The Bee Gees

468. Barbra Streisand – Woman in Love (1980)

/ robbarker1979

The Intro

As the 80s dawned, The Bee Gees knew their second peak couldn’t last forever. But moving into writing and producing for others proved very fruitful. Superstar actress and singer Barbra Streisand initially asked Barry Gibb to write half the album Guilty. He went on to produce the whole LP and Woman in Love became her biggest UK hit.

Before

Barbara Joan Streisand was born on 24 April 1942 in Brooklyn, New York City. Her father died soon after her first birthday, and the Streisands struggled financially, with her mother working as a bookkeeper. She was also a semi-professional singer, but she was initially reluctant when her daughter showed an interest in performing. At the age of nine, Streisand had already failed an audition for MGM. But her mother came round to the idea and she helped her 13-year-old daughter record a demo.

However, Streisand’s main ambition was to be an actress. At 16 she left school and moved out, taking on a number of menial jobs to make ends meet while striving for acting jobs. She became an usher in 1960 and auditioned for The Sound of Music. Although she failed, the director was impressed and urged her to include singing on her resumé. She entered a talent contest at gay nightclub Lion in Greenwich Village and stunned the audience into silence. Returning after winning for several weeks, she decided to change her first name to ‘Barbra’. Determined to make it her way, she refused to contemplate suggestions she have a nose job to improve her chances of mainstream appeal. Her first professional engagement came in September 1960 as support for the comedian Phyllis Diller.

Streisand spent the next few years honing her act and developing her between-song patter. She made her TV debut on The Tonight Show in 1961 and her Broadway debut the following year in the musical comedy I Can Get It for you Wholesale. At the age of 21 she signed with Columbia Records, gaining full creative control, in exchange for less money. A respectable position to take, and just as well, because they wanted her debut LP to be called Sweet and Saucy Streisand. It was eventually released as The Barbra Streisand Album in 1963.

In 1964 Streisand returned to Broadway for Funny Girl, which became an overnight success. People became her first US charting single, peaking at five, and she even made the cover of Time. Streisand’s UK chart debut came in 1965 with Second Hand Rose, which climbed to 14. In 1968 she won her first Academy Award, for Best Actress, after starring in the cinema version of Funny Girl.

The British Invasion dented Streisand’s mainstream musical appeal, like many stars of her ilk. But during the 70s her fortunes improved, with a return to the singles chart in 1970 with Stoney End – six in the US, 27 in the UK. One of her signature tunes, the haunting The Way We Were from the film of the same name, became her first Billboard number 1 in 1973, yet strangely it only climbed to 31 in the UK. Her role alongside Kris Kristofferson in the 1976 remake of A Star Is Born was huge, and Evergreen (Love Theme from ‘A Star Is Born’) was her second US chart-topper, soaring to three over here. She also won an Oscar for Best Song for Evergreen.

Her version of Neil Diamond’s You Don’t Bring Me Flowers was so popular, an unofficial duet was achieved by splicing Streisand and Diamond’s recordings. When an official duet was released in December 1978, Streisand achieved her third Billboard number 1. A year later, another duet saw her cross over successfully into disco. No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) teamed Streisand with Donna Summer and was co-produced by the genius Giorgio Moroder. Back at the peak of Billboard for the fourth time, it peaked at three in the UK. Streisand was named the most successful US female singer of the 70s.

Between February 1979 and March 1980, Streisand worked on her 22nd album, Guilty. She was so impressed with Gibb’s production and songwriting, he contributed to every song, with Robin co-writing five songs, and Maurice joining them for the title track. Production was credited to Gibb-Galuten-Richardson, which saw Barry team up with producer Albhy Galuten and sound engineer Karl Richardson, who produced Bee Gees number 1s Night Fever and Tragedy. Barry and Robin co-wrote lead single, Woman in Love, and Barry was credited with acoustic guitar and arrangement.

Review

You can always tell when a song has been written by the Gibb brothers, even if they don’t record it. Their marks are all over it – all you have to do is imagine the vocals made a lot higher. This rule works here. Unfortunately, that’s about the most interesting thing I can say about Woman in Love. It’s a very pedestrian love song masked in glossy production. I don’t understand why it was so popular, other than that perhaps it was due to Streisand’s stock being so high on the back of her role in A Star Is Born (the video is simply a compilation of scenes from the film) and her duet with Summer. There’s no amazing vocal prowess on display, the lyrics are unremarkable and the tune is lacklustre. Certainly one of the lesser number 1s of 1980.

