(Barry Mann - Cynthia Weil)
Australia
#11 Sydney #7 Melbourne #3 Brisbane #2 Perth
Title We Gotta… as on Australian 45.
Single charted in 1987, taken from 1986 album Howling.
Hugely popular and influential live rock band formed in 1974, known in the US as Angel City. Before going electric, initially as The Keystone Angels, brothers John & Rick Brewster with Doc Neeson had been in Adelaide’s acoustic Moonshine Jug and String Band. The Angels’ first single, Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again (1976, #23 Sydney, #24 Adelaide), became one of their best-known songs, thanks to a chanted response from audiences, later heard in a live version that charted more highly than the original (1988, #21 Sydney, #8 Melbourne, #4 Brisbane, #2 Adelaide #11 Perth). The Brewster Brothers are still recording and performing.
Further reading: 1. The Search Is On To Find Who Came Up With The Angels Famous Chant By Paul Cashmere at Undercover. 2. Ian McFarlane, Encyclopedia of Australian Rock & Pop (1999), pp.17-20 [also as archived online version]. 3. Howlspace’s Angels page [archived version]. 4. The Brewster Brothers’ website.
Not to be confused with: 1. US group The Angels known for “My Boyfriend’s Back” (1963). 2. The 70s rock band Angel was the reason the Aussie group altered their name in the US.
Suggestion from Terry Stacey.
(Barry Mann - Cynthia Weil)
USA
Unreleased demo version
By co-writer for Red Bird label. Intended for the Righteous Brothers. Later released on retrospective collections.
Reference: The Originals.
Husband and wife team Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil were amongst the most prolific and successful songwriters of the 1960s.
Mann-Weil hit compositions included I Love How You Love Me (The Paris Sisters), Blame It On The Bossa Nova (Eydie Gormé), On Broadway (The Drifters), Saturday Night At The Movies (The Drifters), Home Of The Brave (Jody Miller), and You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling (co-write with Phil Spector; The Righteous Brothers).
Mann-Weil songs recorded in Australia and featured at this site include It’s Not Easy (Normie Rowe), Heart (Lynne Randell), Come On Over To Our Place (Bev Harrell), It’s A Happening World (The Executives), Kicks (The Librettos), Walking In The Rain (co-write with Phil Spector; Cheetah) and Till We Kissed (Ray Columbus & The Invaders).
Further reading: List of compositions at the Mann & Weil website.
(Barry Mann - Cynthia Weil)
UK
Original version
#2 UK #13 USA #8 Brisbane #20 Adelaide #24 Perth
Title We’ve Gotta… as on UK 45
First released version, single on Columbia by top-rank R&B-pop band formed in Newcastle featuring lead singer Eric Burdon and keyboardist Alan Price; at one stage they were called The Alan Price R&B Combo.
Further reading: 1. The song history by Arnold Rypens at The Originals lists several other versions and gives a little background. 2. Bruce Eder’s bio of The Animals at AllMusic is a solid one-page overview of the band.
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Website by Lyn Nuttall. © Lyn Nuttall 2004-2025. Chart positions courtesy of Gavin Ryan’s Australian Chart Books and Dean Scapolo’s Complete NZ Music Charts. Special thanks to Terry Stacey for information, corrections and suggestions. Thanks also to Tony Watson, Philippe Edouard, Dave Overett.., More…