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View Full Version : Out- Of -The -Box UK surprise hit singles....


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nomis
09-24-2010, 09:22 PM
Now and then something from Motown would hit the UK charts wth lightning,Im thinking of songs that failed stateside but scored in england..a couple spring to mind -

Michael Jackson - One Day In Your Life
Diana Ross - Im Still Waiting

Im curious to know if there was anymore? cheers SDF fans..

booty
09-25-2010, 02:07 AM
What about Charlene "I've Never Been To Me"

jsmith
09-25-2010, 02:46 AM
How about R Dean Taylor & this little number .........
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EInKyh5QXQ
....... R Dean performing in an English night club .......
1333

westgrandboulevard
09-25-2010, 04:45 AM
Isley Brothers 'Behind a Painted Smile'....?

lester
09-25-2010, 05:13 AM
Third Finger Left Hand

copley
09-25-2010, 05:21 AM
Please never say 'England' as it offends Scots, Welsh & Northern Irish when referreing to hits in the UK. It's like when artists say they are touring England and mention that they are appearing in Edinburgh, Glasgow & Cardiff!

Right I can think of the following that became Top 20 hits in the UK but were not massive hits or were not issued in the US:

Elgins - Heaven Must Have Sent You
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - Forget Me Not
Jimmy Ruffin - It's Wonderful To Be Loved By You/Farewell Is A Lonely Sound/I'll Say Forever My Love
Marv Johnson - I'll Pick A Rose For My Rose
Isley Brothers - Put Yourself In My Place/I Guess I'll Always Love You
Marvin Gaye - Abraham, Martin & John
Stevie Wonder - He's Mister Know It All/Happy Birthday
Diana Ross - My Old Piano/All Of My Life/Doobedood'ndoobe, Doobedood'ndoobe, Doobedood'ndoo
Gaye/Ross - You Are Everything
Gaye/Terrell - The Onion Song
Four Tops - Simple Game/Do What You Gotta Do
Gladys Knight & The Pips - Take Me In Your Arms And Love Me
Frankie Vali & The Four Seasons - The Night
Jr Walker & The All Stars - Walk In The Night
Syreeta - Your Kiss Is Sweet
Yvonne Fair - It Should Have Been Me
Jackson 5 - Doctor My Eyes
Michael Jackson - Ain't No Sunshine/Farewell My Summer Love

copley
09-25-2010, 05:23 AM
Third Finger Left Hand

Nope, it was never a hit single. Just the 'b' side of 'Jimmy Mack'.

underdog
09-25-2010, 05:50 AM
also...
The Look of Love - Gladys Knight & the Pips
Gotta See Jane - R. Dean Taylor
Skywriter - Jackson 5
Ain't No Sunshine - Michael Jackson

rovereab
09-25-2010, 06:13 AM
Law Of The Land - Temptations
Why [[Must We Fall In Love) - Diana Ross & Supremes & Temptations
I Second That Emotion - Diana Ross & Supremes & Temptations
I'm In A Different World - Four Tops
Save The Children - Marvin Gaye
Stop, Look and Listen - Diana & Marvin

timmyfunk
09-25-2010, 11:01 AM
What about Charlene "I've Never Been To Me"

It may not have been a big hit in the U.S., but I did hear it on the radio from time to time.

144man
09-25-2010, 01:28 PM
4 Tops - Yesterday's Dreams & What Is a Man

The Commodores' The Zoo [[The Human Zoo) was quite big "north of Watford", but only reached #44 nationally.

144man
09-25-2010, 01:30 PM
I thought Charlene's record went Top 10 in the USA.

mowest
09-25-2010, 01:37 PM
You're right 144man. The song was released twice in the US. It reached #97 in 1977 and #3 in 1982.

jobeterob
09-25-2010, 02:20 PM
And don't forget, Tears of a Clown was nothing in the USA until it exploded in the UK and I guess it turned into the Miracles biggest hit ever!

tamla617
09-25-2010, 04:26 PM
aswell as ghost in my house r dean taylor had hits in uk with
gotta see jane
indian wants me

copley
09-26-2010, 04:43 AM
'Indiana Wants Me' reached #5 in the US so it's not a UK only hit.

jobeterob
09-26-2010, 12:43 PM
I've Never Been To Me by Charlene was a Top 10 American hit.

copley
09-26-2010, 06:27 PM
I've Never Been To Me by Charlene was a Top 10 American hit.

Mowest has already said that it reached #3.

theboyfromxtown
09-27-2010, 03:47 AM
Nope, it was never a hit single. Just the 'b' side of 'Jimmy Mack'.

