JENNY MASON – Top of the Pops Session Singer

English session singer Jenny Mason appeared on six Top of the Pops LP’s in total, contributing one track to each issue.
Jenny grew up in Radlett, Hertfordshire and happened to know Bruce Baxter who lived in the same area.
During her stint as a Top of the Pops singer she became acquainted with record producer, Peter Sames who became Jenny’s manager.
Peter Sames was producer on the 1977 Polydor release of Evita (Polydor 2384 096) on which Jenny was chosen for the principal role of Eva Perón.

Pickwick Pops : What was the first record you ever bought?

Jenny Mason : The first album that I bought was Stevie Wonder’s ‘Up-Tight Everything’s Alright’.
I was into black soul music and Tamla Motown big time.
The first single, I can’t remember exactly, but I do know that it was a Beatles record. Probably their first one out I suspect (Love Me Do). I was and still am a big Big fan.
John, being the genius that he is, was my favourite.

Pickwick Pops : How did you become a session singer?

Jenny Mason : I never really was a session singer as such. I knew Bruce Baxter, who as I recall lived in Radlett, and Alan Crawford who lived in London. I was asked if I would like to sing on the TOTP albums, so I said yes. My daytime job was as a production secretary at ATV studios.
I was later introduced to Peter Sames, around the same time as doing the TOTP albums, and he took me under his ‘protective’ wing. Peter signed me up and became my manager.
I was asked to join Brotherhood of Man whilst recording Jesus Christ Superstar, but because I was signed to Peter, I couldn’t take up the opportunity.
After ‘I Don’t Know How To Love Him’ was released, and played on the radio, I was asked to do Opportunity Knocks. Royston Mayoh, the show’s producer, desperately wanted me on the show to sing ‘I Don’t Know How To Love Him’ and I was even auditioned privately. But for one reason or another that never came to fruition either.

Pickwick Pops : What was your first Top of the Pops session?

Jenny Mason : My first one was during the summer of 1970. I recorded the Poppy Family track ‘Which Way You Goin’ Billy?′
I didn’t sing it too well as I remember. The studio was just churning out the songs, and doing take after take was not allowed. You had to do as good a job as possible during the short time permitted.

Pickwick Pops : How old were you then?

Jenny Mason : I was 18 at the time.

Pickwick Pops : How much were you paid for it?

Jenny Mason : I honestly can’t remember the exact amount, but I do remember that it was good money at the time.

Pickwick Pops : I’ve noticed on the early Top of the Pops LPs that some of the songs’ keys were occasionally transposed to suit the range of the individual session singers. Did you ever get to choose which key to sing in on any of your sessions?

Jenny Mason : No, I never had any of the keys changed for me. I sang all the songs in their original keys.

Pickwick Pops : How many Top of the Pops sessions did you do in total?

Jenny Mason : I did six in total. The six were…

1. Which Way You Goin’ Billy? on Volume 13
2. I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing on Volume 22
3. You Won’t Find Another Fool Like Me on Volume 35
4. I Get a Little Sentimental Over You on Volume 37
5. Let Me Try Again on Volume 45
6. And finally, Lost In France on Volume 56

Pickwick Pops : There are some nice tight harmony parts on some of your Top of the Pops recordings. Did you overdub the harmonies yourself, or were they performed by another singer?

Jenny Mason : I sang the harmony parts myself on one track only – ‘Which Way You Going Billy?’. I have no idea who sang backing vocals on any of the other tracks. I didn’t get an opportunity to meet any of the other musicians. I just went in, did my vocal and then out again.

Pickwick Pops : Roughly, how much studio time were you given for each Top of the Pops session?

Jenny Mason : Very little studio time was allocated as I recall. I know that I did ‘Let Me Try Again’ in one take. The other songs were not much more.

Pickwick Pops : How well did you familiarise yourself with the songs that you were asked to cover?

Jenny Mason : I think I must have bought the records to learn them. I can remember copying all the words down so that I could go into the studio knowing them.

Pickwick Pops : Did you ever make a considered attempt to impersonate any of the singers you were copying?

Jenny Mason : I don’t think I tried to impersonate any of the original artists.
No, I just sang them to the best of my ability.
Although, I was still very young and the finished results were not always the best I could have done.
Had I been given more time in the studio I feel I could have produced better results.

Pickwick Pops : Did you find any of the songs particularly difficult to nail?

Jenny Mason : No, the songs were not difficult to nail – except ‘Which Way You Going Billy?′
I was definitely not happy with the finished result on that one. The key was too low for me. But because the backing track had already been laid down, there was no way it could be changed.
I wasn’t too happy with ‘I Get A Little Sentimental Over You’ either.
At the start of the song I felt I sang slightly off key. I wasn’t able to re-take it though due to the limited time allocated for each track.
Overall, I think I was least happy with ‘Which Way You Goin’ Billy?’

Pickwick Pops : Did you record any cover versions for any of TOTP’s rivals, such as ‘Hot Hits’?

