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)