She was born Sandra Ann Goodrich in 1947. She got her break thanks to a music contest and the patronage of then popstar Adam Faith. Re-named Sandie Shaw, she hit the #1 spot in the UK charts before her 18th birthday and went on to enjoy a further seven Top 10 hits before the 60s were over.
But by 1984, she was mostly forgotten. She had released a handful of singles in the 70s, but there was a gap of 14 years from 1969 - 1983 between albums. I said mostly forgotten, for the fact was a young emerging vocal talent called Steven Patrick Morrissey and his sidekick guitarist called Johnny Marr carried torches for her.
So much so that in April 1984, they hit upon the idea of re-releasing the debut single by The Smiths, only with Sandie singing lead vocal. This took Hand In Glove into the charts and got Sandie back on Top of the Pops for the first time in 15 years. It was a memorable performance in which the three members of the band paid tribute to her by playing barefoot - just the way Sandie had done in her prime. Sandie, to her credit, did a more than passing resemblance to a live Morrissey performance by falling to the floor and writhing around in ecstasy...
At this point in time I only knew of Sandie Shaw as someone who used to get played on the radio when I was a really young kid. I assumed she was a fair age, and so was surprised to learn that she was just 37 years old when her comeback began.....
Aiming squarely for the same market that adored The Smiths, two singles, both cover versions were released in 1986, with the b-sides being straight tributes to Morrissey and then Marr. But while they were given much critical acclaim, neither single, nor a subsequent LP released in 1988, sold well.
As you can see from the above cover, there was also a 12" single released containing four songs recorded for the Janice Long show on BBC Radio 1. While I knew of the existence of this record, I never owned a copy of it. And I still don't.....but I received a really nice e-mail from Jason Ruff who lives in Lyon, France (but formerly of Brighton, UK) which talked about some great old songs from the 80s, and the upshot was that he sent over some mp3 files and artwork.
Most importantly, he also said yes when I asked if I could share it with TVV readers:-
mp3 : Sandie Shaw - Frederick
mp3 : Sandie Shaw - Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken?
mp3 : Sandie Shaw - Steven (You Don't Eat Meat)
mp3 : Sandie Shaw - Girl Don't Come
Note the plethora of great musicians who played on this session....
But by 1984, she was mostly forgotten. She had released a handful of singles in the 70s, but there was a gap of 14 years from 1969 - 1983 between albums. I said mostly forgotten, for the fact was a young emerging vocal talent called Steven Patrick Morrissey and his sidekick guitarist called Johnny Marr carried torches for her.
So much so that in April 1984, they hit upon the idea of re-releasing the debut single by The Smiths, only with Sandie singing lead vocal. This took Hand In Glove into the charts and got Sandie back on Top of the Pops for the first time in 15 years. It was a memorable performance in which the three members of the band paid tribute to her by playing barefoot - just the way Sandie had done in her prime. Sandie, to her credit, did a more than passing resemblance to a live Morrissey performance by falling to the floor and writhing around in ecstasy...
At this point in time I only knew of Sandie Shaw as someone who used to get played on the radio when I was a really young kid. I assumed she was a fair age, and so was surprised to learn that she was just 37 years old when her comeback began.....
Aiming squarely for the same market that adored The Smiths, two singles, both cover versions were released in 1986, with the b-sides being straight tributes to Morrissey and then Marr. But while they were given much critical acclaim, neither single, nor a subsequent LP released in 1988, sold well.
As you can see from the above cover, there was also a 12" single released containing four songs recorded for the Janice Long show on BBC Radio 1. While I knew of the existence of this record, I never owned a copy of it. And I still don't.....but I received a really nice e-mail from Jason Ruff who lives in Lyon, France (but formerly of Brighton, UK) which talked about some great old songs from the 80s, and the upshot was that he sent over some mp3 files and artwork.
Most importantly, he also said yes when I asked if I could share it with TVV readers:-
mp3 : Sandie Shaw - Frederick
mp3 : Sandie Shaw - Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken?
mp3 : Sandie Shaw - Steven (You Don't Eat Meat)
mp3 : Sandie Shaw - Girl Don't Come
Note the plethora of great musicians who played on this session....
And finally, I'm sure you'll want to join me in giving a big thank you to Jason for making today's posting possible.
Happy Listening.
Happy Listening.
9 comments:
Oh wow, I read thru this post kinda going ho hum as I'd heard this story before... And then you lay that fantastic ending on us, you little devil! I had no idea, thanks so much xoxoxo
Yes Sandie, I'm ready to be heartbroken.
Nice, thanks!
Swoon!
And thanks a million.
This is a good one. Never heard these before. Thanks for sharing!
Hello, I'm wondering if you could please re-upload these mp3s. As a fan of both Morrissey and Sandie Shaw (and of Lloyd Cole and Patti Smith as well!) I would really really like to hear this. Thank you in advance!
I would love a re-upload of these tracks if possible as well. Have been searching for "Are You Ready..." forEVER!
Hi Ryan
If you want to drop me an email (address is over on the right hand side of the blog, I will sort something out for you.
HAVEN'T HEARD THE 12" OF SANDIE SHAW'S VERSION OF FREDERICK SINCE I STUPIDLY THREW OUT ALL MY VINYL MANY YEARS AGO. CAN ANYONE ADVISE THIS INTERNET VIRGIN IF AND WHERE I CAN DOWNLOAD IT IN MP3 FORM? BEEN TRYING ALL THE MAJOR MUSIC SITES, BUT NO LUCK SO FAR. briansinclair@hotmail.com
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