Barry Blue

Blue worked across singer-songwriter, songwriter, singer, record producer and DJ producer and 2 further recorded occupations. The registers place that work in pop music. This article rests on 65 catalogued compositions, 15 issued recordings and 17 scholarly references drawn from named institutional registers. Every statement below returns to a source shown in the evidence panel; where the record is silent or divided, the article says so instead of resolving it.

• Name — Barry Blue • Birth Name — Barry Ian Green • Born — 4 December 1950 • Birthplace — London, England • Instrument — Vocalist • Genre — Pop, glam rock • Occupation — Singer-songwriter, record producer • Years Active — 1964–present • Label — Bell Records, Decca, Private Stock, Jet, Bruton Music • Website — https: BarryBlue.co.uk

At the age of 13, Blue (born Barry Ian Green) made his first television appearance with his school band, the Dark Knights, performing on Stubby Kaye's Silver Star Show, a weekly children's talent show hosted by Kaye via Granada TV. By the age of 14, Blue had signed with record producer Norrie Paramor, whose assistant was Tim Rice; the producer of Blue's first song "Rainmaker Girl", which became a hit for Gene Pitney in the United States. Later, he became a bassist in the line-up of Spice; the band featured Mick Box and David Byron, and was the precursor to the heavy rock band Uriah Heep. He followed this in 1966 with a two-year period in A&R at the Bee Gees' publishing company Abigail Music, under the direction of their manager Robert Stigwood. In 1970, Blue signed as a songwriter to ATV-Kirshner located in Bruton Street, London, where he joined a group of professional songwriters that included Lynsey de Paul and Ron Roker. One of their earliest songs was "Sugarloaf Hill", recorded by the reggae artist Del Davis. Other early career notable songs co-written by Blue and de Paul include "Tip of My Tongue" for the British group Brotherly Love, as well as female vocal trio Ellie, and "House of Cards" recorded by a number of artists including John Christie, Australian artist Rob Guest, and the D.J. Tony Blackburn. Another from this period included "Crossword Puzzle", also co-written with de Paul, and which led to an appearance on Top of the Pops for Irish singer Dana. At the time, he was still using his real surname of Green. Blue wrote his first UK singles chart hit in 1972 with de Paul, titled "Sugar Me". The song was originally written for Peter Noone, but de Paul's boyfriend at the time, Dudley Moore, suggested that she should take a demo version to manager Gordon Mills, who told her she should record it herself. The song also charted in the Netherlands, Spain, and Belgium. "Sugar Me" was also covered in the US by Nancy Sinatra and Claudine Longet.

He released his first record in June 1971, under his real name of Barry Green, on the Ember label titled "Together", written by Jean-Pierre Mirouze, taken from the French film Le mariage collectif. He signed to Decca Records and released four singles between 1971 and 1974, including "Papa Do". In a 2020 interview, he revealed that he decided to adopt Blue as a stage name after speaking with a record company employee who told him that green is considered an unlucky colour by circus performers, and because all the three singles released as Barry Green had been "quite unsuccessful", he eventually decided to be known as Barry Blue instead. His first UK chart success as a performer came with the change of name, and a record deal with Bell Records in 1973. He had five hit singles, "Dancin' (on a Saturday Night)" (no. 2, 1973; co-written with de Paul), "Do You Wanna Dance?" (no. 7, 1973), "School Love" (no. 11, 1974), and "Miss Hit and Run" (no. 26, 1974), followed by his final Top 40 hit in the UK singles chart in October 1974, "Hot Shot" (co-written with de Paul), which climbed to no. 23 in the UK and reached no. 3 in Zimbabwe. Blue returned to the UK charts in 1989 with a remixed version of "Dancin' (on a Saturday Night)". Throughout 1973–74, Blue appeared on many major TV shows and tours alongside artists such as Queen, ABBA, and Status Quo. Blue achieved a million seller in 1975 with "Kiss Me Kiss Your Baby", recorded by Brotherhood of Man. Two years later, in 1977, he co-wrote "Devil's Gun", a song by C. J. & Company from the album of the same name. The song was no. 1 on the Billboard disco/dance chart for five weeks. The single also peaked at no. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100, and no. 2 on the R&B chart. [[Devil's Gun#cite note-2|[2]]] Written by Blue, Ron Roker, and Gerry Shury, and produced by Mike Theodore and Dennis Coffey, the song is notable for being the first record played at the opening of Studio 54 on 26 April 1977 by DJ Richie Kaczor. [[Devil's Gun#cite note-3|[3]]] The instrumental portions of "Devil's Gun" were featured prominently in the international version of the film Crocodile. It also featured in the film The Real Bruce Lee. In 2016, the song was included in The Get Down soundtrack, and the following year it was featured in the film Borg vs McEnroe. One of his major production successes was the multi-racial, Anglo-US funk/soul band Heatwave, who enjoyed hits in the UK and US with "Boogie Nights", "Always and Forever", "Mind Blowing Decisions", and "The Groove Line". Other funk songs produced by Blue include "Funk Theory" by Rokotto, which reached no. 49 in 1978, "Somebody Help Me Out" by Beggar and Co, which reached no. 15 in the UK in 1981, and "Say Yeah" by The Limit, which peaked at no. 17 on the UK singles chart and no. 7 on the U.S. Billboard Dance/Club Play chart in 1985. In 1988 Blue worked again with Rod Temperton on the Siedah Garrett album, Kiss of Life (released on the Qwest label) writing the title track. In 1989, under the artist name Cry Sisco!, Blue had another minor hit with a song called "Afro Dizzi Act", which reached no. 42 on the UK singles chart. In 2023 Blue commenced writing the English lyric adaption for the French musical Bernadette de Lourdes, based on the true life story of Bernadette Soubirous, who in the town of Lourdes in 1850s France, had 16 visions of a lady believed to be The Virgin Mary and faced ridicule, doubt and condemnation.The English language version makes its debut at the Athenaeum Center in Chicago in February 2026 and then embarks on nationwide tours of the US and Canada followed by the rest of the world in 2026/7.

