Best of Bandstands in Foreign Lands - Vol. 11: Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood... in Nutbush!

Welcome to volume 11

of my globetrotting series

BANDSTANDS IN

FOREIGN LANDS!

I'm Shady Seaweed, here to bring you more great
music performances that originated from TV studios,
big halls and nightclubs in Europe and other parts
of the world from the 1960s through early 2000s.

Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of music,
the thrill of Vic Tory (the little known "Fifth Beatle")... and
the agony of the feet (from so much dancing)... this is:

Bandstands in

Foreign Lands!

 SANTA ESMERALDA 

 STARRING 

 LEROY GOMEZ 

TOPPOP

THE NETHERLANDS

"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" was originally recorded by Nina Simone.

Baby Boomers know and love the cover version by The Animals, a hit single

on both sides of the pond in early 1965. Younger audiences best remember

the song as a chart-topping late 70s disco hit by the U.S. - French group
Santa Esmeralda featuring Massachusetts born lead singer Leroy Gómez.
Behold a very exciting performance as Leroy and his trio of flamenco
dancers perform the song on the Dutch TV music show TopPop!

"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"

Santa Esmeralda Starring Leroy Gómez

(Dec. 1977/Jan. 1978, highest chart pos.

 #14 Cash Box/#15 Hot 100, perf. on TopPop)

 CREAM 

BEAT-CLUB

BREMEN, WEST GERMANY

The British rock band Cream was the all star trio of Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and

Ginger Baker. "Strange Brew" is a Cream classic, one of their best known songs.

As I did my research for this edition of Biffle, I was shocked to discover that

the single of "Strange Brew" single failed to chart in the U.S. (It penetrated
the top 20 in the UK.) I think I solved the mystery. The 45 was released
in June of 1967, five months before the band's second studio album
Disraeli Gears became a smash hit on both sides of the Atlantic.
During the Summer of Love, 1967, Cream was not yet well
known by rock lovers stateside. Here now is a beautifully
restored clip of Cream with Clapton on lead performing
"Strange Brew" on Beat-Club, the West German TV
music program broadcast on the national public
television channel based in Bremen.

"Strange Brew" - Cream

(June/July 1967, highest chart pos.
#17 UK, perf. on Beat-Club)

 IKE AND TINA TURNER 

 (PAN'S PEOPLE) 

TOP OF THE POPS

LONDON, ENGLAND

In the summer of 1973, just before separating from husband Ike, Tina Turner

penned and recorded the semi-autobiographical "Nutbush City Limits," a song

about her rural hometown of Nutbush, Tennessee. The single, produced by Ike

and released as by Ike & Tina Turner, brushed the top 10 on the R&B chart

that fall. Here in their customary colorful costumes are those saucy sirens,

the dancing damsels of Pan's People, hoofing to the song on the London

based TV show Top Of The Pops. (Please clap your hands and cheer.)

"Nutbush" - Ike and Tina Turner

(Oct./Nov. 1973, highest chart pos. #11 R&B/#22 Hot 100,

dance performed by Pan's People on Top of the Pops)

 LAURA BRANIGAN 

ZDF KULTNACHT

MAINZ, GERMANY

She left us too soon - Laura Branigan. This summer marks 15 years since the

much loved pop singer died of a brain aneurysm at age 52. Let's turn back

the clock to happier times and hop back over to Germany where Laura

appeared on the TV musical series ZDF Kultnacht broadcast on the

PBS system in Mainz. Enjoy Laura in her prime as she performs

her 1984 top 5 hit "Self Control," a single that spent nearly

half the year on the chart!

"Self Control" - Laura Branigan

(May thru July 1984, highest chart pos. #4 Hot 100,

perf. on the German TV show ZDF Kultnacht)

 CLIMAX BLUES BAND 

TOP OF THE POPS/G PLUS

LONDON, ENGLAND

Earlier we caught Cream performing in Germany on Beat-Club, the show that

in 1972 evolved into Musikladen. Now here's another British rock act, this one

called Climax Blues Band. Released as a single in the UK in September 1976,

"Couldn't Get It Right," a song written by the band, went top 10. Released in

the U.S. at the beginning of 1977, the record became an even bigger hit in

the states, finishing in the top 3 that spring. Our Biffle tour takes us back

to England now where Climax Blues Band is set to  perform their hit on

Top Of The Pops, a vid shown on the UK entertainment channel G Plus.

