It is that time of year when schools break for summer – in the northern hemisphere, that is – and we will soon be seeing all those stories in the media of cancelled flights, huge queues at ferry ports, plus the added bonus this year with the current global heatwave of tales of people cooking themselves. I can’t get out so I’ll be watching it all from the comfort of home, but it did make me think that I should really give you a week of suitable songs for the theme of holiday. This week’s set of five has two with holiday in their title, another with the American alternative, and there are a couple which show us the delights of enjoying a break.

Even if they usually use a word which makes me think of emptying the bowels, it appears that the Yanks do know the proper word for this, as evidenced in my first song:

Green Day had enjoyed much success with their previous albums, but it was the release of their seventh, American Idiot, in September 2004 which took them to new heights. It reached #1 in the US, the UK, Australia, Canada and several other countries, and has sold more than 16m copies worldwide. 6.2m of those were in the US, where it went 6xPlatinum, and 2.4m here in the UK, which earned it 8xPlatinum status. It is a great rock album, and is one that I still enjoy hearing today – though it rather frightens me that it is nearly twenty years old! Holiday was the third single taken from it, in March 2005, peaking at #19 in the US and #11 in the UK. It is one of two overtly political songs on the album, and takes aim at American conservatism. Billie Joe Armstrong felt that Republican politicians were “strategic” in alienating one group of people – for example, the gay community – in order to buy the votes of another. He later characterised the song as an outspoken “fuck you” to then-President George W. Bush. Maybe not the jaunty little number about being on holiday that you first thought? But still very relevant today.

Next up is the one which uses the American word, but don’t hold that against it, Brit readers: it is a fun song and who wouldn’t want to watch Belinda Carlisle? This is The Go-Go’s on Vacation:

The Go-Go’s formed in 1978, an all female new wave band from Los Angeles. Their first album, of the five they made, was Beauty And The Beat, which was released in July 1981 and topped the US charts, though it wasn’t a hit in the UK. Vacation was the title track of their second album, released in July 1982, which made #8 in the US and #75 in the UK – their only albums chart placing here. This track was released as a single to coincide with the album, and matched its performance by making #8 in the US, though again it didn’t make the UK charts. I always liked them: I thought they were fun, but somehow they just didn’t appeal to the record-buying public here. Their status in the US was greater, however, and they were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2021. For my thoughts on the Hall of Shame see Sunday’s post!

The next two are the ones which are about things we get up to on holiday without actually using the word. The first is from a favourite singer-songwriter of mine, who I have played several times before, but not this song, which is one of her early ones:

I’ve played songs by Sarah Darling in both May and June, so I might as well go for three in a row! Little Umbrellas was a non-album single released in June 2013. It didn’t make the charts, and probably wasn’t helped by Sarah releasing it independently as she had recently left her record company. I’ve always enjoyed this song, and the video is charming and so much fun, really bringing out that holiday feel. In case you missed it, this is what I said about Sarah by way of background when I last played her: “She has had very little chart success, which I think is a real shame, but her strength lies in touring and gaining steady sales on the back of that. She has played concerts in many countries, and for her – and us – the UK is a particular favourite: she speaks of this as being like her second home, and this was perhaps reflected in her 2019 album Wonderland reaching #1 in the UK Country chart. She was one of the artists who maintained a presence during the pandemic lockdown days, with regular shows from her home accompanied on occasion by Welly, her adorable dog. Those Sunday afternoons were a highlight of my weeks.”

This next one will probably be much more familiar to you:

Sheryl Crow released Soak Up The Sun as a single in February 2002, ahead of its inclusion on her album C’mon C’mon in April of that year. The single peaked at #17 in the US and #16 in the UK – maybe it should have come out in the summer? The album did much better, though, reaching #2 in both the US and the UK. I’ve always liked Sheryl’s records since she first burst onto the scene with Tuesday Night Music Club, and she has continued to give me music I enjoy: her most recent album, Threads, which came out in August 2019, is a series of collaborations with a wide range of artists, and there are some real gems on it.

For today’s final song I’m going back to one with holiday in its title. This is probably an obvious choice for me, but what the heck, I’m going there anyway:

10CC released Dreadlock Holiday as a single in July 1978. This is what Wikipedia says about it: “The song was based on real events Eric Stewart and Moody Blues vocalist Justin Hayward experienced in Barbados; and Graham Gouldman experienced in Jamaica. Gouldman commented: “Some of the experiences that are mentioned are true, and some of them are … fairly true!” Stewart recalled seeing a white guy “trying to be cool and he looked so naff” walking into a group of Afro-Caribbeans and being reprimanded, which became the lyric “Don’t you walk through my words, you got to show some respect.” Another lyric came from a conversation Gouldman had with a Jamaican, who when asked if he liked cricket replied, “No, I love it!”. It reached #1 in the UK and #44 in the US – presumably they needed a better understanding of cricket back then, though they are about to be introduced to it ahead of being one of the co-hosts of next year’s T20 World Cup. I guess stranger things have happened. The track was also the opener for 10cc’s album Bloody Tourists, which came out in September 1978, peaking at #3 in the UK and Australia, at #2 in New Zealand, but only #69 in the US. Maybe they can re-release it next year over there?

That’s all for now. If you are on holiday or looking forward to one, I hope you have a great time, even if it is ridiculously hot. Here in the UK we are currently enjoying our usual summer: dull days, with some rain, and not especially hot. Maybe Brexit has meant that we don’t share in Europe’s weather any more? If so, it would be the first benefit that any of us could see from it! Have a great week, however you are spending it 😎