There were a few old songs in the States that I knew, obviously. They're into the Stones and Bowie like the rest of us, although the same few songs tend to be played ad nauseam, and quickly get ruined for you. Their "oldies" though, were often songs I'd never heard before. First time I heard Jimmy Buffet my husband sang the entire song along with everyone else in the bar and I'd never even heard of the guy. (I'll warn you now, this is a great song and will have you singing it all day!) There are also some 70s and 80s rock songs that I didn't know, and that was a time when I reckoned I was on top of everything musical. 867 5309 was HUGE in the USA in 1983, when I was listening to anything and everything and I don't think I heard it till I moved there.
But now, back in the old UK, I'm having a blast from the past. Not sure the family are digging it quite so much though. Last week, Ken on Radio 2 was doing one of his quizzes and my goodness, I had some explaining to do about the songs.
Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep, by Middle of the Road - The conversation was along the lines of "Yes, they're singing "Oooo-wee, chirpy chirpy cheep cheep." And "Yes, as a matter of fact it did get to Number One." (And, no that's not Anna from Abba.)
Granddad - Also in 1971, we had Clive Dunn singing this lovely song. Yes, everyone bought it for their favorite grandpa, which is why it was the enormous success it was, but Top of the Pops? Really? (I didn't bother telling them about the 1980 smash hit "There's No One Quite Like Grandma" by St. Winnifred's School Choir.)
And then we sampled Shaddap You Face, which certainly had them shutting up, especially as I appeared to know all the words and had the accent down too. It was Number One for three long weeks and kept Ultravox's "Vienna" off the top spot. I was slightly relieved to hear it stayed at Number One in Australia for eight weeks, so we're not the only saddoes. (Would this ditty even be considered politically correct nowadays I wonder.)
Have I missed any? It seems like every other day I'm being forced to defend ridiculous songs. Oh yes, what was the one with the big duck-like puppet?
