#88: Magic Bus by The Who
City: Toronto, ON
Radio Station: CHUM
Peak Month: August 1968
Peak Position in Toronto ~ #1
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ #12
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~#25
Peak Position on New Zealand Singles chart ~ #13
YouTube: “Magic Bus”
Lyrics: “Magic Bus”
The Who are an English band who emerged in 1964 with singer Roger Daltry, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. The band enjoyed popular singles, such as “I Can See For Miles”, “Pinball Wizard” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. In Vancouver the band had eleven Top Ten hits, while in the UK they charted fourteen singles into the Top Ten. But in America, between 1965 and 1982, the Who only charted one single – “I Can See For Miles” – into the Top Ten of the Billboard Hot 100. The band were innovators of new genres in rock n’ roll with their rock operas Tommy and Quadrophenia. The Who early on were known for outlandish antics on stage. At the Railway Hotel in Wealdstone, England, in June, 1964, Peter Townshend destroyed his guitar on stage and smashed it into other instruments. The Who stand alongside The Beatles and The Rolling Stones as among the most influential rock bands from Britain. They had their first Top Ten single in the UK and in Vancouver in 1965 titled “I Can’t Explain”, which peaked at #8 in the UK and #2 in Vancouver.
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#89: Johnny Come Home by Fine Young Cannibals
City: Toronto, ON
Radio Station: CHUM
Peak Month: April 1986
Peak Position in Toronto ~ #5
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ airplay – did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~#76
Peak Position on Italian Singles chart ~ #5
Peak Position on Israeli Singles chart ~ #6
Peak Position on Belgian Singles chart ~ #8
Peak Position on UK Singles chart ~ #8
Peak Position on Irish Singles chart ~ #10
Peak Position on Dutch Singles chart ~ #10
YouTube: “Johnny Come Home”
Lyrics: “Johnny Come Home”
The Fine Young Cannibals are a band that formed in 1984 in Birmingham, UK. The lead singer was Roland Gift who was born in 1961 in Birmingham. Gift’s first recording was as a saxophonist with a ska band from Hull in 1980. Gift’s band, Akrylykz toured with the Beat. The Beat were a ska revival (or 2-tone) band who successfully covered Smokey Robinson and the Miracles’ “Tears Of A Clown” and Andy Williams’ “Can’t Get Used to Losing You”. When the Beat folded in 1983, Andy Cox and David Steele of The Beat asked Roland Gift to join their new band Fine Young Cannibals. Andy Cox was born in Birmingham in 1956. At the age of 22, he founded The Beat in 1978. With David Steele, he co-wrote some of The Beat’s bigger hits including “Mirror in the Bathroom” and “Hands Off, She’s Mine”. David Steele was born in 1960 in Cowes on the Isle of Wight. Steele’s bass lines in the Beat took the Jamaican style of ska and added a harder, punk rock-influenced style. The Beat song, “Mirror in the Bathroom”, is largely built on top of the driving, eighth-note bass line that runs through the entire song. Roland Gift, Andy Cox and David Steele joined together in 1984 to become the Fine Young Cannibals.
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#46: Let Me go by Heaven 17
City: Montreal, PQ
Radio Station: CKGM
Peak Month: June 1983
Peak Position in Montreal ~ #3
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #74
YouTube: “Let Me Go”
Lyrics: “Let Me Go”
Heaven 17 was formed in 1980 by trio Martyn Ware, Glenn Gregory, and Ian Craig Marsh. Ware was born in 1956 in Sheffield, England. Initially, he worked in the computer industry and saved money to purchase an electronic keyboard. In 1977, he co-founded Human League along with Ian Craig Marsh. After the first two albums meeting with little commercial success, Martyn Ware was ejected from the band. Ian Marsh quit Human League in protest and formed the British Electric Foundation. Ian Craig Marsh was born in Sheffield, England, in 1956. In the early seventies he was part of a community theatre group Meatwhistle. Inspired by Alice Cooper, Marsh formed Musical Vomit in 1973, performing stunts like vomiting soup on stage, and singing songs about masterbation. For his antics, Ian Marsh was expelled from school. Another member of Musical Vomit was Glenn Gregory, who was born in Sheffield in 1958. Gregory went on to work as a photographer in London, and with the band 57 Men. In 1981, he was asked by Martyn Ware to join the newly forming Heaven 17.
