Wizzard: This Is the Story of My Love (Baby) (a-side)

Roy Wood has had a varied musical career, forming and playing in some of rocks greatest bands.

In 1966 he formed the Move, who became one of the legendary sixties bands. Their single "Flowers in the Rain" was the first ever record to be played on BBC's Radio One. Roy's next musical venture was to team up with Jeff Lynne to form the Electric Light Orchestra. ELO’s first single, "10538 Overture", entered the charts as The Move’s final single, "California Man" left the Top 10.

Eventually, after leaving ELO in Jeff Lynne's hands he went on to his next venture. Wizzard were born from Roy's love of '50s rock & roll and a desire to mix the hard rock of the Move with a sound reminiscent of that produced by Phil Spector with his "wall of sound". If the music was big and bold then the image was bolder still. Wild, multi-coloured hair; face paint and an outlandish dress sense, (even for the glam rock period) made Wizzard an assault of sight and sound.

Wizzard's debut in the charts was "Ball Park Incident". This was followed up with two number 1’s in "See My Baby Jive" and "Angel Fingers" and the Christmas classic "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday". At the same time Roy was having hits under his own name and gave new meaning to the term "solo album" when he wrote, produced and played everything on the LP, "Boulders".

At one point in January 1974 Roy Wood's solo single "Forever" was at number 7, overtaking Wizzard's Christmas song at number 10. In the summer of that year, Roy Wood, Wizzard, and the Electric Light Orchestra were all in the charts at the same time.

By the end of 1975, Wood was all but burnt out. He had created a total of eleven band and solo hit singles, two Wizzard albums, and added a second solo album. But contractual problems added to over-work led to a slowing down process and live work became a casualty and was eventually abandoned. Wizzard disintegrated and record releases became less frequent. The group's fortunes, even as a singles band, faltered after this.

Wizzard's most famous album is "Wizzard's Brew" But it was the follow up that totally immersed itself in Wood's brash rock ’n roll pastiche. "Introducing Eddy & the Falcons" was released in 1974. One of the singles from this album is the powerful “This Is the Story of My Love (Baby)”.

In a similar vein to "Angel Fingers" it uses The 'wall of sound' production to great effect. Unfortunatley the single and the album were both a critical and commercial failure. “This Is the Story of My Love (Baby)” only reaching number 34 in the UK charts.

For a brief time Roy Wood and Wizzard released a series of varied pop singles that perfectly reflected the bright, 'over the top' music of the times. Hitting some fantastic peaks (Angel Fingers) but sometimes delivering derivative dross. (When Gran'ma Plays the Banjo).

Andy Scott: Lady Starlight (a-side)

At the end of 1975 with glam rock taking it's last dying breath, Andy Scott guitarist with the Sweet released his first solo single titled "Lady Starlight".
The version here is the single cut, the song also appeared on Sweet's "Desolation Boulevard" album, but with a softer remix. A live acoustic version was also captured at a sound check before a gig in Japan.

Lady Starlight is often voted as Sweet's best ballad on fan forum sites, but is over-looked in critical appraisals of Sweet's music. This is a shame as in my opinion it stands up well in the Sweet's musical output during their heyday.

Scott didn't release his second solo single, "Gotta See Jane", until 1983 under the name "Ladders". It was a cover of the R. Dean Taylor Motown hit. A number of other solo singles were also released following this, but his only real solo musical achievement was "Lady Starlight".

Suzi Quatro - The Wild One (a-side)

Suzi Quatro seemingly emerged from nowhere in 1973, but she had been playing professionally for nearly a decade with The Pleasure Seekers a band consisting of her sisters Arlene and Patti. They were one of the few all girl garage bands to play their own instruments. In 1968 Arlene left the band to raise her kids (one of whom is actress Sherilyn Fenn) and was replaced by another sister Nancy.

In the early 70's British producer Mickie Most saw her play in her home town of Detroit and wanted to work with her as a solo act. Six months later she was on her way to London.

Her first single flopped, so she was hooked up to songwriters Chinnichap. The first 45 written for her Can the Can was a number one hit in the UK in 1973. Over the next few years the songwriting team would write about ten other British chart hits for her, including four top ten entries.

Quatro and her then husband Len Tuckey did write some of her material, though these were usually left for album tracks or B sides. A few of which might turn up on this blog at a later date.


She remained largely unknown in her native US until the late 70's when she had a semi-regular acting job in the sitcom Happy Days, as the guitar playing Leather Tuscadero. In 1979 she made the American top five with another Chinnichap song Stumblin In, a duet with Chris Norman of Smokie.

