Christopher Gray believes female figures dominated the charts long before the Spice Girls
We think of ‘girl power’ as an aspect of the music business relating to the 1990s and the Spice Girls. But how women ruled at a much earlier period was evident during Saturday’s Pick of the Pops on Radio 2, always a ‘must hear’ for me.
Tony Blackburn introduced the top twenty from 1966. Present were almost all of the iconic female figures of the time, including Sandie Shaw (Tomorrow), Dusty Springfield (Little By Little), Petula Clark (My Love) and Nancy Sinatra, in her fourth and final week at No 1 with These Boots are Made for Walking.
We also had Cilla Black with Love’s Just a Broken Heart. Hearing the song for the first time in years, with foghorn Cilla at full blast, I thought what a great number this would be for the queen of the belters, Dame Shirley Bassey.
Go on Shirl! Give it a whirl.
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