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Soap Singles and Albums: From Coronation Street to Crossroads

Soap Singles and Albums: From Coronation Street to Crossroads

As Coronation Street’s 50th anniversary nears, music forms part of the celebration as our TV Critic Vivian Summers ponders in this part feature, part opinion point.

As Coronation Street’s 50th anniversary nears, ITV has turned into a somewhat tacky Blackpool novelty shop piled high with bargain basement Corrie memorabilia – writes TV Critic Vivian Summers. One such item is a new album of Corrie related songs. It reminded me there has been many a soap song over the years. I’ve taken a look back at other soapy musical melodies, from Crossroads to EastEnders, Emmerdale to Eldorado.

All soaps have had their theme tunes released at one time or another, so I’m not counting the regular themes in this musical wander down soap opera lane.

Music released thanks to the success of Coronation Street goes back as far as early in 1962 – although it wasn’t until 1963 that the Granada soap had a ‘pop release’. The first notable release was endorsing Corrie’s gritty urban setting with Pat Phoenix singing along with a howlng pub backing in a North-west knees-up on the Rovers Chorus.

Sing-a-long Weatherfield style proved a vinyl success in the early 1960s.

The first Weatherfield pop sensation was window-cleaner turned singer Walter Potts – played by actor Chris Sanford. In the serial Potts was discovered and transformed into Brett Falcon. The storyline hit a high note with viewers and it wasn’t long before Stanford himself was the pop sensation. The song from the show Not Too Little, Not Too Much charted in the top 20 at number 17. It was also at this time rumours The Beatles were to appear on Coronation Street were rife. Not to miss out on a publicity stunt Granada bosses arranged for their young pop star to be photographed performing alongside the fab four.

In the end The Beatles tour schedule prohibited them from starring in the show, although Paul McCartney had a brush with soap some years later when he re-recorded the Crossroads theme tune for the Midland saga.

In 1969 the first Coronation Street music album hit the Woolies store shelves and flew off, straight into the bargain basement reduced to clear. Entitled Singalong At The Rovers Return the album contained the regulars of Weatherfield romping through jolly medleys of popular pub songs to the backing of the Derek Hilton Orchestra.

A couple of the short-term street residents try their luck with the music charts, all failing abysmally. First Ena Sharples – a respected musician in her own right long before Corrie – was a tedious link to the album Ena Sharples Presents: The Lad From Coronation Street. The lad in question was Anthony Parsons played by David Hill.

Ena Sharples (right) with Minnie Caldwell had been impressed with Anthony’s performance on the organ.

In the storyline, Parsons had broken into the Glad Tidings Mission in order to play with Ena’s organ. Rather impressed with his talent she allowed him to continue. In 1970 Mickie Malone, played by Bill Maynard – who had become a regular face to ITV viewers in the North East on Tyne Tees’ One O’clock Show – performed a song within Coronation Street. Dreaming Time drifted into the shops but not into the charts.

If you thought Albert Tatlock wasn’t much of a fan of popular music then you’d be right. In 1971 a storyline involving a talent competition in the Rovers Return saw old Albert perform comedy monologues. It seems someone at Granada liked what they saw and it wasn’t long before Jack Howarth was recording monologues as himself. The finished result was the album Ow Do. But music lovers passed on the offer. The same could be said for the 1972 duet by Peter Adamson and Pat Phoenix. The Two Of Us was released as a blatant cash-in on the ‘on-off’ relations between their on screen characters of Len and Elsie. The only problem was neither actor or actress could sing particularly well.

The quality of Coronation Street music-related releases lifted greatly in 1973 when the wonderful voice of Barbara Knox (as Barbara Mullaney back in the day) was put down on vinyl. The Street Where I Live album is still popular with fans, so much so a petition to have it released on CD was launched a couple of years ago. Barbara, as newsagent Rita Sullivan, has performed within the show a couple of times since, notably for the 40th anniversary episode.