Suzi Quatro is unusual, in that she is probably the only woman to have success in the glam rock genre, and she did it by being more aggressive and masculine than her male contemporaries. Suzi Quatro showed that it was possible for a petite woman to play bass, sing and wear tight leather.

The Wild One is a 1974 a-side that reached number 7 in the UK singles chart, and was written by Chinnichap. It is one of her lesser known singles but one of my favourites.

Mike Chapman & Nicky Chinn (Songwriters/Producers)

The two people who had the most glam hits in the 70's were two men who never even appeared on Top of the Pops.

Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn (commonly known as Chinnichap) are the songwriters responsible for the hits of the Sweet, Suzi Quatro, Mud and Smokie to name just a few. From 1973 until 1978 they had an unbroken run of hit singles. In 1973 and 74 alone they had 19 hits in the top 40 of the UK singles chart, including 5 number ones.

Both men were already in the music industry when they first met. Chinn was a part time songwriter and Chapman a musician with the band Tangerine Peel.
The two of them joined up with Mickie Most's RAK label and began writing songs for the Sweet.
With the help of the two men, Sweet had an uninterrupted string of hits over the next few years, and Chinnichap went on to enjoy equal success with Mud and Suzi Quatro, including number one's with Tiger Feet, and Lonely This Christmas for Mud and Can the Can and Devil Gate Drive for Suzi Quatro.
Smokie were the next group to benefit from the Chinnichap magic having five hit singles between 1975 and 78.

Though often accused of churning out 'mechanical' music, no one can deny the popularity of their compositions. A lack of respect at the time, and since has led to accusations of 'deliberate commercialism, degrading the standard of music' Which is a bit rich when you consider the present day music industry.

In an interview with Nigel Thomas in 1974 Mike Chapman said:"We write singles, but they're very much harder to sell than an album. Singles you've got to sell in three and a half minutes and you've got to sell it quick, and you've got to sell it good"
The duo were famous for beginning their songs with the title and then writing the song around that, for example 'Wig Wam Bam'. The songs were written rapidly, often overnight and recorded with equal speed. Later songs written for Smokie became more thoughtful and emotional, but still as catchy and tuneful.

It was only with the advent of punk rock that their star began to wane as fewer performers wanted to work with them. They continued to write hit songs well after the glam rock period had ended, such as Mickey a number one for Toni Basil and Kiss You All Over by Exile, but despite this Chinnichap eventually separated during the early 80's. Chapman turned to production with his greatest success being Blondie's Parallel Lines in 1978, while Chinn eventually left the music business all together. The only comparable songwriting partnership since with as great a success rate was the Stock, Aitken and Waterman team in the late 80's.

Tom Tom Turnaround is a song written by Chinnichap and performed here by the Sweet, but was originally a hit for Australian pop group New World in 1971.
"The bottom line is this. writing songs might be easy to do, but it's incredibly hard to do well"Mike Chapman, Guardian interview 2000.

Bauhaus - Telegram Sam & Ziggy Stardust (cover versions)

Here are some glam cover versions by 80’s Goth rock band Bauhaus. A couple of Bowie and T Rex covers to link in with the last Tony Visconti blog entry.

Even original music by Bauhaus always had elements of glam rock and heavy metal so it was appropriate that they released a cover of the T Rex song ‘Telegram Sam’ in September 1980. It was followed in 1982 with a version of Bowie’s ‘Ziggy Stardust’ which reached number 15 in the charts.

Tony Visconti (Producer)

Tony Visconti has emerged as one of the most influential producers of the glam rock era through work with David Bowie and T Rex.
Visconti had relocated to London in 1968 and almost immediately began producing tracks by T Rex, followed soon after by Bowie’s Space Oddity album. Although working with other artists during this period, Bowie and T Rex remain the two acts that Visconti is best remembered for.

It was Visconti who played bass and toured with ‘The Hype’ along with Bowie, guitarist Mick Ronson and drummer John Cambridge. The band was short lived but this line up went on to record ‘The Man Who Sold the World’ album. Visconti also produced ‘Diamond Dogs’, and ‘Young Americans’ for Bowie, while for T Rex he produced the classic ‘Electric Warrior’ and ‘The Slider'.
Visconti continued to work with Bowie as the decade progressed, collaborating on ‘Low’, ‘Heroes’ and ‘Lodger’ With production duties in 1980 on ‘Scary Monsters and Super Creeps'. Visconti renewed his association with Bowie, producing the albums ‘Heathen’ in 2002 and ‘Reality’ in 2003.
In more recent times he has produced albums for Morrissey, who had previously been produced by Mick Ronson on the ‘Your Arsenal’ album.
Metal Guru is a number one single from ‘the Slider’ album released in 1972. This version is a mash up of an earlier version from the Electric Warrior sessions, and the final version, after Visconti had added his magic.

