The Best of Middle Of The Road

The summer of 1971 would never be the same as Middle of the Road hit to the top of the music charts in the UK and across Europe with what has become the band's signature tune. You either loved it or hated it, but there was no getting away from it.

It became the UK's third biggest seller of the year, but American visitors may remember a version of Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep by Mac and Katie Kissoon which hit the Billboard chart around the same time in 1971.

No sooner than Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep had left the UK Top 20, Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum arrived. Another nonsense title to a song with a catchy chorus propelled Middle of the Road to near the top of the best sellers list in the Autumn of 1971.

Middle of the Road's third single broke away from the silly titles, although what Soley Soley exactly means is anyone's guess. Nevertheless, the song's style was in complete contrast to the previous hits and showcased Sally Carr's tremulous vocals excellently.

Soley Soley would be the group's last Top Ten hit in the UK, peaking there in early 1972.

The band's penultimate UK Top 40 hit was its tribute to Californian city Sacramento. Judging by the promotional video here, Middle of the Road would have preferred to have been in sunny California, rather than on a canal in a dismal looking Amsterdam.

The last hit in the UK by Middle of the Road was an ode to the biblical characters, Samson and Delilah. Although the band's popularity was waning in the UK, it continued to be popular across Europe, particularly in Germany, where this song was yet another big seller.

Middle of the Road's final hit anywhere was this song written by ex-Bay City Roller, Neil Henderson. He had joined the group as a guitarist but even his input could not change the fortunes of the band which never graced the music charts again. Like the previous few hits, this track only managed to register success in Germany.

Although the band continued to work into the 1980s, its appearance was restricted to television and live retro music concerts. At that time, Sally Carr had left the group, but during the 2000s it was asked to reform to take part in live music festivals in Europe.

Here's how the band appeared in 2009 at one of these appearances.