"Couldn't Get It Right" - Climax Blues Band

(Apr./May 1977, highest chart pos. #3 Hot 100,

perf. on Top Of The Pops/G Plus Channel UK)

 SANTA ESMERALDA 

 STARRING 

  LEROY GOMEZ 

ZDF FERNSEHGARTEN

MAINZ, GERMANY

At the beginning of the post you experienced Santa Esmeralda Starring Leroy Gómez

performing the disco hit "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" on a Dutch TV broadcast

in the late 70s. Fast forward to May 2014 when Leroy, once again flanked by zesty

flamenco dancers, performed his signature song live for the enthusiastic crowd at

ZDF Fernsehgarten, a show that originated from the ZDF public broadcasting
center in Mainz. If you would rather skip most of the German introduction,
 click to start the video at the 30 second mark, and I urge you to turn
 the sound up loud to get maximum enjoyment from this exciting
performance. As you are about to see and hear, Leroy still had it,
still had that zest, that fire burning inside 36 years later! 

"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"

Santa Esmeralda Starring Leroy Gómez

(May 18, 2014 perf. on ZDF Fernsehgarten)

START PLAYING VIDEO

AT 30 SEC MARK!

I hope you enjoyed volume 11 of

BANDSTANDS IN

FOREIGN LANDS!

Stay tuned for the next edition coming soon.

Have a Shady day!

Best of Bandstands in Foreign Lands - Vol. 9: Super Girl!

Welcome to vol. 9 of

my globetrotting series

BANDSTANDS IN

FOREIGN LANDS!

I'm Shady Seaweed, here to bring you more great
music performances that originated from TV studios,
big halls and nightclubs in Europe and other parts
of the world from the 1960s through early 2000s.

Join me now for another exciting

trip back in time as we visit

Bandstands in

Foreign Lands!

 GRAHAM BONNEY 

 & THE REMO FOUR 

BEAT-CLUB

BREMEN, WEST GERMANY

Pop singer Graham Bonney has spent most of his life in Germany where

14 of his singles reached the upper half of the chart. Bonney also hosted

his own television show, Hits a Go Go, one of the music series I will be

featuring in future episodes of Bandstands in Foreign Lands. In 1966

Bonney broke through in the UK with the top 20 entry "Supergirl,"

his only hit in Britain. Looking as warm, cuddly, non intimidating,

kid tested and mother approved as Peter Noone, Bonney charmed
the girls in the studio audience when he appeared on the German
music show Beat-Club. Here he is, gotta love him (or not???)...

Graham Bonney (and the Remo Four) with "Supergirl!"

"Super Girl" - Graham Bonney & the Remo Four

(May to Sept. 1966, highest chart pos. #1 Germany,

#19 UK, on Sept. 24, 1966 episode of Beat-Club)

 SISTER SLEDGE 

TOPPOP

THE NETHERLANDS

The next bandstand on our whistle-stop tour of the world is in Holland where

we find a group of all American girls, Philly's phenomenal singing siblings

Sister Sledge. Their 1981 single "All American Girls" went top 3 on the

R&B chart in the U.S. and top 10 in The Netherlands. Sister Sledge

performed their international hit on the Dutch TV show TopPop.