In 1986 Jenny Bradley (Sally Ann Matthews) gave us all a full rendition of What I Did For Love in the Graffiti Club in order to get onto Alec Gilroy’s agency. Alec (Roy Barraclough) was impressed but in-show is as far as it went.

The second Corrie album – entitled Coronation Street: The Album – was released in 1987. Unlike the previous attempt – the bar room howling – this was a fully fledged ‘proper’ album. A single was released to promote this venture. Numerous television programmes were subjected to Julie Goodyear singing These Boots Are Made For Walking. Not even the added bonus of a booklet containing Corrie photographs could get the album up the charts.

Rita Littlewood (left) with Dennis Tanner, during her first short appearance in 1964.

Not to give up in 1995 the cast were at it again with The Coronation Street Album. This time someone within the Granada merchandising realised they should maybe bring in professional singers to help get the CD off the shelves and into viewers homes. So alongside regulars such as Barbara Knox and Bill Tarmey singers such as Cliff Richard and Michael Ball perform. Just like the previous album a single was chosen to promote it, Amanda Barrie and Johnny Briggs’ version of Somethin’ Stupid was picked. It reached number 35.

Clearly the sound of a northern club singer blasting from the CD player is popular with Coronation Street fans as Bill Tarmey – cellarman Jack Duckworth – has released a number of albums in recent times. While supping on best bitter and eating a pea and pie supper you can enjoy Tarmey singing such classics as It’s Too Late and All Out Of Love. One thing you can be sure of about Tarmey’s albums is they’ll never be all out of stock – sorry cock.

To mark 50 years of Coronation Street the merchandising people at ITV have decided a sophisticated range of small-scale mementoes are not the way forward. Instead poor old Corrie is being flogged on any old tat to make a quick quid with a range of items that wouldn’t look out of place in a Blackpool novelty shop alongside the ‘amusing candy penises and fake boobs’. While its not prestigious, and it certainly lessens the dignity of 50 years, the new album appears to be at least the best of a pretty dire range.

Bet Gilroy gave us Boots that were made for walking in 1987.

The album is seemingly a preview of where shows such as Prisoner: Cell Block H have gone before – a stage musical. The tracks sound interesting, but not exactly accurate surely going from the track titles, but I’ll let you decide for yourselves on that when you pick up a copy to have a peruse over. The good news is the new album is only on sale in Tesco.

Of course it isn’t only Coronation Street that has been cause for musical delight and embarrassments over the years. All the soaps with high ratings and popular characters have seen records released. And you may be surprised to learn the other soaps have had far more chart success with records than the beloved Corrie.

Ironically it isn’t a big budget primetime soap that has had a great deal of success in the top 20. ITV’s low budget daily daytime serial Crossroads penetrated the charts several times across the years it was beating the grander evening shows in the ratings.

The first release directly related to Crossroads’ rating success in 1965 was from Ian Paterson who’s album of Scottish folk songs tied to the storyline that the leading family in the show were from North of the border. Ian played Andy Frazer in the show.

The cast of Crossroads in 1966 Marilyn (on the phone) had a hit within the show, while Sue Nicholls took it to the charts in real life.

In 1968 a storyline in the series saw gobby waitress Marilyn Gates perform a catchy little ditty in a nightclub. Marilyn – played by Sue Nicholls – shocked everyone; she could actually sing. ATV was inundated with requests for the track, and despite Crossroads only airing in a handful of ITV regions the song, by Tony Hatch, Where Will You Be? charted at number 17.

The show’s leading lady was former West End star Noele Gordon. She’d been laying down her vocals onto vinyl since the 1940s, and before Crossroads had been a popular presenter for ATV. In 1963 she sang on the Lunchbox album, which was a cash spin-off from her daily magazine, music and chat show. Soap wise it was 1972 when she first recorded a single. The song For My Daughter appears to be a publicity stunt to make money out of Noele being voted ITV Personality of the year.