Jenny Mason : No, I never did any covers for any of the other labels. For me, it was about the people I knew who asked me to sing.
I wasn’t with an agency who ‘booked me out’. I was always a solo artist.
Peter was always looking for a song for me to release as a single. We did a cover of Abba’s ‘Thank You For The Music’ but someone else covered and released it before we could. I think our version was much better though.

Pickwick Pops : Are you still in touch with anyone from your Top of the Pops days?

Jenny Mason : I’m still in contact with Peter Sames. He’s a lifelong friend.

Pickwick Pops : What’s your most memorable experience as a session singer?

Jenny Mason : The most memorable experience of my short recording career was definitely playing the lead vocal on Evita for Polydor.
Life in London was amazing at that time. I remember going home after a session, rolling in at 4am with the birds up and singing their little heads off, and me falling into bed with the sound of ‘What’s the Buzz’ and ‘Don’t Cry for Me Argentina’ resonating around my head like a siren, preventing me from getting to sleep.
Ah! those were the days. Evita took about two months for me to lay the tracks down and the experience was simply amazing.
I remember going into Panasonic Studios in London on the day that I was going to lay down the vocal for Don’t Cry for Me. The musicians were still in the studio recording the backing track. Well there must have been about 100 professional (best musicians you could get) session musicians in the studio when I got there, and I went into the control room to listen to them play.
It was awesome! There was little old me, so young, and I was going to be singing to their backing track.
It was a truly amazing experience for me.

Pickwick Pops : Are you still in the music business?

Jenny Mason : I am not singing professionally at the moment, but have done a few ‘guest’ appearances when the occasion has arisen.
I’m always willing to jump up on stage, when invited to, to do a bit of backing singing or even do a number or two.
I still get excited when I go and see a live band play. Music was and still is a great love of mine.
My boyfriend is a terrific drummer in a band so I get to see him play which is a real privilege. Live music always did and always will ‘rock my boat’ so whether I’m listening or performing, there is absolutely nothing like it.
I’ve been so lucky to have made records, sang in bands, and met a great many wonderful musicians through the years and wouldn’t change a thing.

Pickwick Pops : What’s the greatest concert you’ve ever attended?

Jenny Mason : Well I went to see Stevie Wonder who was pretty awesome. I also saw Liza Minnelli.
When I was 13, my music teacher at school took me and a few other students to see Handel’s Messiah at the Royal Albert Hall and that was amazing.
I didn’t go to many concerts when I was older as I was always singing in my bands; that usually meant three nights a week including weekends. Or, I’d be recording for friends like Alan Hawkshaw. I went into the studio from time to time to record demos, and also did a jingle for American Radio (the jingle was for an advert for Fabergé).

Pickwick Pops : What was the last album you bought?

Jenny Mason : Science and Faith by The Script.

Pickwick Pops : Thank you very much for your time Jenny. It’s been a real pleasure.

You can purchase MP3 downloads of any or all of Jenny’s six Top of the Pops performances from Amazon.
To hear short samples of any of the songs, click on the relevant links below.

• Year of Release:  1971
• Unknown

The main benefit of having your latest hit covered by the Top of the Pops team was that it meant an extra payday for both the publishers and composers of the original hit record. Although few would admit it at the time, most artists were more than happy to see their latest hit single appear on any number of budget label cover LPs. This was certainly not the case however for a certain Benny Hill. While Benny was no doubt delighted to see his latest novelty hit ‘Ernie’ clinging to the top of the UK singles chart at the end of the year, giving him the much-coveted Christmas number 1, he was absolutely furious to find a cover version of his song appearing on this particular issue of Top of the Pops. After threatening to sue, Benny was horrified to discover that it was perfectly legal for anybody to record and release cover versions of absolutely any song whatsoever without having to obtain permission from the original composer. Benny was so outraged by this discovery that he vowed never to release another record again.
As it happens, the cover version of ‘Ernie’ that appears on this LP courtesy of Top of the Pops regular Ken Barrie,* is actually very good. In fact, the LP as a whole is quite impressive.
The album kicks off with a convincing cover of the T.Rex hit ‘Jeepster’. This was the fourth time that session singer Martin Jay* had been given the task of impersonating Marc Bolan for Top of the Pops, and he was getting pretty darn good at it.
Jay was also invited on this volume to impersonate Slade frontman ‘Noddy Holder’. A vocalist that Jay described in 2009 as having ‘A voice made of granite that goes up where only dogs can hear it’. The version of ‘Coz I Luv You’ is handled brilliantly by Jay, co-vocalist Mike Trounce* and a very enthusiastic backing band, making it one of the stand-out tracks of the album.
Another Top of the Pops regular, Jane Marlowe,* appears on no less than four tracks on this LP. Three of them, ‘Something Tells Me’, ‘Surrender’ and ‘You Gotta Have Love In Your Heart’ are all handled with ease. When it came to ‘Johnny Reggae’ though, Jane seemed to flounder somewhat. Her lack of enthusiasm for this track is evident throughout.
The two ‘Easy Listening’ titles (Amarillo and Till) are both performed faultlessly. Danny Street* taking ‘Amarillo’ and an unknown session singer giving a blistering performance of Tom Jones’ ‘Till’.
The Middle of the Road hit ‘Soley Soley’ is pleasant enough but the Cher track suffers from a slightly off-key vocalist.
The best cover version for me on this particular LP (pipping Jeepster at the post) has to be ‘Tokoloshe Man’. The backing band are obviously enjoying themselves here and once again the lead vocals are nailed brilliantly by Martin Jay*.

