It’s the decade that gave us ABBA, Elton John, David Bowie, Queen, The Eagles, the rejuvenated Fleetwood Mac and Led Zeppelin to name just a few. It also saw the birth of disco which, while much of it now sounds horribly dated, the best of it can still fill a dance floor.
Somewhere between pop and disco lies Tina Charles, the Londoner who got her start in the music business recording cover versions of current hits for the Pickwick label’s budget Top Of The Pops LPs. She was also in demand to supply backing vocals on other singers’ records, including Steve Harley’s Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me) and, although uncredited, she also sang the vocals on 5000 Volts’ 1975 hit I’m On Fire.
Within six months of that one, she was in the top spot of the singles chart with I Love To Love and that’s where this 2xCD set begins. Dance Little Lady and Dr. Love gave her two more Top 10 hits in quick succession with lesser hits Rendezvous, Love Bug / Sweets For My Sweet and I’ll Go Where Your Music Takes Me following. All are included here; all re-mastered from the original master tapes. All the tracks from her four CBS LPs are amongst the forty tracks and more than one came as something of a surprise. Secret Love starts as if it’s going to be a ballad, but then races off into disco-land, Love Is A Many Splendoured Thing and Somewhere do much the same. There’s also Stop What You’re Doing to listen out for, a song which Tina first recorded on a session credited to The Playthings in 1973 and while her take on Amazing Grace may not be the best I’ve heard, it doesn’t detract from the overall quality contained in this release.
If you’ve forgotten about Tina Charles, this is the perfect way to be re-introduced to her.
Author: AUSTIN POWELL
Austin Powell has spent his entire working life in the music business. From being an agent and manager of ‘beat groups’ in the sixties to working for major record companies in the seventies and eighties, he has also held management positions at radio stations in England, Wales and on the Isle Of Man. He continues to act as a consultant to several record companies and artists and presents a weekly 'oldies' show on Monday evenings on 101.8 WCR FM in Wolverhampton.