Talking of Marc Bolan he said;“He knew he was going to be big, and he had everything to back it up; talent, imagination and great songs. His melodies were absolutely superb”
The Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud is also a mash up. The first half is from a BBC live session, with the normal version of the song coming in at the end.
“My greatest pride was my orchestral arrangement for "The Wild-Eyed Boy From Freecloud". This was originally a throwaway B-side for "Space Oddity", but I heard orchestral parts in my head from the beginning. It took 5 whole days to write. I set up the studio of 50 musicians with David sitting right in the middle playing his acoustic 12-string. I was standing in front of him conducting the orchestra. At the mixing stage of this album, John Cambridge, the drummer, introduced us to his guitar player friend from Hull -- Mick Ronson. Mick came to the mix of "The Wild-Eyed Boy From Freecloud", and was persuaded to play a little guitar line in the middle part and joined in the handclaps on the same section. That is actually the first appearance of Mick Ronson on a David Bowie album”.Tonyvisconti.com

Mott the Hoople – Saturday Gig (a-side): Ian Hunter – Once Bitten Twice Shy (a-side)

While Mick Ronson was recording his second solo album ‘Play Don’t Worry’ he was also playing with Mott the Hoople and working on lead singer Ian Hunter’s debut solo album ‘Ian Hunter’. In production and style this album and Ronson’s own are part of the same blend and template.

One of the many fans of Mott the Hoople was David Bowie and he offered them a song he had just written called Suffragette City. The band didn’t really think the song was right for them so Bowie sat on the floor of Mott’s office and played All the Young Dudes on acoustic guitar, the rest as they say is history.
For the next two years Mott the Hoople had a string of hits culminating in Saturday Gig with Mick Ronson now part of the band having taken over from the brilliantly named Ariel Bender.
“This grandiose anthem was Mott the Hoople's last single and lyrically appeared to be saying goodbye to their fans. However this was not the band's intention. Keyboardist Morgan Fisher explained to Mojo magazine May 2009: "While we were making it we didn't think it was about the end, which seems incredibly naïve now. For me, it was a summing up of what had happened so far, now we'll move on. That may have been Ian's take on it too, until it all went pear-shaped."
“The song's failure to climb any higher than #41 in the UK charts was the clincher in the break-up of Mott the Hoople. Its failure caused a devastated Hunter to cancel a UK tour. He later told Pete Frame: "I thought that was the best single we ever did, and it frightened the life out of me when it didn't make it."Songfacts.com


“Oh 73 was a jamboree. The dudes were the news and the dudes were we.
Did you see the suits and the platform boots. Hey man, you wanna party”Saturday Gig 1974
The opening track on Hunters solo album was Once Bitten Twice Shy.

“This was Hunter's first single after leaving Mott The Hoople. The extended version appears on the self-titled "Ian Hunter" album, which was released by CBS in 1975. The single was released on April 4th and entered the UK charts on May 3, and stayed there for ten weeks peaking at number 14."
Songfacts.com

Mick Ronson - Billy Porter (a-side)

“Who else can play my stuff like him”?Ian Hunter

Mick Ronson is in many ways the unsung hero of Glam Rock. He is known predominantly for his guitar and production work with David Bowie between 1970 - 73 on albums such as Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane, and also for work with Ian Hunter and Mott the Hoople as well as on Lou Reed’s Transformer album.

Ronson first teamed up with Bowie in 1970 and was responsible for much of the production and arrangements on many of Bowie’s best ‘glam era’ albums. He began his solo career in 1973 when Bowie had disbanded the ‘Spiders from Mars’.

Billy Porter is taken from his second solo album ‘Play Don’t Worry’ released in 1975. Only four songs on the album were written by Ronson of which Billy Porter is one. All the guitar work and most of the vocal work were performed by Ronson as well as some bass, keyboards and drums.

He spent many years as a session musician working for amongst others Elton John but eventually returned to Hull disillusioned with the music business. It was while working as a gardener for Hull Council’s Parks department that he was recruited to play in Bowie’s backing band at the time ‘The Hype’ Having failed in earlier attempts in London he was at first reluctant to accept the job.