Here’s a rundown of the highest UK chart positions attained by the original artists with these twelve tracks.

Jeepster – No.2
Gypsys Tramps And Thieves – No.4
Amarillo – No.18 (When re-released in 2005 it got to number 1)
Something Tells Me – No.3
Coz I Luv You – No.1.
Johnny Reggae – No.3
Soley Soley – No.5
Till – No.2
Surrender – No.10
Ernie – No.1
Tokoloshe Man – No.4
You Gotta Have Love In Your Heart – No.25

A bit of John Kongos for ya this time.

Comparison Sample – Tokoloshe Man

On paper, Johnny Reggae should have been the easiest track on this album to cover. For some reason though (I’m guessing it’s a total disdain for the song), Jane Marlowe shows no regard for timing or phrasing whatsoever. The original may be a perfect example of a throwaway pop song. This version would definitely have benefited from instant deletion.

Comparison Sample – Johnny Reggae

• Click Play on the MP3 Sample Player to hear samples of any or all of the tracks that are featured on this LP.
  
• All of the tracks featured on the sample player are available (at a price) as MP3 – DRM Free Downloads.

Yet again Hallmark’s ‘Top of the Pops’ series has proved our claim to be consistently Britain’s best selling L.P. record by hitting the No. 1 Spot once more with our last issue (SHM 755).
How is it that time after time we can outsell the greatest artistes and groups on the International Scene? We’ll tell you.
We use the finest recording techniques available to-day to give you that incomparable sound you all want to hear. We have the most talented session musicians and vocalists in the business to record our cover hits. We employ the greatest studio engineers in the country to ensure that technical perfection is obtained. We have a sleeve designer who is a ‘natural’ for the job. All this, plus lots and lots of hard work trying to calculate what are going to be the hit numbers when our record is released.
That’s what makes a Hallmark ‘Top of the Pops’ album. Then it’s up to you pop fans to prove us right or wrong.If you like the sound we’re tremendously thrilled and grateful. If not, we try all the harder next time.Just look at the list of tracks on this latest album! We’ve pulled out every stop to give you what you want to hear.You want to make us Tops again? Please?

If anybody is able to help me out with any additional information about this specific edition, especially regarding the names of any musicians who played on this LP, or the identity of the cover girl, then please leave a comment below or use the ‘Contact Us’ link in the Main Menu.

Of course, everybody is welcome to leave comments about this LP. If you have any memories or opinions (even if they conflict with my personal opinions above), then please feel free to do so.

Keith.

* A big thank you as always to Chris for his priceless ‘vocalist-identification’ work.

• Year of Release:  1972
• Cover Girl:  Penny Irving

Top of the Pops stalwart Tony Rivers would often claim that if any of these LP’s were played at a party, nobody would notice the difference. Personally, I’ve never allowed myself to agree with that statement. To my ears, the aural differences between the two are even more blatant now than they were almost forty years ago when I first discovered these records. However, listening today to this volume’s opener ‘Clair’, I finally find myself (if only for this one particular track) in agreement with Tony’s bold claim. Not only does session singer Ken Gold* provide an impeccable impersonation of Gilbert O’ Sullivan, but the track also clearly demonstrates what an excellent producer Bruce Baxter was. Despite time and budget constraints, Bruce managed to produce a cover version here which I’m convinced would have fooled me and most others had it been played at a disco party in 1972.
This high standard continues on track two with Lee Vanderbilt* delivering a great vocal performance on the Chairmen of the Board hit ‘Elmo James’. Although it’s unlikely that this version would also have fooled me back then, if It had, the game would have definitely been up on track three.
Despite a superb performance from former Congregation frontman Brian Keith*, Python Lee Jackson’s ‘In A Broken Dream’ is completely murdered by the inclusion of probably the worst lead guitar track ever contributed to these albums. The first five bars of this song sound promising enough, but just as you’re expecting to hear Mick Liber’s SG Custom come screeching in on bar six, we are presented instead with a laughable schoolboy grade guitar solo that completely kills the song dead before it’s started. This doesn’t stop Keith from delivering a highly enjoyable vocal on the first two verses, but when he’s rejoined by the lead guitarist on verse three for some guitar-vocal interplay, the whole song becomes an unlistenable farce.
Track four sees Tony Rivers* comfortably tackling ‘Donna’ the first of many 10cc numbers to get the TOTP treatment.
Jane Marlowe* provides one of the highlights of this LP for me on ‘Leader of the Pack’. The roles of all three Shangri-Las are played extremely well by Jane. She does over-egg the American schoolgirl accent a little, but for me at least, this just adds to the charm of the already highly quirky original.
Side one comes to a close with a note perfect yet very half-hearted performance of Lieutenant Pigeon’s novelty hit ‘Mouldy Old Dough’.
Ken Barry* (AKA Postman Pat) gets side two off to a blistering start with a very impressive performance of ‘Avenues And Alleyways’. The Producers were obviously expecting this follow-up to Christie’s biggest hit, ‘Amarillo’, to achieve similar chart success as its predecessor.As it turned out, this track ended up being the only flop chosen for inclusion on this album. Tony Christie’s version would fail to chart until four months later, and even then it only managed to achieve a very modest No.37 placing in the UK singles Chart.
Elvis Presley, as usual, gets adequately impersonated on ‘Burning Love’. The Johnny Nash track is pleasant enough. ‘Loop Di Love’ is every bit as unlistenable here as it is on the original Jonathan King version. However, the high quality is soon restored for the two closing tracks on this LP. Tony Rivers* and his regular vocal team along with Jane Marlowe* produce a brilliant version of ‘Hallelujah Freedom’. This is followed by ‘Elected’. On any other issue I’m sure this track would get my ‘most convincing cover version’ award. Martin Jay* gives a high energy vocal delivery along with a top notch backing band who together could no doubt have fooled many a party goer in 1972.

