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The first break-out star at Apple Records was, of course, Mary Hopkin with “Those Were The Days.” A huge international hit, it typed her as a cheery ingénue, somewhat removed from her folk roots (and aspirations). Other hits followed, diverging from her preferred stylistic path, until her second Apple album, Earth Song / Ocean Song (produced by her future husband, Tony Visconti) at last gave her some artistic satisfaction. Her story – at Apple and beyond (including session work for David Bowie, Linda McCartney…and The Beatles) – is recounted here by her daughter, Jessica Lee Morgan (herself a recording artist).
Check out Mary’s releases – including archival studio and live recordings, as well as recent work – here:
http://www.maryhopkin.com/
Talk about a trip through flashbackland! “Those were the days” and “Puff the magic dragon” are my earliest memories of western pop music. I was 3 yrs old. All in all, and after countless podcasts, I can confidently call: “Paul is NOT small”. Nice one, Robert.
Talk about a trip through flashbackland! “Those were the days” and “Puff the magic dragon” are my earliest memories of western pop music. I was 3 yrs old. All in all, and after countless podcasts, I can confidently call: “Paul is NOT small”. Nice one, Robert.
Enjoyed this – and who knows, maybe it’ll start a trend of children going in to bat for their famous parents. What a great advocate! And a lovely version of Those Were the Days to close – it really is a song for an older singer. Nice guitar work, too, helping to suggest a sense of world weariness.
And good to know that she remains a staunch Donofan. I only know Voyage of the Moon, through his own recording on HMS Donovan; it’s well done, but Mary Hopkin’s version is really beautiful and assured – Donovan strains to hit certain notes. I’d forgotten how haunting Gallagher and Lyle’s International was – she brings something different to it. Gallagher and Lyle’s version sounds more childlike, plaintive.
A kickstarter project, a collection of Peter Skellern’s Decca Recordings (including one album, Not Without a Friend, produced by Derek Taylor), is about to be released. Richard Moore, who is behind it, hopes to license recordings for other companies later, though I don’t know whether he has Oasis specifically within his sights. Beatle people will know that George Harrison plays guitar on Make Love, Not War on Skellern’s Hard Times album, which was released by Island.
Enjoyed this – and who knows, maybe it’ll start a trend of children going in to bat for their famous parents. What a great advocate! And a lovely version of Those Were the Days to close – it really is a song for an older singer. Nice guitar work, too, helping to suggest a sense of world weariness.
And good to know that she remains a staunch Donofan. I only know Voyage of the Moon, through his own recording on HMS Donovan; it’s well done, but Mary Hopkin’s version is really beautiful and assured – Donovan strains to hit certain notes. I’d forgotten how haunting Gallagher and Lyle’s International was – she brings something different to it. Gallagher and Lyle’s version sounds more childlike, plaintive.
A kickstarter project, a collection of Peter Skellern’s Decca Recordings (including one album, Not Without a Friend, produced by Derek Taylor), is about to be released. Richard Moore, who is behind it, hopes to license recordings for other companies later, though I don’t know whether he has Oasis specifically within his sights. Beatle people will know that George Harrison plays guitar on Make Love, Not War on Skellern’s Hard Times album, which was released by Island.
Great episode! What’s the source of that version of “Sound and Vision” by David Bowie at the opening of the episode?
It came from here, with additional editing by me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peiJ9_1tH_w
Great episode! What’s the source of that version of “Sound and Vision” by David Bowie at the opening of the episode?
It came from here, with additional editing by me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peiJ9_1tH_w
What a lovely lady and interesting about the LIB backing vocals!
What a lovely lady and interesting about the LIB backing vocals!
What a really great interview.
Have posted it on my Facebook page, with this intro..
“This is probably far too long for most people to listen to on a Facebook post, and may be of limited or no interest to many people, but I found it fascinating and really enjoyed this interview with Jessica Lee Morgan, the daughter of late 60s/ early 70s singing star (and reluctant Eurovision alumni) Mary Hopkin (NB: late doesn’t mean dead! I mean it was 1968 when she burst on to the pop scene). It covers Mary’s life and career, the connection with The Beatles, and much more as well. Thanks for the share, Pat, and good to see you get a mention in the talk, at one stage.
Thought you might enjoy listening to this in the car sometime, perhaps, Mike..
Anyhow, as I said, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and sorry I missed your call, Suzi, which I see occurred while I had this playing on the iPad whilst cooking and doing chores this morning..”
For the record, I turned 10 during the time that ‘Those Were The Days’ was enjoying its 6 week run at #1 in the UK charts, and am 60 now. This was a fascinating trip back in time for me, listening o this interview. I hope Jessica takes up the suggestion at the end and agrees to an interview about her father, Tony Visconti’s, musical history: there must be some great tales to tell there too!
What a really great interview.
Have posted it on my Facebook page, with this intro..
“This is probably far too long for most people to listen to on a Facebook post, and may be of limited or no interest to many people, but I found it fascinating and really enjoyed this interview with Jessica Lee Morgan, the daughter of late 60s/ early 70s singing star (and reluctant Eurovision alumni) Mary Hopkin (NB: late doesn’t mean dead! I mean it was 1968 when she burst on to the pop scene). It covers Mary’s life and career, the connection with The Beatles, and much more as well. Thanks for the share, Pat, and good to see you get a mention in the talk, at one stage.
Thought you might enjoy listening to this in the car sometime, perhaps, Mike..
Anyhow, as I said, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and sorry I missed your call, Suzi, which I see occurred while I had this playing on the iPad whilst cooking and doing chores this morning..”
For the record, I turned 10 during the time that ‘Those Were The Days’ was enjoying its 6 week run at #1 in the UK charts, and am 60 now. This was a fascinating trip back in time for me, listening o this interview. I hope Jessica takes up the suggestion at the end and agrees to an interview about her father, Tony Visconti’s, musical history: there must be some great tales to tell there too!
One of the nicest snippets played was unidentified, other than Jessica saying that Mary recorded it with Jessica’s brother Morgan Visconti in 2010, how much she absolutely loves the album, and how she just popped it out on her record label – neither of which are identified either.
After some searching, I found which song it is. “The Earth Turns” from the “You Look Familiar” album. Available here on Jessica’s Space Records website:
https://spacerecords.greedbag.com/buy/you-look-familiar-1/
One of the nicest snippets played was unidentified, other than Jessica saying that Mary recorded it with Jessica’s brother Morgan Visconti in 2010, how much she absolutely loves the album, and how she just popped it out on her record label – neither of which are identified either.
After some searching, I found which song it is. “The Earth Turns” from the “You Look Familiar” album. Available here on Jessica’s Space Records website:
https://spacerecords.greedbag.com/buy/you-look-familiar-1/