"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]
| "Blackberry Way" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 German picture sleeve | ||||
| 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) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Roy Wood | |||
| Producer(s) | Jimmy Miller | |||
| The Move singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Performance video"Blackberry Way" (on Beat Club) on YouTube | ||||
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 and was produced by Denny Cordell and Tony Visconti.
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]
Personnel
edit- 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
edit| 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 (OCC)[21] | 1 |
| West Germany (GfK)[22] | 7 |
Cover versions
edit- 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"),[23] which became a hit in Italy.[24]
- 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.[citation needed]
References
edit- ^ Horning, Rob (15 February 2007). "Electric Light Orchestra: Too Much at Once Can Blow the Fuse". PopMatters. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 228. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ a b Sharp, Ken (30 September 1994). "Roy Wood: The Wizzard of Rock". The Move Online. Archived from the original on 15 January 2008.
- ^ "Planet Mellotron Album Reviews: M14".
- ^ "Go-Set Australian charts - 23 April 1969". www.poparchives.com.au. Archived from the original on 5 September 2007.
- ^ "The Move – Blackberry Way" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ^ "The Move – Blackberry Way" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ^ "The Move – Blackberry Way" (in French). Ultratop 50.
- ^ "Salgshitlisterne Top 20 - Uge 8". Danske Hitlister. 10 February 1969. Archived from the original on 2 August 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ "Salgshitlisterne Top 20 - Uge 8". Danske Hitlister. 24 February 1969. Archived from the original on 2 August 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. p. 178. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
- ^ "Irish Singles charts 1967-1969". 26 August 2012.
- ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Move".
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 15, 1969" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
- ^ "The Move – Blackberry Way" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ^ "Listener - The Move". Flavour of New Zealand. New Zealand Listener. Archived from the original on 22 March 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
- ^ "The Move – Blackberry Way". VG-lista.
- ^ Kimberley, C (2000). Zimbabwe: Singles Chart Book. p. 32.
- ^ Hallberg, Eric (193). Eric Hallberg presenterar Kvällstoppen i P 3: Sveriges radios topplista över veckans 20 mest sålda skivor 10. 7. 1962 – 19. 8. 1975. Drift Musik. ISBN 9163021404.
- ^ Hallberg, Eric; Henningsson, Ulf (1998). Eric Hallberg, Ulf Henningsson presenterar Tio i topp med de utslagna på försök: 1961 - 74. Premium Publishing. ISBN 919727125X.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Move – Blackberry Way" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON The Move"
- ^ "Discografia Nazionale della canzone italiana". Discografia.dds.it. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
- ^ "Hit Parade Italia - Indice per Interprete: E". Hitparadeitalia.it. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
External links
edit- "Blackberry Way" at discogs.com
- "Blackberry Way" at 45cat.com