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#126: Change by Tears For Fears
City: Toronto, ON
Radio Station: CFTR
Peak Month: July 1983
Peak Position in Toronto ~ #7
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ airplay – did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #73
YouTube: “Change”
Lyrics: “Change”
Raoul Jaime Orzabal de la Quintana was born in Portsmouth, England, in 1961. His parents legally changed his first name to Roland Orzabal within a few weeks of his birth. His father had a nervous breakdown early in Roland’s childhood. Later, his father ran an entertainment business, with his mother a dancer in the troupe. Orzabal met Curt Smith when they were in their teens, and both living in Smith’s birthplace of Bath, England. Smith learned to play guitar in his teens. In 1979 Orzabal and Smith became part of a new wave band called Neon. They released a couple of records and were session musicians for recordings by new wave band Naked Eyes. Smith and Orzabal were also part of a new wave band called Graduate who had a Top Ten hit in Spain in 1980 titled “Elvis Should Play Ska”. A grueling tour of Germany temporarily caused the duo to question the viability of a life as pop stars.
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#150: Nothing But A Heartache by the Flirtations
City: Toronto, ON
Radio Station: CHUM
Peak Month: May 1969
Peak Position in Toronto ~ #4
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ #9
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #34
YouTube: “Nothing But A Heartache”
Lyrics: “Nothing But A Heartache”
The Flirtations were a group from South Carolina formed in 1962. They were Lestine Johnson and sisters Ernestine Pearce, Shirley Pearce and Betty Pearce. They moved to New York City in 1962 and called themselves The Gypsies. Their debut single, “Hey There, Hey There”, stalled at #111 below the Billboard Hot 100, but made the Top 40 on the R&B chart. Lestine Johnson left the group in 1965 and was replaced by Viola Billups. As the Gypsies they released four singles. In 1966, they became The Flirtations. Continue reading →
#28: Love Is The Drug by Roxy Music
City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CKOC
Peak Month: April 1976
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #4
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #30
YouTube: “Love Is The Drug”
Lyrics: “Love Is The Drug”
In 1945, Bryan Ferry was born in Washington, near Durham, England. His dad worked on a farm and took care of pit ponies. After he got his undergraduate degree, he took courses in fine art at Newcastle University in the mid’60’s. While he was studying, he was part of a student band named the City Blues. With his fine arts degree he started to teach pottery at a girl’s school in London. Concurrently, Ferry founded a band called Banshees. After that he formed a band that included Graham Simpson named the Gas Board. In 1968 he took up residence in London. Ferry was fired from his teaching post for hosting sessions with the ceramics students where they listened to records. Ferry moved on and assembled a band with bass player, Graham Simpson, saxophone and oboe player, Andy MacKay, synthesizer player, Brian Eno, guitarist, Phil Manzanera, and Paul Thompson on drums and percussion being the musicians who endured in the midst of a few minor lineup changes in the early years. He called the band Roxy Music.
