Union Express (pop band)

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Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Singles
Ring a Ring of Roses
  DE 11 December 13, 1971 (20 weeks)

Union Express was a British pop band from the early 1970s. She was best known for her hit Ring a Ring of Roses , an adaptation of the counting rhyme and folk song of the same name . As part of the British team, the band won the Knokke Song Festival in 1972 .

Band history

Were founded Union Express in 1970 by songwriter and producer Paul Curtis , who previously in the bands Western Union and The Starlights played and sang. The two other Starlights singers, Dave Gibson and Steve Fearnley, also joined the new formation. In addition there were the members of the band The Highlights , the twin sisters Jean and Gloria Harrison as well as guitarist John Booth and drummer Paul Zubine. Usually only the three singers and two singers were presented in photos. Hazell Dean was part of the band on a tour in Spain . Contemporaries compared the performances of Union Express with those of the New Seekers formation, which was far more successful at the time . The US magazine Billboard certified the band as "experienced bubblegum ".

In March 1971 the band released their first single, Get My Wheels A-Rollin ' . However, Union Express only became known after the band had participated in Radio Luxembourg's Grand Prix RTL International in October 1971 . With their song Ring a Ring of Roses - a traditional , adapted by Paul Curtis and produced by John Goodison, with whom Davis had already worked at Western Union - Union Express took second place behind Miguel Ríos , who with the song Sunshine and Rainbow for Germany had started. As a result, Ring a Ring of Roses became a hit in Germany, was listed in the charts for 20 weeks and reached eleventh place as the highest position. On January 15, 1972 Union Express appeared with the hit on the ZDF music show disco '72 .

In July 1972 Union Express participated in the Knokke Song Festival . The band won the British team singing competition with singer Penny Lane and singer Malcolm Roberts . In the finale they performed again Ring a Ring of Roses and Sugar Honey , released as a single in September 1972 . In the end, the British had a lead of 22 points over the local artists. In October of that year Union Express returned to Belgium for several concert appearances.

Wencke Myhre followed - under her real name, Wenche Myhre - on the success of Ring a Ring of Roses and published a Norwegian version (Jeg og du og vi to) ; in her home country she had a number one hit. Sheila McKinlay sang a German version (Ringel Rangel Rosen) .

Union Express released other singles and an album, but they did not produce any more hits. Paul Curtis left the band and from then on devoted himself to songwriting; He had several successes with songs for the Eurovision Song Contest , including Let Me Be the One from the Shadows and Love Games from Belle and the Devotions . Without him the story of Union Express ended shortly afterwards ; some of the band members continued in the cabaret formation Pinocchio .

Discography

Albums

  • 1972: Ring a Ring of Roses Happy Song

Singles

  • 1971: Get My Wheels A-Rollin ' / One Good Reason
  • 1971: Ring a Ring of Roses / Emily Knows
  • 1972: Happy Song / Wish I Was Home Again
  • 1972: Sugar Honey / Taking the Road to Freedom
  • 1972: Oh, Baby (Don't Make Me Wait) / Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo
  • 1973: Do You Love Me? / Alligator Fix

Web links

Notes and evidence

  1. ↑ Charts DE
  2. ↑ A. vd H., Engelse ploeg wint in Knokke , Leidse Courant of July 12, 1972
  3. ↑ In the mid-1960s, Rick Parfitt also belonged to the formation The Highlights , cf. Dave Wilson, Rock Formations: Categorical Answers to How Band Names Were Formed , Entry Status Quo , p. 98; at Google books
  4. ↑ Hazell Dean Biography ( Memento of the original from March 1, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the Always Hazell Dean fansite @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.alwayshazelldean.com
  5. ↑ Nederland is in Knokke al uitgeschakeld , Leidsch Dagblad of July 10, 1972, p. 5
  6. ↑ "[…] the slick bubblegum of Union Express […]" , Britain Wins Belgium Song Contest; Totals 256 Points , Billboard July 29, 1972, p. 47; at Google books
  7. ↑ Occasionally the title appears as Ring a Ring a Roses , cf. Label photo at 45cat
  8. ↑ Knowing You Are There , Western Union single on 45cat
  9. ↑ Ring a Ring of Roses , listing at Chartsurfer.de
  10. ↑ List of artists of the show at zdf.de
  11. ^ Britain Wins Belgium Song Contest; Totals 256 Points , Billboard July 29, 1972, p. 47; at Google books
  12. ↑ Agenda des concerts rock en Belgique, année 1972 , website Memoire Rock 60/70 , viewed on March 9, 2015
  13. ↑ Jeg og du og vi to , entry at chartsurfer.de
  14. ↑ Entry Ringel Rangel Rosen at Discogs
  15. ↑ Strictly speaking, these recordings are not cover versions of the Union Express hit, as the composition is based on a traditional; therefore Paul Curtis is not named as composer or lyricist for either song.
  16. ↑ Let me Be the One , entry at Allmusic
  17. ^ Love Games , entry at Discogs.com