Can I have my money back...
- Nostra Dam
- Sep 12, 2020
- 5 min read
Updated: Mar 27
Gerry Rafferty, whose real name is Gerald Rafferty, is a Scottish singer-songwriter who began his artistic career in 1966 with the group "The Fifth Column". From 1969, we find him this time in the group "The Humblebums". Which separated two years later without experiencing any real success.
In 1971, he recorded his first solo album "Can I have my money back" which received a rather enthusiastic reception from the critics. But not from the public.
In 1972 he joined forces with Joe Egan to form the group "Stealers Wheel", with which he produced 3 albums and which had a huge hit with the title "Stuck in the middle with you". The adventure will last 3 years.
But this separation has the legal consequence of preventing the singer from producing anything for another three years.
It was therefore only from 1978 that he could release his second solo album “City to city”, the flagship album of his discography and which would produce the enormous “Baker street”, one of the biggest hits of the end of 70. The album will sell more than 5.5 million copies ! And produce two other hits that are "Right down the line" and "Home and dry".
He did it again a year later with the less successful album "Night owl", but still successful. And from which the hit “Get it right next time” will come.
His last major hit was the Single "Royal mile (Sweet darlin)" from the album "Snakes and Ladders".
Artist who will pass away on June 4, 2011 at the age of 63 as a result of liver failure.
To discover or rediscover...
Discography (among others ...) :
70s Decade :
Mr. Universe 1971
Mary Skeffington 1971
Sign on the dotted line 1971
Baker street 1978
Right down the line 1978
Home and dry 1978
Night owl 1979
Days gone down 1979
Get It Right Next Time 1979
80s Decade :
Bring it all home 1980
Royal Mile (Sweet Darlin') 1980
The garden of England 1980
Standing at the gates 1982
Cat and mouse 1982
Sleepwalking 1982
North and south 1988
Hearts run dry 1988
Shipyard town 1988
90s Decade :
I see red 1992
I could be wrong 1992
Don't speak of my heart 1992
The girl's got no confidence 1994
Wrong thinking 1994
Clear day 1994
2000s Decade :
All souls 2000
The land of the chosen few 2000
Sweet love 2000
Another world 2009
Everytime I wake up 2009
Another world 2009
2020s Decade :
You are all I want 2021
I still love you 2021
Slow down 2021
Tracks :
1971...the first steps, which we might call somewhat confidential. The talent is already there, but the young artist still needs to work on his style, that's clear...
1971...after that, a career is built step by step, and meteoric successes are rare. He would therefore have to wait a little longer to reach the forefront of the scene...
1971...in any case, the foundations are good, and that's the main thing. All that remains is for him to find that little something extra that will make all the difference...
1978...and the little something extra, it took him seven long years to find it. But given the enormous success of this new track, it can be called a masterstroke, and it was definitely worth taking the time. The song became a worldwide smash hit and remains to this day one of the most iconic hits of the 70s. MAS-TER-FUL !
1978 ... a sequel which cannot compete with the previous title but which fares well. The artist's career is well and truly launched !
1978 ... a year when everything succeeded. Third title and third hit. For someone who comes out of nowhere, this is called a Jackpot !
1979 ... far from the standards of the time, the singer follows his little path. Impossible to repeat the feat of 'Baker Street' but whatever, the main thing is to participate
1979 ... well, it is clear that this is the kind of title which does not risk igniting the Dancefloor. But it's his style, his trademark recognizable among all
1979 ... his top hit of the year. With him, it's one per year on average. A new global hit that keeps him afloat
1980 ... change of decade. The style evolves somewhat. But not enough to hope to touch the top of the Charts ...
1980 ... the adventure during the 1980s will be very short. One last little title and then goes. A career for the less dazzling !
1980...at least at the highest level, because the adventure is far from over. It's primarily the level of success that will disappear, but not the artist, far from it...
1982...for now, it's mainly the success of his singles that's melting away like snow in the sun. As for albums, he's still managing to stay afloat, more or less...
1982...it's clear that the gap with the competition is widening more and more. His style is really struggling to evolve, which is obviously penalizing him severely...
1982... he tries to hang on as they say, but the competition is so fierce at the start of this decade that staying at the top level is a pure and simple feat...
1988...we lost track of him for almost 6 years, but here he is again no matter what. A will to believe until the very end that commands respect, as they say...
1988... he'll go as far as he can, regardless of success. As for his albums, success is always there, at least...
1988... which can only reassure him about continuing the adventure even further. The core fan base remains substantial at first glance, and certainly sufficient to motivate him to do so...
1992...so he figured it might be worth moving on to the next decade. And in principle, who could blame him ?
1992...especially since this new album is certainly not lacking in quality, far from it. Admittedly, the artist hasn't been at the top for a long time, but still...
1992...his level of inspiration remains more than sufficient to produce this kind of tracks, which his core fans are sure to enjoy...
1994...and here he is again, with the firm intention of never giving up, as always. How long will that last ? That's another story...
1994...nothing and no one seems able to stop him at this point. As long as the motivation is there, he'll go as far as he can...
1994...we imagine we'll find him again later. It would be surprising if it didn't. Now the question is when exactly ?
2000... he disappears more and more often, but he always comes back. The least one can say is that he's taking his time now...
2000...it's better that he takes his time than disappears completely, isn't it ? That's what his core fans tell themselves every time...
2000...what's certain is that he's now pursuing his adventure at what he considers the best pace. A strategy that would be difficult to argue against...
2009... he's averaging two albums per decade, which is already more than decent. At least he's still around, which isn't the case for a lot of his colleagues...
2009...he's starting to show a few decades under his belt and a remarkably full career in terms of producing tracks...
2009...one might have imagined he planned to move on to the next decade, but fate would prevent him from doing so. It was impossible to compete under those circumstances...
2021...these tracks that will be released in 2021 will necessarily be posthumous tracks since the artist left us 10 years ago...
2021... there are still old titles lying dormant that never saw the light of day. So we might as well let the core fans enjoy them...
2021...so, final title or not ? Are there still some in the works that deserve to be released ? Good question...
Wiki :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :
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