Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Smokie

Artist: Smokie
LP: Bright Lights & Back Alleys
Song: "Needles and Pins"
[ listen ]

Essence, The Four Corners, The Yen, Kindness, The Sphynx and The Elizabethans were all names this British rock band performed under before finally settling on Smokey in 1974. (They switched it to Smokie in 1975 after being threatened with legal action by Smokey Robinson.) The group had a few hit singles in several European countries—they were particularly popular in Scandinavia for some reason. Yet major success in the USA evaded Smokie; "Needles and Pins" was their second most popular hit on these shores, peaking only at #68. I found this copy of their 1977 "Bright Lights & Back Alleys" LP at Vinyl Envy in Victoria while taking refuge from an end-of-year rainstorm.

[ Vinyl Envy — Victoria, BC, Canada ]

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