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Black and Blue (Chain song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Black and Blue"
Single by Chain
from the album Toward the Blues
B-side"Lightning Ground"
ReleasedMarch 1971 (1971-03)
RecordedEarly 1971
GenreBlues
LabelInfinity
Songwriter(s)Barry Harvey, Phil Manning, Barry Sullivan, Matt Taylor
Producer(s)Chain

"Black and Blue" is a 1971 song by Chain which exemplifies, "genuine Australian blues".[1] It is about a chain gang from the country's convict past, and it struck a chord with young suburban audiences, such that it reached No. 10 on the Go-Set National Top 60 singles chart.[2][1] The song was co-written by all four members of Chain: Barry Harvey, Phil Manning, Barry Sullivan and Matt Taylor.[3] It was awarded a Go-Set Silver Disc for 25,000 Australian sales and appeared at No. 31 on Go-Set's Top Singles for 1971.[2][4]

"Black and Blue" appears on the double gold certified album, Toward the Blues,[5] which was released in September 1971 and went to No. 6 nationally in Australia. The album reached ARIA gold status for the second time in 1998.[1] The 30th anniversary "remixed" version of the album was released as a CD in September 2001. The 30th anniversary CD included three bonus songs; Chain's number 2 hit single "Judgement", "Blow in D", and the single version of "Black and Blue". Chain appeared at a special night to mark the 30th anniversary of the release of Toward the Blues held in Melbourne at the Mercury Lounge during September 2001.

Cover versions

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Manfred Mann's Earth Band released a cover version of "Black and Blue" on the album Messin'.[6]

Ash Grunwald (with Scott Owen and Andy Strachan of The Living End) covered the song on the 2013 album Gargantua.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Long Way to the Top". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 2 September 2007. Retrieved 14 March 2009.
  2. ^ a b Nimmervoll, Ed (24 July 1971). "National Top 60". Go-Set. Waverley Press. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  3. ^ "'Black and Blue' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 12 January 2018. Note: For additional work user may have to select 'Search again' and then 'Enter a title:' or 'Performer:'
  4. ^ Nimmervoll, Ed (24 July 1971). "Top Records for the Year of 1971". Go-Set. Waverley Press. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  5. ^ "Toward the Blues - Chain | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  6. ^ Bruce Eder. "Messin' - Manfred Mann's Earth Band | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 July 2016.