Today marks another little milestone for Tuesday Tunes: this is #250 in the series. I thought about doing a post to celebrate, but I did that just over a month ago to mark the fifth anniversary of the first one, so that felt like a bit too soon to do it again! So I looked back through my notes and found a theme I had used before but for which I still had some others to play, and that seemed as good a way as any to bring up the 250. I have actually posted eight times previously for intros, in autumn 2023 and in spring last year, but there are just so many candidates for it! So, for post #250, the intros are back!

Three of today’s set of five are from bands I have played for their intros in earlier posts, but not with these songs. One of the others has been played for a different theme, and the other is making its debut here. So, are you sitting comfortably? Do you have the volume cranked up? Then let us begin:

For those who didn’t recognise it, or were unable to get through the flashing images on the video, that was, of course, Led Zeppelin with Immigrant Song, the opening track on Led Zeppelin III, which was released in October 1970 and reached #1 in both the UK and the US, as well as in Canada and Australia. Whilst you might think that this is related to modern day issues it was actually written about the Viking invasions of England in the Middle Ages, and was inspired by a short tour the band made in Iceland in June 1970. It was released as a single in the US and peaked at #16, and was the opening song for the band’s appearance at the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music and at subsequent gigs for the next two years. It was included in the 2003 movie School of Rock, after Jack Black made a short video with fans asking for permission for its use. The album has received numerous Platinum awards, notably six of them in the US for more than 6m sales, and also reached the mark in the UK, Australia (three of them), and elsewhere. As I have previously noted, the band refused to allow their songs to be released as singles in the UK, but this one did actually make the UK Singles Chart at #109 in 2007, thanks to digital downloads alone. Somehow, though, I can’t see the band allowing Nigel Farrago to use it as his walk-on music for his rallies.

A word of warning for this next one: don’t blink, or you’ll miss the intro. This is one of the most iconic one chord intros in the whole of popular music:

And they liked it so much that they gave it a reprise to end the song! That clip was, as it showed, a trailer for The Beatles’ first movie, A Hard Day’s Night. The album of the same name was their fourth in the US, released in June 1964, and their third in the UK, coming out a couple of weeks later. Of course, both versions made #1, as they also did in many other countries. As was usual at that time their record company buggered around with the tracks, which meant that N America got a 12 track album while the rest of the world enjoyed 13, and they shifted the order around, too. That doesn’t seem to have harmed its sales, though, as it went 4x platinum in the US and Platinum in both the UK and Canada. The single version came out in July 1964, making #1 in the UK, the US, and loads of other countries. The odd thing about this was that we got the movie first, in July to tie in with the album, but it didn’t come out until August in the US. I was just coming up to 11 at the time and have a vague recollection that this was the first time my parents had allowed me to see a movie on my own: they weren’t bad parents, it was just that times were different then and we all somehow felt safer!

I’ve played this next one before but, as I said, not for its intro. It’s a good one, though:

That was, of course, Golden Earring with Radar Love. They are a Dutch band, and had a massive hit single with this – #13 in the US and #7 here. The album it was on, Moontan, was released in 1973 and got to #12 in the US, but didn’t chart here – none of their albums ever have. I first heard the band in the late sixties on the pirate radio stations, which were by then largely under Dutch control, and wasn’t surprised when they produced something this good. I saw them play live at my uni, probably in early 1974, I think, and after they finished their set with this we were chanting for the usual encore, but they didn’t come out again. The Student Union Social Sec had the unenviable task of telling us that they couldn’t play any more as the lead guitarist, George Kooymans, had cut his hand. We demanded proof, so the poor guy had to come back on stage with blood dripping everywhere! It was still one of the best shows anyone had played in my days there, though: the things musicians have to go through for their art!

I promised you a first-timer today, and this is it:

The Psychedelic Furs with Pretty In Pink. Not the longest of intros, but when those guitars crash in I always know what’s coming. They are an English rock band founded in London in February 1977, and are led by lead vocalist Richard Butler and his brother Tim on bass guitar: one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene. The band had several hits in their early career, and in 1986 John Hughes used this song for his movie Pretty in Pink,  for obvious reasons! The band was active until 1992 but then went on hiatus. They got back together in 2000 and are still going strong, with the Butler brothers still to the forefront. This song was first released on their second album, Talk Talk Talk, in May 1981, which peaked at #30 in the UK and #89 in the US. It was released as a single at that time, getting to #43 in the UK but not charting anywhere else. They re-recorded it in 1986 for the movie, and a re-release as a single did rather better: #18 in the UK and #41 in the US. I always loved the song and felt it deserved better. The movie isn’t too shabby either.

I’m closing today with one of my favourite bands. As I said earlier, they have featured in this series before (twice), but with two different tracks. This is one of their most iconic:

For anyone who didn’t know, that was Pink Floyd and Money. Readers of my vintage, and rock music fans of any age, probably won’t need reminding that Pink Floyd released Money on their album Dark Side Of The Moon in March 1973. The album is one of the best sellers ever, though it bears the dubious distinction of being the biggest in the UK, with over 4.5m copies, that failed to ever reach #1 here, though it has spent 578 weeks in our charts. It peaked at #2, but topped the charts in the US and many other countries, selling over 45m copies worldwide. This track was released as a single a couple of times, making #13 in the US in 1973, and though it hasn’t ever made the UK singles chart it has still earned a Gold Disc for 200k sales.

After last week’s laid back selection of some little known songs I’ve gone back to the mainstream this week, and won’t be surprised if you knew all of these, apart from maybe one of them. And I’ve turned the volume up a bit too! I hope you enjoyed the tunes, and will have a good week. See you again soon 🎶