Barry Blue (born Barry Ian Green, 4 December 1950),[1][2] is an English singer, producer, and songwriter. As an artist, he is best known for his hit songs "Dancin' (on a Saturday Night)" and "Do You Wanna Dance" (both 1973).[2]
Barry Blue | |
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![]() Barry Blue on the Dutch television programme 'Popzien', 8 June 1973 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Barry Ian Green |
Born | (1950-12-04) 4 December 1950 (age 71) London, England |
Genres | Pop, glam rock |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, record producer |
Instrument(s) | Vocalist |
Labels | Bell Records, Decca, Private Stock, Jet |
Website | https://BarryBlue.co.uk |
Blue has also been a prolific songwriter and producer for many artists, and has had over forty worldwide hits, including Andrea Bocelli, Diana Ross, Celine Dion, The Saturdays, The Wanted, and Pixie Lott. In film and television, Blue has provided soundtracks and/or themes for productions including Eyes of Laura Mars, Long Good Friday, and Escape to Athena.[2]
At the age of 13, Barry Blue made his first television appearance with his school band The Dark Knights, performing on Stubby Kaye's Silver Star Show, a weekly children's talent show hosted by Kaye via Granada TV. By the age of 14, Blue had signed with record producer Norrie Paramor, whose assistant was Tim Rice; the producer of Blue's first song Rainmaker Girl,[3] which became a hit for Gene Pitney in the United States. Later he became a bassist in the line-up of Spice; the band featured Mick Box and David Byron, and was the precursor to the heavy rock band Uriah Heep.[2] He followed this in 1966 with a two-year period in A&R at the Bee Gees' publishing company Abigail Music, under direction of their manager Robert Stigwood.
In 1970, Blue signed as a songwriter to ATV-Kirshner located in Bruton Street, London, where he joined a group of professional songwriters that included Lynsey de Paul and Ron Roker. One of their earliest songs was Sugarloaf Hill,[4] recorded by the reggae artist, Del Davis. Other early career notable songs co-written by Blue and de Paul include Tip of My Tongue for the British group Brotherly Love,[5] as well as female vocal trio Ellie, and House of Cards recorded by a number of artists including John Christie, Australian artist Rob Guest, and the D.J. Tony Blackburn. Another from this period included Crossword Puzzle, also co-written with de Paul, and which led to an appearance on Top of the Pops for Irish singer Dana. At the time, he was still using his real surname of Green.[6]
Blue wrote his first UK Singles Chart hit back in 1972 with de Paul, titled Sugar Me. The song originally was written for Peter Noone, but de Paul's boyfriend at the time, Dudley Moore, suggested that she should take a demo version to manager Gordon Mills, who told her she should record it herself. The song also charted in singles charts in the Netherlands, Spain, and Belgium. Sugar Me was also covered in the US by Nancy Sinatra and Claudine Longet.
He released his first record in June 1971, under his real name of Barry Green, on the Ember label titled 'Together', written by Jean-Pierre Mirouze,[7] taken from the French film Le mariage collectif.[8] He signed to Decca Records, and released four singles between 1971 and 1974.[9] Including Papa Do, which was released by Barry Green as a single. In a 2020 interview, he revelead that he decided to adopt Blue as a stage name after speaking with a record company employee who told him that green is considered an unlucky colour by circus performers, and because all the three singles released as Barry Green had been "quite unsuccessful", he eventually decided to be known as Barry Blue instead of Barry Green.[10]
His first UK chart success came with a change of name, and record deal with Bell Records in 1973, billed as Barry Blue,[2] and had five hit singles, Dancin' (On A Saturday Night) (no. 2, 1973) (co-written with de Paul), Do You Wanna Dance? (no. 7, 1973), School Love (no. 11, 1974), Miss Hit and Run (no. 26, 1974).[11] His final Top 40 hit in the UK Singles Chart occurred in October 1974, when Hot Shot, another song co-written with de Paul, climbed to number 23,[12] and number 3 in Zimbabwe.[13] Blue returned to the UK charts in 1989 with a remix version of Dancin' (On A Saturday Night).[14] Throughout 1973–74, Blue appeared on many major TV shows and tours alongside artists such as Queen, ABBA, and Status Quo.
