Playlist: Listen, my friends! ~ September 2013

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In the words of Moby Grape… listen, my friends! Yes, it’s the (hopefully) monthly playlist presented by George’s Journal just for you good people.

There may be one or two classics to be found here dotted in among different tunes you’re unfamiliar with or have never heard before – or, of course, you may’ve heard them all before. All the same, why not sit back, listen away and enjoy…

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CLICK on the song titles to hear them

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The Gals & Pals ~ Blue On Blue (1964)¹

The Beach Boys ~ I Know There’s An Answer (1966)

Peter Cook and Dudley Moore ~ Bedazzled/ Love Me (1967)²

Cat Stevens ~ Tea For The Tillerman (1970)³

Agnetha Fältskog ~ Vart Skall Min Kärlek Föra (1972)⁴

Ronnie Hazelhurst (featuring Stephanie Reeves) ~ Theme from Are You Being Served? (1972-85)

Marvin Hamlisch ~ Scott Joplin’s The Entertainer/ The Ragtime Dance from The Sting (1973)

Captain Beefheart ~ Upon The My-O-My (1974)⁵ 

Gil Scott Heron ~ Johannesburg (1976)

Marti Webb ~ Take That Look Off Your Face (1980)

Ryuichi Sakamoto ~ Theme from Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence (1983)

Blue Room ~ Every Time You Go Away (1987)⁶

The Four Tops ~ Loco In Acapulco (1988)⁷

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¹ The Swedish group’s iconic version of the early Bacharach/ David tune; this take would be memorably sampled by Röyksopp on their 2001 hit So Easy

² The double bill of Dudley Moore compositions from the classic Cook/ Moore comedy hit – both of which are performed in a Ready Steady Go! (1963-66)-style set; the first (sharing the film’s title) is performed by Cook’s Devil in the guise of ‘Drimble Wedge And The Vegetables’ and the second by Dud’s hero Stanley Moon as a pop star (thanks to the Devil granting him one of his wishes) before an adoring audience of teenyboppers

³ Cat Stevens’ short but fantastic tune from his album of the same name that many years later would become the theme for Ricky Gervais and Steven Merchant’s excellent BBC comedy series Extras (2005-07)

⁴ ABBA megastar-to-be Agnetha performing a Swedish-language version of I Don’t Know How To Love Him dating from when she played the role of Mary Magdalene in an early ’70s Swedish touring version of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Jesus Christ Superstar 

⁵ The oh-so idiosyncratic Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band performing this effort from their Unconditionally Guaranteed album (1974) on an edition of the Beeb’s late-night music showcase The Old Grey Whistle Test broadcast the same year

⁶ Hall & Oates’ 1980 pop ballad (four years later a huge hit for Paul Young; #1 in the US and #4 in the UK) as performed by band Blue Room on the soundtrack of John Hughes’ Steve Martin and John Candy-headlining, disaster-laden road movie comedy hit Planes Trains And Automobiles (1987)

⁷ The UK #4 hit that featured along with a couple of Phil Collins smashes (Two Hearts and his cover of A Groovy Kind Of Love) in The Great Train Robbery-themed Collins and Julie Walters-starring Brit rom-com Buster (1988); the tune itself was written by Collins and Lamont Dozier (one third of the legendary Motown writing team Holland-Dozier-Holland)

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