Amanda's Legends of Pop

By Amanda Hallay

Here are my favourite bands and singers (with the exception of Gainsbourg and Polnareff, who appeared in the 'Legends of French Pop' issue), along with a brief summary of who they were, why I like them and why (if you don't already) you should.

THE KINKS

'Better than the Beatles! Controversial, I know - but I'm one of the very few people who (sometimes) prefer The Kinks to The Beatles. Why? Because The Kinks were (sometimes) better than The Beatles. Why? Because everything that Kinks' lead man Ray Davies did truly came from the heart - and the same cannot always be said of The Beatles. With his melancholy voice, quirky (and very 'English') lyrics and sweetly eerie melodies, Davies is arguable on a par with Lennon and McCarntney in the songwriting stakes.. Forget their later work - it's the '60s Kinks we're talking about here. Dressed in red velvet hunting jackets with frightfully long hair, The Kinks were too musically sophisticated (and a bit too ugly) to get branded with the 'teeny-bopper' status inflicted upon The Beatles; in short, they didn't have to 'please their public', lending them a creative leeway which allowed for pop classics such as Waterloo Sunset, Days and Lola. The Kinks were - and still are - Well Respected Men.

Download Suggestions: Waterloo Sunset - Dead End Street - Days - Well Respected Man - Lola - David Watts - Autumn Almanac.

THE MOVE

Five totally mental lads from Birmingham, The Move were the masters of psychedelic pop in Sixties England. Using multi-layered tracking, their singles were a rich, heady blend of classical music, pop and heavy rock. They were also the first band to smash up their instruments on stage - well before The Who. Need I say more? Well, perhaps I do need say more; by the start of the '70s, The Move had metamorphosised into E.L.O, finding international fame on a very large scale. However, I preferred The Move when they were young, foolish and smashing things up. If you like 'big' music, The Move are well worth a listen.

Download Suggestions: Brontosaurus - Blackberry Way - Flowers in the Rain - Cherry Blossom Clinic - Omnibus - Fire Brigade.

LOVE

It is impossible to describe Love, the late-Sixties L.A band fronted by Arthur Lee. Their seminal album, Forever Changes (1967), was recently voted 'The Best Album of All Time' by a poll of musicians and songwriters. I'd have to agree. A blend of psychedelia, rock, pop, salsa, 'easy listening', heavy-metal, and Tijuana brass - there's nothing quite like Forever Changes. As Love were all a bit psychotic, the band split up within a few, short years, and nothing more was heard of them (not surprising, really, as two of them spent much of their post-Love life in jail.) Strangely, in the early '90s, the California-based Arthur Lee resurfaced for a tiny, one-off gig in (of all places!) Liverpool. Of course, Pierre and I were the first in line, and I can honestly say it was one of the best nights of my life. To see a 'legend' I had worshipped for so many years standing ten feet away and singing the entire track listing to Forever Changes was almost 'too much'. If you ever follow one of my 'download suggestions', please let it be one of these; I swear you won't regret it.

Download Suggestions: Alone Again Or - Between Clarke and Hilldale - The Red Telephone (Or, just tap Forever Changes into Audiogalaxy etc, and the album track listing should appear.)

JOE MEEK

If you want to know who Joe Meek is and why I love him - turn to the article on him in this issue. Genius? Madman? I'd say both, the cheesy-but-eerie pop records he produced a testimony to both his technological wizardry and tenuous mental state. | Joe Meek, The Telstar Man |

Download Suggestions: Telstar by the Tornados, and anything by The Honeycombs.

SCOTT WALKER

More Satre than Sinatra, this existential crooner had a voice as smooth as melted butter trickling over a crumpet of heartbreak. Originally lead singer with The Waker Brothers, the late '60s found Scott going solo and recording English version of Jacques Brel, as well as his own, melancholy compositions. Although his lyrics might occasionally verge on the pretentious, all is forgiven when we remember that he came from Ohio, and people from Ohio have no option but to re-invent themselves with as much affectation as possible. In saying this, Scott Walker was the first pop composer to write about prostitutes, spinsters, lonely old men and rent-boys. His musical world was one of loneliness, abandonment and heartbreak. All this, coupled with his wonderful voice and dreamy good looks, makes it very difficult for female listeners not to fall in love with him.

Download Suggestions: Montague Terrace in Blue - Hero of the War - The Girls From The Street - Such A Small Love - The Plague.

T-REX

The late Marc Bolan and his friend Micky Finn (on bongos) gave the world a whole new way of looking at pop in the '69-'73 era. Although classed as a 'Glam Rock' band, I think this somehow takes away from Bolan's true genius as a songwriter; his lyrics were weird, wonderful and positive, his music both beautifully melodic and extremely innovative. Sadly, Marc met his end in 1976 (car crash/tree trunk), but his music is starting to be rediscovered and features on recent movie soundtracks and television commercials.