Blue achieved a million seller in 1975 with Kiss Me Kiss Your Baby, recorded by Brotherhood of Man. Two years later (1977), he co-wrote Devil's Gun, a song by C. J. & Company from the album of the same name. The song went to number 1 for five weeks on the Billboard disco/dance chart. The single also peaked at number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number 2 on the R&B chart.[2] Written by Blue, Ron Roker, and Gerry Shury, and produced by Mike Theodore and Dennis Coffey. The song is notable for being the first record played at the opening of Studio 54 on 26 April 1977 by DJ Richie Kaczor.[3] The instrumental portions of Devil's Gun were featured prominently in the international version of the film Crocodile. It also featured in the film The Real Bruce Lee. In 2016, the song was included in The Get Down soundtrack, and the following year it was featured in the film Borg vs McEnroe.
One of his major production successes was the multi-racial, Anglo-US funk/soul band Heatwave, who enjoyed hits in the UK and US with Boogie Nights, Always and Forever, Mind Blowing Decisions, and The Groove Line.[15][16][17] Other funk songs produced by Blue include Funk Theory,[18] by Rokotto[19] in 1978 reached number 49, Somebody Help Me Out[20] by Beggar and Co which reached number 15 in the UK in 1981, and Say Yeah[21] by The Limit which peaked at number 17 on the UK Singles Chart and number 7 on the U.S. Billboard Dance/Club Play chart in 1985. In 1989, under the banner of Cry Sisco!,[22] Blue had another minor hit with a song called Afro Dizzi Act, which reached number 42 on the UK Singles Chart.[23][24]
![]() | This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (April 2018) |
song title | artist | year | songwriter | producer | album (a) / single (s) |
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I Hope And I Pray | Alvin Stardust & Sheila Walsh | 1986 | Brenner, Lippell, Moss | Barry Blue | (s) see title |
E Sara' A Settembre (Someone Like You) | Andrea Bocelli | 2001 | B. Blue, A. Salerno, R. Smith | (a) Cieli di Toscana | |
Old Flame Burnin' | Andy Gillin | 1989 | B. Blue, J. Cavanagh | Uno Hoo | (s) see title |
We All Work Out | Beggar and Co | 1982 | Jonathan Perkins | Barry Blue | (s) see title |
Trop jeune à dix-sept ans | Celine Dion | 1984 | Barry Blue, P. Greedus | Eddy Marnay Rudi Pascal | (a) Les oiseaux du bonheur |
Who | Diana Ross | 1982 | Barry Blue, Rod Bowkett | Diana Ross, Michael Jackson | (a) Silk Electric |
Escaping | Dina Carroll | 1996 | Barry Blue, Robyn Smith | Nigel Lowis | (a) Only Human |
What A Bitch Is Love | Marcia Hines | 1982 | Paul Greedus, Barry Blue | Dave MacKay | (s) see title |
Love The Way You Love Me | Marti Caine | 1981 | Blue, Greedus | Blueytunes Productions | (a) Point Of View |
The Little Things | Matt Monro | 1976 | Blue, Worth | John Burgess | (s) see title |
Tremblin' | Mel Smith | 1986 | Barry Blue, Paul Greedus | Pete Wingfield | (s) see title |
No Time To Be Hurt | Pixie Lott | 2009 | Barry Blue, Pixie Lott | Barry Blue | (a) Turn It Up (unreleased) |
Just A Disillusion | Sandie Shaw | 1976 | W. & M. J. P. Vermuelem | Barry Blue | (s) see title |
Flashback | The Saturdays | 2010 | The Saturdays | Barry Blue | (s) Ego |
Radiator Rock | The Sting-rays | 1982 | Paul Greedus, Barry Blue | Paul Greedus | (s) see title |
Replace Your Heart | The Wanted | 2010 | Cathy Dennis, Kasia Livingston | Barry Blue, Greg Kurstin | (a) The Wanted |
Don't You Remember When | Vera Lynn | 1976 | De Paul, Blue | De Paul | (s) see title |
Travelin' On | Acker Bilk & Paramount Jazz Band | 1972 | Blik, Green, Mazi | Terry Brown | (a) Acker Pie |
Je compte jusqu'à toi | Patricia Kaas | 1997 | Barry Blue, Robyn Smith, Zazie | Jefferey (C.J.) Vanston | (a) Dans ma chair |
Love in Me | Danni Minogue | 2009 | Blue, Mallozzi, Sabiu | Rapino Bros | (a) The 1995 Sessions |
New York Moon | Louise | 1997 | Barry Blue, Robyn Smith | Steve Levine | (a) Woman in Me |
Love Bomb | Cheryl Lynn | 1980 | De Paul, B. Blue | Barry Blue | (s) see title |
![]() | This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (April 2018) |
Blue has provided soundtracks and / or themes for various productions:
TV themes / songs | film themes / songs |
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The Golden Shot