• song title — artist — year — songwriter — producer — album (a) / single (s) • "I Hope and I Pray" — Alvin Stardust & Sheila Walsh — 1986 — Brenner, Lippell, Moss — Barry Blue — (s) see title • "E Sara' A Settembre (Someone like You)" — Andrea Bocelli — 2001 — B. Blue, A. Salerno, R. Smith — (a) Cieli di Toscana • "Old Flame Burnin'" — Andy Gillin — 1989 — B. Blue, J. Cavanagh — Uno Hoo — (s) see title • "We All Work Out" — Beggar and Co — 1982 — Jonathan Perkins — Barry Blue — (s) see title • "Trop jeune à dix-sept ans" — Celine Dion — 1984 — Barry Blue, P. Greedus — Eddy Marnay Rudi Pascal — (a) Les oiseaux du bonheur • "Who" — Diana Ross — 1982 — Barry Blue, Rod Bowkett — Diana Ross, Michael Jackson — (a) Silk Electric • "Escaping" — Margaret Urlich — 1989 — Barry Blue, Robyn Smith — Nigel Lowis — (a) Only Human • "What a Bitch Is Love" — Marcia Hines — 1982 — Paul Greedus, Barry Blue — Dave MacKay — (s) see title • "Love the Way You Love Me" — Marti Caine — 1981 — Blue, Greedus — Blueytunes Productions — (a) Point of View • "The Little Things" — Matt Monro — 1976 — Blue, Worth — John Burgess — (s) see title • "Tremblin'" — Mel Smith — 1986 — Barry Blue, Paul Greedus — Pete Wingfield — (s) see title • "No Time to Be Hurt" — Pixie Lott — 2009 — Barry Blue, Pixie Lott — Barry Blue — (a) Turn It Up (unreleased) • "Just a Disillusion" — Sandie Shaw — 1976 — W. & M. J. P. Vermuelem — Barry Blue — (s) see title • "Flashback" — The Saturdays — 2010 — The Saturdays — Barry Blue — (s) Ego • "Radiator Rock" — The Sting-rays — 1982 — Paul Greedus, Barry Blue — Paul Greedus — (s) see title • "Replace Your Heart" — The Wanted — 2010 — Cathy Dennis, Kasia Livingston — Barry Blue, Greg Kurstin — (a) The Wanted • "Don't You Remember When" — Vera Lynn — 1976 — De Paul, Blue — De Paul — (s) see title • "Travelin' On" — Acker Bilk & Paramount Jazz Band — 1972 — Blik, Green, Mazi — Terry Brown — (a) Acker Pie • "Je compte jusqu'à toi" — Patricia Kaas — 1997 — Barry Blue, Robyn Smith, Zazie — Jefferey (C.J.) Vanston — (a) Dans ma chair • "Love in Me" — Danni Minogue — 2009 — Blue, Mallozzi, Sabiu — Rapino Bros — (a) The 1995 Sessions • "New York Moon" — Louise — 1997 — Barry Blue, Robyn Smith — Steve Levine — (a) Woman in Me • "Love Bomb" — Cheryl Lynn — 1980 — De Paul, B. Blue — Barry Blue — (s) see title

