I have played some dream songs in this series before, but as that was nearly five years ago and there are so many of them I thought I’d take it for another spin. Last time, it was in the very early days of Tuesday Tunes and I only played three songs: in my usual unimaginative way I’m playing two of those again today with three others. And I have loads more so this may well become one of my mini-series – don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Let’s get things going with a bit of a blast, shall we:

I’m sure you recognised The Eurythmics and Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This. It was the title track of their second album, which was released in January 1983 and reached #3 in the UK, #6 in Canada and #15 in the US. Three of its tracks were released as singles before the album came out, with fairly moderate success, but this was the fourth, following two weeks after the album, and was the one with which they hit the big time. It got to #1 in both the US and Canada, and #2 in the UK, selling more than 1.8m copies in the UK and 1m in the US. And I love the video, though I wouldn’t have wanted the job of cleaning the studio floor afterwards!

That was one of the two I played last time, and this is the other:

Dreaming was the lead single from Blondie’s fourth album, Eat To The Beat: both were released in September 1979. It continued their habit of doing better in the UK charts than in their native USA: the single reached #2 here, but only #27 over there, and the same was true for the album, which got to #1 here but only made #17 in the US. I’ve always found that pattern strange, but it wasn’t the first (or last) time that we’ve picked up on someone sooner. The same is true in reverse too, in many cases. Weird thing, taste, isn’t it?

A footnote to this is a comment on the wonderful drumming on this song by Clem Burke, whose death was announced today. It’s always a sad occasion when we lose a great musician.

Now for some that I didn’t play in the previous dream post. You probably knew both of the first two and I think you’ll probably know the remaining three as well. Like this one:

I have actually played The Mamas and Papas with this one for a different theme but it fits in well here too, so you’re getting it again! They were only together for a few years, from 1965 to 1968, and then again for a brief reunion in 1971. They made five albums and quite a few singles in that time, however. California Dreaming was a single in December 1965, and was later included on their debut album, If You Can Believe Your Eyes And Ears, which came out in February 1966. The single peaked at #4 in the US and #9 in the UK, while the album went to #1 in the US and #3 in the UK. They had several more big hits, including the follow up to this one: Monday Monday (US #1, UK #3). Their lives were complicated but their music wasn’t: beautiful melodies and harmonies were their trademark, and they are still good to hear today.

I have played several songs by The Lovin’ Spoonful before but, oddly enough, not this one, which was their biggest UK hit:

Daydream was released as a single in the US in February 1966, and in April in the UK, and peaked at #2 in both countries, though it got to #1 in Canada and also on the ‘other’ US chart, the Cashbox one. It was also the title track of the band’s second album, which came out in March 1966, reaching #10 in the US and #8 in the UK. It’s one I’ve always liked, and I loved the band much more than my fellow Brits seemed to do: they didn’t enjoy anywhere near the same level of success here that they did over there, but I had a couple of their albums and played them to bits. For some reason I never understood, their UK record company insisted on putting most of their music out on 4 track EPs, which I think must have harmed their chart chances. They must have had their reasons, but I don’t think they did the band any favours!

I’m closing today with another belter, and another that I have loved since I first bought the album all those years ago:

I’ve only ever played one Supertramp song before – Breakfast In America – so I think they are long overdue a second appearance. Dreamer was a track on their third album, Crime Of The Century, which was released in October 1974, reaching #4 in the UK and Canada, and #38 in the US. The song was released as a single in November 1974, and peaked at #13 in the UK and at #75 in Canada. In the US they flipped the single over to its B-side, which became the chart entry at #35 – when you have a song titled Bloody Well Right people tend to notice! The B-side also got a separate chart placing of its own in Canada, at #49. We had many of their albums, as they appealed to both my and my wife’s musical tastes: not something which often happened!

That’s all for today, though as I said at the outset I think you may be seeing this theme again: it is too good just to do once! I already have enough on my list for two more posts, but if anyone feels like adding to it suggestions are welcome in the comments. Have a good week, and if you have the same good weather that we are currently enjoying keep your fingers crossed that it lasts – I’ve just seen a news report that says that parts of the UK may be getting snow next week! White Easter, anyone?

I’ll see you again in a couple of days – it will be music (of course) but a slightly different angle. See you there? Take care 😊🎶