Jukebox Gems - Luister FM

25/10/2025

The British Invasion was a significant cultural phenomenon in the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom gained immense popularity in the United States. This movement, which began in 1964 with the Beatles' appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, revolutionized the music industry and had a profound impact on American culture.

The British Invasion was marked by a wave of British bands achieving international success, including the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Who, and the Zombies. These bands brought with them a unique sound, style, and attitude that captivated American audiences. The invasion sparked a frenzy of interest in British music, fashion, and culture, with many American teenagers embracing the British scene.

The impact of the British Invasion was multifaceted. It influenced the development of rock music, paving the way for future generations of musicians. It also had a significant impact on fashion, with mod styles and Carnaby Street chic becoming all the rage. Moreover, the British Invasion played a role in shaping American cultural identity, as young people began to look to Britain for inspiration and guidance.

Tune in to Jukebox Gems - Luister FM this Sunday for the music of Brits at 9am.

25/10/2025

This Sunday's show is all about the British Invasion, and it's contributions to the music of our youth.

The Beatles played a pivotal role in the British Invasion, the cultural phenomenon that dominated the 1960s music scene. This Liverpool-based band, consisting of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, revolutionized popular music with their innovative sound, style, and lyrics.

One of their notable songs, "Don't Let Me Down," was written by John Lennon, with credits attributed to the Lennon-McCartney partnership. Released in 1969 on the B-side of "Get Back," this song showcases the band's ability to craft emotionally charged and musically complex songs. "Don't Let Me Down" was performed live on the rooftop of Apple Records, marking one of the Beatles' final public performances.

The Beatles' impact on the British Invasion was immense. Their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964 drew a massive audience of 73 million viewers, catapulting them to international stardom. This event marked the beginning of the British Invasion, paving the way for other UK bands to break into the US market.

The Beatles' innovative music and cultural influence extended beyond their own success, shaping the course of popular music and inspiring future generations of musicians. Their legacy continues to be felt, with their music remaining timeless and influential. As a cultural phenomenon, the Beatles' impact extends beyond music to fashion, film, and social commentary, cementing their place as one of the most influential bands in history.

The show wouldn't be the same without The Beatles, and it won't be the same without you, so join me Sunday morning at 9am.....don't let me down.

25/10/2025

NO ONE THOUGHT THAT A SONG “AS OLD AS TIME” COULD RISE TO NO.1 ON THE UK SINGLES CHART IN 1976, surpassing contemporary hits by ABBA, Rod Stewart, and Chicago. But Showaddywaddy did it — through their innocent energy, brightly colored suits, and a melody that made listeners start dancing from the very first note.
In 1976, when Britain was torn between two opposing musical movements — punk rock exploding with S*x Pistols and The Clash, and disco dominating the dance floors — Showaddywaddy emerged as a phenomenon that went completely “against the tide.” Many British newspapers at the time called it “the moonlight that shone again on Britain’s postwar childhood,” because the song evoked a peaceful, romantic era that their parents’ generation had once lived through.

Showaddywaddy - Under The Moon Of Love
🎼𝐄𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠 https://greatest.oldies70s.com/showaddywaddy-under-the-moon-of-love

25/10/2025

Al Stewart is a Scottish singer-songwriter known for his unique blend of folk, rock, and pop music. His smash hit "Year of the Cat" was released in 1976 on the album of the same name.

The song, co-written with Peter Wood, tells the story of a romantic adventure with a mysterious woman. Interestingly, the song's origins date back to 1966 when Stewart wrote "Foot of the Stage," inspired by British comedian Tony Hancock's struggles with depression. After Hancock's tragic death in 1968, Stewart reworked the song into "Year of the Cat," incorporating elements of Vietnamese astrology.

The album "Year of the Cat" was a commercial success, reaching the top five in the US and achieving platinum certification. Critics praised Alan Parsons' production and Stewart's storytelling.

The song "Year of the Cat" peaked at number eight on the Billboard chart in 1977 and has become a classic rock staple. With his distinctive vocals and poetic lyrics, Al Stewart continues to captivate audiences. His music often explores themes of love, history, and introspection, cementing his place in the folk-rock genre.

Join me, the Curator of the Classics, this Sunday on Jukebox Gems - Luister FM at 9am, when we delve into the effect that the British Invasion had on the musical landscape in the Sixties and the Seventies.

Don't be late.....🙏🏻

25/10/2025

25/10/2025

When Brian Connolly stepped onto the stage for what would be his final show, the lights shimmered like the glam era he once ruled with Sweet. His voice, roughened by years of struggle, still carried the echo of “Fox on the Run” and “Ballroom Blitz.” The crowd knew—they were witnessing the end of something golden. There were no pyrotechnics, no grand farewell—just a man, fragile yet defiant, giving everything he had left. When the last note faded, he smiled faintly, as if to say goodbye to the stage that had defined his life. History remembers the shine—but that night, it was his courage that truly glittered.

