The Move

With the Move's first four singles all making the Top 5, there was clearly no stopping them - and to prove it, they released their fifth single Wild Tiger Woman in the Autumn of 1968.

Which totally failed to chart.

This would appear to be because it got banned by the radio stations, due to its saucy lyrics, rather than it being terrible.

I believe the band were now down to just four members, as their admirable capacity for shedding band members was starting to kick into gear.



The thing that leaps out at me is that the band have suddenly dumped their zeitgeisty feel and have unleashed something upon the world that sounds remarkably like the ChinniChap records which would dominate the charts in the early years of the next decade. In fact, it could easily be a single by the Sweet or Suzi Quatro. Could it be that the Move invented Glam Rock?

It's clearly not as memorable or distinctive a song as their previous four singles but it is a great band performance and we get to hear Roy show off his soloing skills.

We also get vocal contributions from the entire band, including Bev who supplies the bass vocals which I assume are inspired by the Beach Boys. 7/10.

Rhymes, "Seventeen," with, "Beauty queen." Is this a deliberate homage to McCartney's abandoned lyrics for I Saw Her Standing There, or is that pure coincidence?

Is it about Tiger Woods?

The B side is pure '68:



Actually, it's a bit more '67 isn't it? Def. got some Syd Barrett Era Floyd about the guitar at the end.

It uses the words, "Omnibus," and, "Terminus."

...got some Syd Barrett Era Floyd about the guitar at the end.

And the vocals just before that are pure Paperback Writer.

Gosh, it's almost like my previously unknown relevation that my dad did an actual Move cartoon strip is of no interest and/or consequence to those on this forum.

It got two likes.

Yes. If people think a k point is a sign of no interest, then perhaps I shan't give them any more k points.

The forum's been scandalised by Karmagate.

It's Karmageddon.

We need someone to fix it.

A qualified karmechanic.

Fangirl Three wrote:Yes. If people think a k point is a sign of no interest, then perhaps I shan't give them any more k points.

I have no way of knowing what karma points are being given out for what posts.

We all love you, ya big bender!

After their failure to invent the early 1970s with their previous single, the Move went back to 1960s psychedelic Poppiness with Blackberry Way in late 1968 - and promptly plummeted to the top of the charts, gaining their first ever Number One. This means that five of their first six singles had made the Top 5.

And just to celebrate this triumph, rhythm guitarist Trevor Burton quit the band in protest at the move back towards such Poppiness.

However, in a taste of things to come, Richard Tandy - later of ELO - was brought in to play keyboards on this track.

Roy Wood claimed this song was his attempt to emulate Penny Lane.



Its opening chords being basically the James Bond theme, the track's darker than previous fare, its melody and harmonics often pulling vertically away from where you expect them to go. Allied to a plodding beat, this creates a sensation akin to trudging up a steep, cold hill, with the weight of the world holding you back. There's a reason it got to Number One, it's their best single. 9.5/10.

After the triumph of Blackberry Way, the Move released the song Curly which reached Number 12 in the second half of 1969. It was the last Move single to feature vocalist Carl Wayne before he left to find fame and fortune elsewhere as the singer of the New Faces TV theme tune.



That is a very weird song which makes you wonder if they've become possessed by pixies. Carl Wayne always sounded like Roy Wood when he used the upper reaches of his range but, here, if you didn't know it was him, you'd just assume it was Roy all the way through. I get the feeling he's modelling his delivery on Anthony Newley but couldn't claim to be sure.

It has a beautiful tune but it's one that's almost impossible to sing from memory, and the lyrics are as odd as everything else about it. I would say it sounds more like an appealing album track than a single and I shall give it 6.5/10.

But, now that Carl's gone and Trevor's gone and Ace is gone, how will the band survive, with just Roy and Bev left of the original 1967 lineup? How?

Nice textures and sounds.

No tune.

With he and Bev being the only proper Movesters now left, Roy decided to scrap the band and create a new-fangled act called the Electric Light Orchestra, with Bev, and Jeff Lynne.

There was only one problem, the band were still under contract, so, with Lynne replacing Carl Wayne, they carried on releasing Move records. Brontosaurus was the band's eighth single, and the first with the new lineup. It reached Number 7 in the first half of 1970, proving there was life in the old band yet, even if its death sentence had already been passed.



With one unexpected bound, the Move leap from releasing their weediest single to releasing their lairiest, as they suddenly transform into some sort of heavy blues band.

The opening riff seems to take its inspiration from Come Together, while the verse seems to take its inspiration from Rod Stewart's Stay With Me, even though that song hadn't actually been written yet. The chorus sounds like the sort of thing Bill Oddie would have written for the Goodies. Therefore, listening to it in 2019, it all sounds strangely familiar. However, in 1970, it must have been a fair old shock for people used to the previous Move sound. They must have been wondering what had happened to their favourite band.

It doesn't have the instant catchiness of earlier Move singles and, as its name suggests, is both ponderous and unwieldy but it's a fun track with some great playing on it, and sees them once again foreshadowing the chart music of the early 1970s. 7/10.

It does give me the sadz that Carl Wayne isn't there, though.