21 September 1968
Copperfastening my realisation that, ‘Hey Jude’ aside, 1968 may be our worst year ever for number one singles, here come the Bee Gees. I hadn’t realised there were five of them at that stage; as per the cover image above, the three Gibbs had dragged two unrelated randomers into their hot mess. Sure enough, those two will soon bale out of the smug, ratty cult of Gibb.
‘Massachusetts’ and ‘Words’ had already been chart hits in Ireland, and first Irish chart-topper ‘I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You’, despite contemporary US pop touches like the whistling flute in the chorus, continues the retrograde country-tinged Americana of the former, the overwrought bubblegum balladry of the latter, and the unguent cabaret gunk of both. Speaking of cabaret gunk, it also takes up the baton from Tom Jones in re songs for singing murderers. It’s not clear from the lyrics who died so that ‘I’ve Got To Get A Message To You’ could live, but our death-row-based perpetrator wants someone to tell his benighted other-half that, despite the killing and stuff, he still loves her. Aw! Maybe we’ve all been too harsh on murderers, if not harsh enough on the likes of Tom Jones and the Bee Gees.
