To the hipper-than-thou, kindly adjust your "cool quotient" to allow for the following several moments where a billion-selling teen-pop group is acknowledged for having once existed. To fans, welcome!
Great! Thanks, Dave….happy to have you here! I was so hoping to get a “read” on those with exactly those feelings!! 1D’s Comic Relief medley didn’t get an awful lot of U.S. play because it was aimed at (and by) UK’s CR effort.
But, a decade ago, when, somehow, I heard about it, I sang it often at several of Austin’s karaoke bars! In fact, knowing both songs (like you), it’s entirely possible I just saw it in the KJ available-file book, and just winged it (wung it?) one night! I would often take karaoke fliers like that….still, it’s more likely I went home, and streamed it a couple times to learn it!
Example of “flier”: I found out what knobs to twist and buttons to push on the KJ’s machine, mechanically raised the song’s pitch, lowered my singing octave, and actually tackled Barbra Streisand’s “A Piece of Sky,” where my money note matched hers to a degree, but, of course, was now in my range! But, admittedly, that was the year I had a Yentl breakdown! Thank you….I’ll be here, all weak!😁👍
While I’ve got you, Dave, a shameless request: I’d love to have you guest on a Tune Tag, if you’re game! If you’re not familiar, you can peruse a couple on the site (they’re tagged at the top of the FR&B main page), and I can always DM you further deets, if you’d like! We’d send our songs via DMs, here!
Thanks for considering, and thanks again for reading and commenting!
Thanks, Chris! That's great to hear about that family moment, and that Harry put on a good show! He could be as huge as he wants to be, I reckon. Time will tell if he'll take his charisma to the big screen at all.
And, know that your lad appreciates that Dad dug a show he wanted to see! It never would've occurred to me (at 15) to invite my dad to "An Evening with Led Zeppelin" in 1970! But, he got me 2 comp floor seat tix! So, there was that......!
i think you'll enjoy it! i'd start with his sophomore album Heartbreak Weather, very very solid & strong record! The Show is absolutely fantastic too - i also enjoy Flicker, but i listen to it the least out of the three.
A fantastic piece, Brad! Two great songs but I’d never heard the One Direction mashup. It was well executed and a lot of fun! I’m sure I must have heard songs by One Direction before although I doubt I could name one or identify one if I heard it. Having said that, I’ve definitely been enjoying Harry Style’s solo career so far.
Thanks so much, Mark....for the compliments and the well-wishes! I wasn't really following 1D in their heyday, either, although, I've always enjoyed that teen pop/teenybop/boy band corner of the rock/pop firmament (hey, I was 8 in '64 watching The Beatles on Sullivan....and, I thought they were fellow kids! I didn't watch them with separation, going, "Wow, look at those men playing such neat-o music!") My obvious-now reaction was, "Those kids are playing incredible music I can sing along to, and I wanna hear more just like it!"
In '66 or so, I started ingesting 16, Flip, and Tiger Beat Magazines, and yes, hanging pin-ups on my bedroom wall (apparently, I was a 12-year-old girl)!!! My comic books were Richie Rich, Archie, Little Lotta, Li'l Audrey, Li'l Devil (all the "Lil's"!), while my brother (barely one year older) was keeping Marvel Comics in business with all their
-Mans....Super-, Bat-, Aqua-, Spider-!
After a "transition" from the teeny-pop mags, I discovered MAD, then did the full dive into the world of Rolling Stone, Crawdaddy, Creem, BOMP!, Phonograph Record Magazine, Stereo Review, and Warner Bros. Records' in-house promo piece, Circular (about which I've written, featuring a pre-Dr. Demento Barry Hansen as a copy writer)!
So, I come by my appreciation and occasional love of the genre, hence my 1D fascination (although, like you, I wasn't following their every release, but certainly perked up at this medley when I heard it)!
Anyhoo, happy to reminisce with you again, Mark, and may all our '25s be bitchin' 'n' happy!
Brad you can make anything interesting and uncover unknown truths. I had an Undertones 10" for years from my Island days and never knew they were such an important group. John Peel's favorite track! Man-o-man! Blondie? Well, it's NYC so yeah... Snuky Tate was on their Animal Records, and I recorded him for 109 but never released his "Check This Out!" until now: https://on.soundcloud.com/7x71tN39gR4r6y7b6
Formerly on Ze Records with the hit "He's the Groove" (Island affiliate)
We're all connected, and One Direction is no exception and they hit the spot! Happy New Year!
Thanks so much, Steve! I was adamant that I was not gonna fall into the "ooh, they're yucky" boy band/pop-derision trap! Especially as😱a male, and an😱adult! So, if I helped break down a wall and make 1D safe for mass consumption, happy to take a bow!
