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80smusicfreak
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| Posted: 08 June 2016 at 5:35am | IP Logged
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I know I'm in the minority here, but I happen to like the Brian Howe-era of Bad Company (1986-94) almost as much as the original Paul Rodgers-era (1974-82). A big part of it has to do w/ songwriter/producer Terry Thomas, who was the leader of the U.K. band Charlie, which had moderate success here in the U.S. from the mid '70s to mid '80s. (In 1983, they managed to just scrape into the Billboard top 40 w/ "It's Inevitable", but alas, it wasn't quite enough to qualify for Pat's db.) After releasing a final Charlie album in 1986, Thomas went on to write & produce many hits and gold- and platinum-selling albums for other artists, including Bad Company (1988's Dangerous Age, 1990's Holy Water, and 1992's Here Comes Trouble). When I first heard & saw the video for Bad Company's "No Smoke without a Fire" on MTV in the Summer of '88, my first thought was, "Wow - these guys are back!" (Yes, I already knew they had a new lead singer.) When I finally read the album credits a few months later, I realized why I was liking them so much. :-) Consequently, about 7-8 years ago, I went to see Howe do a solo gig at which he performed quite a few of his late '80s/early '90s Bad Company hits. I caught up w/ him after the show, and he actually invited me backstage to hang out w/ him & his band for a while. (Thanks for the hospitality, Brian!) I mentioned the connection w/ Thomas, and it was then that Howe told me he'd just started working w/ him again at the time. But I digress...
Anyway, I think few people realize it, but thanks in large part to Thomas, Bad Company actually managed to EQUAL the number of pop & AOR hits in their eight years w/ Howe as they did in the same length of time w/ Rodgers. However, to this day, all Bad Company compilations (domestic or import) have focused exclusively on the Rodgers era, while ignoring the years/hits w/ Howe. I agree they were essentially two different groups under the same name, but I've always felt a separate single-disc collection of the 1986-94 era was warranted, and would certainly sell to the masses. So rather than continue to wait for Rhino/WEA to come around, as a personal project over the weekend, I heavily researched the group's hits/promo singles/chart activity from this period in order to help put together my own 80-minute CD compilation. :-) And along the way, I stumbled across another issue in Joel Whitburn's chart books that I felt was well worth noting/inquiring about here (especially if Paul Haney happens to be reading - still wouldn't mind an answer to my recent question about ONJ's 1982 hit, "Landslide", as well)...
In his Top Pop Singles book, Whitburn claims that the hit version of Bad Company's 1990-91 hit, "If You Needed Somebody", was a cassette single on Atco 98914, w/ "Dead of the Night" on the B-side. Problem is, I could find absolutely NO evidence of that cassette single on-line - not on eBay, Discogs, Googling the label & catalog no., etc., etc. What I DID find was plenty of on-line listings/references/actual photos that showed the U.S. hit cassette single was actually on Atco 98872, w/ "100 Miles" as the B-side! So I decided it was time to check the original source. :-) My actual copies of Billboard magazine from 1990-91 are currently packed away in storage, so I headed over to the web site "American Radio History", where they have all of the issues from this period posted on-line. (A nod here needs to go out to fellow chat board member "Chatfan MA" for first posting about this web site last December - I was not previously aware of its existence, but have used it several times now!)
To be fair, sure enough, when "If You Needed Somebody" debuted on the "Hot 100" at #88 in the November 10, 1990, issue, Billboard did indeed state "(C) ATCO 4-98914" for the song on their chart. HOWEVER, additional research reveals that when the song jumped from #26 in its 13th week on the chart (February 2, 1991 - its second week in the top 40) to #22 in its 14th week (February 9, 1991), Billboard CHANGED the info to "(C) ATCO 4-98872" for the remainder of its chart run (24 weeks, last appearing in the April 20, 1991, issue). So, does a U.S. cassette single w/ the "98914" catalog no. truly exist??? Since Whitburn does give a unique B-side for this one (i.e., "Dead of the Night"), I'll go ahead and give him the benefit at this time, but those originals must be pretty rare. Of course, it also begs the following: Were the lengths and/or versions of the A-sides on Atco 98914 & 98872 identical, for the purpose of Pat's db??? If there were indeed two versions of the cassette single, at the very least, Whitburn needs to add a footnote to this one in his book, stating "charted first 13 weeks on Atco 98914, last 11 weeks on Atco 98872, w/ '100 Miles' on the B-side" (or something close to that). (I see that the new 15th edition of Top Pop Singles is set to publish in just 3-4 more weeks, so is it too late to get this in there???) To further muddy the waters, Pat's original Cash Box Pop Singles Charts, 1950-1993 book states "If You Needed Somebody" was on "Atco 98944" (a typo???). Randy Price's postings of the Cash Box pop charts on his web site shows the "98914" no. for the song's entire 26-week run in that magazine, and finally, Whitburn's recent Cash Box Pop Hits, 1952-1996 book also states "Atco 98914" and "Dead of the Night" as the B-side for its entire run...