Alexander The Greatest Shirley's World Lift Off Billy Liar Come Midnight Monday Praying Mantis Puhd Aineet Dia Spot Autogrip Oppenheimer Faszinationen Sharp Intake of Breath Sex in the City Breaking Bad The Getdown Path to 911 Only Fools and Horses Coronation Street The Benny Hill Show Eastenders |
Escape to Athena
Eyes of Laura Mars Long Good Friday The Boy Who Won the Pools Chico and the Man Felicity Ishikawa Hiduni Kids World Sweeney Girls, Girls, Girls Mackenzie Appointed Mompti Side by Side The Get Down The Real Bruce Lee Crocodile Borg vs. McEnroe Anita & Me Top Boy Money Heist British Airways Walls Honda Ford Fabreze B & Q Airbus Industries Camelot McDonald's Paramount Pictures Wella |
Title | Album details |
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Barry Blue |
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Hot Shots |
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Rock 'n' Roll (with Miki Antony and Dave Rowberry) |
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Disco Happening (with Miki Antony and Tom Parker) |
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Songs from the Heart Book |
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Title | Album details |
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Dancin' on a Saturday Night |
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Dancin' on a Saturday Night – The Best of Barry Blue |
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The Best of & The Rest Of |
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Dancin' on a Saturday Night – The Very Best of Barry Blue |
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Greatest Hits |
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Greatest Hits |
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The Singles Collection |
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Dancin' (On a Saturday Night)... Best Of |
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The Very Best of Barry Blue |
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Out of the Blue – 50 Years of Discovery |
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Title | Album details |
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Boy in the Moon |
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Title | Year | Peak chart positions | |||||||||
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UK [60] |
AUS [61] |
AUT [62] |
BE (FL) [63] |
BE (WA) [64] |
GER [65] |
IRE [66] |
NL [67] |
SPA [68] |
ZIM [69] | ||
"Together" (as Barry Green; from the film Collective Marriage) | 1971 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
"I Wanna Join the Cavalry" (as Barry Green) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
"Alexander the Greatest" (as Barry Green) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
"Papa Do" (as Barry Green) | 1972 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
"Dancin' (on a Saturday Night)" | 1973 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 15 | 9 | 4 | 11 | 19 | 10 |
"Shake-a-Tail" (as Big Wheel) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
"Do You Wanna Dance?" | 7 | 38 | — | 9 | 32 | 11 | 14 | 11 | — | — | |
"School Love" | 1974 | 11 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 9 |
"Miss Hit and Run" | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
"Hot Shot" | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | |
"You Make Me Happy (When I'm Blue)" | 1975 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
"If I Show You I Can Dance" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
"Devil's Gun" (Germany-only release) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
"Happy Christmas to You from Me" (with Lynsey de Paul) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
"Tough Kids" | 1976 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
"Billy" | 1977 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
"A Lover Lovin' You" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
"Dancin' (on a Saturday Night) '89" | 1989 | 86 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |
Heatwave | |
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Studio albums | |
Compilation albums | |
Notable singles |
General | |
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National libraries | |
Other |
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