Download Suggestions: Telegram Sam - Salamander Palaganda - Ride A White Swan - Woodland Rock - Get It On - Raw Ramp.

THE SMITHS

During the '80s, this British guitar based band had two great claims to fame; firstly, lead singer Morrissey was billed a 'spokesmen for a generation', the isolation of Thatcher's Britain perfectly captured in his caustic lyric. Their second claim to fame is that they knew me. For a couple of years, I was 'in' with The Smiths in a big way. Morrissey was a close friend and gave me my first showbiz 'break' (recording a single of a Smith's song with the band backing me.) Tragically, the faith that Morrissey had in his little protégé was not shared by the owner of Rough Trade Records, and the single never came out. 'Just as well, really - for if it had, my life would have probably been very different, and I wouldn't be writing for The Planet today. However, it must be stressed that the reason I love The Smiths isn't 'personal'; I love The Smiths because they had some fabulous songs, their cyclical guitar hooks an inspiration to all the 'Brit Pop' bands which followed, Morrissey's lyrics all wonderfully 'English', all wonderfully 'sad'.

Download Suggestions: Panic - Big Mouth Strikes Again - William It Was Really Nothing - Still Ill - This Charming Man - Ask - Cemetery Gates.

SIXTIES BRIT-GIRL SINGERS

Sandie Shaw, Petula Clark, Cilla Black, Lulu and - best of all - Dusty Springfield, what can I possibly say about those Swinging British Birds whose mini-skirts and music gave even The Beatles a run for their money in '60s England? Although it all sound rather 'camp' today, it's nevertheless impossible to overstate the superior vocal styling of women who made records because they could sing - and not because they looked hot in a mid-drift and thong. Although Dusty, Sandie and Pet took centre stage, there were legions of other Brit Girl Singers who never 'made it', and whose records I hunt down with intensity of a pig hunting truffles.

Download Suggestions: Dusty Springfield; Son of a Preacher Man - You Don't Have To Say You Love Me.
Sandie Shaw; Always Something There To Remind Me - Girl Don't Come.
Lulu; The Boat That I Row - To Sir With Love.
Petula Clark; Downtown - Don't Sleep In The Subway.
Cilla Black; I suggest that you don't download any Cilla; you won't like it.

THE SWEET

I'm not ashamed! I love Sweet! British 'glam-rock' giants, Sweet had multiple chart-topping hits in the early '70s, the fact that they were actually quite ridiculous of little consequence to their zillions of teenage fans. Sweet wore the highest platform heels and had the most make-up, and although rather 'girlie', it didn't stop them rockin'. How could it? Not with songs like Blockbusters and Ballroom Blitz under their glitter belts. A couple of years ago, I made 'cyber friends' with Steve Priest, Sweet's original bassist, who I 'interviewed' via the Net for an essay I was writing on 'The Hermaphrodite in Art'. He was most obliging. Too 'obliging', in fact, and I eventually had to block him from Instant Messenger and email. Far from 'putting me off' Sweet, it made me like them even more; how wonderful that - thirty years on - they're still so desperate.

Download Suggestions: Ballroom Blitz - Blockbusters - Wigwam Bam.

THE HOLLIES

One of my all-time favourite groups, The Hollies are best known for their '70s hits; He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother and The Air That I Breath. Personally, I think these numbers are a bit duff. It is their Sixties oeuvre which places them on this list, with songs like Bus Stop, On a Carousel, Stop-Stop-Stop and Look Through Any Window placing them at the pinnacle of pop. A Manchester 'beat group', The Hollies had better voices than most of their peers (including The Beatles), and their multi-layered vocal harmonies lent them a distinctive 'sound' which set them apart from the other 'beat groups' operating at the time.. As songwriters, however, they were often derivative and unimaginative. Luckily, they were wise enough to employ the services of independent songwriter Graham Gouldman (who also wrote for Herman's Hermans and The Yardbirds), and both writer and band were blessed with hit after hit - the best being Bus Stop (which I personally believe is the best three minute pop song in the history of….. mankind.)

Download Suggestions: Bus Stop - Look Through Any Window - Schoolgirl - On A Carousel - Open Up Your Eyes.

THE BEATLES

They had to be mentioned - not only because they're…well…The Beatles - but because they truly are one of my personal favourite 'legends'. Although I hate The White Album with a passion normally reserved for child killers and/or geology midterms, one bad apple (catch the pun?) doesn't spoil the whole bunch. It couldn't. Not with albums like Rubber Soul, Sgt Pepper and (my personal favourite) Revolver in the offing. No other band has ever equalled The Beatles - no other band ever could. When it comes to the 'traditional' four piece, guitar-based songwriting band, The Beatles will always be the best. Always? I'd say so; there's only so much you can 'do' with pop music, and whether we're talking Oasis, Travis, Blur or Robbie Williams - The Beatles got their first and (when all is said and done) did it best.

Download Suggestions: Oh….anything. It's The Beatles, for Christ's sake! How wrong can you go?