In 1974 the serial had its first major hit when Simon May was hired by ATV to provide a string of chart hits for the soap. Born With A Smile On My Face was performed several times within the programme – which did wonders for its chart position – reaching number two. Sung by Stephanie De-Sykes who in the storyline was singer Holly Brown, who just happened to be hiding from the press and the world at the Crossroads Motel.

In 1975 Holly returned to sing a the wedding of Meg Richardson – played by Noele Gordon – and Hugh Mortimer – former Hollywood actor John Bentley. The song We’ll Find Our Day reached number 17 in the top 20.

Crossroads star Noele Gordon released several music-based tracks over her career before, during and after soap.

The marriage episode also saw a fully blown album released – The Crossroads Wedding Party – which was a mix of regular songs and cast singalongs, the latter in the vein of the Rovers Return rowdy pub medleys and equally as awful.

Simon May himself sung the next song for Crossroads. The Summer Of My Life was used around the storyline of one of the regular characters slowly going blind over several months of 1976. This song’s instrumental version was also used as a closing theme on certain episodes, which were heavy laden with the said plot. Again the fact the song appeared over a number of weeks in the soap saw the song reach number 7 in the hit parade.

In the same year Noele Gordon was invited by EMI to the Abbey Road studios to record an album in front of a live audience, Noele Gordon Sings. Noele’s voice was certainly never pop, and so this album concentrated on where her musical success had previously lay – in the theatre. The tracks are rather spoiled somewhat as the producer decided it wise to allow the audience to singalong with Noele! The backing was provided by Geoff Love and his orchestra, who were popular on vinyl back in the day.

It was a tragic storyline in 1977 which gave Crossroads its next chart hit. When village idiot Benny’s girlfriend Maureen died after a hit-and-run incident he decided the best way to deal with her death was to talk in monologue about their romance. Over her coma episodes during Christmas ’77 the instrumental version ended numerous episodes climaxing in the vocal version. Benny’s Theme – again by Simon May – with the Mayson Glen Orchestra reached 39 in the top 40. In 1980 Paul Henry, the actor behind Benny, tried to hit the charts again with Standing at the Crossroads. It didn’t chart.

Benny (left) with his beloved Diane, who probably could never bring herself to endure the full Benny’s Theme.

1981 was the next time Crossroads bothered the pop charts. Following a storyline which saw Kate Robbins’ character of Kate Lorig record a song within the series, ATV once again decided to release the track. It proved to be a wise move, it gave the show its second chart number two. More Than In Love was to be Simon May’s last song for the Midland series, and also Crossroads last entry into the charts.

Also in 1981 after Noele Gordon’s character was written out of the show she released a single After All These Years. It was an emotional and sentimental piece of warbling, which was highly un-cool in the 80s, so failed to hit the charts. Crossroads’ final release came in 1988, when the production company axed the show without telling their MD. He wasn’t too happy about it and the viewers weren’t on the farewell track either. Goodbye (the shows theme tune with lyrics) by Shona Lindsay wasn’t a good sale.

EastEnders has also had its fair share of success. And the link between the success? The man behind Crossroads’ chart entries – Simon May. It didn’t, however, start with a musical masterpiece.

Angie Watts, one of the big characters – with a big voice – in early EastEnders.

You’d think after the terrible Rovers Return singalong and the equally as bad Crossroads Motel singalong that EastEnders would have known better than to release an album containing the cast singing a medley of Cockney pub songs. But in 1986 they did just that. The EastEnders Singalong Album went the same as those before it – practically nowhere. The same year however did hold chart success for the Albert Square saga.

Anita Dobson as Angie Watts had fast become one of the much-loved characters in the show. Her alter ego Anita Dobson was therefore persuaded to record the show’s theme tune with lyrics. Anyone Can Fall In Love made it to number four.

EastEnders bosses then followed the format of ATV with the next chart success by featuring their next hit heavily in the show across a number of episodes. Every Loser Wins written by Simon May reached number one in UK charts after it was seen to be written in the show by barman Simon Wicks – played by Nick Berry.