Martha's 45's were oft flipped and promoted, more in America than in the UK but this was an example where it happened here.

copley
09-27-2010, 04:52 AM
Oh, so you are back John. I'm still waiting!!

nomis
09-27-2010, 05:09 AM
Hi John - did a Supremes B side ever get considerable play? my Auntie remembers "Put Yourself In My Place " which I thought was odd to recall...

copley
09-27-2010, 05:27 AM
I don't ever recall any Supremes 'b' sides getting played.

nomis
09-27-2010, 05:30 AM
Thanks Copley there must have been a You Cant hurry Love single in my grandparents house...

copley
09-27-2010, 05:35 AM
Yes, that could be it - lol! I have just remembered that I did hear 'Going Down For The Third Time' being played on some pirate radio station of the day. That could have been due to the DJ having had contact with strange substances!

nomis
09-27-2010, 05:37 AM
not one of their strong B sides and I love The Supremes ! strange choice for sure...

nomis
09-27-2010, 05:42 AM
I never understood the US not going with Ross/Gaye- You Are Everything especially after it went top 5 in the UK..

copley
09-27-2010, 06:04 AM
I love 'Going Down For The Third Time'. As for 'You Are Everything' I assume that it was not a single in the US because the it had been a top 10 hit for The Stylistics in '72 which had flopped in the UK.

nomis
09-27-2010, 06:10 AM
Ever seen the video Top Of The Pops made for it ? a couple on the beach..ah the days you could have a hit single without promoting it...

jsmith
09-27-2010, 11:00 AM
R Dean Taylor's "Ghost In My House" made the top 3 of the UK Pop Charts in 1974 .....
....... but it ALMOST made some US charts over 7 years earlier .......
1346

copley
09-27-2010, 11:44 AM
R Dean Taylor's "Ghost In My House" made the top 3 of the UK Pop Charts in 1974 .....
....... but it ALMOST made some US charts over 7 years earlier .......
1346

Gosh, the bottom song listed is a long forgotten fav of mine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUILZkook9c&feature=related

tomato tom
09-29-2010, 03:52 PM
Dont forget Frankie Valli & 4 Seasons THE NIGHT exploding in the UK. Did *** in the U.S. Didnt Yvonne Fairs It Should Have Been Me [[HUGE UK HIT AT NO 3) graze the U.S Top 100?... Oh, not sure how it did without checking the numbers, but The Marvelettes Reaching For Something I Cant Have was HUGE when I was in college, and on the juke box played non stop...Paulo XXX.

tomato tom
09-29-2010, 03:55 PM
I remember Whisper You Love Me Boy being played all over... But maybe that was all over me...Paulo XXX

Glenpwood
09-29-2010, 04:24 PM
What about Ms. Ross' last UK top 10 back in 1999, "Not Over You Yet"

The Metro production team remixed the album version and made it very Cher "Believe" like. Despite its success overseas, Motown never bothered to issue it here....

daviddh
09-29-2010, 05:35 PM
didnt AUTOMATICALLY SUNSHINE become a big hit in the UK.

nomis
09-29-2010, 05:39 PM
It reached no.10 - a very respectable position

rovereab
09-29-2010, 06:03 PM
I think Why Did You Leave Me Darling by The Temptations was released as a 45 in the UK. Not sure if it hit the top 30.

robbert
09-29-2010, 06:30 PM
In the Netherlands All I Know About You [[b-side The Happening, 1967) was played several times by the then illegally run pirate radiostations on ships in the North Sea... like Radio Veronica and Radio Noordzee. The Happening went top 10, but it was not officially a double sided hit.

By the way, Going Back To Indiana by Jackson 5 was Top 10 in Holland... anywhere else? Was it even released as a 45 in the UK?

mysterysinger
09-30-2010, 06:41 PM
Some of the Supremes B sides became classics in their own right - There's No Stopping Us Now for one. This was also covered as a single on MAM by Wild Honey [[alias Tina Charles).

mowest
09-30-2010, 06:52 PM
The Supremes' "There's No Stopping Us Now" made it to #1 in Philadelphia on WIBG and #4 in Boston on WBZ and in Pittsburgh on KDKA.

tomato tom
10-06-2010, 04:45 PM
Thelma Houston No Ones Gonna Be A Fool Forever was the first U.K. Mowest 45 and got a lot of play, but didnt sell too well as no one could get hold of it, I remember. EMI didnt press up enough copies. Same with The Sisters Love Mr Fix It Man. Lots of play, but no copies in the shops. I remember Thelma had a BBC T.V. Special at the time, and no one could buy the record. Paulo XXX

rubcale
10-07-2010, 12:15 PM
I can't remember what the A-side was but wasn't The Young Folks by Diana and the Supremes a B-side which was flipped over and made the lower regions of the Hot 100?

mowest
10-07-2010, 01:47 PM
"The Young Folks" spent six weeks on the Billboard pop chart peaking at #69 on 5/2/69. It was the flipside of "No Matter What Sign You Are."