It was a great time for pop music. The likes of Fleetwood Mac, the Bee Gees, the Eagles and Kiss were still massive, but a great pop song from an unknown could still cut through. Numerous acts burst to the forefront and then just as quickly disappeared or went back to the lower levels they'd been working at before. Punk/new wave and disco had shaken things up a bit giving us some quirkier and more urgent sounding records; while smooth sounds still prevailed, there was an incredible diversity in the types of records making the charts.
In the first part of what could easily be an ongoing series, ILYOS looks at some of the great but now seemingly forgotten hitmakers and their hits from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.
Promises “Baby It's You”
Although it reached #2 thanks to massive enthusiasm from Countdown, “Baby It’s You” was the sole significant hit for this Californian outfit who oddly had no hits at home. (The fact they were originally signed to EMI in Holland probably had something to do with that). Fronted by siblings Leslie Maria Knauer and Jed Knauer and also featuring a third sibling Benny, the band split after follow up singles bombed and Leslie apparently decided the band should go punk!
Sniff & The Tears “Drivers Seat”
Soulful and crisp pop-rock from these London pub rockers who came from a similar time and place to Dire Straits and probably had the edge over them early on with the irresistible hooks of "Driver's Seat". Of course, that was not to be, but the single did reach #13 here in '79 and their Fickle Heart album is worth a listen.
Gerry Rafferty "Baker Street"
A massive and perfect hit for the Scottish singer-songwriter who first appeared alongside future comedic great Billy Connolly in folk-rock outfit The Humblebums before forming Stealers Wheel and having the one-off smash “Stuck In the Middle". “Baker Street” hit #1 in Australia in '78 but, despite minor chart success elsewhere for later songs, Gerry failed to crack our top 60 ever again. Raphael Ravenscroft's sax line is perhaps the most famous aspect of the tune, although it's worth noting that Slash has cited the guitar solo as an influence on the solo in "Sweet Child Of Mine".
The Motors "Airport"
It reached #31 in 1978 here but seemed to get a lot more play than that would suggest. A cracking and sophisticated pop tune, it was perhaps an unexpected piece from a band born out of early London pub rockers Duck Deluxe. The earlier single "Dancing The Night Away" was later covered by Cheap Trick, whilst Motors guitarist Bram Tchaikovsky would later record the power pop classic "Girl Of My Dreams" which cracked the US top 40 and got a bit of commercial play here in '79.
Todd Rundgren "Can We Still Be Friends"
It’s perhaps a bit harsh to include Todd in any one-hit wonder type list, but his two Australian hits were a generation of pop listeners apart and the first, “I Saw The Light” only reached #21 (in ’72). “Can We Still Be Friends”, which was later covered by both Robert Palmer and Rod Stewart, made the Top 10 (#8) in ’78, thanks no doubt to solid support from Countdown. Todd (who, in ’83, refused to produce the aforementioned Motors cover by Cheap Trick, even though he produced the rest of the album that it featured on) was, and remains, a prolific artist with a large international cult following and critical acclaim to make most others jealous. But for the Countdown generation, he came and went in a flash.
Greg Kihn Band “The Break Up Song (They Don't Write 'Em)”
And, ”Jeopardy”
Another prolific artist in the ‘70s who didn’t trouble the charts too much in Australia, Greg Kihn was seen as something of a poor man’s Petty or Springsteen (actually his two Springsteen covers – “For You” and “Rendezvous” are essential listening) until he broke through with the great “The Break Up Song” (#11) in ’81. At this point, Greg was pitched as more of a power pop artist, and he perhaps rode the wave started by fellow skinny tie guys the Knack a couple of year’s previous. Kihn followed up “The Break Up Song” with the also-strong “Happy Man” but had the misfortune of releasing it at the same time as hot young Sydney band The Sunnyboys released their own hit of that name. He did bounce back with “Jeopardy” (#7 in ’83) but then his dash was done. It’s probably because he recorded for US indie Beserkley Records, a label whose catalogue has changed hands numerous times, that Greg Kihn and band’s legacy has not been maintained as well it should.
Pete Shelley “Homosapien”
An unexpected #6 Australian hit in ’82, “Homosapien" is the only song that most Australian’s remember from the diminutive Mancunian known to punk fans around the world – and many more British pop fans - as the Buzzcocks’ singer and songwriter. Interestingly he did have another big hit here – as a songwriter – 5 years letter, with the Fine Young Cannibals’ cover of the Buzzcocks’ “Ever Fallen In Love”. Shelley and the Buzzcocks have toured Australia a number of times in the past decade; at last sighting they performed a ripping “Homosapien” so if you want to hear it live watch out for their return.
- Dave Laing