Here’s a rundown of the highest UK chart positions attained by the original artists with these twelve tracks.

Clair – No.1
Elmo James – No.21
In A Broken Dream – No.3
Donna – No.2
Leader Of The Pack – No.3 (This record peaked at No.11 on its original release in 1965)
Mouldy Old Dough – No.1
Avenues And Alleyways – No.37
Burning Love – No.7
There Are More Questions Than Answers – No.9
Loop Di Love – No.4
Hallelujah Freedom – No.10
Elected – No.4

The harmonica solo on the original version was provided by Gilbert’s then manager Gordon Mills. The little girl’s chuckles came courtesy of Mills’ daughter Clair about whom the song was written. Even these two cameos are perfectly copied on this very impressive cover version.

Comparison Sample – Clair

With so many great session musicians appearing on these LP’s, I have no idea how or why this guitarist was chosen to play on this otherwise great track.

Comparison Sample – In A Broken Dream

• Click Play on the MP3 Sample Player to hear samples of any or all of the tracks that are featured on this LP.
  
• All of the tracks featured on the sample player are available (at a price) as MP3 – DRM Free Downloads.

We are proud to present this, the twenty-seventh volume of “TOP OF THE POPS” consistently the best selling album of its kind in recording history.
Without massive T.V., press or radio advertising, this budget L.P. keeps at the top on its own merits, for pop fans throughout the world recognise good pop music, good orchestrations, good vocalists and good value wherever it may be.
This album, recorded specially by us in London is a humdinger. It’s a meaty, beaty, swinging, ring-a-dinging, hopping, popping selection of all that’s best in to-day’s charts; and don’t just believe us – try it for yourselves.
If you’ve a party, a celebration of any kind; or for no reason at all, this is the album to get you way, way up on top of the world.
Please believe us.

If anybody is able to help me out with any additional information about this specific edition, especially regarding the names of any musicians who played on this LP, then please leave a comment below or use the ‘Contact Us’ link in the Main Menu.

Of course, everybody is welcome to leave comments about this LP. If you have any memories or opinions (even if they conflict with my personal opinions above), then please feel free to do so.

Keith.

* A big thank you as always to Chris for his priceless ‘vocal-identification’ work.

• Year of Release:  1971
• Cover Girl:  Unknown

Volume 18 turned out to be a milestone LP for the ‘Top of the Pops’ team when, in August 1971, it became the first one in the series to make it to the top of the UK albums chart. This accomplishment was repeated two issues later with Volume 20. It obviously played a pivotal role in the chart compilers’ decision in January 1972 to exclude all budget priced LPs from the chart from that point on.
The album gets off to a fairly good start with TOTP regular Martin Jay* honing his Marc Bolan impersonation skills on a very passable cover (sans saxophonist) of the T.Rex classic ‘Get It On’. This is followed by an awful version of ‘River Deep Mountain High’, on which session singer Jacqui Baxter* and her male counterpart combine to provide an extremely cabaret version of what was already a poor cover version by The Four Tops and The Supremes. Martin Jay* re-emerges on track three with a very inoffensive cover of ‘Me And You And A Dog Named Boo’.
Legendary record producer, Norman Smith, released his first solo single in 1971 as Hurricane Smith. Hurricane had what can only be described as a unique singing voice. The singer given the task of impersonating Hurricane does a marvellous job here. The result, for me at least, is the LP’s highlight, a really great cover of ‘Don’t Let It Die’.
With the exception of some rather dodgy slide guitar, The Move’s ‘Tonight’ is also covered very well. Side one of the LP comes to a close with future Piglet (AKA Mavis) Barbara Kay* providing a very convincing impersonation of Sally Carr with a solid performance of the Middle of the Road bubblegum smash ‘Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep’.

