STARS ON 45 MEDLEY
“Stars on 45” is a song issued in January 1981 by the studio group Stars on 45. Its official title in the US (as on the record and in Billboard) where it was credited to ‘Stars on 45’ was “Medley: Intro Venus / Sugar Sugar / No Reply / I’ll Be Back / Drive My Car / Do You Want to Know a Secret / We Can Work It Out / I Should Have Known Better / Nowhere Man / You’re Going to Lose That Girl / Stars on 45”. It is (to date) the longest titled song to ever chart in Billboard, and is conveniently shortened to “Stars on 45 Medley”, or “‘Medley’ by Stars on 45”. (More from Wikipedia)
Everyone knows Shocking Blue’s big hit song “Venus”, a massive, worldwide Number One hit in 1970 and I believe the biggest-selling single ever by a Continental European band. In 1986, “Venus” was Number One on the charts for a second time as performed by the British pop band Bananarama. Finally, the curious band Stars on 45 (also from the Netherlands) had a Number One hit in 1981 consisting of a medley of Beatles songs. The opening chords from “Venus” are played at or near the beginning of this song (often called “Stars on 45 Medley”); arguably, then, “Venus” made the top of the charts on three occasions – a feat no other song has ever achieved.
(August 2012)
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Speaking of the Beatles, I mentioned Stars on 45 in passing in my last post, but they deserve more attention than that. The “Stars on 45 Medley” (Beatles medley) that this Dutch band made into a Number One hit never got any respect, so you can imagine how their other albums were received.
I have a confession to make though. When I first heard the “Stars on 45 Medley” (Beatles medley), there were several songs that I was actually not familiar with. I don’t think that I have ever told anyone this before now; I wonder how many other Beatles fans were similarly chagrined. My own experience with the band is being caught up in the excitement in late 1963 and early 1964, but I quit buying Beatles albums sometime in 1965, though I still bought a lot of their 45’s. Naturally, I bought Sgt. Pepper right away, and it wasn’t long before I figured out how good the preceding album Revolver was. However, I didn’t buy Rubber Soul until I got the box set, The Beatles / The Collection. Basically, between “Yesterday” and Sgt. Pepper, if it wasn’t on the radio, I hadn’t heard it. Thus, for this music fan at least, Stars on 45 reawakened my interest in the Beatles, and I definitely took to heart their exhortation: “Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t forget!”
(September 2012)
