Roy Orbison 1963 – Blue Bayou
The air is thick, not with humidity, but with reverb. It’s the kind of sonic atmosphere that feels less like…
Oldies Songs
Amen Corner 1969 – Hello Susie
The year 1969 felt like a final, glorious rush for a certain breed of British pop band. The expansive, orchestral…
Keith West 1967 – Excerpt From A Teenage Opera
There is a precise moment in the cultural timeline of 1967 when British pop music stopped being about three chords…
Johnny Nash 1968 – Hold Me Tight
The year is 1968. The air is thick with the thunder of protest and the electric roar of psychedelia, but…
Robin Gibb 1968 – I Started a Joke
The year is 1968, and the pop landscape is fracturing, shimmering with psychedelic possibility and the darkening mood of reality.…
Bobby Darin 1958 – Queen of The Hop
I remember the first time I fully appreciated the controlled chaos of “Queen of The Hop.” It wasn’t on an…
Cliff Richard and The Shadows 1960 – Willie And The Hand Jive
The air in the studio was thick with anticipation, the scent of hot valves and fresh cigarette smoke clinging to…
The Swinging Blue Jeans 1963 – Hippy Hippy Shake
I remember it was a Saturday morning, the kind where the grey light of a British winter was trying, and…
Sandie Shaw 1965 – Long Live Love
The year is 1965. Britain is midway through its seismic cultural shift, the sound of the ‘Merseybeat’ is giving way…
I’m The Urban Spaceman 1969 – Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band
The air in my tiny studio apartment was thick with dust motes dancing in the slanted afternoon light. I was…