The same principle was introduced in another storyline which saw several of the characters form a band and enter a music competition. Again a Simon May track was performed a number of times in the programme and ultimately released. Something Outa Nothing reached number 14. As part of EastEnders’ 25th anniversary, the song reappeared within the programme.

A cockney knees-up around the old ‘joanna, just what your gramophone was created for.

A number of the younger EastEnders cast have tried their hand at a pop career – without any actual involvement from the programme – throughout the 1990s chart attempts came from cast including Martine McCutcheon, Sid Owen, Sophie Lawrence and Michelle Gayle. It was also the 1990s when arguably the best vocal version of the theme tune was released. I’ll Always Believe In You by Sharon Benson was vastly superior to Anyone Can Fall In Love, but failed to catch on at the time and remains largely forgotten these days.

In 1999 to celebrate the wedding of characters Frank Butcher and Peggy Mitchell the duo united vocally when Mike Reid and Barbara Windsor teamed up to sing The More I See You. Reid had previously released a number of singles years before his time in the Walford set saga. Memorably – or maybe not – his version of the Ugly Duckling evokes memories of people rushing to turn off the radio.

To mark the 25th anniversary of EastEnders and the departure of the series’ matriarch Peggy Mitchell in 2010 an EP entitled EastEnders: Peggy’s Theme was released. The main track being a reworking of the shows’ ‘sad theme’ – especially for the farewell of Barbara Windsor’s character. A full album entitled The Simon May Collection also hit the stores as a tie-in to the recording. The latter album also includes tracks from other shows May has worked on including Howard’s Way and Crossroads.

No ugly duckling, Frank and Peggy had a wedding track for ‘Enders fans to buy.

Emmerdale hasn’t really bothered the pop charts over the years but there are a few notable musical moments. Firstly in 1990 mainstay actress in the show, Malandra Burrows – who played Kathy Tate – released a pop track Just This Side Of Love which peaked at number 11 in the hit parade. Malanda had been the youngest winner of ATV’s New Faces in 1974 as a child singer.

In 1996 a group of the actors from the soap got together to form The Woolpackers a country and western themed group. Hillbilly Rock, Hillbilly Roll reached number 5 in the charts. A follow up single also peaked at number 10.

A direct release from a storyline saw a modern take on the old Crossroads Benny’s Theme. Emmerdale’s village idiot Sam Dingle also lost his love in a tragic storyline full of emotion. This time however Sam – played by James Hooton – didn’t bother us with trying to sing. Instead a specially written track by Rob Ellis was played in the edition where his beloved Alice died of Cancer. The proceeds from the record, Easy Come Easy Go, were given to a Cancer charity.

Kathy was never known to sing around her diner, but Malandra Burrows fancied cooking up a single in the 1990s.

Eldorado wasn’t with us very long. But a year can seem an awfully long time in the world of television. To mark the demise of the Spanish-based sunshine soap the theme tune was released as a single with lyrics. When You Go Away by Johnny Griggs unfortunately just like the show sunk without trace – which is rare for a Simon May song.

There have also been the ‘almost but not quite’ soap songs. Back in the 1980s the Brookside theme with lyrics was recorded by Irish singer-turned-politician-turned-singer Dana. The appalling lyrics and sentimental tone of the track didn’t sit well with the hard hitting image of Channel 4’s flagship soap and so the single was canned. As a footnote for Brookside they did release a ‘protest’ song ‘Free George Jackson‘ which related to a storyline in the show at the time – but the record failed to trouble the top 40.

In more recent times ITV’s short-lived serial Night and Day almost made it to the charts, mainly thanks to the theme tune being sung by Australian pop babe Kylie Minogue. Always and Forever, however, wasn’t singled out for a single release when the LWT produced soap tanked in the ratings.

Do you remember any other soaptastic tunes? You can contact us with songs we’ve probably tried to forget, here.

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