Thanks for the Snuky link, too! I was surprised, as well, about Peel's reaction to "Teenage Kicks," especially to how emotional the song made him! Happy '25 to you, too!
I really enjoyed this. I think it was very ballsy of them to do this, and it was very ballsy of you to write about it. While I know your audience is very diverse, I suspect an important part of your readership crave the prog rock sugar from the 60s and 70s. Precisely because you are an authority in all things rock (and music) history, I celebrate your move. This sort of thing goes a long way towards breaking down some of that prejudice so commonly encountered in many music circles. The way you enticed and teased your readers in the intro was very clever.
I never really followed OD's music too closely (they are a bit younger than me, and admittedly, by the time they became really popular, I was completely hooked with the soul revival movement of the 2010s, so I didn't have a lot of time for much else), but I have a huge respect for the part they played in modern pop music. I do follow Harry's solo career which is getting better and better by the minute (as some other comments below/above attest to).
I had seen this video ages ago but I didn't know the backstory of the original songs so it was great to put the pieces together and watch the whole thing again.
Seeing as they all went towards a rockier sound in their respective solo careers, it was very interesting to see this as some sort of prelude to what was to come. You could clearly see they already had little rockstars in them... all they needed perhaps was more time, maturity and life experience to break the shells like we saw them do a couple of years later.
The lads are so relatable, on every level. Let's not forget how young they were when they did this. I also found it very cool that they didn't only include London landmarks but also ordinary places like Heathrow Terminal 5 (one of the main airport hubs round here). And David Cameron's cameo at 10 Downing Street was priceless! Rather than the 1D lads telling their mates "The Prime Minister appeared in one of our videos!", I suspect it was David who told his wife, "Honey, the 1D boys came for a visit! You've just missed them!" 😂😂 That's how huge they were!
Thanks so much, Andy! That's what makes this particular cover so intriguing! Those who were familiar with 1D and each successive hit, were, likely unaware of the genesis of the two songs! And (this was my experience), those who knew from Blondie and The Undertones (and those songs) weren't likely to be 1D-aware!
You're right about the guts, I guess, it took to do these songs....but, I think Simon and the medley's producers (mentioned in the piece) were so sure they could make 1D's presentation of the songs more than palatable to their core audience. Lotta talent, there, to make THAT happen!
I wish I could equate Cameron's cameo with an American potentate, but I reckon, beyond a royal, I guess the PM is kinda akin to a president? That dance the boys do in front of his house is hilarious (arms straight down with hands-in-fist, and moving them back'n'forth quickly)! I always laugh when I see it! A couple of them look so serious when doing it, while a couple are grinning!
I had a blast, as you noticed, in poking holes in 1D's preconceived notions and fandom, and poking some fun, too, in the "too cool for the room" adults who may be reading...the ones whom, a mere decade ago, wouldn't be caught comatose reading anything 1D, much less listening to them! So, there was that....I'm always happy to poke a few holes in the occasional pop snobbery I might detect!
My pleasure, and thank you! It's such a good idea to bring a little bit of what might peek the interest of such diverse audiences. Well done!
Absolutely agree that Simon and the producers made the right call. And when you add the charity element, it was clearly a win-win situation!
Yes, think of the Prime Minister as below your President but with more or less comparable functions. The head of state here is the monarch, but the Prime Minister is the head of government and is typically seen as the political leader of the country in the same way as your President is.
Yes, I love how you poked those holes -- I think it's badly needed, even here on Substack. This has been very refreshing!
Thanks, Charles! I think it's safe to say many millennial kiddos got their first tastes of not only Blondie, but of The Undertones, a decidedly under-heard band from that same era (and, certainly in the states)! They weren't afforded the hit or three that Debbie and her boys had, but the 'Tones were a perfect "side dish" alongside pop forward punkers like The Ramones and The Buzzcocks, et al!
I thought about you, Dan, as I was writing this! I figured you knew the Blondie (and coulda guessed "One Way" made your '79 Top Ten! And, as The Undertones were little-played anywhere in the states, I figured they had ducked your radio radar! Plus, I appreciate hearing 1D's medley was new to you! You're not alone....but, I was curious when I set about to write this! Check my reply to Dave, here, about how I likely discovered this medley during karaoke (and you KNOW I had to sing it)!
As a fan of both songs, I'd never heard this version. It's great and the video is a blast. Thanks for the post!
Great! Thanks, Dave….happy to have you here! I was so hoping to get a “read” on those with exactly those feelings!! 1D’s Comic Relief medley didn’t get an awful lot of U.S. play because it was aimed at (and by) UK’s CR effort.
