Magpie Miscellany Part 8

Love grows (where my Magpies go)

The move of music online has led to the recent phenomenon of old hits suddenly reappearing in the charts after being brought to the attention of a new audience. This has happened most notably with the Kate Bush track Running Up that Hill after it featured in the Netflix series Stranger Things. 

Earlier this year Tik Tok user Rosemary Blake sparked thousands of plays of Edison Lighthouse’s one hit wonder Love Grows (where my Rosemary goes) when she used it in a video that went viral and inspired thousands of imitations.

52 years earlier the band played at York Road at the height of their fame. Originally known as Greenfield Hammer they changed their name to Edison Lighthouse with songwriter Tony Burrows on lead vocals. Burrows had a midas touch at the time. When Love Grows became the first new number one of the 70s, staying there for five weeks and selling a quarter of a million copies, he also wrote three other top ten hits in early 1970, leaving the band soon after.

By the time they reached York Road in August their line up comprised of George Weyman (drummer, whom the Advertiser kindly informed readers lived at 57 Portlock Road), Stuart Edwards (lead guitar, Cookham Dean), Dave Taylor (bass, Burnham), Ray Dorey (vocals, Windsor) and Malcolm Holland (organ, Windsor).

They came to the football club, not to play a concert, but to train for a charity match in Woking. They were to form part of an Entertainers XI to play a DJs XI to raise money for Guide Dogs for the Blind.

There was no news of the match itself but they remain to the very best of my knowledge the last chart topping band to play York Road.

Sources:

Maidenhead Advertiser

https://www.goldradiouk.com/news/music/edison-lighthouse-love-grows-rosemary-tiktok/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edison_Lighthouse