Here comes the 35th track in the Play It Again Mayhem series. This time it is the turn of Australian rock band Icehouse. They had their first Australian hit single in 1980 and continued to enter the Aussie top 50 up until 1990. They never really had a succession of worldwide hits until 1982’s “Hey Little Girl” which is now included in the Play It Again Mayhem playlist. The song charted in Australia, obviously, New Zealand, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, USA and the UK. Sadly it only reached number 17 in the UK charts. It is a perky synthpop classic with some quite dark lyrics. The band still play isolated festivals and events. I was lucky enough to see them when they supported David Bowie, as did the Beat, at the Milton Keynes Bowl in 1983.
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Here comes the 34th track in the Play It Again Mayhem series. This time it is the turn of my favourite band of the Britpop era in the UK, Gene, with their first single “For The Dead”. It was released as a standalone single in 1994. It sadly only made it to number 86 in the UK singles chart. It has subsequently been made available on the band’s hits collection and the reissue of their debut album ‘Olympian’. It was a double A Side single coupled with “Child’s Body”. The single was released in a limited edition of 1,994 copies via Costermonger Records. The release sold out in two days. The song received a great deal of attention from the music press: Select named it “Single Of The Month”, whilst NME made it their “Single of the Week”.
I saw Gene for the first time in November 1994 at the Old Trout in Windsor. I went to quite a few gigs at that venue, including Oasis in May 1994. Gene were Martin Rossiter lead vocals, keyboards and piano, Steve Mason on guitar, Kevin Miles on bass and Matt James on drums, percussion and occasional backing vocals. To my knowledge Martin Rossiter and Matt James have released solo material and it has been bloody good! The Play It Again Mayhem playlist has been very 1970s centric, and still is, but this is now the second song from the 90s on the list. Take a listen via the link below, share the playlist and let me know what you think.
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Here comes the 33rd track in the Play It Again Mayhem series. This time it is the turn of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons with “The Night”. This is worth it just for the incredible bass lines, which I believe were played by Joe Long. It was originally released in 1972 on a Motown offshoot label, MoWest. It failed to chart initially. Later it became a popular track on the northern soul circuit in the UK, which led to a successful UK re-release in 1975. This time it reached number 7 on the UK singles Chart. The song was included on the groups only MoWest album, ‘Chameleon’. It has been covered by Lene Lovich (1979), by Soft Cell (2002) and Klaxons (2007). Pulp have played the song live. Edinburgh Gin used the song to soundtrack a TV advertising campaign in 2019 and 2020.
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Here comes the 32nd track in the Play It Again Mayhem series. This time it is the turn of the Brothers Johnson with “Strawberry Letter 23”. This is among my favourite songs of all time. The song was written, composed and recorded by Shuggie Otis for his 1971 album ‘Freedom Flight’. The Brothers Johnson version was produced by Quincy Jones and released in 1977. Why is it called “Strawberry Letter 23”? Well the lyric tells the tale of two lovers exchanging strawberry scented letters. The singer is replying to letter 22. The Brothers Johnson version reached number 5 in the US charts and topped the US R & B chart. Sadly it only got to number 35 in the UK.
The Shuggie Otis original was sampled on Outkast’s 2001 hit “Ms. Jackson”. Of the 32 songs in the Play It Again Mayhem series this one makes it 20 from the 70s. Check out the playlist below and let me know what your favourites are. I started this series in honour of Johnnie Walker’s Sounds Of The 70s radio show feature ‘Johnnie’s Jukebox’. His passing saddened me, and many others, he was a giant of a broadcaster.
Here comes the 31st track in the Play It Again Mayhem series and this time it is the turn of the Avalanches with “Since I Left You”. The Avalanches are an Australian electronic, sampling, and DJ outfit. This divine track comes from their debut album of the same title released in 2000. The album made the top ten in the UK, Ireland and Australia. The single didn’t fare as well, with its top performance being number two in the UK Indie chart in 2001. The song samples many artists including Rose Royce, Lamont Dozier, and Klaus Wunderlich to name just a few. The latter was from “Let’s Do The Latin Hustle”. “Since I Left You” remains one of my favourite tracks of all time. What do you think of this song and the playlist?
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This is the 30th song in the Play It Again Mayhem series and finally the Dame appears. It is “When The Wind Blows” by David Bowie. This was released in 1986 as the theme tune for the film adaptation of Raymond Briggs’s incredible book ‘When The Wind Blows’. Originally Bowie was pencilled in to write the whole score, but he ran out of time and eventually only offered this gorgeous song he co-wrote with Turkish multi-instrumentalist Erdal Kızılçay. What do you think of this song and the playlist?
