"The Star" or "(Here Comes) The Star" is a single by Australian pop music singer Ross D. Wyllie, released in September 1969. Written by Johnny Young and produced by Bob Foster for Festival. It reached number one on the Go-Set National Top 40. It was covered by British pop group, Herman's Hermits, as "Here Comes the Star", in November, which reached No. 33 on the UK singles chart.
| "The Star" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by Ross D. Wyllie | ||||
| B-side | "Do the Uptight" | |||
| Released | September 1969 | |||
| Recorded | 1969 | |||
| Studio | ATV-0, Melbourne | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 3:29 | |||
| Label | Festival | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Johnny Young | |||
| Producer(s) | Bob Foster | |||
| Ross D. Wyllie singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
edit"The Star" was released by Ross D. Wyllie in September 1969.[1] Wyllie was the presenter of pop music TV show, Uptight, since October 1967, which was broadcast on ATV-0, Melbourne.[1][2] He had issued singles both as a solo artist and as front man for the Uptight Party Team.[1] He had a No. 17 hit on Go-Set's National Top 40 in July 1969, with his cover of Ray Stevens' 1963 song, "Funny Man".[3][4] His next single, "The Star", is written by singer-songwriter Johnny Young,[5] who was associated with Uptight.[1][6] Young had previously written two number-one hits, "The Real Thing" and "The Girl That I Love" (both 1969), for another singer, Russell Morris.[7]
Wyllie's version of "The Star" was arranged by John Farrar and produced by Bob Foster for Festival[8][9] – the latter also produced Uptight.[10][11] "The Star" peaked at number one on the Go-Set National Top 40.[12] It was also released in the United States in November 1969.[13] At the 1969 King of Pop Awards, which were presented during an Uptight episode in that month, Wyllie was a contender for King of Pop alongside Morris but both lost out to Johnny Farnham.[14][15] Australian musician and music critic Robert Forster, praised three of the best late 1960s pop stars "Pop singing is an art... it was cathedral-sized: listen to Normie Rowe sing 'It's Not Easy', or [Wyllie] 'The Star', or Colleen Hewett 'Superstar'".[16]
Wyllie was presented with a gold record, in 2003, for shipment of 35000 units of "(Here Comes) The Star".[17] When the song's writer, Young, was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2010, by his former Young Talent Time castmate, Tina Arena, she performed a rendition of "The Star".[18][19]
Track listing
edit7" Single
Ross D. Wyllie (September 1969) – Festival (FK-3255)
- "The Star" (Johnny Young)[5] - 3:29
- "Do the Uptight" (Young)[20] - 3:13
Charts
edit| Chart (1969) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Go-Set Chart[12] | 1 |
Herman's Hermits version
edit| "Here Comes the Star" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by Herman's Hermits | ||||
| from the album The Most of Herman's Hermits | ||||
| B-side | "It's Alright Now" | |||
| Released | November 1969 | |||
| Recorded | 1969 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 3:23 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter(s) | John B. Young | |||
| Herman's Hermits singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
British pop group, Herman's Hermits, had formed in Manchester in 1964 and provided their cover version of "The Star" as "Here Comes the Star",[6] in November 1969, which reached No. 33 on the UK singles chart.[21] The line-up of the group in 1969 comprised Peter Noone on lead vocals, Keith Hopwood on rhythm guitar and vocals, Karl Green on bass guitar and vocals, Derek Leckenby on lead guitar and Barry Whitwam on drums. Their previous single, "My Sentimental Friend" (April 1969) had reached No. 2 in the UK,[21] No.3 in Australia and No.6 in New Zealand.[22][23]
Track listing
edit7" Single
Herman's Hermits (November 1969) – Columbia
- "Here Comes the Star" (Johnny Young)[5] - 3:23
- "It's Alright Now" (D Hayes, G Hilary, P Noone, H Gottlieb)[24] - 2:23
Charts
edit| Chart (1969) | Position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart[21] | 33 |
References
edit- ^ a b c d McFarlane, Ian. "Ross D. Wyllie". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. Archived from the original on 19 April 2004. Retrieved 10 May 2024 – via Worldwide Home of Australasian Music and More Online (WHAMMO).
- ^ Kimball, Duncan (2004). "MilesAgo - The Almanac - 1967". MilesAgo. Archived from the original on 25 March 2008. Retrieved 10 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Nimmervoll, Ed (19 July 1969). "Go-Set National Top 40 with Ed Nimmervoll". Go-Set. Waverley Press. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
- ^ Nuttal, Lyn. "Ross D. Wyllie – 'Funny Man'". Pop Archives - Where did they get that song?. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ^ a b c "Song Catalogue Search Results for 'Star (Here Comes The)'". APRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association, Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society). Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ^ a b Nuttall, Lyn (2024). "Ross D. Wyllie – 'The Star' (1969)". Pop Archives - Where did they get that song?. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ^ Nichols, David (2006). "'Does the meaning mean a thing?' Johnny Young's Hit Songs of the 60s–70s – DRO". ACH: The Journal of the History of Culture in Australia. 24. Routledge: 163–84. hdl:10536/DRO/DU:30003708. ISBN 1-92084-525-9. ISSN 0728-8433.
- ^ Wyllie, Ross D (1969). "'The Star' : 'Do the Uptight'". Festival Records. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ^ Nichols, David (2016), Dig: Australian rock and pop music, 1960-85, Portland, OR: Verse Chorus Press, p. 202, ISBN 978-1-891241-61-1
- ^ Nelson, Stuart (2013), Stammer your way to success: From a suburban orphanage to an international career, pp. 56–8, ISBN 978-1-4836-0207-3
- ^ "Uptight". Australian Television Memorabilia Guide. Nodette Enterprises Pty Ltd. 2009. Archived from the original on 20 January 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ^ a b Nimmervoll, Ed (15 November 1969). "Go-Set National Top 40 with Ed Nimmervoll". Go-Set. Waverley Press. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ^ "On Air with Radio DJ". Royal Australian Navy News. Vol. 12, no. 23. 14 November 1969. p. 15. Retrieved 10 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "King of Pop". Now. No. 27. Potts Point, NSW. 5 November 1969. p. 2. Retrieved 10 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Ross, Roslyn (15 July 1970). "For the King of Pop, a Celebration". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 38, no. 7. p. 3. Retrieved 10 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
Photo caption: Well-known pop personality Ross D. Wylie [sic] and his wife, Eileen, were guests.
- ^ Forster, Robert (November 2014). "What's the Difference Between a Rock Star and a Pop Star?". The Monthly. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Eliezer, Christie (2 September 2003). "Christie Eliezer – Business News : Oldies but Goldies #2: Ross D. Wyllie". The Music. Archived from the original on 1 March 2005. Retrieved 10 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Cashmere, Paul (26 September 2010). "The Church, Models, Johmmy Young, John Williamson, The Loved Ones for Hall of Fame". Music, News, Entertainment. Undercover (Cashmere Media Pty Ltd). Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
- ^ Australian Association Press (AAP) (28 October 2010). "Old talent time: ARIA honours music legends". Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Retrieved 28 October 2010.
- ^ "Song Catalogue Search Results for 'Do the Uptight'". APRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association, Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society). Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ^ a b c Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 251. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "Go-Set Australian charts - 18 August 1969". www.poparchives.com.au.
- ^ "Herman's Hermits (search)". Flavour of New Zealand.
- ^ "Song Catalogue Search Results for 'It's Alright Now'". APRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association, Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society). Retrieved 10 May 2024.