A bit like the thing in Quatermass that just kept growing and growing into some unspeakable ghastliness…. Condition - This item is in Excellent condition or better (unless it says otherwise in the above description).

of Alaska’s releases this record also did not chart but it’s an interesting reminder of one of the ubiquitous personalities of the 70s.He’s straining so much to hit the notes Stevie Wonder hits so effortlessly, it looks like he might to shit himself. His decent roles dried up a bit in the early 70s and TV was beginning to dominate people’s viewing habits. Anyone who has read this section of my little blog space will know that some of the titles featured are records which should have been strangled before birth. Initially, the lead singer of Sweet Sensation, Marcel King, was supposed to do the vocal but reportedly couldn’t get to grips with the song, leaving the door open for producer David Parton to do his own version. For example, Dave and Ansel Collins had just made Number 1 with the first reggae song ever to do so, the brilliant Double Barrel, replacing T Rex‘s seminal Hot Love.

Ask anyone over a certain age (OK 55-ish), which single sums up the tackiness of the 70s for them and a fair number might choose this song. Hilda Woodward died in 1999 aged 85 and the very piano she performed on MOD is now an artefact at Coventry’s music museum, and quite right too. He even repeated the confidence trick the following year with Bionic Santa, tapping into the popularity of the Six Million Dollar Man when everything seemed to be ‘bionic.C. run out to at Boundary Park, it is banger racing’s theme tune, it was even used in New Zealand to advertise their national lottery and Charlie Watts named a racehorse after it. The most intriguing interpretation of the lyrics was one from an ‘anonymous’ contributor to an internet message board discussing the song. Kojak was really nothing special as New York- based detective serials went, others such as McCloud, Tenafly, McMillan and Wife and Banacek were in competition.

It seems rather churlish to condemn such a prolific and, in many cases, noteworthy artist like Paul Nicholas, but this is a truly dreadful record. Their appearance on TOTP was particularly excruciating, all the players looking suitably embarrassed to be there.Someone in his management company obviously thought he needed an image and the bowler hat and cane was introduced. Well, it’s irritatingly memorable, it has very straightforward lyrics ( Leonard Cohen was not involved I’m assured), it has a chorus that burrows into your psyche and an utterly weird vocal that suggests someone with adenoidal problems, sung in a quasi-American accent that really grates. It was released by the legendary Stevie Wonder on his classic 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life and was probably the most played track from the album on the radio at the time.

As a musical actor this probably wasn’t a bad idea but such performance props often result in a certain type of music. Secondly, the artist’s management will see it as a good way of getting the artist ‘out there’ and cementing his/her popularity and thirdly, if the record is successful there could be a whole series of lucrative hits and maybe even an album! As well as being one of the figures on the front cover of Wings ‘ Band On The Run,’ LP, Conteh also appeared in 70s films ‘ Man At The Top‘ and, strangely, ‘ The Stud‘ with Joan Collins in a career low.The guys in my year at school who knew about ‘serious’ music, the ones who walked around the playground with a copy of Rory Gallagher’s ‘ Blueprint‘ or ELP’s ‘ Brain Salad Surgery’ under their arm, would have taken the piss relentlessly out of me if they’d known I’d purchased it, but I loved it. Now the first thing to say is that this isn’t a particularly bad record, the song is actually quite good. They may be rubbish and inexplicably successful but still hold their place in the pantheon of strange but memorable hits.