After

Nonetheless, Woman in Love was a smash hit around the world, topping the charts in the US, Australia, Spain – pretty much everywhere, in fact. The parent album Guilty was also huge, despite no further real success in the UK singles chart (the title track only made it to 34). It would be four years before her next studio LP, Emotion. In 1985, despite objections from Columbia, Streisand returned to her roots with The Broadway Album. Three years later, Streisand was in the UK top 20 for the first time since Woman in Love, with the title track to Till I Loved You – a duet with Miami Vice star Don Johnson, which peaked at 16.

The 90s started very well for Streisand. She directed, co-produced and starred in the romantic drama The Prince of Tides (1991). Places That Belong to You, from the soundtrack, saw her back in the singles chart at 17. In 1993 she announced her return to live public concerts for the first time in 27 years. At the time, she was the highest-paid concert performer ever and won five Emmy Awards. She left the limelight again for a few years, but made a triumphant return in 1996, producing, directing and starring in another romantic comedy – The Mirror Has Two Faces. From the soundtrack came the number 10 hit duet I Finally Found Someone, with Bryan Adams. Then, a year later, a duet with Celine Dion – Tell Him, soared to number three. It is to date her last top 10 single.

The new millennium began with sad news for Streisand’s fans, as she announced she was to retire from public performances. But she did return to the movie world, starring in 2004 comedy Meet the Fockers. Album releases continued, including Guilty Too, a second collaboration with Gibb, in 2005. A year later, aged 64, she announced she was to tour once more, and became one of the highest-grossing performers in the world yet again. Amazingly it took until 2009 for Streisand to make her performance debut on British TV, when she appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.

In 2014, Streisand released Partners, an album featuring duets with Lionel Richie, Billy Joel and, from beyond the grave, Elvis Presley. Her last album to date was Walls in 2018, the title of which was a reference to the singer’s condemnation of President Donald Trump’s policies.

The Outro

Streisand has been a hugely successful singer, actress, director, producer over six decades. However, when it comes to pop music, there’s not a lot to recommend, other than No More Tears (Enough Is Enough). And that’s most likely down to Summer and Moroder.

The Info

Written by

Barry Gibb & Robin Gibb

Producers

Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten & Karl Richardson

Weeks at number 1

3 (25 October-14 November)

Trivia

Births

26 October: Scottish actor Khalid Abdalla
28 October: Footballer Alan Smith
12 November: Rugby union player Charlie Hodgson

Deaths

26 October: Northern Irish playwright Sam Cree
27 October: T Rex singer-songwriter Steve Peregrin Took
29 October: Actress Ouida MacDermott
30 October: Actor Guy Bellis
3 November: Actor Dennis Burgess/Horticulturalist David Lowe
4 November: Radio broadcaster Paul Kaye/Boxer Johnny Owen
6 November: Literary scholar Nevill Coghill
7 November: Theatre director Norman Marshall
8 November: Scottish painter Gordon Robert Archibald/Astrophysicist Valerie Myerscough/Film producer Julian Wintle
9 November: Social researcher Pearl Jephcott
10 November: Journalist Patrick Campbell, 3rd Baron Glenavy/Painter James Priddey
11 November: Suffragette Connie Lewcock
12 November: John Chetwynd-Talbot, 21st Earl of Shrewsbury
14 November: Dance critic Arnold Haskell

Meanwhile…

28 October: Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher declares her government will not back down to seven jailed IRA terrorists on hunger strike in the Maze Prison, who are hoping to gain prisoner of war status.

5 November: The Yorkshire Ripper is suspected responsible when 16-year-old Huddersfield mother Theresa Sykes is wounded in a hammer attack.

10 November: Michael Foot, the left-wing Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, is elected as their new Leader.

13 November: Security guard George Smith is shot dead when the van he guards is intercepted by armed robbers in Willenhall, West Midlands.

434. The Bee Gees – Tragedy (1979)

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The Intro

The Bee Gees rounded off an astounding few years with a fourth number 1. It was to mark the start of another downward slide in their fortunes, however.

