THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

410-Cockney Rebel-Judy Teen.

1974-Number 5 single.

Best Bit At 0.56. After checking out as many lyric websites as I could find, I was disappointed to see that everyone of them hear the lyrics as ‘She made us happy.’ I have always heard ‘Sh’made us appy,’ which I think sounds a lot more ‘Rock N’ Roll’.

Stephen Malcolm Ronald Nice was born on February 27th, 1951, in Deptford, London, England, as either ‘Cockney Rebel,’ ‘Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel’ or just as ‘Steve Harley’ he has released 12 studio Albums between 1973-2020. There have also been 41 single released in that time period, which include five re-issues of his UK Number 1 single ‘Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me,)” which has sold in excess of 1.5 million copies. In total Harley has achieved seven UK top 40 singles, including the 1986 duet with Sarah Brightman with ‘The Phantom of the Opera.’

Harley (see also best songs 2) formed the original Cockney Rebel in London, England in 1972, and with various member changes they were active through until 1977 when Harley officially went solo. He reformed Cockney Rebel in 1984, and again in 1989-1992, and various line ups have appeared as his touring band Cockney Rebel since 1996, in total 25 members have come and gone.

‘Judy Teen’ was the breakthrough hit for Cockney Rebel whose line up at that time was Steve Harley, (vocals) Jean-Paul Crocker, (electric violin, mandolin, guitar) Milton Reame-James, (keyboards) Paul Jeffreys, (1952-1988) (bass) and Stuart Elliott (drums.) In 1973 Cockney Rebel had just recorded their critically acclaimed debut Album ‘The Human Menagerie,’ but it wasn’t selling in great quantities due to the lack of a commercial song to release as a single. Harley explained,’The record company said we don’t have a single, and I said arrogantly, I’ll write one, now I think what an arrogant young man, fearless! Judy Teen was a boy/girl story, a teenage romance, a bit of sex in there. I was 18, or 19 when I had the experience, that the song came from.’

‘Judy Teen’ was co-produced by Steve Harley and the legendary producer Alan Parsons, whose previous work had included being the sound engineer on classic Albums such as ‘Abbey Road,’ by the Beatles, and ‘The Dark Side of the Moon,’ from Pink Floyd. Parsons would later go on to produce the second and third studio Albums for Steve Harley, as well as for many other artists including Al Stewart,(see also best songs 130) and John Miles (see also best songs 81.)

‘She took us on a carousel, she made us smile and oh, how we laughed. Together riding on a crest it was swell, we stole her face and oh how we laughed. She made us happy.’