On February 28th 1981 the Who released their first single since the death of drummer, Keith Moon, who died in 1978. Former Faces and Small Faces drummer Kenney Jones, took Moon’s place behind the drums. The song was called “You Better You Bet”. The single peaked at Number 9 in the UK and Number 18 in the US. MTV was launched on 1st August 1981, “You Better You Bet” was the fourth video played on the channel.
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog.You can also follow us onInstagram, Bluesky, and Linkedin.
Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch via EMail.
This is the nineteenth 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 only been 3 weeks since the last entry, so how about another quick one? Once again it is back to the 70s, to 1974. So far, 14 of the 19 songs are from the 1970s. This time it is the turn of the Faces, (or in the case of this release Rod Stewart and the Faces), a seminal British band that influenced countless others. The shortened title of the track can be seen in the header above. But, the full title, including parentheses, is “You Can Make Me Dance, Sing or Anything (Even Take the Dog for a Walk, Mend a Fuse, Fold Away the Ironing Board, or Any Other Domestic Shortcomings)”. Has there ever been a title quite like that before or since? The single still holds the record for the longest-titled song ever to chart in the UK.
It was the last official single from the band and was recorded with a mostly classic lineup of Kenney Jones (drums), Ian McLagan (piano, organ), Ronnie Wood (guitar, backing vocals), and Rod Stewart on vocals. Ronnie Lane had previously left the band and was replaced on bass by Tetsu Yamauchi who plays on this track. The song was co-written by all five of them. It was recorded over a few sessions at Musicland Studios in Munich and Olympic Studios in London. It reached number 12 in the UK charts and scraped to number 100 in Australia, it failed to chart anywhere else, sadly. The song never appeared on a studio album but is on most of the greatest hits type packages from the band. It is my favourite Faces track and has been since I first heard it. It has a supremely happy and danceable vibe and I would love to have seen how this style might have developed had the band stayed together. So give it a spin and let me know what you think of it. Incidentally, fact fans, this is the second time Rod Stewart has featured on the Play It Again Mayhem playlist. He appeared back in May 2022 with a solo hit, “I Was Only Joking”.
I love the lyrics to the song, they really suggest someone very much in love with their partner, here they are.
“hey baby, I wanna say something to ya’, listen sometimes when I get out of my head and I say all the wrong things sometimes I know I stay out late at night and I get back fighting, hey babe somehow all my plans keep slippin’ through my hands and I end up crying, but listen I can be a millionaire honey when you’re standing there you’re so exciting you can make me dance, you can make me sing you can make me do just any old thing and I love it sometimes I wanna get up so early and get away from here girl summer’s gone and before long north winds blow, that bring the snow I’ll keep us warm girl my schemes it seems are merely dreams fading with each morning, hey babe but this old heart of mine is far too proud not to keep on trying you can make me dance, you can make me sing you can make me do just any old thing, yeah baby so little bird don’t fly away want you here every day don’t ever leave me I’d rather lose both my eyes than never see your smiling face again girl you can make me dance, you can make me sing you can make me do just any old thing you can make me dance, you can make me sing you can make me do just any old thing hey babe, keep on loving me babe yeah, keep on loving me babe just keep on loving me babe … just keep on loving me darling … woww, alright, hey baby, oh darling keep on loving me darling just keep on loving me darling …”
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.
Hello everyone and welcome to this wonderful April 7th. I may not be posting every day in the future, but I’ll do my best! Today will be pretty much the usual format too. You’re probably all aware of the upcoming Faces reunion, apparently rehearsals are going on at the moment with four original members; Rod Stewart (vocals), Ian McLagan (keyboards), Ronnie Wood (guitar) and Kenney Jones (Drums). The current news seems to be that the late great (l’s and g’s back in the frame!) Ronnie Lane’s place will be taken by none other than Flea off of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Here are the Faces in their heyday with “Stay With Me” live from the rainbow in London in 1972.
Flea was so desperate to play with the Faces that he sold his clothes to raise the money to join Rod, Ronnie, Ian and Kenney
I’m covering just one birthday today, the 62nd birthday of Florian Schneider-Esleben off of Kraftwerk. Although he left the band last year after an association with fellow band member Ralph Hutter that stretches back to the 60s. Florian also had a David Bowie (yes it’s been a little while but here’s another Mr B reference!) tune named after him. It was the largely instrumental “V2-Schneider” from the ‘Heroes’ album in 1977. Schneider was often seen as a perfectionist with Hutter once describing him as a ‘sound fetishist’. And for you fact fans Kraftwerk apparently means ‘Power Plant’ or ‘Power Station’ in German. Here are Kraftwerk with “The Robots”
Kraftwerk often used dummies on stage whereas Robbie Williams.......... well you can probably guess the answer to that one!
On this day in 1956 The CBS Radio Network broadcast the first regularly scheduled rock ‘n’ roll radio show with the premiere of Alan Freed’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Dance Party. Freed saw himself as the father of Rock ‘n’ Roll and although he wasn’t the first to play it on the radio he is credited with coming up with the phrase ‘rock ‘n’ roll’ to describe it. Actually I read many years ago that the phrase was actually black slang words for sex. Does anyone know the correct answer to that one? Freed did an awful lot for race relations too bringing black and white folks together in what was still a heavily segregated country. Many stars including Little Richard have given him due credit for this. However at one point his TV show was canceled after Frankie Lymon was seen to dance with a white girl during the broadcast. You can’t get much more small minded than that, can you? Ultimately Alan Freed’s career was wrecked by the payola scandal. Payola was the name given to a form of bribery where DJs were paid money to broadcast specific records and in some cases even get themselves a writing credit on the song to boost their income. Freed allegedly did this with Chuck Berry’s “Maybelline” Click here for a sound clip of Alan Freed interviewing the late great (twice in a day now huh l’s & g’s?) Buddy Holly
Alan Freed tells his lawyer that perhaps he should have gone to Specsavers!
And finally on this day in 1962 at the Ealing Jazz Club, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards met Brian Jones for the first time. At the time Brian was calling himself Elmo Lewis and playing guitar with Paul Jones (no relation) who also went on to bigger things as a vocalist for Manfred Mann amongst others
Mick once again easily wins the annual campest member of the Stones contest
With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 