The opening track on side 2 is ‘Co-Co’. Both the musicians and vocalists on this track do an excellent job of reproducing The Sweet’s version perfectly. I would have probably chosen this as the most convincing cover version on the album if it weren’t for the inexplicable absence of a bass player. Actually, there is a bassist on this recording, but producer Bruce Baxter, for whatever reason, has decided to send him or her so far back in the mix, that he or she is totally inaudible. Speaking of Bruce Baxter*. When it came to finding a bass voice for the opening two verses of ‘Tom Tom Turnaround’, Bruce nominated none other than himself for the role. And a fine job he does too! He makes way on verse three for another session singer who takes over for the first of four whole tone key changes that occur during the song. This track may well have been another highlight of the LP for me if it weren’t for the return of the dodgy slide guitarist who doodles his way through most of the song.
Elsewhere on side 2, The Delfonics track is destroyed by a less than convinving performance from a vocalist who struggles to sing in key throughout the whole track. Both ‘Street Fighting Man’ and ‘Black And White’ are below average. The album ends on a more positive note with Martin Jay* returning to deliver an enthusiastic ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’. I can’t help wondering how many people who purchased this LP in 1971, considered this closing song title to be wholly appropriate.

Here’s a rundown of the highest positions attained by the original artists with these twelve tracks.

Get It On – No.1
River Deep Mountain High – No.11
Me And You And A Dog Named Boo – No.4
Don’t Let It Die – No.2
Tonight – No.11
Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep – No.1
Co-Co – No.2
La-La Means I Love You – No.19
Street Fighting Man – No.21
Tom Tom Turnaround – No.2
Black And White – No.6
Won’t Get Fooled Again – No.9

An easy choice for me this time. Don’t Let It Die.

Comparison Sample – Don’t Let It Die

It was touch and go between this one and The Delfonics’ track, but it just had to be River Deep Mountain High this time.

Comparison Sample – River Deep Mountain High

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• All of the tracks featured on the sample player are available (at a price) as MP3 – DRM Free Downloads.

Top of the Pops albums, Nos SHM 735 and 740 both hit the No. 1 spot on the "Record Retailer" National LP charts, topping such fabulous super stars as the Rolling Stones, and Simon & Garfunkel.

We’re so thrilled we want to climb the highest mountain and shout the good news to all the world.

Thanks again, you lovely Pop fans, for making possible this wonderful double.

On this album we feel we’ve made the best ever selection. So help us to complete a fabulous hat trick by rocketing this issue to No. 1.

If anybody is able to help me out with any additional information about this specific edition, especially regarding the names of any musicians who played on this LP, the identity of the cover-girl, or any other trivia, then please leave a comment below or use the ‘Contact Us’ link in the Main Menu.

Of course, everybody is welcome to leave comments about this LP. If you have any memories or opinions (even if they conflict with my personal opinions above), then please feel free to do so.

Keith.

* A big thank you once again to Chris for his much appreciated ‘vocal-identification’ work.

• Year of Release:  1978
• Cover Girl:  Unknown

It was after listening to this particular album in 2005 that my 33 year hatred of these LP’s finally ended. The musicianship is top notch throughout, the vocals are consistently great, and production wise, this has got to be one of the best albums in the series. It’s not as if I love the songs chosen for inclusion on this LP, in fact, some of them I absolutely hate. But I have to admit that if I’m going to judge this album for what it is (a collection of cover versions of big hits of the day) then I would have great difficulty in faulting it.
The album starts off with a bang. Abba’s ‘Take A Chance On Me’ is spot-on, followed by a very convincing performance of Bill Wither’s ‘Lovely Day’. I don’t particularly like the Althea & Donna song ‘Up Town Top Ranking’ but have to concede that it’s covered very well here.
All of the disco tracks sound great, especially if we consider the big production budget afforded the originals. I especially enjoyed the Odyssey and Bee Gees numbers. Even the cheesy attempt at re-creating scenes from Casablanca on ‘As Time Goes By’ had me suitably charmed.
Definitely one of the best LP’s in the series.

Part of the challenge for the producers was trying to guess which tracks would be riding high in the singles chart when these LP’s hit the shelves. Apparently, in a lot of cases, the original songs would have been released no more than a month before being chosen for inclusion. Don’t forget, this was back in the day when a single would usually take anything up to eight weeks to achieve its highest chart position.

With this volume, the producers chose their twelve songs well. Ten tracks made it into the UK top 10, with the other two getting very close. This particular LP also managed to include three UK chart toppers.

Here’s a rundown of the highest positions attained by the original artists with these twelve tracks.

Take A Chance On Me – No.1
Lovely Day – No.7
Up Town Top Ranking – No.1
Native New Yorker – No.5
As Time Goes By – No.15
Sorry I’m A Lady – No.8
The Groove Line – No.12
Figaro – No.1
Let’s Have A Quiet Night In – No.8
Jamming – No.9
Love’s Unkind – No.3
Stayin’ Alive – No.4

I’m gonna have to go with the opening track this time. A very impressive cover of Abba’s ‘Take A Chance On Me’.

