Paul Fitzpatrick

I’ve long held a hunch that some like minded citizens from our era share a guilty secret.
It’s not something we generally discuss but I think it’s time we unburdened ourselves…. as they say, confession is good for the soul.

Okay, I’ll go first….  “My names Paul, and I’m partial to a bit of Bubblegum Pop”
There, I’ve said it, there’s no going back, so I better explain myself.

If we’re being honest, growing up a pre-teen in the 60s, there was The Beatles and everyone else. I know a few of us like to revise history and talk about how we were really into The Who, The Stones, The Kinks and how Clapton was God etc, but we all know that the Fab Four dominated the decade and truth be known, c.1968 The Monkees were more popular with my peer group than Jimi Hendrix, et al.

It’s perfectly understandable, we were young, our musical tastes were still developing, and if you cast your mind back to 1968 and your trusty black and white Radio Rental TV, then a weekly episode of The Monkees was one of the very few things you could look forward to, as a 10-year-old viewer.

“I’m a Believer” hit the UK charts, January 1967, at exactly the same time the Monkees TV show entered our young lives, and as unlikely as it sounds now, we all thought The Beatles could be getting a run for their money.

Looking back, how were we to know that The Monkees, a manufactured boy-band, who didn’t initially write any of their own hits, or play the instruments, would turn out to be the pioneers of a new sound… Bubblegum Pop.

To be honest, I’m not sure we could have cared less…. “Last Train to Clarksville”, “I’m a Believer” and “Daydream Believer” were exceptional pop songs that sounded pretty good to these young ears, and that’s all that mattered.

Cut forward a year and I remember hearing the catchy “Mony Mony” by Tommy James and “Yummy, Yummy, Yummy” by The Ohio Express at the ABC Minors Club, but the icing on top of the bubble-gum cake was just around the corner.

Spending eight weeks at number one, a feat matched only by Elvis in the 60s, “Sugar Sugar” by The Archies, established itself as a de facto Bubblegum Pop classic.

The interesting thing about this song, and in fact a lot of these songs, is that whilst the artists could be a bit frivolous, the personnel behind the songs certainly weren’t.

Take “I’m a Believer”, which was penned by Neil Diamond. Or, “Sugar Sugar”, composed by Jeff Barry, a prolific songwriter with “River Deep, Mountain High”, “Da Doo Ron Ron” and “Then He Kissed Me” to his credit.

On top of that, in a lot of cases you had the best session players laying down the tracks, including the legendary Wrecking Crew, boasting Glen Campbell and Leon Russell within their ranks.

At that age we were oblivious to songwriters or musicians, we were just enjoying the catchy pop music streaming from the radio, the tv or the café jukebox.
We were also oblivious to music categories, so I’m unaware of when I first heard the term ‘Bubblegum Pop’ although it sums up the genre pretty well, catchy tunes aimed at pre teens. Just like a Bazooka Joe…. tasty, sweet and disposable.  

Bubblegum Pop has its roots in America although the trend eventually reached these shores, inspiring hits like “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” by Edison Lighthouse and “Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep” by Middle of the Road. In some cases, the genre was mimicked by bands to specifically recreate the Bubblegum sound.

One such band was 10cc who adopted the Bubblegum sound on early recordings, “Rubber Bullets” and “Donna”. earning them valuable airplay and two big hits.

There was nothing too complicated about Bubblegum Pop, hence the reason you’ll struggle to find any deep or meaningful themes or ground breaking guitar solos. What you did get, was three minutes of catchy, melodic pop music from guys who knew their audience and knew how to deliver against the brief.

1967-1972 is considered to be the golden age of Bubblegum Pop but it’s influence lives on.

I’m sorry to upset any elderly Converse-wearing Punks out there, but there’s a strong case to suggest that The Ramones schtick was an extension of the genre… for “Blitzkrieg Bop” read Bubblegum Pop?
At the other end of the scale, the current K-pop phenomenon is also viewed as a modern version of the genre.

Like any music category there’s good sh*t and bad sh*t. It just so happens that there’s a handful of pop hits that transport me back to an age of innocence and give me a warm fuzzy feeling whenever I hear them.
This may be due to the catchy hooks & melodies, the quality musicianship & well engineered production values or perhaps it’s just down to unadulterated nostalgia…. most likely all of the above.

To be honest I’m no arbiter of what constitutes Bubblegum Pop, but here’s a few blasts from the past that fall into the category for me…