One Hit Wonders

I actually found that painful to watch.....

I actually used to like that song but if I hear it again I fear I shall be forever haunted after seeing that video  ? 

Hahaha....it's so bad, it's good !    ? 

I remember hearing that as a kid, I think my brother had it. Around the same time that Mungo Jerry had his "in the summertime" hit.

ps. Moved this thread to the music & media section as its more suited there.

At this very moment in time, Johnnie Walker is playing all the rather more naff records of the 70s as his "real favourites" (well, it's April Fool's Day) so we've had The Wurzels, Lieutenant Pigeon, the Bay City Rollers... 

Oh 'eck...."Chirpy chirpy tweet tweet" is on now.....talk about cheesy grin day !  ? 

Tony Orlando and Dawn now...  ? 

Listening to the YT video: was it amateur night when they recorded that? Even a bunch of trainees in their first week at Evesham could have made a better recording of the sound!

EDIT: I note from a quick search that it was a show made by the German TV network ZDF, which makes me all the more surprised at the sound quality! It would appear that the gentleman clowning about is the show's presenter Ilja Richter, who was 19 at the time!

https://www.discogs.com/Various-Ilja-Richter-Pr%C3%A4sentiert-Disco-70-71/release/6157534

Posted by: Cathovisor

Listening to the YT video: was it amateur night when they recorded that? 

What do you mean ?.....

I thought the rim banging by the pretend drummer just added that little 'something' to the whole thing.....I'll let you know what the 'something' was when I can figure out a way without swearing !    ? 

Posted by: Marc

Posted by: Cathovisor

Listening to the YT video: was it amateur night when they recorded that? 

What do you mean ?.....

I thought the rim banging by the pretend drummer just added that little 'something' to the whole thing.....I'll let you know what the 'something' was when I can figure out a way without swearing !    ? 

No, it was more that it sounded like it was recorded in a bathroom from 400 metres away!

I just assumed it was an internal recording of what the studio floor actually sounded like when a band was miming to their track over monitors. What was actually transmitted to TV viewers would be totally different. I've no idea of the workings of top of the pop type shows but didn't they mostly mime to pre-recorded tracks? What did it actually sound like in the studio when walking around, anything like this?

Studio are normally a lot more 'dead' than that acoustically, but not totally so because then they sound really horrible. That is simply too 'live' to be useful. As you might imagine, I've been on a few studio floors in my time on music shows and they sound nothing like that. Mind you, we have no idea where that was recorded: even in the 1920s/30s one or two of the record companies made recordings of British dance bands in some quite 'lively' venues.

Normally the PA is quite loud as human bodies absorb sound quite well, but you would normally mix the effects (read - what's going on in the studio) with the actual track, and the track would be much more forward in the mix.

It would be instructive to go to see Sounds Like Friday Night at Television Centre to see modern practice in action.

I was kind of hoping it was all available to watch and enjoy on DVD   ? 

It just get's better.... scroll forward to just after 25 mins and....well.....erm, yes.

As that video's literally taken 'off-tube' it's hard to decide what is going on, but it does sound like the show was recorded in a particularly 'live' venue. Crackling Rosie sounded a lot more like I would expect.

Not sure, but I think the 'lively' recording venue I was thinking of was the Small Queen's Hall.

I must admit it was good to see/hear Gilbert O'Sullivan, though sadly on a broken piano with non-working keys. (about 14 mins in).

Posted by: PYE625

I must admit it was good to see/hear Gilbert O'Sullivan.

agreed, I really like his early hits

I hate to say this but I actually think 'Tiny Tim's' version of Tiptoe Through The Tulips was better......and I thought that was awful at the time!!!

He wasn't a 'one hit wonder' but I was always surprised how successful Terry Jacks was, considering all his songs seemed to be about dying...

Two other one-hit wonders that come to mind are 'The Archies' with Sugar Sugar (I actually bought that record but listening to it now, I wonder why...)

'The Flower Pot Men' with San Francisco (Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair) which I think is still a great record (I also bought that). Side two was San Francisco part II which I haven't heard since the 60's)