"Juliet" is a pop

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

made famous by the

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

The Four Pennies The Four Pennies were an English beat group most notable for their 1964 UK chart-topping song "Juliet". The band achieved four more top 40 hits in the UK, but failed to chart in the United States during the so-called British Invasion. Career ...

. The track was recorded in 1964.

History

The tune had been written by Mike Wilshaw and he and Lionel Morton and Fritz Fryer developed it into a song, named after Fryer's 2 year old niece.Kutner, Jon & Leigh, Spencer (2005) ''1000 UK Number One Hits'', Omnibus Press, It was performed by the band in 1963 as their winning entry in a talent contest, leading to a recording session for

Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by the Dutch electronics company Philips. It was founded as Philips Phonographische Industrie in 1950. In 1946, Philips acquired the company which pressed records for British Decca's Dutch outlet in ...

.Dunsbee, Tony (2015) ''Gathered From Coincidence: A singular history of Sixties' Pop'', M-Y Books Limited The

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

was originally released as the B-side to "Tell Me Girl", but after receiving airplay the single was reissued with the sides flipped. "Juliet" was released as a single in the UK in February 1964 on the

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed ...

. Produced by

Johnny Franz John Charles Franz (23 February 1922 – 29 January 1977) was an English record producer and A&R man at the Philips label. He was one of Britain's most successful producers in the 1950s and 1960s. While his recordings encompassed several forms o ...

, "Juliet" was the Four Pennies' second hit single. It reached

number one Number One most commonly refers to: * 1 (number) Number One, No. 1, or #1 may also refer to: Music Albums * ''Number 1'' (Big Bang album), and the title song * ''No. 1'' (BoA album), and the title song * ''No.1'' (EP), by CLC * ''n.1 ...

in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

on 21 May 1964, stayed there for one week, but spent fifteen weeks in the chart. "Juliet" was the only 1964 number one by a UK group not to chart in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. "Juliet" proved to be the group's only Top 10 hit. The Four Pennies reached the

Top 20 A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...

three more times after this, but never had another really successful single. The group folded in the autumn of 1966, after their last single release, written by the ex-

Springfields Springfields is a nuclear fuel production installation in Salwick, near Preston in Lancashire, England (). The site is currently operated by Springfields Fuels Limited, under the management of Westinghouse Electric UK Limited, on a 150-year l ...

member

Tom Springfield Tom Springfield (born Dionysius Patrick O'Brien, 2 July 1934 – 27 July 2022) was an English musician, songwriter and record producer who was prominent in the 1960s folk and pop music scene. He was the older brother of singer Dusty Springfiel ...

— "No More Sad Songs for Me" — failed to chart.

References

External links

Song lyrics at homepage.ntlworld.com
* {{authority control 1964 singles UK Singles Chart number-one singles Song recordings produced by Johnny Franz 1963 songs Philips Records singles

History

See also

References

External links