I’ve always been fascinated by this song. Barry Ryan was a 60s teen idol who first found fame with his twin brother as one half of Paul & Barry Ryan. Then in late ’68, he stormed the charts with this. It was a stupendously histrionic production with which Barry’s vocals simply couldn’t cope. It’s all over the place. Barry starts well, gets lost around the middle in sorrowful introspection and by the end, he’s screaming like a maniac. That’s what makes it so bad. It’s also what makes it so good. Because this performance conveys the true lunacy of love. Passionate, irrational and all-consuming, it’s more like an opera than a pop song. It was a massive hit so Barry Ryan should have gone on to become a huge star but he never did. After Eloise, he seemed like a spent force. Well, are you surprised?
So good, it’s bad. So bad, it’s good.

- Peter Sellers...17th Mar 2016
- Cool Oak Lane16th Mar 2016
- Neil Sedaka h...15th Mar 2016
- Boy sopranos.13th Mar 2016
- RIP Keith Eme...12th Mar 2016
- RIP George Ma...9th Mar 2016
- The ghastly M...5th Mar 2016
- The first act...4th Mar 2016
- He was a fear...1st Mar 2016
- Happy birthda...29th Feb 2016
- Racism at the...28th Feb 2016
- The Humourist.27th Feb 2016
- Coffee with T...26th Feb 2016
- The return of...24th Feb 2016
- Sitting in th...22nd Feb 2016 prev next