| "Flowers in the Rain" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Dutch picture sleeve | ||||
| Single by the Move | ||||
| from the album Move | ||||
| B-side | "(Here We Go Round) the Lemon Tree" | |||
| Released | 25 August 1967 | |||
| Recorded | 6 July 1967 | |||
| Studio | Advision Sound Studios, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:29 (original version) 2:41 (2007 remastered version) | |||
| Label | Regal Zonophone (UK) A&M (US) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Roy Wood | |||
| Producer(s) | Denny Cordell | |||
| The Move singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Official audio | ||||
| "Flowers in the Rain" on YouTube | ||||
"Flowers in the Rain" is a song by English rock band the Move. The song was released as a single and reached number two in 1967 on the UK Singles Chart,[2] and number four in Ireland.
It achieved its own place in pop history by being the first record[3] to be played on BBC Radio 1 when the station was launched on 30 September 1967. (Technically, both George Martin's specially commissioned "Theme One" and Johnny Dankworth's "Beefeaters" were the first tracks to be heard on the station.[4] "Beefeaters" was Tony Blackburn's theme tune for Daily Disc Delivery and so it was heard before "Flowers in the Rain".[3][5])
The song was written by the Move's guitarist/vocalist Roy Wood. As with many of Wood's early songs, the basis of "Flowers in the Rain" was a book of fairy tales which Wood authored while at The Moseley College of Art.[6] The distinctive instrumental arrangement, including oboe, clarinet, cor anglais, and French horn, was suggested by assistant producer Tony Visconti.[3]
- ^ Segretto, Mike (2022). "1968". 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute - A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999. Backbeat. p. 187. ISBN 9781493064601.
- ^ "The Move Full Official Chart History". The Official Charts. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ a b c "Flower Power". BBC News. 24 August 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
- ^ Savage, Mark (30 September 2017). "50 facts about Radio 1 & 2 as they turn 50". BBC News.
- ^ Another school of thought cites Julie Andrews' "The Sound of Music" as the first track since this was played at 5:30am when the new Radio One frequency opened up with a shared programme, heard simultaneously on Radio Two, hosted by Paul Hollingdale (The Weekly News, Issue 7,946, 29 September 2007)
- ^ Sharp, Ken (September 30, 1994). "Roy Wood: The Wizzard of Rock". The Move Online. Archived from the original on January 15, 2008.