Bend It Like DDDBMT

While it may be the 30th anniversary of The Spice Girls (which is getting quite a bit of press actually) ...

And Victoria Adams eventually went on to marry international soccer (sorry, footballer) star David Beckham (who is also known for "bending it") ...

Today's focus is on the song "Bend It," discussed the other day in relationship to the group who first recorded it (with great British success and great American apathy), Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich.

FH Reader Larry Neal tells us this ...

Kent,

In reporting the passing of John Dymond aka Beaky of Dave Dee, Dozy. Beaky, Mick and Tich, their recording of BEND IT was recorded by OKC's own Noblemen and did quite well here in the city.

Larry

 

This is one of those that always confused me …

It has ALL of the makings of a Top Ten Hit, especially suited for its time and place during The British Invasion and what was happening on the music scene at the time ... yet it never even cracked Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart.  (It did bubble under at #110.)

To my ears, there was never as obvious a sure-thing hit as this one … yet it never charted here in Chicago either!

Howard Miller (who was the disc jockey that my MOM used to listen to every morning while getting us ready for school … not my personal cup of tea) used to play this record all the time – and I loved yet – yet our Top 40 stations here in town failed to chart it … and, at best, I probably only heard it there a few times … but Miller played it regularly on his show … and his was not a MUSIC show … but more of a (then) somewhat controversial talk show that dealt with the gossip stories of the day (Was JFK being kept alive as a vegetable until medical technology could revive him?  Were Jim Nabors and Rock Hudson secretly, married?  Etc., etc., etc.)

My Mom bought the 45 (by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich) and I played the heck out of it … catchy as can be … yet it never made its marking on either our local or the national charts.  (It peaked at #2 in the UK where this group was quite popular as addressed the other day … scroll back to Monday’s post to see their complete Hit List.)

I had never heard the version by The Noblemen ... and could not find it on YouTube either … but thanks to a concentrated effort by Larry Neal, Clark Besch, Tom Diehl and Richard Whig, who hosts the great 'Whig Out" show on Sunday nights 7 PM on WFMU, we have it to share with you today.  (It may have been #2 in Oklahoma City but it really pales in comparison to the original British version by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich … whose versions I also have posted below.  (First the HIT version and then an alternate version that they recorded because the censors felt the original version was “too exciting” at the time so they toned it down to a barely listenable remake.  I hate it!!!) 

To make matters worse, Fontana Records released both versions with the same catalog number … so when you went to buy a copy at the record store, you didn’t even know which version you were getting!

Just for fun, here’s the piece we did back in 2009 when Dave Dee died (say THAT ten times fast!!!), which addresses this similar topic …

https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2009/01/dave-dee-dies.html

 

Kent,

Here is some additional info on the Noblemen who recorded the song BEND IT. Anytime you think I may be able to help you

with any local OKC artists and groups, let me know and I'll do it to the best of my ability.

Larry

 

 

 

By the way, I don't know if there are any Spice Girls collectors out there (or maybe some of you know some people that are) but in honor of the girls' 30th anniversary I'm going to be putting together a very large eBay ad selling all kinds of Spice Girls memorabilia collected over the years ...

All brand new stuff, all still sealed in the original packaging.

If you have an interest in any of this, drop me a line and I'll let you know when I'm ready to post.  (kk) 

July 14th, 1966

60 YEARS AGO TODAY:

7/14/66 – The Beatles receive a gold record for sales of their latest single, “Paperback Writer”

Also on 7/14 - Actor Matthew Fox is born

Also on 7/14 – Richard Speck rapes and murders eight nurses here in Chicago

From our 50th anniversary piece regarding the day that Richard Speck murdered eight female student nurses in their Chicago South Side townhouse, we offer this 

'60's FLASHBACK:  

It was a brutal and senseless crime, the likes of which Chicago had never seen before.  Breaking into their apartment on the evening of July 13th ... and not finishing his brutal murder spree until the morning of the 14h, Richard Speck robbed, beat, raped, strangled and stabbed eight Chicago nurses.

The series of events took hours as Speck waited for each girl to return home and then added them to his list of victims.

