David Bowie: Holy Holy (b-side)

"Holy Holy" is a song by David Bowie, originally released as a single in 1971. It was recorded shortly after the completion of The Man Who Sold the World album.


This is a more frantic version of the song recorded for The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars album. It was dropped from the LP, but subsequently appeared as the B-side to "Diamond Dogs" in 1974.

Queen: See What a Fool I've Been (b-side)

Queen formed in London, England in 1971 following the demise of the band Smile. Queen consisted of vocalist Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, bassist John Deacon and drummer Roger Taylor. In 1973 they signed their first record deal with EMI and released their first album “Queen”.

Mercury explained, "I thought up the name Queen. It's just a name, but it's very regal obviously, and it sounds splendid, it’s a strong name, very universal and immediate. It had a lot of visual potential and was open to all sorts of interpretations. I was certainly aware of gay connotations, but that was just one facet of it."
Mixing glam-rock with hard-rock, the group’s ornate, multi-tracked recordings stood out among other songs recorded at the same time.
But beyond the flamboyant exterior there was genuine power and daring in their music. Over the years their music has ranged from rockabilly and disco-funk to heavy metal and acoustic ballads. Their most famous song “Bohemian Rhapsody” is a densely layered rock operetta, that is among the most ornate and intricate productions in music history.

While promoting their debut album, the band were writing new material and anxious to record it. Several new songs were written immediately after the first album, and some dated from even earlier.
By August 1973 the band were back in Trident Studios to record what is generally considered to be one of their best albums, "Queen II". For an album as complex as “Queen II”, It was recorded in a relatively short time, taking only a month in total.

A full version of "Seven Seas of Rhye" was recorded for the album with the specific intention of being the album's leading single. After the commercial failure of "Keep Yourself Alive", which was taken from the first album, Queen decided it needed a single that did not take "too long to happen" (without a lengthy guitar intro). So, Queen and producer Roy Thomas Baker made sure that the song began in a way which would grab people from the off.

The b-side to “Seven Seas of Rhye” was "See What a Fool I've Been" which was a song left over from the Smile days (and was actually built around May's recollection of a blues ditty he had heard on a television program; the song was "That's How I Feel" by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.
“Queen II” was released in 1974. The album reached number five on the British album charts, and the Freddie Mercury written lead single "Seven Seas of Rhye," reached number ten in the UK. The band also toured as support to Mott the Hoople in the UK and US during this period.

Of all the bands and artists related in some way to glam rock, Queen are by far the most successful in terms of record sales, becoming one of rock’s most popular and influential acts.

As of 2009 their total album sales have been estimated at over 300 million worldwide, including 32.5 million in the United States alone, making them one of the worlds’s best selling artists. In 2006, their Greatest Hits album was found to be the United Kingdom's all-time best selling album. Their 1985 Live Aid performance was voted the best live rock performance of all time in a recent industry poll, and the band is also the only group in which every member has composed more than one chart-topping single.

Top of the Pops

Top of the Pops was the most iconic music chart programme on British TV. It was made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006.

It was traditionally shown every Thursday evening and each weekly programme consisted of performances from some of that week's best-selling popular music artists, with a rundown of that week's singles chart.

Additionally, every year there was a special edition of the programme on Christmas Day featuring some of the best-selling singles of the year.

The first show was presented by cigar-chomping DJ Jimmy Saville, and the first edition featured such greats as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Dusty Springfield and the Hollies. Although the early shows were live, the acts actually mimed to their songs, and in most cases had to re-record the backing track with session musicians because of Musician’s Union rules.

It was in the 70’s, and especially the glam rock period, that the show came into its own. The advent of colour TV was made for the costumes and make up of the glam artists. The world outside may have been jobless, on strike or on the breadline but the ‘glamsters’ did their best to brighten up the nation on TOTP.



There are only four episodes left from the 1960s and it was not until 1977 that the BBC began to keep the show in its archives. So there is very little evidence of Top of the Pops from its colourful heyday, although a variety of clips can be found online on sites such as ‘You Tube’.

The most famous of the many theme tunes the show had was a version of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" based on the C. C. S. release, but using session musicians. This was used as the show's theme tune for most of the period from 1972 to 1981, and again from May 1998 to November 2003.

Mud: Last Tango in London (b-side)

“Last Tango in London” is a Mike Chapman/Nicky Chinn song written for Mud, that was released on the B-side of “Hypnosis” in June 1973. It reached number 16 in the British charts.

Sweet: Rock & Roll Disgrace (b-side)

“Rock & Roll Disgrace” is the B-side to “Ballroom Blitz” a number 2 single by the Sweet released in September 1973.

Slade: Wonderin Y (b-side)

When starting this blog it was always my intention to highlight the great glam songs that were relegated to the B-sides.

So with that in mind the next few posts will stick to the flip sides of the original single releases, starting with “Wonderin y” by Slade which is the B-side to “Take Me Bak Ome” a number 1 for them in 1972.

Holiday :)

On holiday for a few weeks. More posts when I return.

The two songs by Bauhaus posted on 25th June 09 have now been re linked.

The song "Saturday Gig" from the Mott the Hoople post on 19th June 09 has now been re linked.

Noddy Holder: Coz I Luv You (acoustic version)

Noddy Holder, along with his co-songwriter in Slade Jim Lea, are responsible for some of the best songs in glam rock, in fact some of the best songs of the 70’s.

Noddy eventually left Slade in 1991 and has since appeared in numerous TV and radio shows, most notably The Grimleys, a TV series that ran in the UK between 1999 and 2001. The Grimleys is a nostalgic comedy/drama set in the 70’s in a council estate in Dudley, England. Noddy played a music teacher called Neville Holder (Noddys real name).

Other notable cameos in the series include Alvin Stardust playing a pub landlord. In one scene Noddy and Alvin share a beer at the bar and start be-moaning the lost opportunities of their youth. At the end of this episode “The Road Not Taken”, Noddy performs a melancholic, live acoustic version of “Cum On Feel the Noize” . The implication here is that the Grimleys takes place in an alternative 1970’s, where Noddy and Alvin have abandoned their dreams of being rock stars in favour of more sensible 9 to 5 jobs.


“I still love music and I still have a good time when I want to, but music is not the biggest part of my life anymore. It was probably the biggest part of my life for a long time. I was doing that for over 30 years. That’s a long time, but I don’t look on myself as doing that now. Now I’ve got lots of other things to do”.
Noddy Holder interviewed by Andrew Darlington, “Straight from His Own Gob”.

Other notable acoustic performances in the show include an alternative Easter version of “Merry Xmas Everybody” and a version of “Coz I Luv You” over the end credits of the series two finale.
“I remember getting a call at 10 o’clock in the morning to say that Coz I Luv You was number one. That was the reason I was in a band, so I could be top of the pops. Even though we had six number one records, the first one is always special”.
Noddy Holder, from Go2Birmingham magazine, October 1999.