Keyboardist Andy Ball, formerly of Candlewick Green, joined the band briefly during this period, to be replaced in early 1978 by Brian Tatum. The latter two singles saw them gradually moving away from glam rock, which was now unfashionable. 8) and the disco-influenced track "Shake It Down" (No. 10), the ballad "Show Me You're a Woman" (No. There they enjoyed three more British Top 20 hits within seven months: "L'L'Lucy" (No. Mud also split from Chinn and Chapman in mid-1975 and signed to Private Stock (licensed to Philips in Continental Europe). Around this time Mud wound up their contract with Rak releasing three further singles, " Oh Boy" (their third and final UK No.
This was released under the name of "Dum" ("Mud" spelt backwards), but it failed to chart.Īfter the success with "Lonely This Christmas", they cracked the Valentine's Day market with "The Secrets That You Keep", which reached No. 6 in the UK, after which they released another track from their album Mud Rock, a cover of " In the Mood". 2 in April 1974, which was written to exploit Les Gray's vocal impression of Presley. After "Tiger Feet" they released "The Cat Crept In" which reached No. The band also embraced the burgeoning disco craze, as exemplified on their 1976 single "Shake It Down" which reached No. " Lonely This Christmas" gets seasonal airplay on British radio and television, (along with Slade's " Merry Xmas Everybody" and Wizzard's " I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday"). "Oh Boy" was the only number one single produced by Chinn and Chapman that they did not also write. Like contemporaries Sweet, their most successful period came when their records were written and produced by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman: in 1975 they had seven singles in the UK Top 40 totalling over 45 weeks on the chart, the most by any artist in 1975. "Tiger Feet" sold over 500,000 copies in the UK and a million copies globally.
Īt the peak of their career, they also enjoyed British number one singles with " Tiger Feet" and " Lonely This Christmas" (1974), an affectionate Elvis Presley pastiche plus " Oh Boy" (1975), a cover of the Buddy Holly hit, which also featured on their album Mud Rock Volume 2. After years of unsuccessful singles, they were signed to Mickie Most's Rak label, and had three Top 20 successes in 1973 with "Crazy" (No. The band appeared on The Basil Brush Show on BBC TV, and toured as support for Jack Jones. Three further singles in 1967/68, "Up the Airy Mountain"/"The Latter Days", "Shangri-La"/"House on the Hill" and "Jumping Jehosophat"/"Won't Let It Go", made no impression on the UK Singles Chart.
The band released their debut single "Flower Power" on CBS in 1967, but were not immediately successful.
Mud in AVRO's TopPop (Dutch television show) in 1974 After signing to Rak Records and teaming up with songwriters/ producers Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, the band had fourteen UK Top 20 hits between 19, including three number ones. Their earlier success came in a pop and then glam rock style, while later hits were influenced by 1950s rock and roll, and they are best remembered for their hit singles " Dyna-mite", " Tiger Feet", which was the UK's best-selling single of 1974, and " Lonely This Christmas" which reached Christmas number 1 in December 1974. Mud (now Mud II) are an English glam rock band, formed in February 1966. Mud II (2004-present) Origin Carshalton, Greater London, England Genres Glam rock, pop, rock and roll Years active 1966–1979, 1980–present Labels Rak Records "Lonely This Christmas" has been regularly reissued in the U.K., even returning to the chart in 1985, when it reached number 61.Mud in 1974 Background information Also known as Les Gray's Mud (1980-2004) But that was fine, because it didn't matter if you laughed at it, or if it meant something to you, as long as it affected you in some way." Then we found out people took it seriously. "It was meant to be like one of those old schmaltzy Christmas songs. "It started as a send-up," Gray himself remembered. "Nicky and I were only concerned with writing songs that he could sing.like Elvis," Chapman confessed, "and I took that to its absolute extreme with 'Lonely This Christmas.'"
The fact that Les Gray is, once again, in full Elvis sound-alike mode for the song, of course, only heightens the impression, which was precisely what songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman were intending. Mud's second British number one, from December 1974, is also one of the most enduring festive pop hits of the 1970s, a moving, heartfelt ballad which really wouldn't have been out of place on one of Elvis Presley's Christmas collections.