A ninth potential victim, Filipino Nurse Corazon Amurao, escaped murder by this mad man by hiding under a bed.  Lying still and keeping quiet, she had to endure the agony of watching as each of her friends was brutally slaughtered from this hidden vantage point.

 

It sent terror throughout the city, knowing that this man with the "Born To Raise Hell" tattoo was still loose somewhere in our city.

As an irrational and naive preteen, I remember being scared to death that Speck might show up in our neighborhood seeking shelter ... or more victims.  There was no escaping it ... it was literally everywhere you looked ... covered virtually non-stop by every television station and plastered all over every local newspaper.  (Apparently at some point after the murders Speck attempted what amounted to a botched suicide attempt, which ultimately brought him into Cook County Hospital where, while lying on a gurney, nurses noticed his now infamous tattoo, covered with blood, and called local police.)  In all, only two days had passed between the time the murders took place and Speck was in police custody.

Then Chicago Tribune Reporter (and noted syndicated columnist, current Forgotten Hits Reader and sometime contributor) Bob Greene later became the only person to ever interview Speck while he was incarcerated.  (He died in jail nineteen years later of a heart attack, one day shy of his 50th birthday.)

At first Speck denied the murders ... then said he had an accomplice ... before ultimately admitting that he had committed the crimes, saying at one point that "they'd probably all still be alive today if one of them hadn't spit in my face."  Not a likely scenario, given Speck's previous 41 counts of arrest, including drunk driving, trespassing, forgery, violence, rape, robbery and murder.  He was also suspected of several other unsolved murders in Indiana and Michigan.

Biography.com offers a pretty comprehensive overview of Speck's "career" on the dark side ...
http://www.biography.com/people/richard-speck-11730438#horrifying-crimes

And this link provides more information on Bob Greene's landmark interview ...
https://www.chicagotribune.com/1991/12/08/the-voice-of-richard-speck/

Much will be said today about Speck's heinous crime and the way that it shook our city ... but it is doubtful that you will see any interviews with survivor Corazon Amurao, now in her early 80's ... she has had sixty years to move on from the trauma and the tragedy.

But eight women lost their lives that night ... eight young women who were dedicating  their careers to helping others ... so please, let's take a moment today to remember them ... inspired lives and dreams cut short by this mad man.  

Please take a moment today to honor these victims ...

Gloria Jean Davy, 22

Mary Ann Jordan,, 20

Patricia Matusek, 20

Nina Jo Schmale, 24

Pamela Wilkening, 20

Suzanne Farris, 21

Merlita Gargullo, 22

Valentina Pasion. 23

Monday Morning Memories

From Clark Besch …

The Record Man Has Died.

I never bought anything from this man, but he has one million records for sale in his store near San Francisco and they will have a celebration of life for him late this month and a huge sale late August.  They may liquidate everything eventually.  Looks like a sale many would not wish to miss if capable of going.

https://www.ktvu.com/news/redwood-city-iconic-record-store-honors-founder-gary-saxon-the-record-man

Don’t miss Billboard’s “Forever Number One” tribute to Bonnie Tyler, who passed away last week …

https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/bonnie-tyler-total-eclipse-of-the-heart-forever-number-one-1236291532/?bt_ee=PyPcVoGzC2KXt0ED8cESOf8uZI4ZTn%2BF%2FMuQhhai06vvFMhxee0iC1HW8EpK2vIY&bt_ts=1783720141138

It was sad to read that Huey Lewis disclosed in a podcast interview last week that he is now practically completely deaf.  

Suffering from Menière's disease, he can no longer hear pitch, making it impossible for him to sing.  This has to be especially difficult for an artist who has devoted themselves to music for all of his life ... and this has been public knowledge for several years now.

But that was NOT the main takeaway from this interview and yet it became the focal point of all the news coverage that followed.

Yes, Huey DID say that, if they removed his implant and took away his hearing aid, he would likely be completely deaf ... but the fact is that nobody is even suggesting that they do this and he DOES have these aids available to him!  In actuality, this is a very upbeat, fun and informative interview ... and you will enjoy hearing the whole discussion.  

