Flowers in the Rain

"Flowers in the Rain" is a song by English rock band The Move. The song was released as a single and reached number two in 1967 on the UK Singles Chart,[1] and number four in Ireland.

For the album by Mad at the World, see Flowers in the Rain (album).
"Flowers in the Rain"
Single by The Move
from the album Move
B-side"(Here We Go Round) the Lemon Tree"
Released25 August 1967
Recorded6 July 1967
StudioAdvision Sound Studios, London
GenrePsychedelic pop
Length2:29 (original version)
2:41 (2007 remastered version)
LabelRegal Zonophone (UK)
A&M (US)
Songwriter(s)Roy Wood
Producer(s)Denny Cordell
The Move singles chronology
"I Can Hear the Grass Grow"
(1967)		 "Flowers in the Rain"
(1967)		 "Fire Brigade"
(1968)
Official audio
"Flowers in the Rain" (2007 Stereo Mix) on YouTube

It achieved its own place in pop history by being the first record[2] to be played on BBC Radio 1 when the station was launched on 30 September 1967. (Technically, both George Martin's specially commissioned "Theme One" and Johnny Dankworth's "Beefeaters" were the first tracks to be heard on the station.[3] "Beefeaters" was Tony Blackburn's theme tune for Daily Disc Delivery and so it was heard before "Flowers in the Rain".[2][4])

The song was written by the Move's guitarist/vocalist Roy Wood. As with many of Wood's early songs, the basis of "Flowers in the Rain" was a book of fairy tales which Wood authored while at The Moseley College of Art.[5] The distinctive instrumental arrangement, including oboe, clarinet, cor anglais and French horn, was suggested by assistant producer Tony Visconti.[2]

Promotional stunt

In a promotional stunt for the record — typical of the band's manager Tony Secunda — a postcard was released with a cartoon of a naked then-Prime Minister Harold Wilson in bed with his secretary Marcia Williams. Wilson sued, and the High Court ordered that all royalties from the song be donated to a charity of Wilson's choice. This legal arrangement remains in force to this day and is thought to have cost the group millions of pounds over the years. During the single's chart success, most of the money went to the Spastics Society and Stoke Mandeville Hospital. In the 1990s, The Observer newspaper reported the royalties had exceeded £200,000 and found that The Harold Wilson Charitable Trust had extended the range of beneficiaries to include, among others, the Oxford Operatic Society, Bolton Lads Club and the Jewish National Fund for Israel.[2]

Personnel

Charts
Chart (1967) Peak
position
Australia (Go-Set)[6] 6
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[7] 13
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[8] 17
Germany (Official German Charts)[9] 19
Ireland (IRMA)[10] 4
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[11] 7
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] 5
New Zealand (Listener Chart)[13] 1
Rhodesia (Lyons Maid)[14] 4
Sweden (Tio i Topp)[15] 13
UK Singles (OCC)[16] 2

Covers
  • On 25 September 2007, BBC Radio 4 featured a programme called The Story of Flowers in the Rain, hosted by Tony Blackburn, on the court action and its related history, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the song.[17]

References
  1. "The Move Full Official Chart History". The Official Charts. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  2. "Flower Power". BBC News. 24 August 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
  3. Savage, Mark (30 September 2017). "50 facts about Radio 1 & 2 as they turn 50". BBC News.
  4. Another school of thought cites Julie Andrews' "The Sound of Music" as the first track since this was played at 5:30am when the new Radio One frequency opened up with a shared programme, heard simultaneously on Radio Two, hosted by Paul Hollingdale (The Weekly News, Issue 7,946, 29 September 2007)
  5. Sharp, Ken (September 30, 1994). "Roy Wood: The Wizzard of Rock". The Move Online. Archived from the original on January 15, 2008.
  6. "Go-Set Australian charts - 29 November 1967". www.poparchives.com.au.
  7. "The Move – Flowers in the Rain" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  8. "The Move – Flowers in the Rain" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  9. "The Move – Flowers in the Rain" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  10. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Flowers in the Rain". Irish Singles Chart.
  11. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 43, 1967" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  12. "The Move – Flowers in the Rain" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  13. "The Move (search)". Flavour of New Zealand.
  14. Kimberley, C (2000). Zimbabwe: Singles Chart Book. p. 32.
  15. Hallberg, Eric; Henningsson, Ulf (1998). Eric Hallberg, Ulf Henningsson presenterar Tio i topp med de utslagna på försök: 1961 - 74. Premium Publishing. ISBN 919727125X.
  16. "Move: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  17. "The Story of Flowers in the Rain". BBC Radio 4. 25 September 2007. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
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