“Blackberry Way” – Single by The Move
B-side: “Something”
Released: November 28, 1968 (UK)
Recorded at Olympic Studios, London
Label; Regal Zonophone (UK), A&M (US)
Songwriter: Roy Wood
Producer: Jimmy Miller
Charted No.1 in UK, No.7 in West Germany
“Blackberry Way” is a 1968 single by English 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.
“Blackberry Way” is often cited as an “answer song” to the Beatles’ “Penny Lane.” It has similarity with “Penny Lane,” only with much darker lyrics and a melancholy mood. The bridge is taken from Harry Nilsson’s “Good Old Desk.” Roy Wood acknowledged the influence of “Penny Lane” in an interview. He said: “I suppose it could have been. We were all very influenced by what The Beatles were doing because they were the best songwriters around.”
The Move were a British rock band of the late 1960s and the early 1970s. They scored nine Top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any real success in the United States. Although bassist-vocalist Chris “Ace” Kefford was the original leader, for most of their career the Move was led by guitarist, singer and songwriter Roy Wood. He wrote all the group’s UK singles and, from 1968, also sang lead vocals on many songs, although Carl Wayne was the main lead singer up to 1970. There were initially four lead vocalists in the band (Wayne, Wood, Trevor Burton and Kefford).
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
