"Eloise" | ||||
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Single by Barry Ryan | ||||
from the album Barry Ryan Sings Paul Ryan | ||||
B-side | "Love I Almost Found You" | |||
Released | 4 October 1968 | |||
Studio | IBC, London | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 5:50 | |||
Label | MGM | |||
Songwriter(s) | Paul Ryan | |||
Producer(s) | Bill Landis | |||
Barry Ryan singles chronology | ||||
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"Eloise" is a song first released in 1968 on the MGM label. It was sung by Barry Ryan, and written by his twin brother Paul Ryan. Running for over five minutes, it features strong orchestration, melodramatic vocals, and a brief slow interlude. It sold three million copies worldwide, [2] and reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart as published by Record Retailer , [3] but hit No. 1 in the NME and Melody Maker charts. [4] [5] It topped the chart in 17 countries, [2] [6] including Italy, [7] the Netherlands [8] and Australia. [9]
The single was released as "Barry Ryan with the Majority". [10] The Majority were a pop band who, for a period, were the backing band for Ryan and who, after renaming to Majority One, had some success in Europe. [11] Ryan also released an Italian-language version of the song, "Eloise (Versione Italiana)", in 1968. [12]
After not being able to cope with the success of some of his hits as a duo with Barry, Paul decided to take a step away from the limelight and to concentrate on songwriting. "Eloise" was the second song he wrote and was influenced by Richard Harris's arrangement of "MacArthur Park" after listening to a rough mix of it at a party at Harris's house. [13] [14] After listening to it, Paul locked himself away and wrote "Eloise" in three days. The song was then recorded at IBC Studios at the end of a recording session with their mother Marion and they had only two takes to do it due to the length of the song. The session musicians included Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, both of whom went on to form Led Zeppelin, and Glenn Ross Campbell. Everyone then wanted to go to the mixing desk to listen to the result because it was so unusual and they said it was going to be a big hit. [13]
According to Barry Ryan, the record influenced Freddie Mercury of Queen. He said in a 2017 interview: "I remember reading Freddie’s memoirs. He was influenced by it. He really, really liked it and also he used it as an argument to release 'Bohemian Rhapsody' because his record company didn’t want to release it but he said “That Barry Ryan had a big five and half minute hit. Why can’t we do it too?”" [15]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
"Eloise" | ||||
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Single by the Damned | ||||
B-side | "Temptation" | |||
Released | 27 January 1986 | |||
Recorded | 14–15 October 1985, Music Works, London 23–24 November 1985, Eel Pie, London [49] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 5:10 | |||
Label | MCA | |||
Songwriter(s) | Paul Ryan | |||
Producer(s) | Jon Kelly | |||
The Damned singles chronology | ||||
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On the back of the commercial success of the 1985 Phantasmagoria album, the Damned released their cover of the track as a single in 1986. It reached No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart. [50]
Dave Vanian had been thinking about doing a cover of the song from at least 1980 and in 1985 wanted to do a non-album single. Rat Scabies did not want a third single released from Phantasmagoria, which MCA Records wanted to do. It was decided that "Eloise" could be recorded as long as "Is It a Dream?" was released as the third single. [51]
The single was released in the UK with two different 12" mixes. The first was nine and a half minutes long and is known as the 'Extravagant Mix'. The second was shorter, lasting less than seven minutes and was released with the parenthesised 'No Sleep Until Wednesday Mix'. It was also a limited release of 2,000 copies.
"Eloise" was not included on any studio albums, but has since been issued on several Damned compilations, and it appeared as a bonus track on the 1986 reissued LP versions of Phantasmagoria in Australia, Germany and Italy. MCA also issued the single in Germany, Australia, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa.
At the same time, a version of "Eloise" by Far Corporation singer Robin McAuley was released. McAuley said that the Damned's version had "got absolutely no chance of making it in the charts". Of the two competing versions at the time, Barry Ryan said that "I like the Damned's version best, it's even better than mine". [51]
The backing track was recorded at Music Works Studios in London on 14 and 15 October 1985. There were due to be a further two days of recording at the studios, but they were cancelled due to a death in one of the band's family. The band were very committed to touring, so were unable to continue recording for a while. Recording finally continued on 23 November at Eel Pie Studios, and was finished by the next day. It was then mixed at Swanyard Studios with the help of Stuart Bruce. [49]
Steve Kutner, who signed the Damned to MCA, has said that "it was a nightmare track to record", being "originally twice as long as what came out". Scabies was not convinced by the song and has said that "it never sounded finished to me" and Roman Jugg has said that Vanian had ended up calling MCA to ask them not to release it. [51]
7": MCA / GRIM 4 (UK)
12": MCA / GRIMT 4 (UK)
12": MCA / GRIMX 4 (UK)
12": MCA / MCA-23625 (US & Canada)
A shorter extended version of the song has also since been released, with a duration of 7:46.
