Clout (band)

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Clout was a South African rock group formed in Johannesburg in 1977, best known for their hit single, "Substitute". Originally all-female, the group later included some male musicians, who had played as session musicians on "Substitute". [1]

Contents

Career

Clout's first and biggest hit, "Substitute", was a new arrangement of a Righteous Brothers song, composed by Willie Wilson. In 1978, their version reached No. 1 in South Africa, New Zealand, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, Denmark and Belgium. It also reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart and remained in the UK charts for 15 weeks. [2] Due to sanctions against South African artists and performers by UK's Equity at the time, the BBC One television series Top of the Pops used the group's performance of the song on Dutch programme TopPop , from 8 April 1978, to present the hit song for its Top 10 countdown.

A major success in Europe, Clout scored more Top 10 singles, notably "Save Me", "You've Got All of Me" and "Under Fire".

Clout's cover of "Substitute" reached No. 67 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

Clout split up in 1981, shortly after the release of their last major single, a re-arrangement of the Hall and Oates song "Portable Radio". The previous single "Oowatanite" was also a cover, the original being a hit by the Canadian group April Wine.

In 1992, their greatest hits package was released on CD, and it was re-mastered as The Best of Clout in 2010.

In 2018, the band had a brief reunion to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their hit single Substitute. The line-up consisted of Cindy Alter, Ingi Herbst Brough, Glenda Hyam, Gary van Zyl, Connie Bentlage (on saxophones), and Alastair Coakley. [3] In 2020, Cindy Alter, Ingi Herbst Brough, Jenni Garson, and Glenda Hyam had a brief virtual reunion with a performance of Substitute, edited by Verny Scholtz. [4]

Musicians

'All Around New Music' and other websites state that 'Circus', an all-male group, actually played the instruments, and that they disbanded the same year (1981), this rumour was disclosed.[ citation needed ]

Discography

Albums

Singles

YearSinglePeak chart positions
AUT
[5]
BE (FLA)
[6]
DEN
[7]
IRE
[8]
GER
[9]
NL
[10]
NZ
[11]
SA
[12]
SWI
[13]
UK
[14]
US
[15]
ZIM
[16]
1977"Substitute"10291121122671
1978"Since You've Been Gone"
"You've Got All of Me"2514171614
1979"Let It Grow"33
"Save Me"145546741
"Under Fire"186152619718
"Oowatanite"833
1980"Portable Radio"754
"The Best of Me"73
1981"Wish I Were Loving You"
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released

References

  1. "Classic South African Pop And Rock Songs". The South African Rock Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  2. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 111. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  3. "The Barnyard Theater: Clout". The Barnyard Theater. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  4. "Lockdown Edit: "Substitute"". YouTube. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  5. "Das österreichische Hitparaden- und Musik-Portal". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  6. "ultratop.be - ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS". ultratop.be. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  7. "Danish Chart Archive - Singles 1979 - ____ (B.T./IFPI DK)". UKMIX Forums. 22 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  8. "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  9. "Suche - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". www.offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  10. "Dutch Charts - dutchcharts.nl". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  11. "charts.org.nz - New Zealand charts portal". charts.nz. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  12. "South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1969 - 1989 Acts (C)". rock.co.za. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  13. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community". swisscharts.com. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  14. "CLOUT | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  15. "Clout". Billboard. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  16. "World singles charts and sales TOP 50 in 58 countries: CLOUT". World singles charts and sales TOP 50 in 58 countries. 8 November 2016. Archived from the original on 20 January 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2020.