Chirpy chirpy cheep cheep - Middle of the road

Among my early memories of pop music I find this song, 'Chirpy chirpy cheep cheep' by Middle of the road. Which is odd, considering it was released when I was just a baby. All I know is that my older brother and sister were suitably impressed by this group and they must have played their copies of this single later on in the Seventies.

It took me a while, but I finally bought my own copy. It has to be said that I bought it along with a couple of other single I ordered online - but at the same time, I'm rather glad to have this song because it is a charming little pop song from (gulp) 51 years ago.

My collection: 7" single no. 6758
Found: Discogs.com, recieved 9 August 2022
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'Chirpy chirpy cheep cheep' / 'Rainin' 'n painin''

Samba d'amour - Middle of the Road

After having had eight hit singles in several countries between 1971 and 1973, 'Samba d'amour' was the first of four singles that was only successful in Germany.

'Samba d'amour' was released in the summer of 1973 as the only single from Middle of the Road's 1973 album 'Music music'. It was the group's first album on the Ariola label. Ariola did not have the rights to release material in the UK and so an arrangement was made with a local Scottish record company to distribute 'Music music'. It failed to attract national attention in the UK and was relegated to obscurity there.

My collection: 7" single no. 4691
Found: All that music, Leiden, March 13, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Samba d'amour' / 'Winter's sun'

Medley - Middle of the Road

In 1981, the Netherlands were gripped by the Stars on 45 phenomenon: a medley of songs by a famous band, for instance the Beatles, performed by session artists and set to an unimaginative disco beat.

This single, which I didn't know existed, uses the concept - but uses the original recordings by the Scottish band Middle of the Road. Dutch producer Piet Souer signed off on the production on this one (whereas the Stars on 45 records were produced by Jaap Eggermont!). The single did not chart. Nice try, goodbye!

My collection: 7" single no. 3880
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009
Cost: 0,25 euro
Tracks: 'Sacramento / Tweedle dee tweedle dum / Yellow boomerang / Chirpy, chirpy, cheep cheep /Soley Soley / Samson and Delilah' / 'Postcard'

Yellow boomerang - Middle of the Road

By 1973, the band Middle of the Road had stopped having hits in the UK. Their popularity remained unchanged on the European mainland. So much so, that the 1973 single 'Yellow boomerang' made it to number 2 in the Netherlands.

More singles followed, as well as a handful of albums, but by 1976 the musical landscape had changed and Middle of the Road eventually called it a day.

My collection: 7" single no. 3817
Found: La La Land, July 2, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Yellow boomerang' / 'Eve'

The talk of all the USA - Middle of the road

Remember what Alfred Hitchcock used to say; never give away the clue of a movie. With a song like 'The talk of all the USA' it's just the same. It's because of the clue of this song that it wasn't released in the UK, I suppose. The B-side of this single, 'Samson & Delilah' was a reasonable hit for the band in the UK, peaking at number 26.

Meanwhile, this single, which was released in the Netherlands, gave them a number 1 hit. Could it be because of the lyric? I have to say that the music is very memorable as well.

My collection: 7" single no. 2723

Found: September 2, 1996

Cost: 1 guilders

Tracks: 'The talk of all the USA' / 'Samson & Delilah'

Soley Soley - Middle of the road

Middle of the road had a top 5 hit in the UK in 1971 with 'Soley Soley'. The single did even better in the Netherlands, peaking at number 1. The single was also a huge hit in the Faroe Islands, where the name 'Sóley(ð/g)' is very popular as a girl's name and is pronounced the same way as this song's title.

I bought the single a few weeks ago already, but the sleeve proved to have the wrong disc in it. I usually check the disc, but you'll always find that the one time you forget to do it, you're a victim of a bad sale. Anyway, I found the correct sleeve ánd the correct disc this time around.

My collection: 7" single no. 3663

Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 18, 2009

Cost: 0,5 euro

Tracks: 'Soley Soley' / 'To remind me'

Sacramento - Middle of the Road

Sally Carr, Ken Andrew, Ian McCredie and Eric McCredie formed Middle of the Road on 1 April 1970 in Glasgow, Scotland. They had already played together under the name 'Part Three' since 1967 and later in Latin American style under the name Los Caracas. They moved to Italy later in 1970, because they hadn't found success in the UK. There they met producer Giacomo Tosti, who developed the sound that would make them famous.

'Sacramento' was Middle of the Road's fourth hit single, reaching number one in Germany, Switzerland, Norway and the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 3473

Found: Empire Records, Den Haag, December 11, 2008

Cost: 0,5 euro

Tracks: 'Sacramento' / 'Love sweet love'

Download: here