Apollo 100
Bandleader Tom Parker in 1972 on AVRO's TopPop.
Background information
GenresInstrumental rock
Years active1971 (1971)–1973 (1973)
Past membersTom Parker
Clem Cattini
Vic Flick
Zed Jenkins
Jim Lawless
Brian Odgers

Apollo 100 was a British instrumental group, that had a U.S. Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit with the Bach–inspired single "Joy" in 1972.[1]

History

Apollo 100 was founded by arranger and multi-instrumentalist Tom Parker, who was known for his arrangements from the Young Blood catalogue, such as the Top 20 American hit "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" and a number of Don Fardon's recordings. Parker had played keyboards, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, and a number of other instruments from an early age, and entered the music industry as a session musician by the 1960s.[2] In the intervening time, he associated with a number of groups, including The Mark Leeman 5, Jimmy James and the Vagabonds, and Eric Burdon with the New Animals.[3][1]

Parker formed Apollo 100 in the latter part of 1971 with fellow session musicians drummer Clem Cattini, guitarist Vic Flick, guitarist Zed Jenkins, percussionist Jim Lawless, and bassist Brian Odgers.[1] In December 1971, they released their first single, "Joy", an electrified arrangement by Clive Scott of Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring".[1][4] The single rose to number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. None of their subsequent efforts were as successful, and they broke up in 1973.[1]

Parker went on to form the New London Chorale.

Soundtrack appearances

Apollo 100's first single "Joy", released from their premiere album Joy, has subsequently been featured in the soundtracks of the films Boogie Nights,[5] One Day in September,[4] and The 40-Year-Old Virgin,[6] as well as the television series The Man Who Fell to Earth.[7] While not featured in the Battle of the Sexes soundtrack, the song was played during a scene in the movie and was cited in the end credits.[8] The song Mendelssohn's 4th appears in Gaslit S1E4 as the backing track of a montage.

Charting discography

Studio albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart
positions
AUS
[9] 		US
Joy
  • Released: March 1972[10]
  • Label: Mega M31-1010
 - 47
Master Pieces
  • Released: April 1973
  • Label: Mega M51-5005
 62 -

Compilation albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart
positions
AUS
[9]
Reach for the Sky
  • Released: 1979
  • Label: Endeavour Records (END-002)
 37

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions
Year Title Peak chart
positions
AUS[9] CAN RSA US 100[11]
1971 "Joy" 3 24 18 6
1972 "Mendelssohn's 4th (Second Movement)" - - - 94

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Larkin, Colin (1992). Colin Larkin (ed.). Encyclopedia of popular music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 96. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
  2. ^ Jancik, Wayne (1998). The Billboard book of one-hit wonders. Billboard Books. p. 306. ISBN 0823076229.
  3. ^ Castello, Dionisio (1991). Good Times: The Ultimate Eric Burdon Audio - Videography, 1963-1991. Fondi.
  4. ^ a b Jenkins, Mark (8 December 2000). "Anarchy in the U.K." Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2021. One Day in September tells such a compelling story that miscalculations like the banal narration (read by Michael Douglas) and the sometimes incongruous soundtrack [...] of Philip Glass [...] and Apollo 100's electro-Bach "Joy" are not fatally distracting.
  5. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Boogie Nights, Vol. 2 Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  6. ^ Phares, Heather. "The 40 Year-Old Virgin Review". AllMusic.
  7. ^ Arabian, Alex (8 August 2022). "'The Man Who Fell To Earth' – Alex Kurtzman's Love Letter To David Bowie". Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  8. ^ Valerie Faris & Jonathan Dayton (co-directors) (September 2017). Battle of the Sexes (Motion picture). Fox Searchlight Pictures.
  9. ^ a b c Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 19. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. ^ Billboard, Billboard Productions, Inc., New York, March 18, 1972, p. 48
  11. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - IS=BN 0-89820-089-X
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