Musicians
Technical
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [60] | Silver | 250,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
"Eloise" | ||||
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Single by Tino Casal | ||||
from the album Lágrimas de Cocodrilo | ||||
Language | Spanish | |||
B-side | "Angel Exterminador" | |||
Released | 1988 | |||
Recorded | 1987 | |||
Studio | Abbey Road, London | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 5:28 | |||
Label | EMI | |||
Songwriter(s) | Paul Ryan | |||
Producer(s) | Julián Ruiz | |||
Tino Casal singles chronology | ||||
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Spanish musician Tino Casal recorded a techno-pop [61] version in 1987 for his album Lágrimas de Cocodrilo and it was released as the first single from the album in 1988. "Eloise" was one of his biggest hits, [62] managing to be number one for several weeks in Spain and reaching number one on Los 40 Principales in June 1988 . [63] [64] After a long convalescence after having suffered necrosis in both legs due to a badly treated sprain resorting to self-medication, [65] Casal's friend, the announcer and producer Julián Ruiz, suggested that he record "Eloise" to return to the stage. [66]
Over time this song has become a classic of Spanish pop and one of Casal's most remembered songs. [67] [68] [69] The vocals for this song took a week to record in Studio 1 of Abbey Road [70] [71] with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, [72] conducted by Andrew Powell. [71] The budget for the recordings was approximately €12,000. [71] The lyrics were adapted by Casal, [73] as well as the costumes for the recording of the videoclip, an aquamarine blue sequin suit. [63] [74] [75] After the success of the song, Tino Casal recorded an extended version of the song at the Eurosonic Studio. [71]
A remix by Pumpin' Dolls was released as a promo single in 2000 by Chrysalis Records to promote the compilation album Casal Vive. [76]
7": EMI / 006 12 2255 7
12": EMI / 052 12 2274 6
Promo CD: Chrysalis / PE00061 (2000)
Chart (1988) | Peak position |
---|---|
Spain (AFYVE) [77] | 1 |
Spain (Los 40 Principales) [63] | 1 |
"Mamma Mia" is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA, written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson, with the lead vocals shared by Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. It is the opening track on the group's third album, the self-titled ABBA (1975). The song was released in September 1975 as its sixth single. The song's name is derived from Italian, where it is an interjection used in situations of surprise, anguish, or excitement. It corresponds to the English interjection "my, my!", but literally translates as "my mother". The song was ABBA's first number one in the UK since "Waterloo" in 1974.
Barry Ryan, also known as Barry Davison, was an English pop singer and photographer. He achieved his initial success in the mid 1960s in a duo with his twin brother Paul. After Paul ceased performing to concentrate solely on songwriting, Barry became a solo artist. His most successful hit, "Eloise", reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart in 1968.
Paul Ryan was an English singer, songwriter and record producer.
Phantasmagoria is the sixth album by U.K. punk rock band the Damned, released by MCA in July 1985. Special editions were available on white vinyl or picture disc; some versions included a free 12-inch of their No. 3 hit "Eloise". It is the first album by the band without original member Captain Sensible, and was a style shift to gothic rock compared to the band's punk sound of its early and later career.
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"Sugar, Sugar" is a song written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim, produced by Barry and recorded by The Archies, a fictional bubblegum pop band from Archie Comics. It was released as the group's third single on the Calendar Records label on May 24, 1969, rereleased on the Kirshner Records label in July 1969, and included on their second album, Everything's Archie. In the autumn of 1969, it topped both Billboard's Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart, ranking number one for the year in both America and the UK. It is the most successful bubblegum pop single of all time, and is widely regarded as the apotheosis of the late-1960s/early-1970s bubblegum music genre. In mid-1970, R&B/soul singer Wilson Pickett achieved success on both the US soul and pop charts with a cover version.
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"Killer" is a song by British DJ and record producer Adamski. It was written by Adamski and British singer-songwriter Seal, who also provided vocals. It was released in March 1990 by MCA Records as the first single from Adamski's second album, Doctor Adamski's Musical Pharmacy (1990), and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart. The single spent four weeks at the top in May and June 1990 and sold over 400,000 copies in the UK, earning it gold certification. It also reached number one in Belgium and Zimbabwe and number two in the Netherlands and West Germany.
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"Non illuderti mai" is a song by Italian singer Orietta Berti, released as a single in April 1968 for the summer festival Un disco per l'estate. The song came in second place at the festival behind "Luglio" by Riccardo Del Turco. It has notably been covered in English as "My Little Lady" by the Tremeloes and in French as "Ma bonne étoile" by Joe Dassin.
"The Colour of My Love" is a song written by Paul Ryan. Two artists first released it as a single on the same day, 14 March 1969. A version by Jefferson became a top-30 hit in the UK as well as charting in the UK. The other, by Billy J. Kramer, was only released in the UK and failed to chart. Paul Ryan's brother Barry also recorded a version that was released as a single in several countries.
The singles discography of American country singer-songwriter Bill Anderson contains 84 singles, three promotional singles, 6 other charted songs and four music videos. After signing to Decca Records in 1958, Anderson released a series of early singles that became hits, reaching the top ten and 20. This included "That's What It's Like to Be Lonesome" (1958), "The Tip of My Fingers" (1960) and "Po' Folks" (1961). The following year, he reached number one on the Billboard Country and Western Sides chart with "Mama Sang a Song." In 1963, Anderson released his most commercially successful single, "Still." The song was his second number one country single and his first top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100, climbing to number eight. His follow-up single, "8×10" reached similar crossover success. Anderson released 11 more top ten country hits during the rest of the decade. This included the number one singles "I Get the Fever" (1966) and "My Life " (1969). He also had a number one hit with Jan Howard called "For Loving You" in 1968. Anderson also had top ten hits with "I Love You Drops" (1965), "Happy State of Mind" (1968) and a cover of "But You Know I Love You" (1969).
"Love Is Love" is a song by Barry Ryan, released as a single in February 1969. It was written by his brother Paul Ryan and arranged by Johnny Arthey.
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