"All American Girls" - Sister Sledge

(Mar./Apr. 1981, highest chart pos. #3 R&B/#6 U.S. Dance Club,

#6 Belgium, #8 Netherlands, perf. on Dutch TV series TopPop)

 SHALAMAR 

TOPPOP

THE NETHERLANDS

I'd like to linger a while longer in Holland... wooden shoe? Up next, Shalamar,

the American disco/dance trio created by Soul Train booking agent Dick Griffey

and Soul Train creator, producer and host Don Cornelius. Shalamar's classic lineup

included lead singer Howard Hewett along with Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel,

former dance partners on Soul Train. (Hewett and Watley went on to successful

solo careers.) It's interesting that, over a three year period from the summer of

1980 to the summer of 1983, Shalamar records performed better in the UK

than here at home in the U.S. One example of the phenomenon is the single

"I Can Make You Feel Good" released in the summer of '82. Stateside the

record merely Bubbled Under the Hot 100 and peaked in the lower top 40

on the R&B side. The song was much more popular in the UK where it

reached #7 and in The Netherlands where it made the top 10. Here's

a clip of Shalamar doing "I Can Make You Feel Good" on TopPop)

"I Can Make You Feel Good" -Shalamar

(July/Aug. 1982, highest chart pos. #102 Bubbling Under/#33 R&B,

#7 UK/#10 Netherlands, perf. on Dutch TV series TopPop)

 LOOSE ENDS 

6.20 SOUL TRAIN

LONDON, ENGLAND

You just watched a 1982 performance by Shalamar. Now meet the above mentioned

Jeffrey Daniel - singer/songwriter, dancer, choreographer, style icon and former

member of The Soul Train Gang as regular dance partner of Jody Watley.

Daniel left Shalamar in 1984 and wound up in London in 1985 as the

"presenter" (the word commonly used for M.C. in the UK) on the TV

music series 6.20 Soul Train, a UK version of Soul Train endorsed

by Don Cornelius. Here's a great clip from 6.20 Soul Train of a
 performance by Loose Ends, a British Soul/R&B trio that
enjoyed its greatest success in the 80s. Released in 1985,
the band's 5th single, "Magic Touch," was one of their
biggest hits. Here's Jeffrey Daniel with the intro.

"Magic Touch" - Loose Ends

(June/July 1985, highest chart pos. #16 UK,

#23 Ireland, perf. on 6.20 Soul Train)

 THE FOUR SEASONS 

 LEGS & CO 

TOP OF THE POPS

LONDON, ENGLAND

 "In winter 1963 

 It felt like the world would freeze 

 With John F. Kennedy 

 And The Beatles." 

(lyrics from "Life in a Northern Town")

A cold dark winter came early in 1963 when JFK was assassinated.

How well I remember (and wish I could forget). I also remember

December 1975 when The Four Seasons released "December, 1963

(Oh, What A Night)," a song co-written and produced by original

Four Seasons keyboard player Bob Gaudio. The single features lead

vocals by drummer Gerry Polci with regular front man Frankie Valli

on backing vocals and bassist Don Ciccone, the former lead singer

of The Critters, singing the falsetto parts. The unusual combination

yielded an international hit - #1 in the U.S. and UK. Let's stay in

London where the lovely ladies of Legs & Co are set to snow plow

their way through The Seasons' seasonal song on Top Of The Pops.

"December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)" - The Four Seasons

(Feb./Mar. 1976, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100/#1 UK,

dance perf. by Legs & Co on Top Of The Pops)

 PAUL REVERE 

 AND THE RAIDERS 

RAIDERS' 1969 EUROPEAN TOUR

Here's one of my favorite songs by Paul Revere And The Raiders - "Let Me" -

one half of a "doublesider" - two great songs released back-to-back on a single -

the second song being the fab flip "I Don't Know." Both songs are found on

the 1969 album Alias Pink Puzz. The single and the album both performed

well enough on the U.S. and Canadian charts to get the band band invited
to join The Beach Boys on a European tour in the summer of 1969.
Here are Paul Revere & The Raiders featuring Mark Lindsay
doing "Let Me" on an unknown European television
program while on that tour.

"Let Me" - Paul Revere And The Raiders feat. Mark Lindsay

(June/July 1969, highest chart pos. #20 Hot 100, #16 Cash Box,

#12 Canada, from 1969 album Alias Pink Puzz,

performance on European TV show)



I hope you enjoyed volume 9 of

BANDSTANDS IN

FOREIGN LANDS!

Stay tuned for the next edition coming soon.

Have a Shady day!