I was in the car with my daughter with the car radio tuned to Cruise 1323, a local hits and memories AM radio station and on came “It”s Good News Week” the 1965 hit by British pop band Hedgehoppers Anonymous. As the opening beat commenced I knew exactly what it was and said to my daughter that it was the very first pop song I ever recall hearing.
It would have been on a large sideboard type valve radio my Grandfather had given to me. I was lying in bed, with the with radio tuned to 5AD. As I write the memories flood back of the time and DJs Big Bob Francis and John Vincent flood back. They are both now dead but were icons of our local radio scene in the 1960s and 1970s. Vinnie continued well into the 1980s when commercial FM launched in Adelaide. Big Bob was a late night talkback radio host for many years.
Its Good News Week, just two minutes and five seconds long, had catchy lyrics, and the singer a very distinctive voice. As 7 or 8 year old I wasn’t aware that the catchy lyrics were those of a quirky protest song.
The song was written by Jonathon King and its theme is one that rings true today, that the news media is overwhelmingly focussed on bad and sensational news
- Someone dropped a bomb today
- Someone’s found a way to give
The rotting dead a will to live
Go on and never die - Of wrapping brains on metal trays
etc
What I didn’t realise about the song was that there was a UK and USA version. The version I am familiar with is the UK version. It charted in Australia for 8 weeks in 1965, and was Hedgehoppers only chart success making the band One Hit Wonders.
With that song started an obsession. Music has sustained me for the 55 years plus. I’ve posted often about songs, concerts and how music has been a constant companion during my PhD.
I can’t deny that my listening habits remain focussed on the past. I’m definitely a child of the 70s when it comes to my listening habits. That doesn’t mean nothing else features. I discovered country music during my Honours research year and that opened up a whole new genre. That said I remain very much a “Hits and Memories” listener!
Note: Photo source: http://zeegrooves.blogspot.com/2013/09/parrot-records-its-good-news-week.html. The web post is a great read about the song and the artist behind it.
I hadn’t heard that song in a long time so I went back and listened to it. They’re a very good band, a little bit like the Hollies.
Your memory is better than mine! I can recall the first record I ever bought but not the first song I ever heard. It would have been around 1960, so maybe something naff like Venus In Blue Jeans. I didn’t realise there were two versions of this one, though: presumably they had to tone it down for the States, as they were the ones dropping the bombs!
Thanks for commenting Clive. Funny how a song and a place sticks on your mind. This song certainly does for me.
That’s one of the special things about music: it’s a part of our treasured memories.