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 at 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)

|
|

"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.

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 (Official German Charts)[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.
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.

* 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

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

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group
* MusicBrainz work

|

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template