Brian Connolly – The Final Show
🎶𝐄𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠 https://greatsongs70s.com/brian-connolly-the-final-show

25/10/2025

Released on this day in 1977, ‘Out Of The Blue’ is the seventh studio album by Electric Light Orchestra. Featuring “Turn To Stone,” “It’s Over,” “Sweet Talkin’ Woman,” “Wild West Hero” and “Mr. Blue Sky”, the double album peaked at #4 on both the UK and US charts and has since gone on to sell more than 10 million copies worldwide. Initial copies on Jet Records were available in special edition blue vinyl with a poster of the band, and a die-cut spaceship.💙 Happy 48th anniversary!

25/10/2025

ON THIS DATE (50 YEARS AGO)
October 24, 1975 – John Lennon: Shaved Fish is released.
# ALL THINGS MUSIC PLUS+ 4.5/5
# Allmusic 4.5/5 stars

LISTEN/BUY
https://amzn.to/3Jnotir

Shaved Fish is a compilation album by John Lennon, released on October 24, 1975. It reached #12 on the Billboard 200 Top LP's chart, and #5 on the UK Albums chart.

‘The record company didn’t even want to it out. I put Shaved Fish together of all the singles because if I didn’t do it nobody else would and that was just for my own personal history and for anybody else who cared to buy the record, it wasn’t an effort really to – just to conserve my work because in 40 years I want to look back on it and be able to find it. You know because ‘Cold Turkey’ isn’t a big, big, big hit the record company will probably lose the tape. I realised that some of the singles, the record company would lose the tape, you know, the record would be wiped off the face of the earth by disinterest. They wouldn’t even know where the fu***ng tape was if you asked them for it now. I had a real trouble finding the tapes to ‘Give Peace a Chance’ and ‘Cold Turkey’ and ‘Woman is the Nigger’ because they weren’t big hits. They were known but they didn’t sell millions of records. I couldn’t even sing ‘Woman is the Nigger’, I was on Dick Cavett. They wouldn’t let me say the word “nigger”. Right. There was a big controversy about ‘Woman is the Nigger’. The stations wouldn’t play it. The people were disgusted and I mean this is only 1971, right.’
– John Lennon, 1980

The compilation includes many of Lennon's most popular solo recordings, five of which had not yet appeared on an album: "Cold Turkey," "Instant Karma!," "Power to the People," the holiday single "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)," and "Give Peace a Chance." The latter appeared in truncated form, split to begin side one and end side two. Eight of these singles made the Top 40 on the Billboard chart, with "Whatever Gets You thru the Night" going to number 1; five made the Top Ten in the United Kingdom. "Imagine," never a single in the UK, was issued as such concurrent to the release of this album, going to number 5 in the UK chart.

Its release came less than three weeks after the resolution of Lennon's long-running immigration dispute and the birth of Sean Lennon. The name of the album originates from the Japanese food katsuobushi, a kind of dried fish.
_________

ORIGINAL ROLLING STONE REVIEW

Shaved Fish is a collection of singles, some of them hits, released during John Lennon's post-Beatles career (1969-present). Ordinarily, such Christmas gift ideas aren't worth writing about but, as with almost everything else Lennon has done, Shaved Fish is different. There is nothing spectacularly unfound about the music here, although finally having an LP with "Instant Karma" -- Lennon's best solo track and as full a statement of the rock philosophy as we are likely to get from anyone -- is a significant event in my house. One is first drawn to the package, a typically mad collage of literal interpretations of the 11 tracks here -- "Instant Karma!" is represented by a jar, as though it were a name-brand pharmaceutical -- and to the lyric sheet, which offers the most convincing evidence yet of Lennon's verbal felicity.

More than that, however, the feeling of this record is so diffuse that it probably does present an accurate overview of Lennon's confused career since leaving the Beatles. The best tracks are obsessed, driven by a special idea about the usefulness of rock & roll, as on "Instant Karma!," "Cold Turkey," "Imagine" and even "Mother." Although "Give Peace a Chance" is the best example extant of Lennon's talent for random lyric writing, neither it, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" nor "Power To The People" has held up. Unlike Dylan's best topical songs ("George Jackson," say), or even the Beatles' "Revolution." Lennon's polemics were entirely too ad hoc to last beyond the era in which they were made. Nevertheless, there is a cohesion of style present in these which dwindles in the later parts of the record: "Mind Games," "Whatever Gets You thru the Night" and " #9 Dream" are all without the purpose of his best work. This is convincing evidence, then, not only of John Lennon's genius but of his continuing career difficulty. Hopefully, as the cover drawing for "Power to the People" suggests, the green card he'll be receiving from Immigration will resolve that crisis happily.
~ Dave Marsh (December 18, 1975)

TRACKS:
All songs by John Lennon, except where noted.
Side one
1 Give Peace a Chance - 0:57
2 Cold Turkey - 5:01
3 Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) - 3:21
4 Power to the People - 3:21
5 Mother - 5:03
6 Woman Is the N***er of the World (Lennon, Yoko Ono) - 4:37

Side two
1 Imagine - 3:02
2 Whatever Gets You thru the Night - 3:03
3 Mind Games - 4:12
4 #9 Dream - 4:47
5 Happy Xmas (War Is Over)/Give Peace a Chance (Reprise) (Lennon, Ono) - 4:15

25/10/2025

NO ONE THOUGHT THAT A SONG “AS OLD AS TIME” COULD RISE TO NO.1 ON THE UK SINGLES CHART IN 1976, surpassing contemporary hits by ABBA, Rod Stewart, and Chicago. But Showaddywaddy did it — through their innocent energy, brightly colored suits, and a melody that made listeners start dancing from the very first note.