Comparison Sample – Take A Chance On Me

It was very difficult to pick a bad-un here. It’s not that this track is awful, but for me ‘Love’s Unkind’ is probably the least convincing cover version on this LP.

Comparison Sample – Love’s Unkind

• Click Play on the MP3 Sample Player to hear samples of any or all of the tracks that are featured on this LP.
  
• All of the tracks featured on the sample player are available (at a price) as MP3 – DRM Free Downloads.

The room was semi-darkness and through the grey haze of cigarette smoke, the vague shapes of people could be made out, some lounging against walls, others draped over odd bits of furniture. The somewhat subdued hum of voices, interspersed with the clinking of glasses and occasional bursts of laughter could be heard in the background. Suddenly, a blast of music shattered the calm and filled room with its vibrant, swinging sound. The reaction was instantaneous – everybody rose as one and started dancing to their favourite Top Tunes.

Yes, you’ve guessed it – someone had started playing the latest Top of the Pops album. A sure way of making any party swing.

If anybody is able to help me out with any additional information about this specific edition, especially regarding the names of any musicians who played on this LP, the identity of the cover-girl, or any other trivia, then please leave a comment below or use the ‘Contact Us’ link in the Main Menu.

Of course, everybody is welcome to leave comments about this LP. If you have any memories or opinions (even if they conflict with my personal opinions above), then please feel free to do so.

Keith.

• Release Date:  1969
• Cover Girl:  Unknown

Volume 5 of this series was issued in the early summer of 1969. The track-listing for this LP presented quite a challenge for the session musicians enrolled to cover the twelve songs chosen for them.
The LP kicks off with a faithful rendering of ‘Get Back’. The band and singers deliver a note perfect copy of The Beatles’ own version. The track is let down though by the producer, who inexplicably sends the rather prominent keyboard licks right to the back of the mix, rendering them almost inaudible.
There are no other obvious errors on the album and all in all it’s difficult to choose a poor cover version on this particular issue. Session singer Danny Street* in particular, really earned his session fee for his contributions to this LP. He proved without a doubt on this album what a talented and versatile vocalist he was. As well as appearing on the throwaway pop of ‘Dick-A-Dum’ and a faithful cover of Paul Simon’s ‘The Boxer’, Danny also turns in a very passable performance of the highly emotional ‘Man Of The World’ along with the two big production numbers on the album, ‘Love Me Tonight’ and ‘My Way’.
Elsewhere on the LP we get to hear Elvis Costello Snr (Ross McManus*) deliver a very proficient ‘Galveston’ and future Blue Mink front-man Roger Cook*, who was drafted in to emulate the rather high range of Ron Isley on ‘Behind A Painted Smile’.
The voice on ‘My Sentimental Friend’ is believed by some to belong to a certain David Bowie. It’s been suggested by many that Bowie was an occasional contributor to these and other cover version LPs during the late sixties, something that Bowie himself has so far refused to admit or deny. Personally, I’m somewhat doubtful that it is Bowie on this particular track (have a listen to the sample on the mp3 player below to see what you think) but I’m not ruling it out completely.
One thing we can be certain of is that ‘Snake In The Grass’ is performed by none other than Elton John. Although, to the best of my knowledge, this is the only ‘Top of the Pops’ LP that Elton appeared on, he was a regular contributor to other cover version LPs, and a collection of twenty suchlike cover versions featuring Elton were compiled in 1994 and released on the CD ‘Chartbusters Go Pop‘.

Part of the challenge for the producers was trying to guess which tracks would be riding high in the singles chart when these LP’s hit the shelves. Apparently, in a lot of cases, the original songs would have been released no more than a month before being chosen for inclusion. Don’t forget, this was back in the day when a single would usually take anything up to eight weeks to achieve its highest chart position.

Here’s a rundown of the highest positions attained by the original artists with these twelve tracks.

Get Back – No.1
My Way – No.5
Snake In The Grass – No.23
Man Of The World – No.2
Ragamuffin Man – No.8
Galveston – No.14
Love Me Tonight – No.9
The Boxer – No.6
Come Back And Shake Me – No.3
My Sentimental Friend – No.2
Behind A Painted Smile – No.5
Dick-A-Dum-Dum – No.14

To cover a big production number like ‘My Way’ in a couple of hours is no mean feat. The arrangement, production and vocal performance on this track is so impressive to my ears that I’ve just had to choose this one.

Comparison Sample – My Way

There are a few tracks on this LP that I personally hate, but it would be unfair to say that any of them were covered badly.
This is definitely one of the best ‘Top of the Pops’ LPs performance wise, and it’s the first one I’ve reviewed where I am unable to choose a track that deserves the title ‘Least Convincing Cover Version’. So this time, I’m gonna leave this section blank.

