Our Love Is Alive

Chris Norman and Suzi Quatro : Stumblin' In

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On November 5, 1978 the Chris Norman and Suzi Quatro duet, "Stumblin ' In", entered the U.K. charts at #71. The song, written by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn,  would peak at UK#41 but in the United States it would hit #4 on both the Billboard charts and the adult contemporary charts. In Canada it would peak at #1.

On the making of her only U.S. hit with Smokie's lead singer, Quatro remembers:

We were with the same record label ( RSO)and shared the same producer, so we all knew each other. One night while in Germany, we were all at a VIP after awards party. There was a house band there and I dragged Chris Norman up to sing. Mike Chapman liked the way we looked and sounded together. He then went back to his hotel and wrote "Stumblin' In" that same night. The next day he brought in the chorus. Since we were already recording an album ( If You Knew Suzi...) at the time, Chris and I put down the demo and my band played on the record--and the rest us history.

40 Year Itch: Chinnichap

   The BBC Radio 2 series "The Record Producers" offers listeners interviews with some of the most successful producers in rock history. It sounds like they originally made around 1981. If you like this one, I can offer more as the year proceeds. {UPDATE: here's a link to other episodes in the series]

     Of course Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn were songwriters and producers of the some the UK's biggest hits, from almost everything Sweet ever did to Mud, Suzi Quatro and Smokie. Their biggest US hit was Toni Basil's "Mickey". When Chapman moved to the US, he made hit albums with Blondie and The Knack.

    By 1975 the UK hit machine was running out of steam, although they were responsible for: