#1277: Till The End of The Day by The Kinks
Peak Month: May 1966
8 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #12
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #50
YouTube: “Till the End of the Day”
Lyrics: “Till the End of the Day”
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in 1963 in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray Davies and Dave Davies, Mick Avory, and Pete Quaife. Ray Davies was born in 1944 in London. He received a Spanish guitar for his 13th birthday. At the age of 18 he was a member of the Dave Hunt Rhythm & Blues Band, and also fronted the Ray Davies Quartet. Davies then joined the Hamilton King Band until June 1963. Dave Davies was born in London in 1947. He learned to play skiffle music, and later electric guitar. Peter Quaife was born in 1943 in Devon. He learned bass guitar in his teens and formed the Ravens with Ray and Dave Davies in 1963. Continue reading →
#9: I’m Into Something Good by Herman’s Hermits
City: Ottawa, ON
Radio Station: CFRA
Peak Month: November 1964
Peak Position in Ottawa ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #10
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #13
Peak Position on Irish Singles chart ~ #1
Peak Position on UK Singles chart ~ #1
Peak Position on Swedish Singles chart #5
Peak Position on New Zealand Singles chart ~ #7
YouTube: “I’m Into Something Good”
Lyrics: “I’m Into Something Good”
Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone was born in a suburb of Manchester, England, in 1947. Keith Hopwood was born in 1946, in the same suburb of Davyhulme. Karl Anthony Green was born in 1947, also in Davyhulme. Derek “Lek” Leckenby was born in Leeds in 1943. Jan Barry Whitwam was born in 1946 in Manchester. Both Leckenby and Whitwam were members of a band called the Wailers who played covers by Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and other early rock recording artists. Peter Noone originally was in an amateur band called the Cyclones. He moved on to the Heartbeats in 1961, a Buddy Holly cover band. Just after he turned 14, Noone debuted on Coronation Street, playing the role of Stanley Fairclough starting in December 1961. In the fall of 1962 Herman’s Hermits was formed. Peter Noone was the lead vocalist. Karl Green played bass guitar. Keith Hopwood played rhythm guitar. “Lek” Leckenby played lead guitar and Barry Whitwam played drums.
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#12: I Love To Love by Tina Charles
City: Ottawa, ON
Radio Station: CFRA
Peak Month: July 1976
Peak Position in Ottawa ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #23
Peak Position on Irish Singles chart ~ #1
Peak Position on UK Singles chart ~ #1
Peak Position on French Singles chart ~ #2
Peak Position on Norwegian Singles chart ~ #2
Peak Position on Swedish Singles chart ~ #2
Peak Position on Italian Singles chart ~ #4
Peak Position on South African Singles chart ~ #4
Peak Position on West German Singles chart ~ #5
YouTube: “I Love To Love”
Lyrics: “I Love To Love”
Tina Charles was born Tina Hoskins in London, England, in 1954. By the age of 14, in 1969, she was working as a session singer. When Hoskins was taken to CBS Records, that year she released her first non-album single titled “Nothing in the World” with a then obscure piano player in the studio named Reginald Dwight (who was soon took the stage name Elton John). During the early 1970s, she supplied vocals for the Top of the Pops album series of cover versions of contemporary hits. In 1971, she made appearances in the first series of The Two Ronnies, the BBC1 sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, performing “River Deep – Mountain High”, “Ruby Tuesday” and other pop hits. Starting in the 70s, Tina Charles provided vocals and spoken word on a variety of TV commercials. These include Crosse & Blackwell, Vauxhall, Interflora and others.
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#26: Don’t Go Out Into The Rain (You’re Going To Melt) by Herman’s Hermits
City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CKOC
Peak Month: August 1967
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #9
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #18
YouTube: “Don’t Go Out Into the Rain”
Lyrics: “Don’t Go Out Into the Rain”
Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone was born in a suburb of Manchester, England, in 1947. Keith Hopwood was born in 1946, in the same suburb of Davyhulme. Karl Anthony Green was born in 1947, also in Davyhulme. Derek “Lek” Leckenby was born in Leeds in 1943. Jan Barry Whitwam was born in 1946 in Manchester. Both Leckenby and Whitwam were members of a band called the Wailers who played covers by Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and other early rock recording artists. Peter Noone originally was in an amateur band called the Cyclones. He moved on to the Heartbeats in 1961, a Buddy Holly cover band. Just after he turned 14, Noone debuted on Coronation Street, playing the role of Stanley Fairclough starting in December 1961. In the fall of 1962 Herman’s Hermits was formed. Peter Noone was the lead vocalist. Karl Green played bass guitar. Keith Hopwood played rhythm guitar. “Lek” Leckenby played lead guitar and Barry Whitwam played drums.
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#25: I Knew The Bride (When She Used To Rock and Roll) by Nick Lowe
City: Ottawa, ON
Radio Station: CFRA
Peak Month: January 1986
Peak Position in Ottawa ~ #2
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #77
YouTube: “I Knew The Bride (When She Used To Rock and Roll)”
Lyrics: “I Knew The Bride (When She Used To Rock and Roll)”
Nicholas Drain Lowe was born in 1949 in Surrey, UK. He formed a band in 1968 named Kippington Lodge. The band was renamed Brinsley Schwartz and veered into a fusion of country and blues-rock. In 1974, Lowe wrote “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding”. The song was covered by Elvis Costello in 1979. In 1976, Dave Edmunds co-founded a band named Rockpile with Nick Lowe, drummer Terry Williams and guitar player Billy Bremner. But, immediately, Rockpile ran into recording problems since Lowe and Edmunds were signed to different recording labels. Nonetheless, Rockpile went on tour in the UK in 1976. As well, in 1976 Lowe recorded “So It Goes”. The single was voted the fifth-best single of the year according to the New Musical Express critics poll. That year, Lowe produced a single by The Damned titled “New Rose”, along with the album Damned Damned Damned. In 1977, Nick Lowe produced Elvis Costello’s first album, My Aim Is True. In 1978, Lowe produced Elvis Costello’s second album, This Year’s Model, with the outstanding track “Pump It Up”. In 1978, Lowe had a Top Ten hit single in the UK titled “I Love The Sound of Breaking Glass”. A third album by Elvis Costello, Armed Forces, was also produced by Nick Lowe.
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#30: Mirror Man by Human League
City: Ottawa, ON
Radio Station: CFRA
Peak Month: March 1983
Peak Position in Ottawa ~ #2
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #30
Peak Position on Irish Singles chart ~ #1
Peak Position on UK Singles chart ~ #2
Peak Position on Australian Singles chart ~ #4
YouTube: “Mirror Man”
Lyrics: “Mirror Man”
Human League was formed in 1977 and were originally named The Future. By early 1978 the band changed their name to Human League. Philip Oakley was co-founder and frontman for the band. He was born in 1955 in Leicestershire, England. He left school without finishing exams and worked at a university bookshop, and as a hospital orderly. Oakley’s former schoolmate Martyn Ware had already formed the band with Ian Marsh. Ware and Marsh were looking to get a new lead vocalist and Oakley agreed. In 1978, a non-album single titled “Being Boiled” was released. It climbed to #6 in the UK, and West Germany, #10 in Ireland, and #17 in Austria. Human League released their debut album, Reproduction, in 1979. A second album, Travelogue, was released in May 1980. Shortly after, Ware and Marsh left the band and later in 1980 formed new wave/synth-pop band Heaven 17. At the time of their departure, Human League was contracted to start a European tour the following week.
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#35: Dreadlock Holiday by 10cc
City: Ottawa, ON
Radio Station: CFGO
Peak Month: December 1978
Peak Position in Ottawa ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #44
Peak Position on Belgian Singles chart ~ #1
Peak Position on Dutch Singles chart ~ #1
Peak Position on New Zealand Singles chart ~ #1
Peak Position on UK Singles chart ~ #1
Peak Position on Australian Singles chart ~ #2
YouTube: “Dreadlock Holiday”
Lyrics: “Dreadlock Holiday”
Kevin Michael Godley was born in 1945 in a suburb of Manchester, England. Raised in a Jewish family, he formed a group named Group 17, along with four other members of the Jewish Lads Brigade. Godley studied Art and Design at Stoke On Trent College of Art from 1966-68. In the late ’60s, Kevin Godley met Lol Creme at a wedding. Laurence Neil “Lol” Creme was born in 1947 in the same suburb of Prestwich as Kevin Godley. Creme was also raised in a Jewish family. The pair co-founded a band in 1970 named Hotlegs, which included Graham Gouldman. Hotlegs had a #2 hit in the UK titled “Neanderthal Man”. The band split in 1970 and morphed into 10cc.
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#44: Cat People by David Bowie
City: Ottawa, ON
Radio Station: CFRA
Peak Month: July 1982
Peak Position in Ottawa ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #67
Peak Position on Finnish Singles chart ~ #1
Peak Position on New Zealand Singles chart ~ #1
Peak Position on Norwegian Singles chart ~ #1
Peak Position on Swedish Singles chart ~ #1
Peak Position on Swiss Singles chart ~ #8
YouTube: “Cat People”
Lyrics: “Cat People”
David Robert Jones was born in 1947 in Brixton, a suburb in the southern part of London, UK. From an early age he demonstrated talent as a singer and especially through dance and movement. When he was nine years old his father brought home some 45’s by Elvis Presley, Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers, Fats Domino and others. When David Jones heard Little Richard sing “Tutti Frutti” he later said in an interview that he “heard God.” Growing up, David learned to play the recorder, ukulele, piano and baritone saxophone. In 1962, at the age of 15 he formed a band named the Konrads. In 1964 he formed a band named David Jones and the King Bees. They appeared on the variety show Ready Steady Go! to sing their debut single, “Liza Jane”. Jones briefly moved on to join the Mannish Boys before being the front man for Davy Jones and The Lower Third. They released a single in 1965 titled “You’ve Got A Habit Of Leaving”. Due to the growing popularity of another English recording artist named Davy Jones (who went on to become lead singer for The Monkees), David Robert Jones decided to change his professional name to David Bowie. He chose his surname after a 19th Century American pioneer named James Bowie who invented the Bowie knife.
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#76: Love Action by Human League
City: Ottawa, ON
Radio Station: CFRA
Peak Month: April 1982
Peak Position in Ottawa ~ #3
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 Singles ~ did not chart
Peak Position on UK Singles chart ~ #3
Peak Position on Irish Singles chart ~ #11
Peak Position on Australian Singles chart ~ #12
YouTube: “Love Action”
Lyrics: “Love Action”
Human League was formed in 1977 and were originally named The Future. By early 1978 the band changed their name to Human League. Philip Oakley was co-founder and frontman for the band. He was born in 1955 in Leicestershire, England. He left school without finishing exams and worked at a university bookshop, and as a hospital orderly. Oakley’s former schoolmate Martyn Ware had already formed the band with Ian Marsh. Ware and Marsh were looking to get a new lead vocalist and Oakley agreed. In 1978, a non-album single titled “Being Boiled” was released. It climbed to #6 in the UK, and West Germany, #10 in Ireland, and #17 in Austria. Human League released their debut album, Reproduction, in 1979. A second album, Travelogue, was released in May 1980. Shortly after, Ware and Marsh left the band and later in 1980 formed new wave/synth-pop band Heaven 17. At the time of their departure, Human League was contracted to start a European tour the following week.
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#120: Love My Way by the Psychedelic Furs
City: Ottawa, ON
Radio Station: CFRA
Peak Month: April 1983
Peak Position in Ottawa ~ #7
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #44
Peak Position on New Zealand Singles chart ~ #9
YouTube: “Love My Way”
Lyrics: “Love My Way”
Richard Butler was born in Surrey, England, in 1956. Butler started art school in London with the idea of becoming a painter. After graduation, he worked in a silk-screen print shop but got the idea to form a band. Timothy “Tim” Butler is the younger brother of Richard, and was born in 1958. Richard Butler formed the band in 1977 with his brother Tim. They were joined by guitarist John Ashton who was born in London in 1957. Vince Ely joined the band as a drummer in the classic Psychedelic Furs lineup in 1979, as did Ashton.
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