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The Singing Nolans
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The Nolan Sisters -
TARGET -
29 July 1978
Produced By Roger Greenaway
UK Chart #3
01. Sailing
02. Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue
03. Mull Of Kintyre
04. Don’t Give UP On Us
05. They Way We Were
06. Isn’t She Lovely
07. You Make Me Feel Brand New
08. Chanson D’Amour
09. God Only Knows
10. Money Money Money
11. Bridge Over Troubled Water
12. Without You
13. Song Sung Blue
14. Your Song
15. He (She)
16. I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing
17. When A Child Is Born
18. Save Your Kisses For Me
19. Make It Without You
20. Reach Out, I’ll Be There
Target was a record label part of the of Warner Music company, who apparently conducted a survey to discover the British publics top 20 favourite songs. These top 20 songs would be the foundation of the girls commercial debut release, credited to The Nolan Sisters.
At the time the group were being managed by Hanover Grand, who had promised the band more TV shows and a bigger income. It was apparent that the company was not impressed with Mum and Dad’s presence in the group and asked them to leave. Thus The Singing Nolans became The Nolan Sisters, featuring Denise, Anne, Linda, Bernie, and Maureen.
Denise had enjoyed recording the album, but was not happy with the direction the group was taking. She would prefer to sing Jazz and Ballad tracks, thus 20 Giant Hits was the last album she recorded with her fellow sisters.
“I enjoyed making the album. It was recorded in a week, which by today's standards is rushed, to say the least. I was lead singer on 'Sailing', 'Without You' and 'The Way We Were'. All the other songs I took part in too. The vocals were good if I say so myself.” Denise.
20 Giant Hits was a huge success, selling 350,000 copies in the UK alone, and peaking at #3 at Christmas 1978, and spent a total of 12 weeks in the UK albums chart. Unfortunately, the girls did not receive direct royalties from the album sales. They were given to Hanover Grand, who would pay the girls a basic set salary regardless of how many units of the album they shifted.
The album was produced by Roger Greenaway, a popular British songwriter, best known for his collaborations with Roger Cook. They were former members of the band The Kestrels, and were responsible for the ‘I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing’ track used for the Coca Cola commercial, which became a UK #1 in 1972. The girls would also cover this song on their 20 Giant Hits album.
20 Giant Hits, despite being recorded in a week, is a fantastic album of 70’s pop music. Many of the tracks featured are still British favourites today. The record would feature ‘Without You’, which would go on to be a mega smash hit for Mariah Carey in the 1993; ‘Save Your Kisses For Me’ which was a track recorded by Brother Hood Of Man, which won the Eurovission for the UK in 1976, and other classics include ‘Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue’ originally a hit for Crystal Gale in 1977, and the only track lifted as a single from 20 Giant Hits.
20 Giant Hits remains the girls highest charting UK album.
