundee", "The Battle's O'er" (No. 1 on the Australian charts in July 1961), "Take Me Back", "Tunes of Glory", and "Dr. Finlay" (1965). He is also remembered for being the compere of The White Heather Club. This was a BBC Scotland television programme that existed as an annual New Year's Eve party (1957–1968), and also as a weekly early-evening series (1960–1968). At the height of its popularity, the show had a viewership of 10 million.
"Donald Where's Your Troosers?" was a hit in 1961 and again in 1989. Stewart is said to have written the song in 10 minutes as he sat, minus trousers, in the lavatory of a recording studio. It was also featured in the US TV show Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles, sung by one of the Terminators, played by Garret Dillahunt. Stewart included an Elvis Presley impersonation halfway through the song. On the strength of this comedy hit, Stewart toured Australia and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1968, doing impersonations of Dean Martin. His skill with different accents is also evident on "The Rumour", where the rumour moves across Scotland and into Ireland, with Stewart speaking in a different accent for each place.
Among the highlights of Andy Stewart's stage shows were his impersonations of other famous singers, including Tom Jones, Billy Eckstine, Louis Armstrong, Dean Martin, Johnnie Ray, Elvis Presley, Petula Clark and Johnny Cash.
 From 1973 onward, recurrent ill-health took its toll on his voice and stage vitality, and in middle age he was only a shadow of the exuberant, dynamic performer he had once been. Frequently hospitalised in the 1970s and 1980s, he underwent several heart and stomach operations, including triple heart bypass surgery in 1976 and again in 1991.
In retirement, he moved back to Arbroath. Coming out of retirement in 1991, he began touring once again and recorded two CDs on the Scotdisc label. In 1993 a summer season at the Capitol Moat House Hotel in Edinburgh was cut short because of a back injury. A further long season for the following year was planned at the same venue. Shortly before he died in 1993, he gave a small concert at Arbroath High School for the pupils. He was also due to appear in The "Pride of the Clyde" at Glasgow's Pavilion Theatre and other tours and concerts were planned. A sheltered housing scheme in Arbroath, 'Andy Stewart Court', was named in his memory.
Stewart died after giving one of his most renowned performances during a Gala Benefit Concert for Children's Hospice Association Scotland (CHAS). He came to the Usher Hall in Edinburgh from his sick bed to appear for the children, and gave his final performance. The following afternoon, at the age of 59, Stewart suffered a fatal heart attack at his home. Stewart's funeral took place at St Andrew's Church, (Church of Scotland) Arbroath on Friday 15 October. His family were joined by many stars and friends from the entertainment world. A large crowd gathered outside the church to pay their respects to "The Tartan Trooper", while a piper played "A Scottish Soldier" and "The Battle's O'er.
Here is "The Battle's O'er" Enjoy From 1961

Benny Hill

Alfred Hawthorne "Benny" Hill (21 January 1924 – 20 April 1992) was an English comedian and actor, best remembered for his television programme The Benny Hill Show, an amalgam of slapstick, burlesque, and double entendre in a format that included live comedy and filmed segments, with him at the focus of almost every segment.
Hill was a prominent figure in British culture for nearly four decades. His show proved to be one of the great success stories of television comedy and was among the most-watched programmes in the UK; the audience peaked at more than 21 million in 1971.

Alfred Hawthorne Hill was born on 21 January 1924 in Southampton, on the south coast of England. His father, Alfred Hill (later manager of a surgical appliance shop that mostly sold condoms), and grandfather, Henry Hill, had both been circus clowns. After leaving school, Hill worked at Woolworths, as a milkman, a bridge operator, a driver, and a drummer before becoming assistant stage manager with a touring revue. He was called up in 1942 and trained as a mechanic in the British Army. He served as a mechanic, truck driver, and searchlight operator in Normandy after September 1944 and later transferred to the Combined Services Entertainment division before the end of the war.
Inspired by the "star comedians" of British music hall shows, Hill set out to make his mark in show business. He changed his name to "Benny" in homage to his favourite comedian, Jack Benny.
 After the Second World War, Hill worked as a performer on radio. His first appearance on television was in 1950. In addition, he attempted a sitcom anthology, Benny Hill, which ran from 1962 to 1963, in which he played a different character in each episode. In 1964, he played Nick Bottom in an all-star TV film production of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. He also had a radio programme lasting for three series called Benny Hill Time, on BBC Radio's Light Programme, from 1964 to 1966. It was a topical show, such as a March 1964 episode which featured James Pond, 0017, in "From Moscow with Love" and his version of "The Beatles". He played a number of characters in the series, such as Harry Hill and Fred Scuttle.
Hill's film credits include parts in five full-length feature films including Who Done It? (1956), Light Up the Sky! (1960), Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines (1965), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), in which he played the relatively straight role of the Toymaker, and The Italian Job (1969). He also made two short-subject films, The Waiters (1969) and Eddie in August (1970), the latter being a TV production. Finally, a clip-show film spin-off of his early Thames Television shows (1969–73), called The Best of Benny Hill (1974), was a theatrically released compilation of Benny Hill Show episodes.
Hill's audio recordings include "Gather in the Mushrooms" (1961), "Pepys' Diary" (1961), "Transistor Radio" (1961), "Harvest of Love" (1963), and "Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)", which was the UK Singles Chart Christmas number-one single in 1971. He also appeared in the 1986 video of the song "Anything She Does" by the band Genesis.More on Benny Here.