Bottom line: When "If You Needed Somebody" peaked in the top 20 on the pop charts in March of '91, it was clearly on Atco 98872, w/ "100 Miles" as the B-side, and thus should be considered the top 40 "hit" version. Current listing on eBay, showing photos of both the front & back of the cardboard sleeve, w/ the "98872" no. (see bottom of UPC [bar] code), and the "100 Miles" B-side: BAD COMPANY - "If You Needed Somebody" (U.S. cassette single) Hopefully, edtop40 and/or some others out there can provide additional details, such as the length/version on both, as I don't own either myself. At this time, it appears this situation is not unlike the one for Michael Jackson's 1993 hit, "Heal the World", which I detailed here on this board last September...
"90smusicfreak" :-)
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Glenpwood
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| Posted: 08 June 2016 at 7:32am | IP Logged
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"To further muddy the waters, Pat's original Cash Box Pop
Singles Charts, 1950-1993 book states "If You Needed
Somebody" was on "Atco 98944" (a typo???)."
Yes, 98944 was actually the stock number for Holy Water,
the single issued before If You Needed Somebody.
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80smusicfreak
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| Posted: 08 June 2016 at 8:25am | IP Logged
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Glenpwood wrote:
"To further muddy the waters, Pat's original Cash Box Pop Singles Charts, 1950-1993 book states "If You Needed Somebody" was on "Atco 98944" (a typo???)."
Yes, 98944 was actually the stock number for Holy Water, the single issued before If You Needed Somebody. |
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True, as my research also revealed - but I believe that's more likely a coincidence, as "Holy Water" failed to crack the top 100 at all in Cash Box (although it did squeak in at #89 in Billboard)...
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Paul Haney
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| Posted: 09 June 2016 at 8:45am | IP Logged
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Our commercial cassette single (bought at the time it debuted on the Hot 100) is numbered 98914 with "Dead Of Night" as the B-side.
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80smusicfreak
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| Posted: 09 June 2016 at 3:53pm | IP Logged
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Paul Haney wrote:
| Our commercial cassette single (bought at the time it debuted on the Hot 100) is numbered 98914 with "Dead Of Night" as the B-side. |
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Thanks, Paul - very interesting! Whitburn definitely has the rarer of the two versions issued (even if it was shown on the "Hot 100" for 13 weeks vs. only 11 for Atco 98872)...
Now that you've confirmed that Atco 98914 does exist, a few questions, if I may:
1) Is the artwork on the front of the cardboard sleeve identical to or different from Atco 98872??? (See link in my previous post to photos on eBay...)
2) At this time, Pat's db implies that the LP & 45 versions of "If You Needed Somebody" were the same, clocking in at (4:20). Since it's apparently pretty difficult to find, would you be kind enough to check Whitburn's copy of Atco 98914, and let us know if it's identical to the LP version, including the actual running time???
3) As asked in my previous post, is it too late to get this newly-uncovered info about the second release on Atco 98872 (inc. its different B-side) into the upcoming 15th edition of Top Pop Singles as a footnote??? :-)
Still hoping edtop40 (or someone else here) has Atco 98872, and can report if the A-side is the (4:20) LP version, or perhaps a different length/mix??? Thanks in advance...
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Paul Haney
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| Posted: 11 June 2016 at 9:31am | IP Logged
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80smusicfreak wrote:
Thanks, Paul - very interesting! Whitburn definitely has the rarer of the two versions issued (even if it was shown on the "Hot 100" for 13 weeks vs. only 11 for Atco 98872)...
Now that you've confirmed that Atco 98914 does exist, a few questions, if I may:
1) Is the artwork on the front of the cardboard sleeve identical to or different from Atco 98872??? (See link in my previous post to photos on eBay...)
2) At this time, Pat's db implies that the LP & 45 versions of "If You Needed Somebody" were the same, clocking in at (4:20). Since it's apparently pretty difficult to find, would you be kind enough to check Whitburn's copy of Atco 98914, and let us know if it's identical to the LP version, including the actual running time???
3) As asked in my previous post, is it too late to get this newly-uncovered info about the second release on Atco 98872 (inc. its different B-side) into the upcoming 15th edition of Top Pop Singles as a footnote??? :-)
Still hoping edtop40 (or someone else here) has Atco 98872, and can report if the A-side is the (4:20) LP version, or perhaps a different length/mix??? Thanks in advance... |
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1. Yes, the box artwork is identical, back and front (except for the B-side title, of course).
2. I got an actual running time of (4:20), so it does match the album version.
3. Yes, too late to go in this edition. However, I'll add a note for the next one.
Edited by Paul Haney on 11 June 2016 at 9:32am
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80smusicfreak
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| Posted: 12 June 2016 at 12:44pm | IP Logged
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Thanks for the details, Paul! Good to know that the footnote will still be added regardless, even if it just missed making it into the upcoming 15th edition...
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Top 40 Music on Compact Disc : Chat Board
Topic: Bad Company - "If You Needed Somebody"
