Blackberry Way

1968 single by the Move

"Blackberry Way"

German picture sleeve

Single by the Move
B-side| "Something"
Released| 28 November 1968 (UK)
Recorded| 1968
Studio| Olympic Studios, London
Genre| Baroque pop[1]
Length| 3:38
Label| Regal Zonophone (UK)
A&M (US)
Songwriter(s)| Roy Wood
Producer(s)| Jimmy Miller
The Move singles chronology
| "Wild Tiger Woman"
(1968)  | "Blackberry Way"
(1968)  | "Curly"
(1969)

|
|

Performance video"Blackberry Way" (on Beat Club) on YouTube

"Blackberry Way" is a 1968 single by British 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.[2]

The Move vocalist Carl Wayne refused to sing on the song, so Wood handled the lead vocal.[3] Richard Tandy, who later played keyboards with Wood's next band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), played harpsichord on "Blackberry Way". 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 and was produced by Denny Cordell and Tony Visconti. The song had previously been released as the B-side to the United States and Australia exclusive single "Yellow Rainbow", released for their debut studio album, Move. As for album releases of "Blackberry Way", although it did not appear on the band's second studio album, Shazam, it did appear on the album's 2007 reissue, after also appearing on the 1998 reissue of the band's third studio album, Looking On.

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.[3]

## Personnel

[edit]

The Move

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

Additional musicians

* Richard Tandy – harpsichord
* Uncredited – Mellotron[4]

## Charts

[edit]

Chart (1968–1969)  | Peak
position

|

Australia (Go-Set)[5] | 14
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[6] | 14
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[7] | 13
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[8] | 20
Denmark (Salgshitlisterne Top 20)[9] | 17
Denmark (Tipparaden)[10] | 5
Finland (Soumen Virallinen)[11] | 23
Ireland (IRMA)[12] | 2
Italy (Musica e dischi)[13] | 15
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[14] | 15
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[15] | 14
New Zealand (Listener)[16] | 10
Norway (VG-lista)[17] | 3
Rhodesia (Lyons Maid)[18] | 4
Sweden (Kvällstoppen)[19] | 7
Sweden (Tio i Topp)[20] | 5
UK Singles (OCC)[21] | 1
West Germany (GfK)[22] | 7

## Cover versions

[edit]

* 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"),[23] which became a hit in Italy.[24]
* UK alternative rock band The Wonder Stuff released a version of the song on one of their series of EPs titled From the Midlands with Love in 2012.[citation needed]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Horning, Rob (15 February 2007). "Electric Light Orchestra: Too Much at Once Can Blow the Fuse". PopMatters. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
2. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 228\. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
3. ^ a b Sharp, Ken (30 September 1994). "Roy Wood: The Wizzard of Rock". The Move Online. Archived from the original on 15 January 2008.
4. ^ "Planet Mellotron Album Reviews: M14".
5. ^ "Go-Set Australian charts - 23 April 1969". www.poparchives.com.au. Archived from the original on 5 September 2007.
6. ^ "The Move – Blackberry Way" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
7. ^ "The Move – Blackberry Way" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
8. ^ "The Move – Blackberry Way" (in French). Ultratop 50.
9. ^ "Salgshitlisterne Top 20 - Uge 8". Danske Hitlister. 10 February 1969. Archived from the original on 2 August 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
10. ^ "Salgshitlisterne Top 20 - Uge 8". Danske Hitlister. 24 February 1969. Archived from the original on 2 August 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
11. ^ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. p. 178\. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
12. ^ "Irish Singles charts 1967-1969". 26 August 2012.
13. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Move".
14. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 15, 1969" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
15. ^ "The Move – Blackberry Way" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
16. ^ "Listener - The Move". Flavour of New Zealand. New Zealand Listener. Archived from the original on 22 March 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
17. ^ "The Move – Blackberry Way". VG-lista.
18. ^ Kimberley, C (2000). Zimbabwe: Singles Chart Book. p. 32.
19. ^ Hallberg, Eric (193). Eric Hallberg presenterar Kvällstoppen i P 3: Sveriges radios topplista över veckans 20 mest sålda skivor 10. 7. 1962 – 19. 8. 1975. Drift Musik. ISBN 9163021404. `{{cite book}}`: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
20. ^ Hallberg, Eric; Henningsson, Ulf (1998). Eric Hallberg, Ulf Henningsson presenterar Tio i topp med de utslagna på försök: 1961 - 74. Premium Publishing. ISBN 919727125X.
21. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
22. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Move – Blackberry Way" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON The Move"
23. ^ "Discografia Nazionale della canzone italiana". Discografia.dds.it. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
24. ^ "Hit Parade Italia - Indice per Interprete: E". Hitparadeitalia.it. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2016.

## External links

[edit]

* "Blackberry Way" at discogs.com
* "Blackberry Way" at 45cat.com

* v
* t
* e

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

Compilation albums|

* Split Ends

Singles|

* "Night of Fear"
* "I Can Hear the Grass Grow"
* "Flowers in the Rain"
* "Fire Brigade"
* "Wild Tiger Woman"
* "Blackberry Way"
* "Curly"
* "Brontosaurus"
* "When Alice Comes Back to the Farm
* "Tonight"/"My Marge"
* "Turkish Tram Conductor Blues"
* "Chinatown"
* "California Man"
* "Do Ya"

Other songs|

* "Cherry Blossom Clinic"
* "Stephanie Knows Who"
* "It'll Be Me"
* "Beautiful Daughter"
* "Cherry Blossom Clinic Revisited"
* "Don't Make My Baby Blue"
* "Ella James"

Related articles|

* Discography
* Members
* Barbeque 67
* Electric Light Orchestra
* Wizzard
* Steve Gibbons
* Don Arden
* Tony Secunda
* Richard Tandy

* Category

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz work
* MusicBrainz release group

|

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