Spicks and Specks (song)

"Spicks and Specks"
Single by Bee Gees
from the album Spicks and Specks
B-side "I Am the World"
Released September 1966 (Australia)
February 1967 (United Kingdom)
Format 7", 45 rpm
Recorded July 1966
Genre Pop rock, beat
Length 2:52
Label Spin (Australia)
Polydor[1]
Songwriter(s) Barry Gibb
Producer(s) Nat Kipner
Bee Gees singles chronology
"Monday's Rain"
(1966)		 "Spicks and Specks"
(1966)		 "Born a Man"
(1967)

"Monday's Rain"
(1966)		 "Spicks and Specks"
(1966)		 "Born a Man"
(1967)

"Spicks and Specks" is a song by the Bee Gees, written by Barry Gibb. When the song was released in September, 1966, the single reached No. 4 on the Go-Set Australian National Top 40,[2] (No.1 on other Australian charts)[3][4] and when the song was released in other countries in February, 1967, it reached No. 28 in Germany, No. 2 in The Netherlands and No. 1 in New Zealand.[1]

Recording

"Spicks and Specks" is dated to early July by the memory of Geoff Grant (Geoffrey Streeter) who played the trumpet. Grant recalls working three nights in a row on four songs including this track, "I Am the World", "All by Myself", and "The Storm". There were no charts; Barry sang what he wanted live, and Grant copied it. Some of the artists whose disks came out in August recall hearing "Spicks and Specks" being worked on or completed, further confirming that early July is the approximate date of the song's recording. "Spicks and Specks" was a ballad around a strong piano beat, Barry writing off a riff by Maurice in a way that would later get a joint writer credit.[4]

The 1967 cover of the single features four-piece Bee Gees including the brothers with the band's new member, Colin Petersen.

Release

The single entered the Sydney charts at the end of September and stayed in the top forty for nineteen weeks, peaking at number 3. It appeared on the Go-Set National Top 40 for sixteen weeks, where it reached number 4 early in November.[2] By the middle of October the Bee Gees were determined to return to England. The single's success convinced their producer Nat Kipner and Festival to release an LP, which may have helped convince Polydor (England) to sign the group. This was the band's first single released in England. An instrumental version of the song is part of the soundtrack for Melody, which also featured several other Bee Gees songs.

Live performances

In 1966, they performed it on Australian television with Barry singing and Robin and Maurice behind to share backup vocals. On that show, Maurice is playing a guitar and also wears shades. In 1971, they performed in Festival Hall at Melbourne, Australia, and filmed in a black and white version in July with Maurice on piano. In 1974, they also performed in Melbourne from their Mr. Natural tour. In 1989, they also performed in Melbourne from their One for All Tour, and instead of Barry holding his microphone while singing the song, he played his guitar for the first time on the song, singing the song with Maurice on piano. In 1998–1999, they performed this song on the One Night Only tour in Australian shows only. In June 2017, Barry Gibb performed the song at Glastonbury on the Pyramid stage for the first time without his brothers. Another, or perhaps the same, television appearance in 1966 featured the boys performing, Spicks and Specs, under a tree in Croudace Bay Park, Lake Macquarie, as a feature on Digby Wolfe's "review 66' (Unconfirmed legend has the, slightly out of tune piano, featured in the song having been discovered at a Hall in Belmont, an adjoining suburb to Croudace Bay, and was recorded in situ to capture that unique sound).

Personnel

Charts

ChartYearPeak
position
Australia Go-Set Charts[5]19664
Netherlands Dutch Top 40 Charts[6]19673
Germany Media Control Charts[7]196728
New Zealand Recorded Music NZ Charts[8]19671
Japan Oricon Singles Chart[9]196756

Cover versions

  • The song is used at the end of The Walking Dead's fifth-season episode "Forget".
  • The title is borrowed by a popular music quiz on Australian TV, with most rounds are titled after songs, or are otherwise music-related.

References

  1. 1 2 Archived 2013-10-14 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. 1 2 Go-Set National Top 40 charting:
    • Debut at No. 37 on 19 October 1966. Nimmervoll, Ed (19 October 1966). "National Top 40". Go-Set. Waverley Press. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
    • Peaked at No. 4 on 9 November 1966, for two weeks:
      • Nimmervoll, Ed (9 November 1966). "National Top 40". Go-Set. Waverley Press. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
      • Nimmervoll, Ed (16 November 1966). "National Top 40". Go-Set. Waverley Press. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
    • Final (16th) week in chart at No. 29 on 8 February 1967. Nimmervoll, Ed (8 February 1967). "National Top 40". Go-Set. Waverley Press. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  3. ↑ "Barry Gibb". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 2015-11-30.
  4. 1 2 Joseph Brennan. "Gibb Songs: 1966". Retrieved 2015-11-30.
  5. ↑ "Go-Set Australian Charts". Go-Set: The Teen and Twenties Newspaper. 16 November 1966. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  6. ↑ "Bee Gees - Spicks & Specks". Dutch Charts. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  7. ↑ "Bee Gees - Spicks and Specks". officialcharts.de. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  8. ↑ "flavour of new zealand - NZ listener charts 1967". Flavour of New Zealand. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  9. ↑ "Songs Written by the Gibb Family on the International Charts - Part 1" (PDF). brothersgibb.org. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.