• Click Play on the MP3 Sample Player to hear samples of any or all of the tracks that are featured on this LP.
  
• All of the tracks featured on the sample player are available (at a price) as MP3 – DRM Free Downloads.

If anybody is able to help me out with any additional information about this specific edition, especially regarding the names of any musicians who played on this LP, the identity of the cover-girl, or any other trivia, then please leave a comment below or use the ‘Contact Us’ link in the Main Menu.

Of course, everybody is welcome to leave comments about this LP. If you have any memories or opinions (even if they conflict with my personal opinions above), then please feel free to do so.

Keith.

* A big thank you to Chris for his much appreciated ‘vocalist-ID’ work.

• Release Date:  June 1968
• Cover Girl:  Unknown

So this is where it all began. When this LP was released in June 1968, Easy Listening acts were still enjoying considerable success in the UK single’s chart. It’s no surprise then that the Easy Listening genre is well represented on this album. The first thing that struck me when listening to this LP was that a lot of the keys had been dropped to suit the range of the session singers. I don’t think this practice continued for too long, though I’m not entirely sure. It’s something I’ll be looking out for when I review future issues.
The album gets off to a great start with a rather impressive version of Gary Puckett’s ‘Young Girl.’ It’s followed by a rather disappointing cover of ‘My Name Is Jack.’ the lead vocalist on this track is well respected session singer Roger Cook*. On this occasion though, he comes across rather whiney, and is unable to recreate the warmth of Mike D’Abo’s original. I’m assuming that the very capable crooning on tracks three and four is provided in both cases by the same vocalist. The first track he attempts (Can’t Take My Eyes Off You) is lowered by a tone, while the second (Blue Eyes) has to be dropped by a tone and a half to enable him to croon within his comfort zone.
The second side of the album is not as good as side 1. Some of it is quite awful. The band sound as if they’re about to fall apart on Lulu’s ‘Boy.’ We are also treated to a very clipped and clinical attempt at covering Dionne Warwick’s ‘Do You Know The Way To San Jose’ along with a terrible cabaret version of Cilla Black’s ‘Where Is Tomorrow,’ which incidentally is performed two whole tones lower than the original.

Once this series was up and running, part of the challenge for the producers was trying to guess which tracks would be riding high in the singles chart when these LP’s hit the shelves. For this first volume though, the majority of tracks chosen were probably big hits at the time the LP was being made. For that reason, I’m a little surprised to see just one chart topper on this LP. It also seems strange to me why they chose to cover the Eurovision winner ‘La La La’ instead of the runner-up ‘Congratulations’ by Cliff Richard, which was probably at number 1 while this album was being recorded.
The producers did choose to take a punt on a couple of new releases though, and in the case of Cilla Black’s latest offering, they got it very wrong. They were obviously hoping that Cilla’s latest single would be enjoying similar success to its predecessor (Step Inside Love) when this LP hit the shelves.

Here’s a rundown of the highest positions attained by the original artists with these twelve tracks.

Young Girl – No.1
My Name Is Jack – No.8
Can’t Take My Eyes Off You – No.5
Blue Eyes – No.3
Something Here In My Heart – No.11
Jennifer Eccles – No.7
Do You Know The Way To San Jose – No.8
I Can’t Let Maggie Go – No.8
Lovin’ Things – No.6
Where Is Tomorrow – No.39
La La La – No.35
Boy – No.15

There’s a number of enjoyable tracks on this LP, but the best effort in my book is Track 1, Side 1, ‘Young Girl.’

Comparison Sample – Young Girl

It’s gotta be the naff version of Cilla’s song this time.

Comparison Sample – Where Is Tomorrow

• Click Play on the MP3 Sample Player to hear samples of any or all of the tracks that are featured on this LP.
  
• All of the tracks featured on the sample player are available (at a price) as MP3 – DRM Free Downloads.

Welcome to the ‘Pop’ scene, here we present a wonderful bunch of ‘Pop’ goodies. All the songs on this record are Chart-Busters and we take great pleasure in reproducing them for you using the swinging-est bunch of talent on the scene. Switch on and we dare you to try and SIT through both sides.

If anybody is able to help me out with any additional information about this specific edition, especially regarding the names of any musicians who played on this LP, the identity of the cover-girl, or any other trivia, then please leave a comment below or use the ‘Contact Us’ link in the Main Menu.

Of course, everybody is welcome to leave comments about this LP. If you have any memories or opinions (even if they conflict with my personal opinions above), then please feel free to do so.

Keith.

* A big thank you to Chris for his much appreciated ‘vocalist-ID’ work.

