I was sad to news about Cilla Black this week.
While her music generally doesn’t do it for me (I can’t get past her brash belt-voice that usually sneaks in halfway through a record), there’s one song I like, and don’t mind listening to, and that’s her 1964 number one hit You’re My World.
It brings back memories of touring The Netherlands in 2004, playing bass for the show Hold Tight it’s 60s Night. Despite being a bit of a Sixties aficionado, who always spouts trivia about music from the decade, I’d never heard You’re My World until I learnt it for the set. Even then, it didn’t stand out – though this isn’t surprising in retrospect, as I had a lot of bass parts to cram into my head in a short space of time, and there’s little going on at the bottom end of the Black track to speak of.
When we played it in front of an audience, I was hit by its impact. Every night, without fail, the opening string part would elicit the same gasp of recognition. It would often get a standing ovation at the end. No other song in our two-hour set got such a consistent reaction; it soon became clear that You're My World meant a lot to many.
While I always saw Cilla Black as a forthright businesswoman and presenter who kept admirable control of her career, but not as a singer, in this instance I’ll give her her due. Well done, chuck, and ta-ra.
While her music generally doesn’t do it for me (I can’t get past her brash belt-voice that usually sneaks in halfway through a record), there’s one song I like, and don’t mind listening to, and that’s her 1964 number one hit You’re My World.
It brings back memories of touring The Netherlands in 2004, playing bass for the show Hold Tight it’s 60s Night. Despite being a bit of a Sixties aficionado, who always spouts trivia about music from the decade, I’d never heard You’re My World until I learnt it for the set. Even then, it didn’t stand out – though this isn’t surprising in retrospect, as I had a lot of bass parts to cram into my head in a short space of time, and there’s little going on at the bottom end of the Black track to speak of.
When we played it in front of an audience, I was hit by its impact. Every night, without fail, the opening string part would elicit the same gasp of recognition. It would often get a standing ovation at the end. No other song in our two-hour set got such a consistent reaction; it soon became clear that You're My World meant a lot to many.
While I always saw Cilla Black as a forthright businesswoman and presenter who kept admirable control of her career, but not as a singer, in this instance I’ll give her her due. Well done, chuck, and ta-ra.