Chart entered : 14 April 1973
Chart peak : 33
Here's another one that didn't make a deposit in the memory bank. This was Joe's first hit for nearly six years and his only release on the Ammo label. By this time The Bruvvers had been dissolved and although he went out on tour as Brown's Home Brew ( which included wife Vicki ) this single was credited to Joe alone
Ammo was a short lived offshoot of EMI run by the songwriting trio, Chris Arnold, Geoff Morrow and David Martin. They wrote and produced this one for Joe. It was planned to be in the shops for Mothers' Day but a strike at EMI's pressing plant put paid to that. Far from Joe's rock and roll roots this sounds like a Jewish funeral dirge with Joe's fragile vocal emerging from a bed of murmured chanting. The lyrics from a penitent son - "all too soon you'll pass away Mama" - are quite touching but it's the sort of thing you'd only play on certain occasions . It certainly isn't a radio record.
While the label was discontinued Joe stuck with the trio for his next single, "Always Laughing" on Decca in October 1975. Despite the time lag this continues in the same vein , a collection of fireside memories of "Momma" set to a klezmer arrangement with a Jewish fiddle prominent. The label says "Adapted from "The Noss Story"" but I've drawn a blank on what this refers to. Although it never charted it was something of an underground hit and was released twice more in the seventies.
By 1977 he was on Power Exchange releasing "The Boxer" in April, not the Simon and Garfunkel song but a Ralph McTell composition. That same year an appearance on Celebrity Squares sparked off a second career as a TV face, his chirpy Cockney persona, somehow less annoying than Tommy Steele, being much in demand for panel shows including Juke Box Jury, Blankety Blank and Punchlines. His next single was a duet with Vicki and the Dovedale Junior School Choir on "All Things Bright And Beautiful". I can't tell you how gutted I am not to find that one anywhere.
The revival of Oh Boy gave Joe a new platform for his music and he tried to capitalise with an EP headed by "The Ted's Song" , an embarrassing mid-life crisis romp that must have had young Sam hiding behind the sofa. The mid song rant is unlistenable. His next single was "Free Inside" in July 1979, the theme tune to the Porridge film sadly overshadowed by the death of Richard Beckinsale just before its release. Written by the series writer Ian La Frenais and producer Lem Lubin it's passable but owes quite a lot to Maggie May.
After that Joe's TV career took precedence and he presented the short-lived Let's Rock in 1981 then did three years as host of daytime quiz Square One ( I don't remember it either ). His only single in the eighties was the theme tune to forgettable snooker drama Give Us A Break. After another short-lived quiz show Show Me in 1987 and losing out to Leslie Crowther to host The Price Is Right the TV work dried up and he took time out to foster the career of daughter Sam, appearing in the video for Can I Get A Witness .
As Sam settled for being an in-demand backing vocalist, Joe released a few singles on very obscure labels in the nineties but it was his good friend George Harrison's death in 2001 that brought him back into the limelight. Joe had been best man at Harrison's second wedding and had appeared on a couple of albums. He was prominent at the Concert For George in 2002 performing "I'll See You In My Dreams" on the ukelele.
Since then he has worked steadily, touring and acting as an elder statesman of British music on TV and radio shows. In 2008 a number of stars including Mark Knopfler and Jools Holland played at a concert celebrating his 50 years in the business at the Royal Albert Hall and an OBE followed in 2009.
Earlier this year he had to pull out of a festival appearance for health reasons so I hope he's OK.
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