But, a decade ago, when, somehow, I heard about it, I sang it often at several of Austin’s karaoke bars! In fact, knowing both songs (like you), it’s entirely possible I just saw it in the KJ available-file book, and just winged it (wung it?) one night! I would often take karaoke fliers like that….still, it’s more likely I went home, and streamed it a couple times to learn it!
Example of “flier”: I found out what knobs to twist and buttons to push on the KJ’s machine, mechanically raised the song’s pitch, lowered my singing octave, and actually tackled Barbra Streisand’s “A Piece of Sky,” where my money note matched hers to a degree, but, of course, was now in my range! But, admittedly, that was the year I had a Yentl breakdown! Thank you….I’ll be here, all weak!😁👍
While I’ve got you, Dave, a shameless request: I’d love to have you guest on a Tune Tag, if you’re game! If you’re not familiar, you can peruse a couple on the site (they’re tagged at the top of the FR&B main page), and I can always DM you further deets, if you’d like! We’d send our songs via DMs, here!
Thanks for considering, and thanks again for reading and commenting!
Brilliant read! Thank you. Saw Harry solo live with my son. He’s so good
Thanks, Chris! That's great to hear about that family moment, and that Harry put on a good show! He could be as huge as he wants to be, I reckon. Time will tell if he'll take his charisma to the big screen at all.
Would never had seen him on my own. Happy I did.
And, know that your lad appreciates that Dad dug a show he wanted to see! It never would've occurred to me (at 15) to invite my dad to "An Evening with Led Zeppelin" in 1970! But, he got me 2 comp floor seat tix! So, there was that......!
i played the 1D cover so much when it came out haha, just too fun! Niall has my favorite post-1D career music wise!
Sounds like I need to take a break from Harry's tunes, and take a spin with Niall's styles!
i think you'll enjoy it! i'd start with his sophomore album Heartbreak Weather, very very solid & strong record! The Show is absolutely fantastic too - i also enjoy Flicker, but i listen to it the least out of the three.
Thanks for the tips, TSA! Happy to check out his new music!
A fantastic piece, Brad! Two great songs but I’d never heard the One Direction mashup. It was well executed and a lot of fun! I’m sure I must have heard songs by One Direction before although I doubt I could name one or identify one if I heard it. Having said that, I’ve definitely been enjoying Harry Style’s solo career so far.
Wishing you all the best for 2025!
Thanks so much, Mark....for the compliments and the well-wishes! I wasn't really following 1D in their heyday, either, although, I've always enjoyed that teen pop/teenybop/boy band corner of the rock/pop firmament (hey, I was 8 in '64 watching The Beatles on Sullivan....and, I thought they were fellow kids! I didn't watch them with separation, going, "Wow, look at those men playing such neat-o music!") My obvious-now reaction was, "Those kids are playing incredible music I can sing along to, and I wanna hear more just like it!"
In '66 or so, I started ingesting 16, Flip, and Tiger Beat Magazines, and yes, hanging pin-ups on my bedroom wall (apparently, I was a 12-year-old girl)!!! My comic books were Richie Rich, Archie, Little Lotta, Li'l Audrey, Li'l Devil (all the "Lil's"!), while my brother (barely one year older) was keeping Marvel Comics in business with all their
-Mans....Super-, Bat-, Aqua-, Spider-!
After a "transition" from the teeny-pop mags, I discovered MAD, then did the full dive into the world of Rolling Stone, Crawdaddy, Creem, BOMP!, Phonograph Record Magazine, Stereo Review, and Warner Bros. Records' in-house promo piece, Circular (about which I've written, featuring a pre-Dr. Demento Barry Hansen as a copy writer)!
So, I come by my appreciation and occasional love of the genre, hence my 1D fascination (although, like you, I wasn't following their every release, but certainly perked up at this medley when I heard it)!
Anyhoo, happy to reminisce with you again, Mark, and may all our '25s be bitchin' 'n' happy!
Brad you can make anything interesting and uncover unknown truths. I had an Undertones 10" for years from my Island days and never knew they were such an important group. John Peel's favorite track! Man-o-man! Blondie? Well, it's NYC so yeah... Snuky Tate was on their Animal Records, and I recorded him for 109 but never released his "Check This Out!" until now: https://on.soundcloud.com/7x71tN39gR4r6y7b6
Formerly on Ze Records with the hit "He's the Groove" (Island affiliate)
We're all connected, and One Direction is no exception and they hit the spot! Happy New Year!
