Flowers in the Rain
Encyclopedia
"Flowers in the Rain" is a song by the sixties Rock band The Move
The Move
The Move, from Birmingham, England, were one of the leading British rock bands of the 1960s. They scored nine Top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any success in the United States....

. The song was released as a single and reached number two in 1967 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

.

It achieved its own place in pop history by being the first record to be played on Radio 1 when the station was launched in 1967 (though technically Johnny Dankworth's Beefeaters was the first track to be heard, since Tony Blackburn
Tony Blackburn
Tony Blackburn is an English disc jockey, who broadcast on the "pirate" stations Radio Caroline and Radio London in the 1960s and was the first disc jockey to broadcast on BBC Radio 1 in 1967. In 2002 he was the winner of the ITV reality TV programme I'm a Celebrity.....

 chose it as the theme tune for his Daily Disc Delivery,and so it was heard before Flowers in the Rain).

In a promotional stunt, for the record - typical of the band's manager
Tony Secunda
Tony Secunda
Anthony Michael "Tony" Secunda was a British manager of rock groups in the 1960s and 1970s, including The Moody Blues, Procol Harum, The Move, and T...

 - a postcard was released with a cartoon of a naked Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...

, linking him to his secretary, Marcia Williams
Marcia Falkender, Baroness Falkender
Marcia Matilda Falkender, Baroness Falkender CBE , formerly Marcia Williams , is a British Labour politician, being first the private secretary for, and then the political secretary and head of political office to, Harold Wilson.-Background and early career:Born Marcia Field, Falkender was educated...

. Wilson sued, and the High Court ordered that all royalties from this song were donated to a charity of Wilson's choice. This legal arrangement remains in force to this day and is thought to have cost the group millions of pounds in royalties over the years.

The song has been covered by Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sandra Sinatra is an American singer and actress. She is the daughter of singer/actor Frank Sinatra, and remains best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"....

.
The Kaiser Chiefs also covered this for the Radio 1 Established 1967
Radio 1 Established 1967
The compilation album Radio 1 Established 1967 is a collection of covers especially recorded for Radio 1 by a number of artists. The album celebrates the 40th anniversary of BBC Radio 1. There are 40 songs recorded by 40 different artists . Each artist was given a year, and were allowed to cover a...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/established1967/feature/40artists.shtml CD.

On 25 September 2007, BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...

 featured a programme called "The Story of Flowers in the Rain", hosted by Tony Blackburn
Tony Blackburn
Tony Blackburn is an English disc jockey, who broadcast on the "pirate" stations Radio Caroline and Radio London in the 1960s and was the first disc jockey to broadcast on BBC Radio 1 in 1967. In 2002 he was the winner of the ITV reality TV programme I'm a Celebrity.....

on the court action and its related history, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the song. In the programme, the band said that although they still play the song regularly, they are beginning to get fed up with it.

External links

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