At the dawn of the seventies, before I got into the so-called serious stuff, like most pre-teen, teeny boys, I was stricken by pop. In the summer of 1971, I was 11 years old and finally waking up. Sure my Dad had records lying around but they were part of a vanished world called the sixties and nothing to do with me. I know it was that summer because some songs are seared on my mind: ‘The Banner Man’, ‘Tom Tom Turnaround’, ‘Pied Piper’ and others. Not exactly revolutionary stuff! That soundtrack came, not from the original singles, but from one of those cheapo Music For Pleasure covers collections bought for 10p in the local newsagent yet perfect for miming in the bedroom with my Silver Star hardboard guitar.
Oh how I loved that guitar. taking the singing into a hairbrush scenario one step on, I concocted imaginary groups, wrote mythical biographies, and even designed and constructed full size album sleeves. It was an innocent, escapist, wonderful world where joss sticks were dope and my dimly lit bedroom was Madison Square Garden.
The first ‘real’ single I ever bought was ‘Telegram Sam’ by T.Rex. That would have been in January 1972, just after my twelfth birthday. It was a life defining moment as I began to follow the mystic pied piper along the road to cosmic enlightenment. Each week thereafter I saved my hard earned pocket money to gorge on a relentless feast of pop singles. It was a necessary rite of passage, where records were holy relics and dropping the stylus in the groove was the holy sacrament. It really was as important as that.
Back then I thought I was the only one who felt different; the only one living in an imaginary world, obsessed with glittery pop and rock stars, their records, what they wore, what they said and what they didn’t say. Of course a few years later I found I wasn’t alone and there was a whole tribe of similar lost boys (and girls) strung out across the land?
As I hit my teens I turned away from pop for darker, more thrilling kicks. Somehow pop seemed too frivolous and frothy, although it was still all around me, on Top Of The Pops, jukeboxes, radio and nightclubs. Most of the songs here soon receded from my life even though they inevitably reappeared years later in a haze of nostalgia as all records do. Most of these are pure pop fluff and by their very nature only designed for one fleeting, dazzling, moment. And yet, even these Secret Pleasures have informed my life in some way, no matter how randomly.
One
01 SIMON & GARFUNKEL / The Only Living Boy In New York / February 1970
02 CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD / Patches / August 1970
03 ASHTON, GARNER & DYKE / Resurrection Shuffle / January 1971
04 NEIL DIAMOND / I Am I Said / May 1971
05 BLUE MINK / The Banner Man / May 1971
06 BOB & MARCIA / Pied Piper / June 1971
07 NEW WORLD / Tom Tom Turnaround / July 1971
08 CURVED AIR / Back Street Luv / August 1971
09 THE SUPREMES / Nathan Jones / August 1971
10 THE CARPENTERS / Superstar / September 1971
11 MARMALADE / Cousin Norman / September 1971
12 MELANIE / Brand New Key / January 1972
13 THE FORTUNES / Storm In A Teacup / January 1972
14 GILBERT O’SULLIVAN / Alone Again (Naturally) / February 1972
15 NILSSON / Without You / February 1972
16 THE CHIFFONS / Sweet Talkin’ Guy / March 72
17 MICHAEL JACKSON / Rockin’ Robin / May 1972
18 STEALERS WHEEL / Stuck In The Middle With You / November 1972
19 CARLY SIMON / You’re So Vain / December 1972
20 MEDICINE HEAD / One And One Is One / April 1973
21 HIGHLY LIKELY / Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads? / April 1973
22 JACKSON FIVE / Doctor My Eyes / June 1973
23 BARRY BLUE / Do You Wanna Dance? / November 1973
24 DAVID ESSEX / Lamplight / November 1973
Two
01 ABBA / Waterloo / April 1974
02 CHARLIE RICH / Behind Closed Doors / April 1974
03 TERRY JACKS / If You Go Away / June 1974
04 GEORGE McCRAE / Rock Your Baby / June 1974
05 JOHNNY BRISTOL / Hang On In There Baby / August 1974
06 CARL DOUGLAS / Kung Fu Fighting / August 1974
07 BRYAN FERRY / Smoke Gets In Your Eyes / August 1974
08 KIKI DEE / I Got The Music In Me / September 1974
09 DISCO TEX & THE SEX-O-LETTES / Get Dancin’ / November 1974
10 BETTY WRIGHT / Shoorah Shoorah / January 1975
11 GUYS’N’DOLLS / Theres A Whole Lot Of Loving / February 1975
12 BARRY MANILOW / Could It Be Magic? / June 1975
13 STRETCH / Why Did You Do It? / November 1975
14 WILD CHERRY / Play That Funky Music / October 1976
15 ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA / Livin’ Thing / November 1976
16 BOSTON / More Than A Feeling / January 1977
17 HEATWAVE / Boogie Nights / January 1977
18 BACCARA / Yes Sir, I Can Boogie / September 1977
19 KC & THE SUNSHINE BAND / Boogie Shoes / May 1978
20 ACE FREHLEY / New York Groove / November 1978
21 M / Pop Musik / April 1979
22 SPARKS / Beat The Clock / July 1979
