Keeping to my self-appointed rule of not going beyond three posts for a mini-series within Tuesday Tunes this will be my last set of fire songs for now. I’ve played some favourites over the past two weeks and still have several more up my sleeve, so I’m rounding this off with a six-pack of tunes, as I didn’t want to leave any of these out. Three have been suggested by you guys across the two previous posts, but they were all on my list anyway!

Let’s get started with the one without which no fire series would be complete:

The Crazy World of Arthur Brown  with his big hit, Fire. Somehow I don’t think Health and Safety would allow him to perform like that these days! This was released in June 1968 in the UK, and in September in the US. It reached #1 in the UK and Canada, and #2 in the US. The band’s self-titled debut album got to #2 in the UK and #7 in the US, largely on the strength of this song’s performance as a single. I would say that this is the archetypal one-hit wonder, were it not for the fact that the follow up single made it all the way to #56 in the UK chart. I guess there really was no chance of really following up something as utterly bonkers as this, though. Arthur Brown wore that flaming headdress on stage for live performances, and somehow the BBC let him get away with it for his Top Of The Pops appearances! A bit of trivia for you: the song was co-written with Vincent Crane, who played the organ that drives it and composed the orchestral background bits. You may know him from his time with Atomic Rooster (a great band who I saw live, and his stage presence was mesmeric).

Arthur was one of those which was suggested for me, as was this next one. I’ve played them both before, but they are worth hearing again:

Fire And Ice was the lead single from Pat Benatar’s third album, Precious Time, released in July 1981. The album was a US #1, and reached #30 in the UK. As a single, this track got to #17 in the US but didn’t chart in the UK. Looking back over her career she hasn’t ever done that well in our charts, which I’ve always found surprising: there’s just no accounting for taste, is there? If I’m honest, this isn’t my favourite of her songs (that would be Hit Me With Your Best Shot) but it is still a great song and I think we in the UK undervalued it – and her.

As far as I can tell I’ve only ever played this next one once, back in 2019, so I think it is long overdue a reprise. It is The Boss, after all!

As you probably don’t need me to tell you, Bruce Springsteen released I’m On Fire on his magnum opus, the Born In The U.S.A. album, in June 1984. This went to #1 in the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Norway, The Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and Zimbabwe, and made #2 in several other countries. It has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, including 17 million in the US (17x Platinum) and 1.2 million in the UK (3x Platinum). I’m On Fire was the fourth single taken from the album, in February 1985, and peaked at #6 in the US and at #5 in the UK, where it was a double A-side with Born In The U.S.A. He was on something of a roll at the time, and while it still sounds fresh to my ears today it is a terrifying thought that this was forty years ago! The single sold 2 million in the US (2x Platinum) and 600,000 in the UK (Platinum). The video was filmed in March 1985, directed by John Sayles, began airing in mid-April and  received extensive MTV airplay, and later in the year won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video. In answer to the question I’m sure you are asking, I can’t find anything that says who the lady with the lovely legs and hands was, though. Apparently she was a model hired especially for the role, though the voice is Maggie Renzi, an actress, co-producer of the video and John Sayles’ partner.

While I’m in rock mode I thought I’d play one that is new to my blog:

Fireball was the title track of Deep Purple’s fifth album, which was released in July 1971 in the US and in September in the UK and Europe, and got to #1 in the UK, Austria, Germany, Norway and Sweden, did well across most of the rest of Europe, made #5 in Australia and #32 in the US. This track was released as a single in October 1971, but only reached #15 in the UK and didn’t chart at all in the US – I think we saw them as an albums band!

You probably wouldn’t have been able to spot the lead guitarist in that video, but if not, never fear – here he is again:

That was Blackmore’s Night with Fires At Midnight. As you might have guessed the band is partially fronted by a certain Ritchie Blackmore. It is a British-American traditional folk rock band formed in 1997, consisting mainly of Ritchie on guitars, hurdygurdy, mandola, mandolin, and nyckelharpe, and of Candice Night on lead vocals and woodwinds. Their lineup has seen many changes over the years, but they are still releasing albums – their latest came out in March 2021, although there has since been a 25th anniversary re-release of the album for which this was the title track. Their lovely music is a million miles away from Ritchie’s days in Deep Purple and Rainbow. Despite the twenty-six year age difference between them (he is now 80, she is 54) the two were married in 2008, having been together for twenty years, since a year or two after they first met: she approached him for an autograph at a Rainbow gig and the rest, as they say, is history. Fires At Midnight was their third album, released in July 2001: it reached #138 in the UK but did best in Germany, where it peaked at #9. And before anyone tells me, yes, I know they can’t count: that 25th anniversary re-release came out last year, which by my reckoning makes it two years early! By the way, this was the third song to be suggested: if I hadn’t played it Carolyn would have been very upset with me, I’m sure!

Having already played a Bruce Springsteen song today I thought I’d close with another, but not by him:

The Pointer Sisters released their version of Fire as a single at the beginning of October 1978, and then as a track on their fifth album, Energy, later that month. The sisters were Anita, Ruth and June, and it was Anita who sang lead on this. The single was a massive hit, peaking at #2 in the US – allegedly annoying The Boss, who at that time had yet to achieve a similar chart placing for one of his own singles. It also reached #34 in the UK. The album was also a US hit, where it got to #13, and made #9 in Canada but didn’t trouble the UK charts. It also included their cover of Dirty Work, one of my favourite Steely Dan songs. In the interests of research I sought this out and strongly recommend that you don’t – not a patch on the original!

That’s it, for now, for fire songs, and I hope you’ve enjoyed not just today’s selection but also the full set. I now have to think of a new theme for next Tuesday, which will be a one-off, as the following week sees the advent of December and my seasonal tunes bonanza.

I will, as ever, see you again in a couple of days. Until then, I hope you have an enjoyable week. Take care 👍