• "Fairytale" for Dana (1976) • "Boogie Nights" for Heatwave (1977) • "Have I the Right" for Dead End Kids (1977) • "Too Hot to Handle" / "Slip Your Disc to This" for Heatwave (1977) • "The Groove Line" for Heatwave (1977) • "Mind Blowing Decisions" for Heatwave (1978) • "Always and Forever" for Heatwave (1978) • "Something's Cooking in the Kitchen" for Dana (1979) • "I've Got Faith in You" for Cheryl Lynn (USA R&B hit) (1980) • "(Somebody) Help Me Out" for Beggar and Co (1981) • "Cheers Then" for Bananarama (1982) • "Say Yeah" for Limit (ft. Gwen Guthrie) (1985) • "Mony Mony" for Amazulu (1987) • "Afro Dizzi Act" for Cry Sisco! (1989)

• Title — Album details • Barry Blue — * Released: 1974 * Label: Bell * Formats: LP, MC • Hot Shots — * Released: October 1974 * Label: Bell * Formats: LP, MC, 8-track • Rock 'n' Roll (with Miki Antony and Dave Rowberry) — * Released: 1975 * Label: Regency * Formats: LP • Disco Happening (with Miki Antony and Tom Parker) — * Released: 1978 * Label: Bruton Music * Formats: LP • Songs from the Heart Book — * Released: 18 September 2020 * Label: Gonzo Multimedia * Formats: CD, digital download

• Title — Album details • Dancin' on a Saturday Night — * Released: 1975 * Label: Sounds Superb * Formats: LP • Dancin' on a Saturday Night – The Best of Barry Blue — * Released: July 1977 * Label: Pickwick * Formats: LP, MC, 8-track • The Best of & The Rest Of — * Released: 1989 * Label: Action Replay * Formats: CD • Dancin' on a Saturday Night – The Very Best of Barry Blue — * Released: May 1993 * Label: Music Club * Formats: CD, MC • Greatest Hits — * Released: 1996 * Label: Hallmark * Formats: CD • Greatest Hits — * Released: February 1999 * Label: Repertoire * Formats: CD • The Singles Collection — * Released: December 2002 * Label: 7T's * Formats: CD • Dancin' (on a Saturday Night)... Best Of — * Released: November 2003 * Label: Castle Music * Formats: 2xCD • The Very Best of Barry Blue — * Released: 18 June 2012 * Label: Demon Music Group * Formats: 2xCD, digital download • Out of the Blue – 50 Years of Discovery — * Released: 28 May 2021 * Label: Edsel * Formats: 4xCD, digital download

• Title — Album details • Boy in the Moon — * Released: 24 May 2019 * Label: Favoured Nations * Formats: CD, digital download

• Title — Year — Peak chart positions • UK — AUS — AUT — BE (FL) — BE (WA) — GER — IRE — NL — SPA — ZIM • "Together" (as Barry Green; from the film Collective Marriage) — 1971 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "I Wanna Join the Cavalry" (as Barry Green) — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Alexander the Greatest" (as Barry Green) — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Papa Do" (as Barry Green) — 1972 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Dancin' (on a Saturday Night)" — 1973 — 2 — 2 — 3 — 13 — 15 — 9 — 4 — 11 — 19 — 10 • "Shake-a-Tail" (as Big Wheel) — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Do You Wanna Dance?" — 7 — 38 — — — 9 — 32 — 11 — 14 — 11 — — — — • "School Love" — 1974 — 11 — 31 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 9 • "Miss Hit and Run" — 26 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Hot Shot" — 23 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 3 • "You Make Me Happy (When I'm Blue)" — 1975 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "If I Show You I Can Dance" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Devil's Gun" (Germany-only release) — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Happy Christmas to You from Me" (with Lynsey de Paul) — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Tough Kids" — 1976 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Billy" — 1977 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "A Lover Lovin' You" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Dancin' (on a Saturday Night) '89" — 1989 — 86 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Barry Blue is recorded with the occupation singer-songwriter. Recorded with the occupation record producer. Recorded as singer-songwriter, songwriter, singer, record producer and dj producer. Recorded at birth as Barry Ian Green.