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This is the 29th song in the Play It Again Mayhem series. It is “King In A One Horse Town” by the mighty Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. This was a solo single from 2017. This is the newest single in the playlist so far. It was a solo single that Auerbach issued in 2017, I did hear it then, but until I eventually caught up with the final Dexter series, ‘Dexter New Blood’ recently I had forgotten about it. It soundtracks an early episode showcasing the character Dexter Morgan’s life in the Canadian town of Iron Lake. I love the lyrics, the highlight for me is “I coulda made it but I messed around. I’m a loser with a rusted crown. Scared if I jump in the ocean I might drown.” It is nice to add a newer song to Play It Again Mayhem given that 19 of the 29 songs are from the 70s! What do you think of this song and the playlist?
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Here comes the 28th song in the Play It Again Mayhem series. It is “Saturday Gigs” by Mott The Hoople, from 1974. This is the nineteenth 70’s single in the playlist so far. It was the last studio recording that Mott The Hoople ever made as Ian Hunter left shortly afterwards. This song also became the final Mott The Hoople single and the only one to feature Mick Ronson after he replaced Ariel Bender. Sadly it only made number 41 in the UK charts, which I believe was a chart tragedy. The band continued for a brief period without Hunter and Ronson, but they never reached the heights that Mott The Hoople achieved in the early 70s. The song was played live during the 1974 European tour as the set’s ending but also at the Mott the Hoople Reunion shows in 2009 with it being the closing song of the final gig. I often wonder what might have happened if Ronson and Hunter stayed with Mott The Hoople, based on “Saturday Gigs” I think the future might have been very bright indeed!
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I know that the last entry was just a few days ago, but the 27th song in the Play It Again Mayhem series is with us. It is “The Tide Is Turning (After Live Aid)” by Roger Waters. It was the third single from his solo album ‘Radio K.A.O.S’. I think this is possibly the most positive song that Waters has ever written. To buck the trend of 70s songs this one is from the 80s, the second from that decade in this playlist. Apparently, Roger offered his services to Bob Geldof for Live Aid in 1985 but was turned down. After being asked by his record label to offer a more positive and upbeat end to ‘Radio K.A.O.S’ Waters wrote: “The Tide Is Turning (After Live Aid)”. It makes me feel inspired and happy with every listen. Sadly it only made number 54 on the UK Chart.
I don’t often do this but I have copied Roger Waters’ lyrics for the song below, the music and lyrics always heighten my emotions, how about you? The moment when the choir kicks in gets me every time. Did the tide turn in 1987, sadly not, will it turn one day? I hope so. Check out the previous entries along with this new one in the Play It Again Mayhem Spotify Playlist click here to take a listen! What do you think of this track?
Lyrics by Roger Waters
I used to think the world was flat Rarely threw my hat into the crowd I felt I had used up my quota of yearning Used to look in on the children at night In the glow of their Donald Duck light And frighten myself with the thought of my little ones burning But, oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning The tide is turning Satellite buzzing through the endless night Exclusive to moonshots and world title fights Jesus Christ imagine what it must be earning Who is the strongest Who is the best Who holds the aces The East Or the West This is the crap our children are learning But oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning The tide is turning Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning Now the satellite’s confused ‘Cause on Saturday night The airwaves were full of compassion and light And his silicon heart warmed To the sight of a billion candles burning Oo, oo, oo, the tide is turning Oo, oo, oo, the tide is turning The tide is turning Billy I’m not saying that the battle is won But on Saturday night all those kids in the sun Wrested technology’s sword from the hand of the war lords Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning The tide is turning Sylvester The tide is turning “That’s it! Now the past is over but you are not alone Together we’ll fight Sylvester Stallone We will not be dragged down in his South China Sea Of macho bullshit and mediocrity”
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This is the 26th song in the Play It Again Mayhem series. Check out the previous entries along with this new one in the Play It Again Mayhem Spotify Playlist click here to take a listen! This is another ’70s song, of which there have been 18 so far. This time it is the turn of “Dream Kid” by The Sutherland Brothers and Quiver, released in 1973. The Sutherland Brothers were actual brothers Iain and Gavin and initially, they were a folk-type duo. To expand and beef up their sound in early 1973, the Sutherland Brothers began to work with a Scottish rock band called Quiver. Quiver was originally formed by guitarist Tim Renwick and bassist John ‘Honk’ Lodge (these two were previously with Junior’s Eyes and David Bowie), later the Quiver lineup was Tim Renwick, guitarist and singer Cal Batchelor, bassist Bruce Thomas, and drummer Willie Wilson. Ever since I first heard this track on the radio in 1973 I loved it, and I still do. It was a minor success, only reaching number 57 in the UK charts. Their biggest hit came three years later with “Arms Of Mary” which made the top five in the UK. What do you think of the track?
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With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 