Here is "Gather in The Mushrooms" From 1961 Enjoy

Sonny James "Apache"

Apache

Jimmie Hugh Loden (May 1, 1928 – February 22, 2016), known professionally as Sonny James, was an American country music singer and songwriter best known for his 1957 hit, "Young Love". Dubbed the "Southern Gentleman" for his congenial manner, his greatest success came from ballads about the trials of love. James had 72 country and pop charted releases from 1953 to 1983, including an unprecedented five-year streak of 16 straight Billboard #1 singles among his 26 #1 hits. Twenty-one of his albums reached the country top ten from 1964 to 1976. James was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1961 and co-hosted the first Country Music Association Awards Show in 1967. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007.

 Sonny James: 
RIP 1928 - 2016 aged 87

The solid guitar instrumental version of *Apache meant fame and fortune for British group The Shadows when the song topped the UK Singles Chart for weeks in mid-1960.  Composed by Jerry Lordan it is in the list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. The public raved and the song became a worldwide hit. Even until today it is still being played, revived, mixed and re-mixed by many different bands and artistes.

 Many groups like The Ventures, Xavier Cugat and his Orchestra, Surfaris, Aces Combo, artistes like Duane Eddy, Jorgen Ingmann, Bert Weedon and Chet Atkins covered it.

• Jorgen Ingmann is a Danish guitarist who had the first American hit with "Apache," which was the top song in the UK the previous year and later made its way into many hip-hop songs as a popular sample.
  
  The song was written by a British performer named Jerry Lordan, who had three UK Top 40 hits in 1960, but didn't record "Apache." A guitarist named Bert Weedon first recorded it, but it was The Shadows' "Apache" that was first released and became a UK #1 hit for five weeks in 1960. The Shadows met Jerry Lordan when they appeared on the same bill of a 1960 tour, and they heard Lordan perform the song on his ukulele.
  
  The Shadows version didn't make it in America, where the group had little promotion and a lawsuit from an American R&B group also called The Shadows. It was Ingmann who finally delivered the US hit with this song. Ingmann hadn't been playing this style long - he played Jazz guitar in dance halls before he discovered the style of Les Paul in the 1950s. While his version was the US hit, The Shadows recording with guitar work from Hank Marvin is generally considered the definitive version.
• UK guitarist Bert Weedon originally recorded this song, but his Top Rank Record Company procrastinated over its release, and Jerry Lordan passed it to The Shadows. Bert Weedon's version was released shortly after The Shadows' came out, but his only reached #24.
• The Shadows were Cliff Richard's group in the 1960s, and Richard played the Chinese drum that sounded like bongos on The Shadows version. In 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh he says "Jorgen Ingmann put in a few tricky bits, but essentially it was a cover job. If the Shads had made the charts there with 'Apache,' things might have been very different for us."
• One Ingmann hit with this song, the floodgates opened for cover versions. Sonny James added vocals to the song and took it to #87 later in 1961. The Ventures released their cover in 1963 and included it on albums released '65, '67, '71, '75, '77, '80 and '82. Other charting covers in America were by Davie Allen & The Arrows (#64 1965) and The Sugarhill Gang (#53 1982).
  
  The most influential cover was by The Incredible Bongo Band, whose 1973 version included an extended drum break that gave the New York DJ Kool Herc the idea of looping that section of the song, creating the first breakbeat. This "break" became one of the most popular samples in hip-hop, appearing in songs by LL Cool J, Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, MC Hammer and many others.
• Three years after recording this, Jorgen Ingmann with his wife Grethe won the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Dansevise" (Dancing Tune). They were representing their home country of Denmark. The couple met in 1955, where married in 1956 and got divorced in 1975.
• This was a rare cover of a UK hit that made it into the US Top 10. Through most of the 1960s, it was usually the other way around, with British bands importing American hits.
   
  Here is The Sonny James Lyric Version From 1961 Enjoy.