In 1976, when Britain was torn between two opposing musical movements — punk rock exploding with S*x Pistols and The Clash, and disco dominating the dance floors — Showaddywaddy emerged as a phenomenon that went completely “against the tide.” Many British newspapers at the time called it “the moonlight that shone again on Britain’s postwar childhood,” because the song evoked a peaceful, romantic era that their parents’ generation had once lived through.

Showaddywaddy - Under The Moon Of Love
🎼𝐄𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠 https://oldies.song70s.com/showaddywaddy-under-the-moon-of-love

17/10/2025

🙏🏻

Paul Daniel “Ace” Frehley, co-founder and lead guitarist of the legendary rock band Kiss, has died following injuries suffered during a fall last month, according to a statement from his family. He was 74.

Frehley’s family issued the following statement:

“We are completely devastated and heartbroken. In his last moments, we were fortunate enough to have been able to surround him with loving, caring, peaceful words, thoughts, prayers and intentions as he left this earth. We cherish all of his finest memories, his laughter, and celebrate his strengths and kindness that he bestowed upon others. The magnitude of his passing is of epic proportions, and beyond comprehension. Reflecting on all of his incredible life achievements, Ace’s memory will continue to live on forever!”

17/10/2025

The Rolling Stones

17/10/2025

ON THIS DATE (52 YEARS AGO)
October 15, 1973 – Fleetwood Mac: Mystery to Me is released.
# ALL THINGS MUSIC PLUS+ 4/5
# Allmusic 3/5 stars
# Rolling Stone (see original review below)

LISTEN/BUY
https://amzn.to/475rcF0

Mystery to Me is the eighth studio album by Fleetwood Mac, released on October 15, 1973. It reached #67 on the Billboard 200 Top LP's chart.

Mystery to Me was not received well when it was first released but is now regarded as an important transitional album in Fleetwood Mac's long march towards superstardom. It featured the lineup of Mick Fleetwood, John and Christine McVie, singer/guitarist Bob Welch and guitarist Bob Weston. The hiring of Welch had angered original guitarist Danny Kirwan and after a 1972 gig, the volatile Kirwan went berserk backstage and was fired.

The Welch-Weston-John McVie-penned "Forever" grooves with an atypical African gloss, and the bluesy growl of Welch's "The City" lashes out at New York, contradicting Lindsey Buckingham's giddy city ode "Empire State" on 1982's Mirage. Yet it is Christine McVie's thoughtful, majestic "Why," which unfolds from a backcountry fingerpick to a soaring poem of regret and passage, that marks the transition from early Mac (which officially ended with 1974's Heroes Are Hard to Find) to one of the most influential Anglo-American bands of all time.

This was their last album to feature Bob Weston. Most of the songs were penned by guitarist/singer Bob Welch and keyboardist/singer Christine McVie, who were playing a major role in edging the band's sound towards the radio-friendly pop/rock that would make them highly successful a few years later. Although the album only sold moderately and produced no hit singles, "Hypnotized" did become an FM radio staple for many years. In the wake of the Buckingham Nicks lineup's success a few years later, it achieved Gold status in 1976.
__________

ORIGINAL ROLLING STONE REVIEW

Mystery To Me is an album of low-key English rock performed with great proficiency and occasionally enlightening subtlety. "Miles Away" flat out moves, propelled into the domain of the current Savoy Brown by compelling, solid rhythm work and Bob Weston's enticingly electric musings on lead guitar. And "Somebody" turns out to be compatible with the group's earliest work, a bluesy shuffle with hefty helpings of boogie bite.

"For Your Love" is a patent example of a successful exercise in extrapolation, with the band turning the Graham Gouldman/Yardbirds original around and doing it their own way. Weston's lead guitar is again the star, punctuating vocal phrases, leading the rest of the band through updated instrumental changes. A true lead guitarist at work. "Why" also proves to be on the interesting side -- showing that he, too, has listened to Blind Willie Johnston's "Dark Was the Night."
- Gordon Fletcher (January 3, 1974)

TRACKS:
Side one
"Emerald Eyes" (Bob Welch) – 3:37
"Believe Me" (Christine McVie) – 4:06
"Just Crazy Love" (C. McVie) – 3:22
"Hypnotized" (Welch) – 4:48
"Forever" (Bob Weston, John McVie, Welch) – 4:04
"Keep On Going" (Welch) – 4:04

Side two
"The City" (Welch) – 3:35
"Miles Away" (Welch) – 3:47
"Somebody" (Welch) – 5:00
"The Way I Feel" (C. McVie) – 2:46
"For Your Love" (Graham Gouldman) – 3:44
"Why" (C. McVie) – 4:56