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#164: You Take Me Up by Thompson Twins
City: Toronto, ON
Radio Station: CHUM
Peak Month: October 1984
Peak Position in Toronto ~ #5
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #44
YouTube: “You Take Me Up”
Lyrics: “You Take Me Up”
The Thompson Twins formed in the UK in Sheffield in 1977. The band’s name was based on the two bumbling detectives Thompson and Thompson (who are close doubles, not twins) in the English-language version of The Adventures of Tintin (Les aventures de Tintin). At various stages the Thompson Twins had up to seven members. However, their best known line-up was as a trio from 1982 to 1986. The band became a prominent act in the US during the Second British Invasion, and in 1985 performed at Live Aid in Philadelphia, where they were joined on stage by Madonna. The band was founded by Tom Bailey who was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire. He studied classical piano and before forming the band, he worked as a music teacher. When the band had six members in 1981, they released the debut album A Product of… (Participation). The album was not a commercial success. However, the second member of the classic Thompson Twins lineup, Joe Leeway, was now part of the band. Continue reading →
#32: Love Blonde by Kim Wilde
City: Montreal, PQ
Radio Station: CFMB
Peak Month: September 1983
Peak Position in Montreal ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Love Blonde”
Lyrics: “Love Bonde”
Kim Wilde was born in 1960 with the birth name Kim Smith. Her father, Reginald Smith, was a pop singer who took the stage name Marty Wilde. Kim Wilde’s first professional singing credit was as a backup singer to her brother Ricky Wilde’s 1972 song “I Am an Astronaut.” In 1981, at the age of 21 Kim Wilde became an international star with her hit single “Kids in America”. It topped the pop charts in Finland and South Africa, reached #2 in Ireland, Sweden and the UK, and the Top Ten in Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, and West Germany. Later in 1981, “Chequered Love” topped the pop chart in South Africa, reached #2 in Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and West Germany, and was also a Top Ten hit in Australia, Ireland, Sweden and the UK.
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#219: Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) by Icicle Works
City: Toronto, ON
Radio Station: CHUM
Peak Month: June 1984
Peak Position in Toronto ~ #9
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly)”
Lyrics: “Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly)”
The Icicle Works are a band from the UK named after the 1960 short story “The Day the Icicle Works Closed” by science fiction author Frederik Pohl. The story was first published in the February 1960 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction. It is set on the planet Altair Nine (a cold world with colorful/pink snow) and explores economic collapse, exploitation, and political intrigue. The planet’s sole major industry is the “Icicle Works” (formally Altamycin, Inc.), which harvests natural antibiotic molds from the atmosphere/snow. These are frozen and exported across the galaxy as a valuable commodity. About a year before the story begins, news arrives of the “Gumpert Process,” a cheap synthetic method of producing equivalent antibiotics. Demand collapses, the works shut down, and mass unemployment follows. Most of the population is left destitute.
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#183: Baby Come Back by the Equals
City: Windsor, ON
Radio Station: CKLW
Peak Month: August 1968
Peak Position in Windsor ~ #4
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ #7
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #32
Peak Position on Belgian Singles chart ~ #1
Peak Position on Rhodesian Singles chart ~ #1
Peak Position on South African Singles chart ~ #1
Peak Position on UK Singles chart ~ #1
Peak Position on French Singles chart ~ #2
Peak Position on Irish Singles chart ~ #2
Peak Position on Norwegian Singles chart ~ #4
Peak Position on Dutch Singles chart ~ #6
YouTube: “Baby Come Back”
Lyrics: “Baby Come Back”
Eddy Grant, Pat Lloyd and John Hall were school friends at Acland Burghley. Eddy Grant was born in 1948 in Guyana. John Hall was born in 1946 in London. While Pat Lloyd was born in London in 1949. In late 1964, John Hall suggested that they form a band. Hall played drums, Grant was on lead guitar, and Pat Lloyd on rhythm guitar. They added Derv Gordon on vocals, and Lincoln Gordon on rhythm guitar. Derv Gordon was born in Jamaica in 1946, and Lincoln Gordon was born in Jamaica in 1948. The bi-racial band named themselves the Equals. Edmond “Eddy” Montague Grant’s father, Patrick, was a trumpeter who played in a band called Nello and the Luckies. Grant’s parents moved to England to work. They would send money back to Guyana for Eddy Grant’s education. In 1960, he and his brother joined their parents in the Kentish Town area of London.
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