Great Steve Harley Songs that aren't 'Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me') - with Richard McCook

[@ashrobinson4604]

Nice tribute to a very talented man!

[@LloydBoonworldofmusic2]

Hi James and Richard, great video, it gives people like me who have only ever heard "make me smile". - Lloyd

[@matthewmedley8532]

Have to check some of these tracks out. Good video.

[@CookieMusic43]

Hi James, I really enjoyed doing this, it was a great idea. Thanks for having me on to discuss this great artist.

[@flashgordonsonerecordatati7591]

Great job guys! Very sad to hear of his passing. 😢 You guys know your music. Love the VC community. Cheers from over the pond. Flash

[@CookieMusic43]

@@flashgordonsonerecordatati7591 Thanks!

[@jamesgriffithsmusic]

Thanks Richard, it was fun doing this yet sad.

[@jamesgriffithsmusic]

Thanks Flash!

[@stepheng1690]

Great video guys & as I lifelong Steve Harley fan I was devastated when he passed last week & in my humble opinion his debut single Sebastian is his greatest ever song & in fact one of the greatest 1970s songs ever....

[@jamesgriffithsmusic]

Thanks Stephen. I nearly picked Sebastian but I wanted to go for lesser known stuff. Richard couldn't have it as he wasn't allowing himself any singles.

[@paulcurrant8177]

Speaking as someone who bought Psychomodo the year it came out (I was two years old, of course) it’s hard to beat any of the tracks. All way better than Make me Smile for me. Bed in the Corner, Psychomodo, Sweet Dreams, Ritz, Cavaliers, Tumbling Down, Singular Band all I still listen to. And then came Mad Mad Moonlight , Mr. Raffles, It Wasn’t Me, Panorama. Favourite of all his songs has to be Mr. Soft. And here’s the amazing story, one day in 1974 I turned on Radio 1 eight times and each time the first song was Mr. Soft. This must be a movie. At the same time, I am guilty of just following artists when they are big and should really do better than that. Will definitely check out later stuff. Another great vid, JG and RC.

[@jamesgriffithsmusic]

Thanks Paul! Shame we didn't mention Mr Soft, another excellent song, as are those others you mentioned.

[@vinylmartini3377]

Hey James and Richard. I’m just getting into Harley and Rebel in the last year or so. They’re not easy to find over here, but I’ll keep looking. Enjoyed your insights. Cheers.

[@jamesgriffithsmusic]

Thanks Jack. Good luck tracking down Steve's records.

[@BenefitInKind]

A great run of albums from Menagerie to Prima Donna. Lots of excellent songs and brilliant ideas. When Bowie refused to let Todd Haynes use his music for Velvet Goldmine he turned to a group comprising members of Radiohead to perform several other Glam songs including Tumbling Down, voiced by Jonathon Rhys-Myers. I would have included more Psychomodo on this list ie Ritz and Cavaliers. Great video though guys.

[@jamesgriffithsmusic]

Thanks, didn't know about the Radiohead song!

[@d.p.jvandeelen5390]

What do you guys think about his first single and biggest hit in Holland (no 2 in the top 40) Sebastian? Song is absolute classic here and gets every year a position in the Top 2000. Steve got another connection with Holland. He had a relationship with Yvonne Keely (Stars on 45, If I Had Words) for 2 years, his ‘primma donna’

[@jamesgriffithsmusic]

Great song! We did discuss it a bit in the discussion but that segment ended up getting edited out. I knew it had been a big song in Europe.

[@FatCityVinyl]

No clue at all about Mr. Harley I'm afraid, other than a passing familiarity with the name via various mentions on here over the years. Curiosity definitely piqued however, seems like a singer/songwriter I should check out. Cheers guys!

[@jamesgriffithsmusic]

I don't think Steve had much success over the pond. 'Make Me Smile' has over 150 cover versions, making it more likely you might have run into that one at some point. Cheers Doug!

[@robison5396]

Interesting discussion guys..for me, The Human Menagerie is a pretty much perfect album, and I have to agree with Richard that his ' art rock' phase is for me his most interesting. I did have a few of his later 70s albums like ' Prima Donna' but they just didn't hit the spot. I need to listen to some of his later day career releases because your praise has me intrigued. I think Stuart Elliot played on Kate Bushs' early albums?

[@jamesgriffithsmusic]

Hi Rob, yes Stuart played on a lot of Kate's stuff. What a career! I recommend listening to the Face to Face live album by Steve to hear some of that later Cockney Rebel stuff in its most impressive light.

[@merlinman7300]

No order, avoiding the singles but.. All the Men Are Hungry Understand Death Trip Tumbling Down Young Hearts (The Candidate) Sling it! Cavaliers My Only Vice What Ruthy Said Sweet Dreams/Psychomodo

[@jamesgriffithsmusic]

Good list!