As the world mourns the loss of legendary TV and singing star Cilla Black – who died in Spain yesterday, aged 72 – we pick one of her sixties singles as our weekly random obscurity.
Although there are plenty of great ones to mention, such as ‘Love Of The Loved’ and ‘Anyone Who Had A Heart’, this specific song has a rather interesting story… this single, according to legend, is the reason The Smiths split up.
The Smiths split was down to Johnny Marr’s departure, but all four members of Manchester’s finest had been pulling apart from each other for the 18 months before they broke up. Moving to London, drugs and the lack of a manager were all blamed. But in 2007 Marr put the responsibility for their break up down to an argument over one song. “If we hadn’t done a cover version of a Cilla Black song maybe we’d still be together,” he said.
In 1987 The Smiths covered Cilla’s 1968 single, ‘Work Is A Four-Letter Word’, on the suggestion of long-time fan, Morrissey, but it was (allegedly) the final straw for guitarist Johnny Marr.
R.I.P. Cilla Black – The world continues to listen.
Words: Anders Knudsen