Originally Posted by
Bluebrock
Perhaps you have a point. Their
popularity as a live act in the UK remained undiminished until 1977.
I always thought it was the sub standard material that greatly contributed to their downfall. Right On, New Ways and Touch were all for the most part excellent cohesive albums but i thought the duet albums were poor and deservedly sank without trace. I know the Floy Joy album has it's admirers on here but i found it to be a crushing bore. It was so bland and lightweight, and it did not contain a killer single such as Ladder, Stoned Love and Nathan Jones. I was amazed the title track did as well as it did. I disliked it at the time and still do so almost 50 years down the line. Frank Wilson knew how to get the best out of the girls on the initial trio of albums. Motown got behind those albums and we were treated to gatefold sleeves which was more than Diana was given, yet the sales figures disappointed.
Elton John told me many years ago that he was interested in writing and producing the girls. That could have been something special. Instead Motown took the easy option and went with Smokey. The girls were treated like superstars in the UK. I do think your idea had great potential. There was definitely a market waiting to be untapped.
David Bowie did some great work with Lulu. Maybe he could have turned their fortunes around. The Moody Blues were another potential option. They did Simple Game for the Four Tops which went top 3 in the UK but flopped in the States. Could they have worked with the girls? By the time Jimmy Webb came around it was all over but the shouting, but there were certainly possibilities prior to that. They just needed another killer hit single from somewhere.
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