Before

Thanks to the disco boom and their part in the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever, the Gibb brothers were everywhere in the late-70s. After Night Fever became their third UK number 1, the LP was mined further. Yvonne Elliman’s version of If I Can’t Have You was a US number 1. The Tavares’ version of More Than a Woman was a number seven hit in the UK. In March 1978 songs by The Bee Gees held the number 1 and two spots in the US with Night Fever and Staying Alive – a feat unrivalled since The Beatles. Five songs written by the Gibbs were in the top 10 at once over there that month, too.

Barry Gibb and brother Robin wrote Emotion, a number 11 UK hit for their Australian friend Samantha Sang and The Bee Gees performed backing vocals and Barry wrote the classic theme to the smash-hit cinema adaptation of Grease, sung by Frankie Valli – a US number 1. It wasn’t a good time to be alive if you weren’t a fan of the Gibbs.

However, not everything they touched turned to gold. They starred in their manager Robert Stigwood’s famous flop Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, based on The Beatles’ concept album, in 1978. The critics hated it and the public ignored it. They featured heavily on the soundtrack too. But at least while working on the film, the Gibbs did co-write the excellent Shadow Dancing for their younger brother Andy, which also became a US number 1.

From there, they went to work on their follow-up to Saturday Night Fever. Spirits Having Flown, their 15th album, was co-produced by Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson. Galuten has claimed that it was he, Richardson and Barry who did most of the work, though keyboardist Blue Weaver disputes this. They both agree that Robin took on more of a behind-the-scenes role, active in songwriting and offering feedback during the recording process. He performed only one solo lead vocal, on Living Together, amounting to the least work he had featured on a Bee Gees album since the 60s. It wasn’t a happy time for Maurice, who was an alcoholic and struggling with back pain. Although he recorded bass parts, he didn’t know they were later overdubbed.

In a bid to prove they weren’t just about filling disco dance floors, the first single from Spirits Having Flown was the ballad Too Much Heaven. It was another US number 1, and peaked at three in the UK. That single and the next, Tragedy, had been written by Barry, Robin and Maurice earlier the same day as Shadow Dancing.

Review

I’ve mixed feelings about Tragedy. I’ve never been much of a fan until relistening for the blog just now. I previously found it overblown and too melodramatic, with the Gibbs harmonies, which I normally enjoy, just too much. Now, I can see it’s a decent enough tune, just not up there with the likes of Staying Alive and Night Fever. I mainly like the bubbling synth sound on the verses. But it outstays its welcome somewhat and is a sign the Gibbs were starting to slide creatively. Though nobody can deny they’d had a bloody good run.

After

It would be eight years before The Bee Gees next held the top spot in the UK. Just as with psychedelia at the close of the 60s, the genre the Gibbs had aligned themselves with, disco, became unfashionable. The Bee Gees were much more successful at the point though, and had farther to fall. The backlash became so strong, they were forced into writing hits for others.

The Outro

Tragedy would return to the top of the charts in 1998 when it became half of a double A-side with Heartbeat for the dance-pop group Steps. It became their signature song and led to a stupid trademark dance as well. Shorn of the synths, it’s not as good as the original.

The Info

Written by

Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb

Producers

The Bee Gees, Karl Richardson & Albhy Galuten

Weeks at number 1

2 (3-16 March)

Trivia

Births

12 March: The Libertines singer Pete Doherty

395. Pussycat – Mississippi (1976)

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The Intro

The narrative of 70s pop is well-known. Punk came along and changed everything, sweeping away a stale music scene. What brought it home to me more than anything was the start of BBC Four’s repeats of Top of the Pops in 2011. As 1976 was the first year in which they could amass a complete year’s run, they started there. Week after week, the young audience look downbeat, bored and even depressed in that dark, grim studio. It’s like they’re stood in the rain waiting for a bus that’s late. Another world, when compared to the glitz and glamour of the 80s editions.

Reviewing the number 1s of 1976 has mostly backed up those forlorn expressions, and none more so than this one. Some chart-toppers get forgotten. This one fully deserves that fate.

