It's a Game | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | July 1977 | |||
Recorded | 1977 | |||
Genre | Pop, rock | |||
Label | Arista | |||
Producer | Harry Maslin | |||
Bay City Rollers chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
It's a Game is an album by the Scottish group Bay City Rollers, issued in the summer of 1977.
It's a Game was the band's fifth original studio album, and featured production by Harry Maslin, fresh from his success with David Bowie. Despite receiving a Gold Album certification in the US, the group's popularity had waned considerably since their initial burst of fame, and this and subsequent albums would see diminishing success.
In the US the track "You Made Me Believe in Magic" was issued as lead single reaching No. 10 on the Hot 100 in Billboard in August 1977. Outside the US, the track "It's a Game", which had originally been a single in 1973 for British group String Driven Thing, was the usual first single off its parent album with Top Ten status achieved in Australia (#9), Austria (#9), Germany (#4), Ireland (#6) and Switzerland (#6) also reaching No. 21 in New Zealand and No. 16 in the UK; [2] in the UK "It's a Game" was the twelfth Bay City Rollers chart hit and the first single of that twelve to peak below the Top Ten.
"You Made Me Believe in Magic" was released as a second single in the territories where the "It's a Game" single had been a hit, with "You Made Me Believe in Magic" proving significantly less popular than the precedent single, the relevant peaks for "You Made Me Believe in Magic" being Australia – No. 36, Germany – No. 25, New Zealand – No. 39 and the UK – No. 34, with no chart placing in Austria, Ireland or Switzerland. "You Made Me Believe in Magic" marked the Bay City Rollers' final UK chart appearance. Another track off the It's a Game album: "The Way I Feel Tonight", was issued as a second single in the US where it marked the Bay City Rollers' final Hot 100 appearance peaking at No. 24; outside the US "The Way I Feel Tonight" was the third single off the album charting in Australia (No. 56) and New Zealand (No. 38).
Guitarist Ian Mitchell, present on the Dedication LP, had quit the band in late 1976, to be replaced by Pat McGlynn. McGlynn toured with the group and participated in initial sessions for It's a Game, but was soon dismissed from the band. The finished product showed the Rollers as a four-piece band, McGlynn's contributions apparently not making the final cut. The band would expand to a quintet again in 1978 as founding member Alan Longmuir re-joined the fold.
It's a Game was reissued on CD with three bonus tracks in October 2007 ("Are You Cuckoo", "Dedication (Les McKeown Version)" and "The Way I Feel Tonight (single version)".
Chart (1977) | Peak position |
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Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [3] | 10 |
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [4] | 6 |
Canadian Albums ( RPM ) [5] | 14 |
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [6] | 9 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [7] | 4 |
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [8] | 1 |
New Zealand Albums (RIANZ) [9] | 12 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [10] | 2 |
UK Albums (OCC) [11] | 18 |
US Billboard 200 [12] | 23 |
Singles
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|---|
1977 | "It's a Game" | Australia KMR | 9 |
UK Singles Chart | 16 | ||
"You Made Me Believe in Magic" | Canada RPM Top Singles [13] | 5 | |
US Billboard Hot 100 | 10 | ||
UK Singles Chart | 34 | ||
"The Way I Feel Tonight" | US Billboard Hot 100 | 24 |
The Bay City Rollers are a Scottish pop rock band known for their worldwide teen idol popularity in the 1970s. They have been called the "tartan teen sensations from Edinburgh" and are one of many acts heralded as the "biggest group since the Beatles".
Patrick James "Pat" McGlynn is a former rhythm guitarist for the Bay City Rollers.
Eric Faulkner is a guitarist, songwriter and singer, best known as a member of the Scottish pop band the Bay City Rollers.
Once Upon a Star is the second studio album by the Bay City Rollers. Released in May 1975, the album features the UK number-one hit single, "Bye Bye Baby".
Russell Glyn Ballard is an English musician.
Alan Longmuir was a Scottish musician and a founding member of the pop group the Bay City Rollers. He played the bass guitar, whilst his younger brother Derek Longmuir was drummer.
Rollin', released in 1974, was the first full-length album by Scotland's Bay City Rollers. The album included three British chart hits and the debut of "Saturday Night", never a British hit yet a No. 1 smash in America, later.
Bay City Rollers, released in late 1975, was the first full-length album by Scotland's Bay City Rollers to be issued in the US and Canada. The compilation, which hit No. 1 in the RPM Canadian album chart on 7 February 1976 and reached as high as No. 20 on the US album chart, included the US and Canadian #1 hit single "Saturday Night".
Wouldn't You Like It? is the third studio album by the Scottish pop rock group Bay City Rollers. The LP, issued in the UK in late 1975, saw a marked change in the group's musical direction: all the songs save one were the band's own compositions. The one outside-written tune, "Give a Little Love", was a smash UK hit, and the only single released from the album. The album also included, in the form of a giant letter, a free color picture book of the individual members, with a band picture on the front.
Rock N'Roll Love Letter is an album by the Bay City Rollers. It was a North America-only release, issued in early 1976 by Arista Records, catalogue #4071.
Dedication is an album by the Bay City Rollers, issued in September 1976. It was the band's fourth original studio album, and the first new album to be released in the wake of their enormous worldwide success of early 1976.
"Saturday Night" is a song recorded by the Scottish pop rock band Bay City Rollers. It was written and produced by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter. The tune is an upbeat rock number with a memorable hook, in which the word "Saturday" is spelled out in a rhythmic, enthusiastic chant.
Strangers in the Wind is a 1978 rock album by the Bay City Rollers. It was the group's sixth original studio album, and second consecutive disc to feature the production work of Harry Maslin, who produced hits for Air Supply.
Elevator is a 1979 rock album by the Bay City Rollers. Having replaced longtime lead singer Les McKeown with Duncan Faure, the group shortened their name to simply The Rollers, and pursued a more rocking, power-pop sound than their previous work.
Ricochet is a 1981 album by the Bay City Rollers, credited as The Rollers. The album was the third and final release under this band name. In Canada, it saw release on Epic Records as "The Brown Bag Album" and later appeared with a promotional sticker which said, "The Famous Brownbag Album Now Exposed!"
"You Made Me Believe in Magic" is the title of a 1977 international hit single by the Bay City Rollers, taken from their album It's a Game. The recording, a mid-tempo disco-styled pop tune featuring strings and horns, had its greatest impact in North America, where it was issued as the album's lead single in May 1977 to reach number 10 on the US Hot 100 in Billboard magazine that August. "You Made Me Believe in Magic" was the Bay City Rollers' third US Top 10 hit; the follow-up single "The Way I Feel Tonight" (#25) would mark the group's final Hot 100 appearance.
"Don't Let the Music Die" is a pop ballad by the Bay City Rollers from their 1977 album It's a Game. The tune, written by Eric Faulkner and Stuart Wood, and featuring a lead vocal by Les McKeown, is a slow, dramatic ballad with a heavily-orchestrated arrangement and melancholy feel. It was released as a 7" double A-side vinyl single in Japan, where it became a chart hit.
"The Way I Feel Tonight" is a pop ballad by the Bay City Rollers from their 1977 album It's a Game. The tune, written by Harvey Shield, and featuring a lead vocal by Les McKeown, is a slow, dramatic ballad with a heavily orchestrated arrangement.
Stuart John "Woody" Wood, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and producer. Wood is best known as the guitarist for the 1970s band the Bay City Rollers since joining in 1974.
Greatest hits is a 1977 Arista Records compilation album by the Bay City Rollers. It includes songs from five of their first seven studio albums.