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"Blackberry Way"
German picture sleeve
Single by The Move
B-side	"Something"
Released	28 November 1968 (UK)
Recorded	1968 at Olympic Studios, London
Genre	Baroque pop
Length	3:38
Label	Regal Zonophone (UK) A&M (US)
Songwriter(s)	Roy Wood
Producer(s)	Jimmy Miller
The Move singles chronology
"Wild Tiger Woman" (1968) "Blackberry Way" (1968) "Curly" (1969)
Performance video"Blackberry Way" (on Beat Club) on YouTube

"Blackberry Way" is a 1968 single by British band The Move. Written by the band's guitarist/vocalist Roy Wood and produced by Jimmy Miller, "Blackberry Way" was a bleak counterpoint to the sunny psychedelia of earlier recordings. It nevertheless became the band's most successful single, reaching number 1 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1969.

The Move vocalist Carl Wayne refused to sing on the song, so Wood handled the lead vocal. Richard Tandy, who later played keyboards with Wood's next band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), played harpsichord on "Blackberry Way". Despite the success of the single, the style of psychedelia-tinged pop sat uneasily with guitarist Trevor Burton. He left the group shortly after.

The B-side, "Something", was specially written for the band by David Scott-Morgan and was produced by Denny Cordell and Tony Visconti.

Wood said in a 1994 interview that "Blackberry Way" is his favourite Move song of all time, commenting that it could have been performed in any era and still worked.

Personnel

The Move

• Roy Wood – lead and backing vocals, guitar, sitar
• Trevor Burton – bass, backing vocal
• Bev Bevan – drums

Additional musicians

• Richard Tandy – harpsichord
• Uncredited - mellotron

Charts

Cover versions

• In 1969 Italian band Equipe 84 produced a cover version (with Italian lyrics by lyricist Mogol), named "Tutta mia la città" ("All the town is mine"), which became a hit in Italy.
• UK alternative rock band The Wonder Stuff released a version of the song on one of their series of EPs titled From the Midlands with Love in 2012.

References

1. Horning, Rob (15 February 2007). "Electric Light Orchestra: Too Much at Once Can Blow the Fuse". PopMatters. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
2. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 228. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
3. ^ Sharp, Ken (30 September 1994). "Roy Wood: The Wizzard of Rock". The Move Online. Archived from the original on 15 January 2008.
4. "Planet Mellotron Album Reviews: M14".
5. "Go-Set Australian charts - 23 April 1969". www.poparchives.com.au. Archived from the original on 5 September 2007.
6. "The Move – Blackberry Way" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
7. "The Move – Blackberry Way" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
8. "The Move – Blackberry Way" (in French). Ultratop 50.
9. "Salgshitlisterne Top 20 - Uge 8". Danske Hitlister. 10 February 1969. Archived from the original on 2 August 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
10. "Salgshitlisterne Top 20 - Uge 8". Danske Hitlister. 24 February 1969. Archived from the original on 2 August 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
11. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. p. 178. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
12. "Irish Singles charts 1967-1969". 26 August 2012.
13. "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Move".
14. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 15, 1969" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
15. "The Move – Blackberry Way" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
16. "Listener - The Move". Flavour of New Zealand. New Zealand Listener. Archived from the original on 22 March 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
17. "The Move – Blackberry Way". VG-lista.
18. Kimberley, C (2000). Zimbabwe: Singles Chart Book. p. 32.
19. Hallberg, Eric (193). Eric Hallberg presenterar Kvällstoppen i P 3: Sveriges radios topplista över veckans 20 mest sålda skivor 10. 7. 1962 – 19. 8. 1975. Drift Musik. ISBN 9163021404.
20. Hallberg, Eric; Henningsson, Ulf (1998). Eric Hallberg, Ulf Henningsson presenterar Tio i topp med de utslagna på försök: 1961 - 74. Premium Publishing. ISBN 919727125X.
21. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
22. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Move – Blackberry Way" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON The Move"
23. "Discografia Nazionale della canzone italiana". Discografia.dds.it. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
24. "Hit Parade Italia - Indice per Interprete: E". Hitparadeitalia.it. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2016.

External links

• "Blackberry Way" at discogs.com
• "Blackberry Way" at 45cat.com

• The Move songs
• UK singles chart number-one singles
• 1968 singles
• Baroque pop songs
• Songs written by Roy Wood
• Song recordings produced by Jimmy Miller
• 1968 songs
• Regal Zonophone Records singles