Blackberry Way

"Blackberry Way"
"Blackberry Way"
	German picture sleeve
Single by The Move
B-side	"Something"
Released	28 November 1968 (UK)
Recorded	1968 at Olympic Studios, London
Genre	Baroque pop
Length	3:38
Label	Regal Zonophone (UK); A&M (US)
Songwriter(s)	Roy Wood
Producer(s)	Jimmy Miller
The Move singles chronology

"Blackberry Way" is a 1968 single by English band The Move. Written by the band's guitarist/vocalist Roy Wood and produced by Jimmy Miller, "Blackberry Way" was a bleak counterpoint to the sunny psychedelia of earlier recordings. It nevertheless became the band's most successful single, reaching number 1 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1969.^[3]

The Move vocalist Carl Wayne refused to sing on the song, so Wood handled the lead vocal.^[4] Richard Tandy, who later played keyboards with Wood's next band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), played harpsichord on "Blackberry Way".^[1] Despite the success of the single, the style of psychedelia-tinged pop sat uneasily with guitarist Trevor Burton. He left the group shortly after.

The B-side, "Something", was specially written for the band by David Scott-Morgan.

Wood said in a 1994 interview that "Blackberry Way" is his favourite Move song of all time, commenting that it could have been performed in any era and still worked.^[4]

Personnel[]

The Move

Roy Wood – lead and backing vocals, guitar, sitar
Trevor Burton – bass, backing vocal
Bev Bevan – drums

Additional musicians

Richard Tandy – harpsichord
Anonymous string orchestra

Charts[]

Chart (1968–1969)	Peak position
Australia (Go-Set)^[5]	14
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[6]	14
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[7]	13
Ireland (IRMA)^[8]	2
Italy (FIMI)^[9]	19
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[10]	14
Norway (VG-lista)^[11]	3
UK Singles (OCC)^[12]	1
West Germany (Official German Charts)^[13]	7

Cover versions[]

In 1969 Italian band Equipe 84 produced a cover version (with Italian lyrics by lyricist Mogol), named "Tutta mia la città" ("All the town is mine"),^[14] which became a hit in Italy.^[15]
UK band The New Seekers covered this song on their 1971 album, Beautiful People (album).
Swiss band Gotthard covered this song on their 1999 album, Open.
US classic rockers Cheap Trick included their version of the song as a bonus track on the deluxe version of their 2017 album We're All Alright!.

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Richard Tandy Interview - April 1999 - Welcome to The ELO Network". Theelonetwork.weebly.com. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
^ Horning, Rob (15 February 2007). "Electric Light Orchestra: Too Much at Once Can Blow the Fuse". PopMatters. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 228. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Sharp, Ken (September 30, 1994). "Roy Wood: The Wizzard of Rock". The Move Online. Archived from the original on January 15, 2008.
^ http://www.poparchives.com.au/gosetcharts/1969/19690423.html
^ "Austriancharts.at – The Move – Blackberry Way" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
^ "Ultratop.be – The Move – Blackberry Way" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
^ https://www.ukmix.org/showthread.php?88001-Irish-Singles-charts-1967-1969/page2
^ http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/indici/per_interprete/am.htm
^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – The Move" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
^ "Norwegiancharts.com – The Move – Blackberry Way". VG-lista.
^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Move – Blackberry Way". GfK Entertainment Charts. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON The Move"
^ "Discografia Nazionale della canzone italiana". Discografia.dds.it. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
^ "Hit Parade Italia - Indice per Interprete: E". Hitparadeitalia.it. Archived from the original on 2013-10-14. Retrieved 2016-10-01.

[weebly1999-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Richard Tandy Interview - April 1999 - Welcome to The ELO Network". Theelonetwork.weebly.com. Retrieved 2016-10-01.

[2] Horning, Rob (15 February 2007). "Electric Light Orchestra: Too Much at Once Can Blow the Fuse". PopMatters. Retrieved 7 May 2016.

[British_Hit_Singles_&_Albums-3] Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 228. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

[WizzInt-4] Jump up to: ^a ^b Sharp, Ken (September 30, 1994). "Roy Wood: The Wizzard of Rock". The Move Online. Archived from the original on January 15, 2008.

[5] ttp://www.poparchives.com.au/gosetcharts/1969/19690423.html

[sc_Austria_The_Move-6] "Austriancharts.at – The Move – Blackberry Way" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.

[sc_Flanders_The_Move-7] "Ultratop.be – The Move – Blackberry Way" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.

[8] ttps://www.ukmix.org/showthread.php?88001-Irish-Singles-charts-1967-1969/page2

[9] ttp://www.hitparadeitalia.it/indici/per_interprete/am.htm

[sc_Dutch40_The_Move-10] "Nederlandse Top 40 – The Move" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.

[sc_Norway_The_Move-11] "Norwegiancharts.com – The Move – Blackberry Way". VG-lista.

[sc_UK_-12] "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 January 2014.

[sc_West_Germany_The_Move-13] "Offiziellecharts.de – The Move – Blackberry Way". GfK Entertainment Charts. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON The Move"

[14] "Discografia Nazionale della canzone italiana". Discografia.dds.it. Retrieved 2016-10-01.

[15] "Hit Parade Italia - Indice per Interprete: E". Hitparadeitalia.it. Archived from the original on 2013-10-14. Retrieved 2016-10-01.

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hide v t The Move
Bev Bevan Roy Wood Carl Wayne Trevor Burton Ace Kefford Rick Price Jeff Lynne Phil Tree Neil Lockwood Phil Bates Gordon Healer Abby Brant Tony Kelsey
Studio albums	Move Shazam Looking On Message from the Country
Live albums	Something Else from The Move
Singles	"Night of Fear" "I Can Hear the Grass Grow" "Flowers in the Rain" "Cherry Blossom Clinic" (cancelled) "Fire Brigade" "Wild Tiger Woman" "Blackberry Way" "Curly" "Brontosaurus" "When Alice Comes Back to the Farm "Tonight" "Chinatown" "California Man" "Do Ya"
Related articles	Members Electric Light Orchestra Wizzard Steve Gibbons Don Arden Tony Secunda Richard Tandy