FIFTY YEARS AGO we were humming along to the hits of 1976. Some have magnificently stood the test of time; others have not. Join us on Memory Lane as we review them on their golden anniversaries.

At this risk of sounding like a stuck record (pun intended), we have to report that Abba are still at the top of the chart with their Dancing Queen – so again we are having to go off piste with our theme.

This week we are marking the birthday of Lol Creme of 10cc, Godley and Creme and The Producers. He was 78 on 19th September. Here is a number which was probably written in 1975 or 1976 and came out in 1977, on Consequences – the album which Godley and Creme left 10cc to write. Average it out, and you get to 1976.

The track is Five O’Clock in The Morning – the story of waking up and going to work. Here is what is very probably the only recorded live performance of Five, on Top of the Pops just before Christmas 1977 and we have three things to say.

•First: almost all of the song is sung to the piano, and Lol shows here, with this catchy melody, what a good pianist he is.

•Second: above the piano is Lol’s voice, his natural voice – not heard often. It’s clear and very listenable.

•Third: the lyrics are special – well up to the Godley/Creme standard. 
“It’s five o’clock in the morning
“You’re lying in your bed
“You wonder why it’s not morning in your head.”

Apologies for the brief TOTP introduction from paedophile Jimmy Savile at the start – but this is the only live recording, as we said. There is a bonus at the end. As the song finishes, a bit of narrative from Peter Sellers (who would have been 101 on 8th September) from the Consequences album plays over the 1977 end-of-year Top 30.

Enjoy the track; happy birthday to Mr Creme; and come back for another track next week (spoiler: Abba will still be at number one).

Listen to Five O'Clock in The Morning:
Click here

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