• Year of Release:     1972
• Cover Girl:   Nicola Austin*

This was actually the first Top of the Pops LP that I ever encountered, and it’s for that reason alone that I’ve decided to choose this particular album to get this blog category off the ground. When I first heard this record as a twelve year old in 1972, I absolutely hated it. In fact, it was because of this specific album that I decided I would never want to listen to a ‘Top of the Pops’ LP ever again (click here for the full story).
Listening to it now, 38 years later; I must admit that my denigration at the time was probably a little harsh. This is not the best ‘Top of the Pops’ LP by a long way, but it’s certainly not the worst. Yes, I still cringe when I hear the weedy introduction to ‘Telegram Sam,’ but can now appreciate that the vocalist’s impersonation of Marc Bolan is not too bad at all. I can’t help wondering though, how much effort these session singers put into actually singing the songs, as opposed to concentrating on impersonating the original artists. This LP provides a classic case in point with ‘All I Ever Need Is You’ where the female singer, while delivering a fine vocal performance, fails convincingly to sound anything like Cher (she lands much closer to Bette Midler actually), while her male counterpart at the same time, manages to produce a very believable impersonation of Sonny Bono.
Elsewhere on this LP, we get to appreciate what a strong vocal talent The Sweet possessed, when we sit back and cringe at the way the session singers on ‘Poppa Joe’ struggle painfully to cope with the numerous key changes that The Sweet tackled with ease on the original.
The album ends with a rather impressive version of Chicory Tip’s ‘Son of my Father’. This track actually provided Top of the Pops Stalwart ‘Tony Rivers’ with his first of many lead vocal roles on these wonderful LP’s. Which gives me the perfect opportunity to recommend Tony’s official website, which has a section devoted to ‘Top of the Pops’. It is there that you will be able to get a lot of first-hand information about the people and procedures behind the making of these much-loved/maligned albums.

Part of the challenge for the producers was trying to guess which tracks would be riding high in the singles chart when these LP’s hit the shelves. Apparently, in a lot of cases, the original songs would have been released no more than a month before being chosen for inclusion. Don’t forget, this was back in the day when a single would usually take anything up to eight weeks to achieve its highest chart position.

With this volume, the producers chose their twelve songs well. Ten tracks made it into the UK top 10, with the other two getting very close. This particular LP also managed to include three UK chart toppers.

Here’s a rundown of the highest positions attained by the original artists with these twelve tracks.

Telegram Sam – No.1
Horse With No Name – No.3
Where Did Our Love Go? – No.8
Stay With Me – No.6
I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing – No.1
Let’s Stay Together – No.7
Poppa Joe – No.11
Baby I’m A Want You – No.14
American Pie – No.2
Have You Seen Her – No.3
All I Ever Need Is You – No.8
Son Of My Father – No.1

There were two contenders for me on this LP. Danny Street,* a prolific ‘Top of the Pops’ contributor, turned in a great vocal performance on the fine cover version of Bread’s ‘Baby I’m A Want You’. But for me, this track was pipped at the post by a rather striking version of ‘I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing’. The lead vocal this time being delivered by session singer Jenny Mason.*

Comparison Sample – I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing

There are a number of less than passionate performances on this LP. But nothing causes me to cringe more than the ill-advised attempt by Lee Vanderbilt,* the unfortunate session singer who was given the task of reproducing the mainly spoken performance of the Chicago based Chi Lites’ ‘Have You Seen Her’.

Comparison Sample – Have You Seen Her

• Click Play on the MP3 Sample Player to hear samples of any or all of the tracks that are featured on this LP.
  
• All of the tracks featured on the sample player are available (at a price) as MP3 – DRM Free Downloads.

We issued our first Hallmark ‘Top of the Pops’ album some three and a half years ago and what has happened since then has been an uninterrupted run of success after success; fantastic world sales; Top-Ten-Topping; Gold Awards – a real success story based not on luck, but on hard work, imagination, and more hard work. We wanted to give the world public a high quality album of twelve current hit tunes recorded by the finest Session Musicians available to us; and at a price representing the best possible value. We believe we have succeeded.

Because……….

during the second half of 1971, not only did ‘Top of the Pops’ notch up unprecedented sales, but they also collected no less than four NO. 1 spots in the UK LP chart; gold awards in other European countries, and – most important of all – a sackful of mail from happy Pop people.

But we are not content to be complacent. We are trying, trying, trying all the while to keep up the very high standard we have achieved so far; and so we present this latest album ‘Top of the Pops’ volume 22, in the production of which we have burned much midnight oil. So, Pop fans everywhere, grab yourselves a copy and look at the sleeve, look at the tunes, listen to the singers, rave with our musicians; and, if it’s not the greatest in the series, let us know all about it.

If anybody is able to help me out with any additional information about this specific edition, especially regarding the names of any musicians who played on this LP, then please leave a comment below or use the ‘Contact Us’ link in the Main Menu.

Of course, everybody is welcome to leave comments about this LP. If you have any memories or opinions (even if they conflict with my personal opinions above), then please feel free to do so.

Keith.

* A big thank you to Chris for his much appreciated ‘vocal-identification’ work.
* A big thank you also to Terry for identifying the Cover Girl.

Terry runs the brilliant ‘TOP OF THE POPS – The Definitive Website‘ which is undoubtedly the most in-depth ‘Top of the Pops’ website I’ve yet to see.
Check it out NOW!