Before

Pussycat were a trio of Dutch sisters – Toni (lead singer), Betty and Marianne Kowalczyk. The Kowalczyks came from Brunssum, Limberg in the Netherlands. After school they all worked as telephone operators before they became known as Zingende Zusjes (Singing Sisters), performing German language songs. A big beat movement was sweeping the Netherlands, so Zingende Zusjes soon changed their sound to follow suit and added a female drummer to the mix, changing their name to The BGs from Holland. Fast forward to 1973 and the Kowalczyks were signed to Telstar as Sweet Reaction. They recorded a single, Tell Alain, but made little impression.

By early 1975 they were working with guitarist Lou Willé, who had married Toni, and they then joined forces with bassist Theo Wetzels, drummer Theo Coumans and guitarist John Theunissen. This trio had previously been in a lovely named group called Scum. Now a seven-piece, they became a country and pop outfit called Pussycat.

Pussycat signed with EMI on the strength of demo tape which included Mississippi, and it was released as their debut single that year from first LP, the aptly named First of All. It was a huge hit in Europe, reaching number 1 in their own country among others. It had been penned by Werner Theunissen, who had been in early-60s group The Rocking Apaches. His association with the Kowalczyks went back years. He had taught them to play guitar before they were in their teens and he wrote his first song for them. Theunissen also came up with the idea for Sweet Reaction. He wrote Mississippi back in 1969 as a response to The Bee Gees’ first UK number 1, Massachusetts (The Lights Went Out in).

Review

I’d be hard-pressed to work out how any song could topple ABBA’s Dancing Queen after six weeks, let alone Mississippi. It’s four minutes long but feels a lot longer. It starts off OK, a nicely produced country ballad, which isn’t normally my bag, but there are always exceptions. But not with this one.

For one thing, the lyrics are bemoaning the fact rock’n’roll replaced country, which isn’t true. It trundles along, sounding like something you’d hear some nobodies singing as guest stars on a 70s repeat of The Two Ronnies. Boring, but inoffensive. But then the chorus comes, and I don’t know if it’s just me, but the sisters’ combined vocal quality is like fingernails down a blackboard. Just awful. The way they sing the song’s title makes me feel like I’m being pushed too fast on a roundabout and I’m about to throw up and again when they sing ‘Whenever I shall go away’, it’s as though I’ve been punched in the gut.

Maybe I’m alone in having this reaction, I don’t know, but to me it’s very real. Mississippi on a loop would be torture to me. And yet there it was on those Top of the Pops repeats, week after week, the video above featuring Pussycat on a fairground ride showboat, looking like they’re in an outtake from a 70s porn film. Any good points? Well, Eddy Hilberts production tries to polish a turd, as I mentioned. The little guitar fill that represents country becoming rock’n’roll is a nice little touch, and Wim Jongbloed’s strings work well. But those voices… especially when you consider the song is built around them.

After

Pussycat’s fame continued in Europe and elsewhere, where they scored number 1s in the Netherlands with Georgie and Smile in South Africa, both also in 1976. The latter was their only other UK hit though, and it reached 24 here. By 1978 they were only still doing well in their homeland and Belgium. Coumans left and Hans Lutjens took his place behind the drumkit. They continued to tour into the early-80s, but they were running out of money and so the Kowalczyks ditched the band and would perform to backing tapes. Lovers of a Kind from another aptly named album, After All, was their last single in 1983. Toni, who had already released solo material in 1973 as Sally Lane, went on to be a prolific country singer.

The Outro

So we’re coming to the end of one of the worst years for number 1s I’ve reviewed, perhaps the worst. But on 22 October, while Mississippi was ruling the roost, The Damned released New Rose, considered the first ever punk rock single. It would be a few more years before its influence was felt at number 1 but the times were slowly changing.

The Info

Written by

Werner Theunissen

Producer

Eddy Hilberts

Weeks at number 1

4 (16 October-12 November)

Trivia

Births

23 October: TV presenter Cat Deeley
25 October: Footballer Steve Jones
29 October: Footballer Stephen Craigan
7 November: Cricketer Andrew Davies – 7 November

Meanwhile…

24 October: James Hunt became Formula One world champion.  

25 October: The Royal National Theatre opened on the South Bank in London.

27 October: Conservative MP Keith Joseph and close Margaret Thatcher ally delivered the influential policy speech ‘Monetarism is Not Enough’, published by the Centre for Policy Studies.

29 October: Selby Coalfield opened.