English melodic hard rock band “TEN” were formed in 1995. The band’s early albums, such as The Name Of The Rose, The Robe, Spellbound, and Babylon, established the Manchester band as pillars in the melodic hard rock genre. To date they have released 15 studio albums and number 16, Something Wicked This Way Comes, is due for release on 20th January 2023. The new album’s first single, The Tidal Wave, is new this week on RadiJohan.
Terry Hall, the lead singer of British Ska group “The Specials,” has died. He was 63 years old. The band reported this on Twitter describing him as “a great man and father” and “a very sincere soul”. “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Terry, our beautiful friend, brother and one of the most brilliant singers, songwriters and lyricists in this country,” the band wrote. Hall died after a short illness.
He began his musical career with the punk group “Squad” in his hometown of Coventry. He later continued with “The Specials,” founded in 1977. The band’s debut single, Gangsters (1979), was immediately well received by the general public and reached number 6 in the UK charts. The Specials’ biggest success came in 1981 with the number 1 hit Ghost Town, a song was about urban decay and unemployment. Ghost Town received a lot of attention during the many riots over racism that broke out between young black people and the police in the United Kingdom that year.
After Ghost Town was released Hall left the band to start a new group called “Fun Boy Three” with two of his Specials band mates. In 1992, Hall joined forces with “Dave Stewart,” most famous for his role as one half of “Eurythmics.” The duo took on the name “Vegas” and released Vegas, a slick electronic pop album which spawned the moderately successful single Possessed.
Earlier this year Hall was still performing with “The Specials” who had reformed in 2008.
| TW | LW | Artist | Title |
| 10 | New | Lewis Capaldi | Pointless |
| 9 | New | Cats In Space | 1,000,000 Miles |
| 8 | 6 | KT Tunstall | Private Eyes |
| 7 | 5 | John Waite | Anything |
| 6 | 10 | Dermot Kennedy | Kiss Me |
| 5 | 8 | Dea Matrona | Red Button |
| 4 | 2 | Simple Minds | Solstice Kiss |
| 3 | 4 | David Paich | Willibelongtoyou |
| 2 | 3 | Generation Radio | Why Are You Calling Me Now |
| 1 | 1 | The Lightning Seeds | Emily Smiles |
Watch this week’s Top 10 by clicking the play button below.
“Jason DeFord” grew up in Nashville Tennessee and, under the name “Jelly Roll” has been making music for many years now. He started out in hip hop, went into rock, and more recently strayed into country music. Jelly Roll was the name his mother gave him when he was a young, “chubby kid” and it stuck. He considers himself a songwriter as well as a singer which is his reason for not sticking to one genre of music. He has a somewhat sordid past that includes incarceration. He has however managed to turn his life around and is now using his music to help others who struggle. Jelly Roll’s new single She is about the struggle of addiction.
“‘she’ is about talking about the elephant in the room and addressing head-on the heroin and fentanyl epidemic that is sweeping the nation; the pharmaceutical pill problem that is sweeping the nation and has been for a long time. And I feel like it’s an artist’s responsibility to speak for those who sometimes can’t always speak for themselves.“
Jelly Roll’s She is new this week on RadiJohan.
The song was originally written and recorded by South African musician “Solomon Linda” under the title Mbube. It was adapted and covered internationally by many artists in the 1950’s and 1960’s. When “The Tokens” recorded the song in 1961 they added a few comprehensible lines in English and called it The Lion Sleeps Tonight. Initially released as a B-side it quickly became clear the song was no mere novelty, but a huge hit. The Tokens’ version included backup Soprano vocals by “Anita Darian” who had a classically-trained voice with a four-octave range. It rocketed to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 this week in 1961 and remained there for three weeks. The song has endured thanks to its constant use in movies and TV, and also because of many cover versions.
British Rockers “Cats In Space” have released the third single from album of the year contender Kick Start The Sun. The Special duet version of 1,000,000 Miles, which features Julie Maguire from UK band “Space Elevator,” was voted “single of the week by readers of “Classic Rock Magazine” and is new this week on RadiJohan.
| TW | LW | Artist | Title |
| 10 | New | Dermot Kennedy | Kiss Me |
| 9 | 9 | Billy Idol | Running From The Ghost |
| 8 | New | Dea Matrona | Red Button |
| 7 | 4 | Queensrÿche | Forest |
| 6 | 3 | KT Tunstall | Private Eyes |
| 5 | 5 | John Waite | Anything |
| 4 | 8 | David Paich | Willibelongtoyou |
| 3 | 7 | Generation Radio | Why Are You Calling Me Now |
| 2 | 1 | Simple Minds | Solstice Kiss |
| 1 | 2 | The Lightning Seeds | Emily Smiles |
Watch this week’s Top 10 by clicking the play button below.
“Stop!” was the first hit single by Sam Brown, an English singer, musician, songwriter and Ukulele player who came to prominence as a solo artist in the late 1980’s. When it was first released in 1988 “Stop!” reached number 52 on the UK Singles Chart. When it was re-released in 1989, the song peaked at number four, becoming Brown’s highest-charting single, spending 12 weeks on the chart. “Stop!” topped the charts in Belgium, Iceland, the Netherlands and Norway, while reaching the top five in Australia, Austria, Finland, France, Ireland and Switzerland. Sam Brown released six singles that entered the UK Singles Chart in the 80’s and 90’s and has worked as a session backing vocalist with artists including Gary Moore, George Harrison, Small Faces, Spandau Ballet, Adam Ant, Jon Lord (of Deep Purple), Pink Floyd, David Gilmour), The Firm and Nick Cave.
Scottish singer-songwriter “Lewis Capaldi” is the youngest of four children. His birth came as a bit of a surprise to his family after his father had undergone a vasectomy. His passion for performing started after he sang on stage while on a family trip to France when he was four years old. At age nine he learnt how to play guitar. Capaldi’s breakthrough single, Someone You Loved, charted in 29 countries, spent seven weeks at number one in the UK and also reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, making him the first Scottish solo artist to top the US charts since Sheena Easton in 1981. Lewis Capaldi’s new album, Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent, is due for release in 2023. His new single, Pointless, was co-written with Ed Sheeran and is new this week on RadiJohan.
“Dermot Kennedy” grew up in Ireland, an avid football fan and player, who started playing guitar at age 10, and songwriting at age 14. His parents were very supportive. He credits his father for frequently driving him into Dublin to perform at open mic nights when he was underage. His mother submitted a successful application for him to study classical music at university. After releasing many singles and EPs Dermot released his first complete album, Without Fear, in 2019. In January 2020 he was nominated for international male solo artist of the year at the BRIT Awards. His second studio album, Sonder, was released in November. The single, Kiss me, is new this week on RadiJohan. Dermot comments:
“the message behind both the video and song of ‘Kiss Me’ is that love is worth it…Even when things are falling apart and life feels short and there’s chaos all around us, there’s still always something to hold on to.”