This is the eighteenth song in the Play It Again Mayhem series, which began in 2020. Check out the previous entries along with this new one in the Play It Again Mayhem Spotify Playlist click here to take a listen! It has been 5 months since the last entry, so we are way overdue for another, right? It is back to the 70s once again for this song, 1976. In fact, 13 of the 18 songs so far are from the 1970s. It is called “What A Way To End It All”, and it is by the iconic cult Liverpool band Deaf School. After the band broke up, singer Bette Bright went on to some success as Bette Bright and the Illuminations. Keyboard player Max Ripple, a.k.a John Wood, is now Emeritus Professor of Design at Goldsmiths College, University of London. Deaf School‘s master of woodwind was Ian Ritchie. He has toured as a saxophonist with Roger Waters and he played sax on “See the Day” by Dee C Lee, “Club Tropicana” by Wham!, and “C’est La Vie” by Robbie Nevil. The band also featured someone who went by the name Cliff Hanger on guitar. Mr Hanger was actually Clive Langer. He went on to produce many top acts mostly with Alan Winstanley. Those acts included Madness, Elvis Costello, The Teardrop Explodes, and Dexys Midnight Runners, to name just a few.
I used to own “What A Way To End It All” on 7-inch vinyl. It is still a great song in my opinion. It has a great chorus, fabulous carnival, circus, music hall style instrumentation, and at times the vocals remind me of Sparks. If you have never heard it, get on it now!
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