Lewis, of course, was the charismatic lead singer of Huey Lewis and the News, formerly "American Express."  (Seriously ... you have to listen to the whole thing!)  

The band formed in San Francisco in the late '70's and by 1982, they were already racking up Top 40 Hits for Chrysalis Records, including twelve Top Tens and THREE #1s ("The Power Of Love," from the hit movie "Back To The Future," 1985, "Stuck With You," 1986, and "Jacob's Ladder," 1987).

When we first learned of Huey's hearing disability several years ago, my immediate hope was that if he could no longer sing, he might pursue his acting career instead ... he already had several film projects, a live stage show and some of the most entertaining videos of the '80's under his belt ... and, with surgical implants and a hearing aid, he might be able to focus on THESE skills instead and carry on with a burgeoning acting career.  (This topic also comes up during the course of the interview.)  In fact, Huey seems perfectly able to carry on a complete and very thorough conversation in the podcast video ... you'll even hear him sing a couple of lines along the way (and then explain how he's able to do so.)

This is really a MUST WATCH video in order to get the whole story rather than just the depressing headline and news articles that were circulating last week.  (Don't believe the headlines ... listen for yourself!)  You can check it out here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_OrSi0VVVM

He's just such a likeable guy that you hate the very idea of him suffering in any way ... and I'm really hoping that continued improved technology may make day to day living more enjoyable for him.  But honestly, he seems to be dealing with his situation very well!    (kk)

That video you posted of Robin Clark’s recording of “DADDY DADDY (GOT TO GET A PHONE IN MY ROOM)” looked like something out of an old MGM musical, but the poster said the visual was from a 1957 Associated British release "The Good Companions." 

Associated British might be better known as the parent of the ITV member and TV studio that brought us "The Avengers."

Bob Frable

A pretty obscure tune, for sure, to have someone go thru that much trouble to sync it to a dance routine … but pretty cool overall! (kk)

Beaky from one of my fave bands Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich has died.  This leaves only Mick left, I think.  

https://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/26267459.salisbury-musician-john-beaky-dymond-dies-aged-81/

While they never made much of a splash on this side of the pond, the group was quite popular in England, where they scored FIFTEEN Top 50 Hits between 1966 and 1970, eight of which made The British Top Ten.

My personal favorite has always been “Bend It,” which we have featured several times  in the past.  Their biggest U.S. Hit was “Zabadak” (#52, 1967) … but they topped the chart in The U.K. with their follow-up single “The Legend Of Xanadu.”  (Olivia Newton-John had nothing to do with that one!)

Beaky's real name was John Dymond and he was 81 years old when he passed of undisclosed sources.  You are also correct that Mick (Michael Wilson) is now the only surviving member.  The quintet reportedly sold over sixteen million records during the 1960's.

See our DAVE DEE, DOZY, BEAKY MICK and TICH HIT LIST below.  (kk)

	DAVE DEE, DOZY, BEAKY,  MICK and TICH	US PEAK	UK PEAK
1966	You Make It Move	--	26
1966	Hold Tight!	125	4
1966	Hideaway	--	10
1966	Bend It	100	2
1967	Save Me	--	3
1967	Touch Me, Touch Me	--	13
1967	Okay!	--	4
1967	Zabadak	52	3
1968	The Legend Of Xanadu	110	1
1968	Last Night In Soho	--	8
1968	Break Out	--	--
1968	The Wreck of the 'Antoinette'	--	14
1969	Don Juan	--	23
1969	Snake In The Grass	--	23
1970	Mr. President (shown as D.B.M. and T.)	--	33
1970	My Woman's Man (shown as Dave Dee)	--	42

 

Reminder … we’ll be giving away a few copies of the Micky Dolenz Carole King tribute CD “King For A Day” later this week.

If you’d like to be entered in our drawing, just send me an email with KING FOR A DAY in the subject line.  Be sure to include your mailing address.  Thanks!  (And thanks again to David Salidor for donating these … the cd is now out of print … but is one of Micky’s best!)  kk