Cliff is generally most effective when he’s most gentle, and this sleepy ballad does its job with smoochy aplomb. Cliff’s considerate tones aren’t really what makes a forgettable tune work, though – the lovely, echo-cushioned […]

A missing Popular Year poll for your deliberation. As ever, I give a mark out of 10 to every hit – here’s where you can say which ones YOU would have given 6 or more to. The last year of pre-Beatles British pop – dredge your memorie[…]

At last an Elvis hit with some vim – “Return To Sender” isn’t necessarily a better song than his other ’62 singles but his approach to it is spot on. He’s much more aggressive than usual, the staccato attacks on li[…]

Has there ever been a “blues” jauntier than this? Ifield’s follow-up to the sweet “I Remember You” is a faintly desperate thumper, and its bullying pursuit of dancefloor fun quickly chafes. As you’d expect, the yod[…]

“Telstar” leads the instrumental beat boom to the wonderful land, packs it on a rocket and sends it to the stars – its all-or-nothing optimism is inspiring and bittersweet. Inspiring because Joe Meek wrote a hymn for a better future[…]

Elvis’ singles at this point have turned their back on the odder excesses of “Wooden Heart” et al. and the King has become a sort of one-man Status Quo, offering competent wodges of boogie like this, which do nothing to stir the pul[…]

I can’t help feeling sorry for Frank Ifield. Here’s why:

The X Axis on this graph is the early 60s. The Y Axis is Frank’s chart position. See the all-conquering pop hero of 1962, a million-seller with his second single, reduced to […]

A measured shot of dignity, “I Can’t Stop Loving You” is immediately obvious as the work of an adult and a craftsman. Charles was 32 in 1962, and sounds twice that age as he steps carefully, resigned and brokenhearted, through this […]

As horrifying as the goriest death ballad or country tragedy, no amount of listens can change the awful outcome – our Wendy* leaves the club with Mockney lech Mike Sarne, stepping out for a promised “slap and tickle”. The delight in[…]

Continuing Elvis: The Autopilot Years. This is confidence pressed into the service of competence; no ‘luck’ required.[…]