(#219, 23rd July 1966)
Hepper, but less charming rerun of “Summer Holiday” with the intrusive horn arrangement acting as your hustling tour guide and stamping out any moments of excitement. By the coda Georgie Fame sounds awfully bored. Gotta go. Get away. Go. Go. Yeah. 3
Written by Tom on Wednesday, October 19th, 2005 | 1,100 views |
The UK's 1000+ Number One Hits since 1952, reviewed, in order, irregularly, for as long as I can bear to keep doing it. A history of pop in the shape of a chart.
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Marcello on October 19th, 2005
The horns (the same horns which reappeared 18 years later on Aswad’s Live And Direct!) actually make the song with their octave-leaping riffs like a tyre desperately trying to warn you of its imminent burst. The song was written for a petrol TV commercial (National IIRC) and the second of the most atypical career trajectory of any serial chart topper - the Jools Holland of his day never had any top ten hits except for the three which went all the way to the top, and none of which betrayed the ska/jazz/R&B/proto-psych lite fusion which Fame was wont to achieve onstage.
Oddly enough, the drummer on this record was relieved of his Blue Flames duties shortly afterwards for general twattish behaviour - one Mitch Mitchell…
Anonymous on October 19th, 2005
Doctor Mod says,
Ah, yes–but this is hardly the worst Georgie Fame track to hit the top of the UK charts.
It’s coming . . . and it makes this one look really good by comparison.
Tom on October 19th, 2005
I really can’t stand the octave jumps, I like your tyre metaphor a lot but “whoopee cushion” is what sprang to my mind.
Tommy Mack on October 20th, 2005
A lot of sixties bands were like that, weren’t they? They’d do bubblegum records to pay the rent, then get down and dirty with the devil’s music (clunky beat-group blues covers with long organ solos) on the sweaty club circuit
Marcello on October 21st, 2005
Yeah, we’ve still got Long John Baldry and Love Affair coming up to deal with in that department.
Anonymous on October 24th, 2005
Doctor Mod said,
This didn’t make much of an impression on the other side of the Atlantic. I don’t think I’ve actually heard it again since those very few times it was played on the radio in the summer (or so I think it was) in 1966.
Indeed, the thing that I most clearly was that strange octave jump that the horns did…..
Lena on December 2nd, 2005
Hi Tom,
I just wanted to wish you a Happy Christmas - I totally understand if you don’t have time to post here, though I wish you would, as there are some pretty awesome songs coming up!
johnk5@o2.pl on December 9th, 2005
Noce blog. johnk5@o2.pl
Waldo on March 3rd, 2007
I don’t know how he got away with this.
raymond morris on April 11th, 2007
Well… what a lot of BS! Georgie Fame was one of the best…and still is.