Ronson made his debut with Bowie on John Peel’s Radio 1 Sunday Show in February 1970. The hype played their first gig at the Roundhouse the same month with a line up that included Tony Visconti (Bowie’s producer) on bass. The band’s gimmick was to dress up in super hero costumes, Bowie was Rainbowman, Visconti was Hypeman and Ronson was Gangsterman.

This is often thought to be one of the catalysts that kick started glam rock and Marc Bolan is thought to have been at one of the Hypes earliest gigs getting ideas for his glam rock style.

After leaving Bowie and the Spiders from Mars he had a brief stint as part of Mott the Hoople and collaborated with Mott front man Ian Hunter as well as working on his own solo material. Mick and Ian Hunter worked together on and off for the next 20 years.

In 1993 he again worked with Bowie on his Black Tie White Noise album and produced Morrissey’s Your Arsenal album in 1992. Mick Ronson died from cancer in 1993 and had a third solo album Heaven and Hull released posthumously in 1994.

The Mick Ronson Memorial Stage now stands in the park where he once worked, Queens Gardens in his hometown of Hull. There is also a street named after him on Bilton Grange Estate, not far from where he lived.

The opening track on his second album is Billy Porter it didn’t sell in great quantities but is still brilliant. It’s a quirky song that you wouldn’t expect from guitar hero Ronson.

The Osmonds - Crazy Horses (a-side)

During the early 70’s many artists climbed upon the glam rock wagon, by either releasing songs that were written or performed by glam rock artists or deciding to appropriate the glam style for a song or two.

The Osmonds are not glam artists by any stretch of the imagination, but like the Bay City Rollers they seem to have been thrown into the mix.
But one Osmond song sprang out from the MOR, ballad style they favoured, to be a true glam rock anthem.
Crazy Horses is a diamond in the rough. If another more ‘respected’ or ‘authentic’ artiste had written and performed the song it would be seen as a rock classic. The classic keyboard/synth intro and guitar riff are as distinctive as anything by the rock fraternity.

Who else would write a song about the amount of air pollution caused by the automobile? (The Crazy Horses of the song) Remember this is before the environment became the big issue that it is today. Crazy Horses was a 1972 hit reaching number 2 in the UK top 40.

Lulu - The Man Who Sold the World (cover version) Peter Noone - Oh You Pretty Things (cover version)

In 1974 Scottish born singer Lulu released a version of Bowie’s The Man Who Sold the World. Lulu is better known as the singer of Shout in 1964 and for acting in the film To Sir with Love in 1967. Latterly she is known for singing with Take That on Relight My Fire, and for at one time being married to Bee Gee Maurice Gibb.

Bowie produced her version of the song as well as contributing saxophone and backing vocals. Mick Ronson was also at the sessions to add some guitar. This song was produced towards the end of Bowie and Ronson’s collaborations so may have been one of the last things they worked on together. The song went to number 3 in the UK charts.

From Uncut magazine in June 2008 Lulu recalled:
"I first met Bowie on tour in the early '70s when he invited me to his concert. And back at the hotel, he said to me, in very heated language, 'I want to make an MF of a record with you. You're a great singer.' I didn't think it would happen, but he followed up two days later. He was uber cool at the time and I just wanted to be led by him. I didn't think 'The Man Who Sold the World' was the greatest song for my voice, but it was such a strong song in itself. In the studio, Bowie kept telling me to smoke more cigarettes, to give my voice a certain quality. We were like the odd couple. Were we ever an item? I'd rather not answer that one, thanks!For the video, people thought he came up with the androgynous look, but that was all mine. It was very Berlin cabaret. We did other songs, too, like 'Watch That Man,' 'Can You Hear Me?' and 'Dodo.' 'The Man Who Sold the World' saved me from a certain niche in my career. If we'd have carried on, it would have been very interesting."

Another David Bowie song covered by an unlikely source is Oh You Pretty Things. (Technically it’s not a cover as it was recorded prior to Bowie’s own version on Hunky Dory).

The song was recorded in late 1970 early 1971 by Peter Noone better known as the lead singer of Herman’s Hermits. As with Lulu’s version of The Man Who Sold the World, Bowie also plays on this song, this time contributing Piano.

While the tune is jaunty enough, the lyrics tell a somewhat darker story of paranoia and schizophrenia. The song when sung by Peter Noone becomes a cheesy, cabaret style oddity.
I don’t think that he really knew the hidden (or not so hidden) meanings in the song.
Having said that, for some strange reason I do like this version, anyway the song peaked at #12 in the UK.