Thanks so much, Steve! I was adamant that I was not gonna fall into the "ooh, they're yucky" boy band/pop-derision trap! Especially as😱a male, and an😱adult! So, if I helped break down a wall and make 1D safe for mass consumption, happy to take a bow!
Thanks for the Snuky link, too! I was surprised, as well, about Peel's reaction to "Teenage Kicks," especially to how emotional the song made him! Happy '25 to you, too!
I really enjoyed this. I think it was very ballsy of them to do this, and it was very ballsy of you to write about it. While I know your audience is very diverse, I suspect an important part of your readership crave the prog rock sugar from the 60s and 70s. Precisely because you are an authority in all things rock (and music) history, I celebrate your move. This sort of thing goes a long way towards breaking down some of that prejudice so commonly encountered in many music circles. The way you enticed and teased your readers in the intro was very clever.
I never really followed OD's music too closely (they are a bit younger than me, and admittedly, by the time they became really popular, I was completely hooked with the soul revival movement of the 2010s, so I didn't have a lot of time for much else), but I have a huge respect for the part they played in modern pop music. I do follow Harry's solo career which is getting better and better by the minute (as some other comments below/above attest to).
I had seen this video ages ago but I didn't know the backstory of the original songs so it was great to put the pieces together and watch the whole thing again.
Seeing as they all went towards a rockier sound in their respective solo careers, it was very interesting to see this as some sort of prelude to what was to come. You could clearly see they already had little rockstars in them... all they needed perhaps was more time, maturity and life experience to break the shells like we saw them do a couple of years later.
The lads are so relatable, on every level. Let's not forget how young they were when they did this. I also found it very cool that they didn't only include London landmarks but also ordinary places like Heathrow Terminal 5 (one of the main airport hubs round here). And David Cameron's cameo at 10 Downing Street was priceless! Rather than the 1D lads telling their mates "The Prime Minister appeared in one of our videos!", I suspect it was David who told his wife, "Honey, the 1D boys came for a visit! You've just missed them!" 😂😂 That's how huge they were!
Amazing read!
Thanks so much, Andy! That's what makes this particular cover so intriguing! Those who were familiar with 1D and each successive hit, were, likely unaware of the genesis of the two songs! And (this was my experience), those who knew from Blondie and The Undertones (and those songs) weren't likely to be 1D-aware!
You're right about the guts, I guess, it took to do these songs....but, I think Simon and the medley's producers (mentioned in the piece) were so sure they could make 1D's presentation of the songs more than palatable to their core audience. Lotta talent, there, to make THAT happen!
I wish I could equate Cameron's cameo with an American potentate, but I reckon, beyond a royal, I guess the PM is kinda akin to a president? That dance the boys do in front of his house is hilarious (arms straight down with hands-in-fist, and moving them back'n'forth quickly)! I always laugh when I see it! A couple of them look so serious when doing it, while a couple are grinning!
I had a blast, as you noticed, in poking holes in 1D's preconceived notions and fandom, and poking some fun, too, in the "too cool for the room" adults who may be reading...the ones whom, a mere decade ago, wouldn't be caught comatose reading anything 1D, much less listening to them! So, there was that....I'm always happy to poke a few holes in the occasional pop snobbery I might detect!
My pleasure, and thank you! It's such a good idea to bring a little bit of what might peek the interest of such diverse audiences. Well done!
Absolutely agree that Simon and the producers made the right call. And when you add the charity element, it was clearly a win-win situation!
Yes, think of the Prime Minister as below your President but with more or less comparable functions. The head of state here is the monarch, but the Prime Minister is the head of government and is typically seen as the political leader of the country in the same way as your President is.
Yes, I love how you poked those holes -- I think it's badly needed, even here on Substack. This has been very refreshing!
Definitely Cool Brad! I had not heard this. Great to know kids that age still remembered Blondie!
Thanks, Charles! I think it's safe to say many millennial kiddos got their first tastes of not only Blondie, but of The Undertones, a decidedly under-heard band from that same era (and, certainly in the states)! They weren't afforded the hit or three that Debbie and her boys had, but the 'Tones were a perfect "side dish" alongside pop forward punkers like The Ramones and The Buzzcocks, et al!
"One Way or Another" is my favorite Blondie song and did make my Top Ten in 1979. I had no idea these boys covered it! Not a bad version!
I thought about you, Dan, as I was writing this! I figured you knew the Blondie (and coulda guessed "One Way" made your '79 Top Ten! And, as The Undertones were little-played anywhere in the states, I figured they had ducked your radio radar! Plus, I appreciate hearing 1D's medley was new to you! You're not alone....but, I was curious when I set about to write this! Check my reply to Dave, here, about how I likely discovered this medley during karaoke (and you KNOW I had to sing it)!