Monday 14 April 2008

Music Monday - Groups with Numbers

Just for a bit of a novelty this week I've decided to post groups with numbers in their name. I don't mean groups whose name includes the number of people in the group (eg. Dave Clark 5, Jackson 5, Three Degrees, Four Tops, etc) but groups with a number for totally different reasons.
Obviously this will give us a very wide range of music for you to pick your favorite from.

1. 10CC "Rubber Bullets" - This 1973 chart topper (their 2nd single) was one of 3 songs that reached No1 for this excellent group. The group featured the renowned song writing duo Godley & Creme. The group went through a number of names before manager Jonathan King gave them the name 10CC, apparently he had a dream that he was standing outside Hammersmith Odeon and the billboard said "10cc the best band in the world".


2. B-52'S "Love Shack" - This 1990 hit was the biggest UK hit for this American New Wave Group when it reached No2 in the charts in 1990. The group is from Athens Georgia (same place as REM). The band's name comes from a particular beehive hairdo resembling the nose cone of the airplane of the same name.


3. UB40 "Red Red Wine" - This made top spot in 1983 for this Birmingham group on of many hits they have had in the UK. They were formed when a group of unemployed musicians got together and their name comes from the number on a unemployment card.


4. Sham 69 "If the Kids are United" - This Punk anthem reached No9 in the charts in 1978 for the group with a big cult following. Apparently the group took its name from som graffiti that singer/songwriter Jimmy Pursey saw on a wall in Hersham, Surrey. Apparently the first 3 letters had washed off due to the weather.


5. Haircut 100 "Love Plus One" - The 1980's was the era of the new romantics and this group formed by lead singer Nick Heyward were one of the groups that came to the for. This song was their biggest hit when it reached No3 in 1982. The group broke up in 1983 when Heyward pursued a solo career. And I haven't a clue where their name comes from so can anyone help here ?


So which do you like ?

2 comments:

airliebird58 said...

I'll go for Haircut 100. I did a quick search and couldn't find anything about the name. It'll be one of those random things I would think :)

celtic_girl said...

I like B52's followed closely by
10cc