London Bangla A Force for the community…
FIFTY YEARS AGO we were humming along to the hits of 1976. Some have magnificently stood the test of time; others have not. Join us on Memory Lane as we review them on their golden anniversaries.
On 20th July, Demis Roussos was swept away by an even bigger phenomenon: Elton John and Kiki Dee with Don’t Go Breaking My Heart. It was a welcome change, but it stayed at number one until the end of August. For six weeks it was the song of the summer, with the same video playing on Top of the Pops as the duo didn’t sing it live on TV– not that they were singing live in the video, for that matter. Fractious teens became a little infuriated by its persistence.
It is a light-hearted number, with a catchy tune and the two singers “going exclusive” (as we would say today). But rather than going through soppy promises, they just warn each other “don’t go breaking my heart”.
The song was written by Elton John and his permanent lyricist Bernie Taupin, under a pseudonym. It was intended to be a pastiche of Motown, but it fell short. It was just too boppy, too… harmless. Nonetheless, it was Elton’s first UK number one single – and he had to wait another 14 years for his second. It was Kiki’s first number one too.
What became of the artists? Elton became a rock god. Kiki, an accomplished backing and session singer, was the first UK woman to be signed to Motown. She had a respectable output without becoming a rock goddess (why?).
Back to that video. Kiki’s dungarees were spectacular. Elton was jolly enough, acted out some of the words, and kissed the bib of those dungarees (see picture). Later that year he came out as bisexual. It took until 1992 for him to come out as gay. What a long time ago it seems…
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Sounds on Sunday
