Blackberry Way
| "Blackberry Way" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
German picture sleeve
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| Single by The Move | ||||
| B-side | "Something" | |||
| Released | 28 November 1968 (UK) | |||
| Recorded | 1968 at Olympic Studios, London | |||
| Genre | Baroque pop[1] | |||
| Length | 3:38 | |||
| Label | Regal Zonophone (UK) A&M (US) |
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| Songwriter(s) | Roy Wood | |||
| Producer(s) | Jimmy Miller | |||
| Script error: The function "ucfirst" does not exist. singles chronology | ||||
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"Blackberry Way" is a 1968 single by British band The Move. Written by the band's guitarist/vocalist Roy Wood and produced by Jimmy Miller, "Blackberry Way" was a bleak counterpoint to the sunny psychedelia of earlier recordings. It nevertheless became the band's most successful single, reaching number 1 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1969.[2]
The Move vocalist Carl Wayne refused to sing on the song, so Wood handled the lead vocal.[3] Richard Tandy, who later played keyboards with Wood's next band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), played harpsichord on "Blackberry Way". Despite the success of the single, the style of psychedelia-tinged pop sat uneasily with guitarist Trevor Burton. He left the group shortly after.
The B-side, "Something", was specially written for the band by David Scott-Morgan.
Wood said in a 1994 interview that "Blackberry Way" is his favourite Move song of all time, commenting that it could have been performed in any era and still worked.[3]
Contents
Personnel
- The Move
- Roy Wood – lead and backing vocals, guitar, sitar
- Trevor Burton – bass, backing vocal
- Bev Bevan – drums
- Additional musicians
- Richard Tandy – harpsichord
- Uncredited - mellotron[4]
Charts
Illegal chart entered West Germany|7
| Chart (1968–1969) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Go-Set)[5] | 14 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[6] | 14 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[7] | 13 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[8] | 20 |
| Denmark (Salgshitlisterne Top 20)[9] | 17 |
| Denmark (Tipparaden)[10] | 5 |
| Finland (Soumen Virallinen)[11] | 23 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[12] | 2 |
| Italy (Musica e dischi)[13] | 15 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[14] | 15 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[15] | 14 |
| New Zealand (Listener)[16] | 10 |
| Norway (VG-lista)[17] | 3 |
| Rhodesia (Lyons Maid)[18] | 4 |
| Sweden (Kvällstoppen)[19] | 7 |
| Sweden (Tio i Topp)[20] | 5 |
| UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[21] | 1 |
Cover versions
- In 1969 Italian band Equipe 84 produced a cover version (with Italian lyrics by lyricist Mogol), named "Tutta mia la città" ("All the town is mine"),[22] which became a hit in Italy.[23]
- UK band The New Seekers covered this song on their 1971 album, Beautiful People.
- Swiss band Gotthard covered this song on their 1999 album, Open.
- UK alternative rock band The Wonder Stuff released a version of the song on one of their series of EPs titled From the Midlands with Love in 2012.[24]
- US classic rockers Cheap Trick included their version of the song as a bonus track on the deluxe version of their 2017 album We're All Alright!.
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – The Move – Blackberry Way" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – The Move – Blackberry Way" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – The Move – Blackberry Way" (in French). Ultratop 50.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Move".
- ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 15, 1969" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Move – Blackberry Way" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – The Move – Blackberry Way". VG-lista.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Archive Chart: 1969-02-05" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- Use dmy dates from January 2022
- Articles with invalid date parameter in template
- Singlechart called without song
- Singlechart usages for UK
- Singlechart called without artist
- Singlechart usages for West Germany
- The Move songs
- UK Singles Chart number-one singles
- 1968 singles
- Baroque pop songs
- Songs written by Roy Wood
- Song recordings produced by Jimmy Miller
- 1968 songs
- Regal Zonophone Records singles
