As his post Spice it Up tells us, Jim is asking us to play a song that mentions a spice for this week’s Song Lyric Sunday. We had a similar theme a couple of years back, and again a couple of weeks ago. That time I played one of the two I had previously featured, and I’m playing you the other today. I also have a couple of other spice songs for you – no, not that godawful bunch of squawkers!

This is the one I have played before, though the video is showing some signs of its age:

Not that you really need them, but here are the lyrics from genius.com.

That was, of course, The Searchers with Sugar And Spice, which was released in October 1963, and was their second big UK hit of the year, getting to #2 in our charts, and making #44 in the US. It followed the success of their debut single, Sweets For My Sweet, which got to #1 here, and which I played a couple of weeks ago. This song was written by their producer, Tony Hatch, and he followed a template from their first hit: it worked then, so why not repeat a winning formula? He presented the song to the band under the pseudonym of ‘Fred Nightingale’ as he was dubious about their response if they knew it was written by their record producer. The first line of the chorus,”Sugar and spice and all things nice,” references the nursery rhyme What Are Little Boys Made Of? while the following line is the title of a well-known Pete Seeger/Lee Hays composition from 1950, Kisses Sweeter than Wine. Hatch went on to have a prolific songwriting career, both on his own and then with Jackie Trent, who he later married. Among a massive list of artists for whom they wrote one of the best known is probably Petula Clark who, with Hatch’s help, had a string of 1960s hits, including the real biggie: Downtown. He and Jackie also wrote the theme tune for the Australian tv soap show Neighbours, which was once voted the world’s most recognised television theme song (don’t ask, I’ve no idea where that vote was!)

My other two songs for today both feature the same spice – cinnamon. It would have been far too easy for me to play the obvious one – Neil Young – so instead I’m going with a couple of indie songs from Manchester bands. One is nearly forty years old, the other is much more recent. This is the oldie:

That was The Stone Roses, with Sally Cinnamon. And here are the lyrics, again from genius.com, which tell a story of unreciprocated love, initially framed as a tribute to Sally Cinnamon before the final verses reveal that Sally herself is in love with another woman.

The Stone Roses were an English band formed in Manchester in 1983, and were one of the pioneering groups of the ‘Madchester’ movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band’s classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist Ian Brown, guitarist John Squire, bassist Gary “Mani” Mounfield and drummer Alan “Reni” Wren. They only released two albums in their time: the eponymous debut in 1989 (UK #5, US #86, and 1994’s Second Coming (UK #4, US #47). Sally Cinnamon didn’t feature on either, as it had been released as a non-album single in May 1987. The single entered the UK Indie Chart in June 1987, spending thirty-nine weeks there in total, peaking at #3. It was re-released in 1989, and this time squeezed into the main UK Singles Chart, where it spent seven weeks, peaking at #46. Like most of their songs it was written by Ian Brown and John Squire.

When the single was re-released by their record label boss, Paul Birch, the band objected to a promotional video made without their involvement (the one I’m playing), with Ian Brown calling it “insulting”. On 30 January 1990, while travelling to Rockfield Studios in Wales, the band visited record company headquarters in Wolverhampton and threw paint over Birch, his wife, the offices, and several cars, as well as causing further damage to the property. John Squire later stated that the stunt had been his idea. After leaving Wolverhampton, the band continued to Rockfield Studios, where they recorded Something’s Burning, later released as the B-side to their next single, One Love. The following day, they were arrested and several months later appeared at Wolverhampton Magistrates’ Court charged with criminal damage estimated at £10,000, escaping with fines rather than prison sentences. 

A different kind of drama with this next band, and a much more recent song. It is an album track, so it is an audio-only clip, but my site checker tells me it is unrestricted (fingers crossed!):

Blossoms, with Cinnamon, and here are the lyrics – genius.com again. They are an indie rock band from Stockport, in Greater Manchester. Formed in 2013, the band consists of Tom Ogden (lead vocals, guitar), Charlie Salt (bass guitar, backing vocals), Josh Dewhurst (lead guitar, percussion), Joe Donovan (drums) and Myles Kellock (keyboards, synthesizer). To date they have released five albums, four of which have made #1 in the UK, the other having to make do with a paltry #4 placing! 

Cinnamon is a track from the band’s most recent album, Gary, which was released in September 2024 and, as I said, went to #1 in the UK. The song was credited to all five band members, as is most of what they do, and I rather like their almost retro style of jangly guitars. If you’re wondering where they found their inspiration for the album’s title, it is named after a fibreglass gorilla statue of the same name, which was stolen from a garden centre in Lanarkshire, Scotland in 2023. A rather unusual attribution, but one that endears them to me for their sense of humour. The title track of the album tells the tale of the theft, and to the band Gary has now become muse and mascot, spirit animal and their unofficial sixth member. Both the song and the replica of Gary that the group have taken on tour are fan favourites. I’m sure you’re itching to know what became of Gary, right? Well, road workers found his rear half dumped in a bush along the A92 near Dundee in March 2024, about a year after it was stolen. The front half is still missing, sadly. The recovered portion was returned to the garden centre owner, Andrew Scott, who placed it in their indoor jungle display. It’s still a fun song and a good album, though, as Cinnamon shows.

That’s all for today, and I can assure you that I had no idea that I’d have been waffling on about an 8ft tall fibreglass gorilla when I started writing this. Normal service will be resumed for Tuesday Tunes, which will be a gorilla-free zone. My thanks as always to Jim for hosting the show, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day 😊