Barry Blue

Barry Blue (born Barry Ian Green; 4 December 1950) is an English singer, producer, and songwriter. As an artist, he is best known for his hit songs "Dancin' (on a Saturday Night)" and "Do You Wanna Dance" (both 1973). 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.

Career 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. 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. 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. 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.

Selected songs for other artists

Chart hits as a songwriter "Sugar Me" for Lynsey de Paul (1972) – a worldwide million seller "Tip of My Tongue" for Brotherly Love (1973) "Do You Wanna Dance" for Barry Blue (1973) "School Love" for Barry Blue (1974) "Miss Hit and Run" for Barry Blue (1974) "Hot Shot" for Barry Blue (1974) "Ooh I Do" for Lynsey de Paul (1974) "Dancin' (on a Saturday Night)" for Flash Cadillac & Continental Kids (1974) "Kiss Me Kiss Your Baby" for Brotherhood of Man (a European million seller) (1975) "Devil's Gun" for C. J. & Company (1977) "Funk Theory" for Rokotto (1978) "One More Minute" for Saint Tropez (USA chart hit, plus no. 9 Dance chart) (1979) "And I Wish" for The Dooleys (1979) "I Eat Cannibals" for Toto Coelo (1982) "Dracula's Tango (Sucker for Your Love)" for Toto Coelo (1982) "All Fall Down" for Five Star (1985) "Dancin' (on a Saturday Night)" (reissue) for Barry Blue (1989) "Escaping" for Asia Blue (1992) "Escaping" for Margaret Urlich (1989) "Escaping" for Dina Carroll (1996) "Je Compte Jusqu'à Toi" for Patricia Kaas (1997)

Chart hits as a producer "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)

Film, television and advertising

Blue has provided soundtracks and/or themes for various productions: TV themes / songsfilm themes / songsThe Golden Shot

Alexander the Greatest

Shirley's World

Lift Off

Billy Liar

Come Midnight Monday

Praying Mantis

Puhd Aineet

Dia Spot Autogrip

Oppenheimer

Faszinationen

Sharp Intake of Breath

Sex in the City

Breaking Bad

The Getdown

Path to 911

Only Fools and Horses

Coronation Street

The Benny Hill Show

EastendersEscape to Athena Eyes of Laura Mars

The Long Good Friday

The Boy Who Won the Pools

Chico and the Man

Felicity

Ishikawa Hiduni

Kids World

The Sweeney

Girls, Girls, Girls

Mackenzie Appointed

Mompti

Side by Side

The Get Down

The Real Bruce Lee

Crocodile

Borg vs. McEnroe

Anita & Me

Top Boy

Money Heist

British Airways

Walls

Honda

Ford

Fabreze

B & Q

Airbus Industries

Camelot

McDonald's

Paramount Pictures

Wella

Discography Albums Studio albums Title Album detailsBarry Blue Released: 1974 Label: Bell Formats: LP, MCHot Shots Released: October 1974 Label: Bell Formats: LP, MC, 8-trackRock 'n' Roll (with Miki Antony and Dave Rowberry) Released: 1975 Label: Regency Formats: LPDisco Happening (with Miki Antony and Tom Parker) Released: 1978 Label: Bruton Music Formats: LPSongs from the Heart Book Released: 18 September 2020 Label: Gonzo Multimedia Formats: CD, digital download

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

EPs Title Album detailsBoy in the Moon Released: 24 May 2019 Label: Favoured Nations Formats: CD, digital download

Singles Title YearPeak 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)"1973223131594111910"Shake-a-Tail" (as Big Wheel)——————————"Do You Wanna Dance?"738—932111411——"School Love"19741131———————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"198986—————————"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Honours, awards, and achievements 1965: Silver Star (Stubby Kaye’s talent show) 1973: Carl Allan Award – Record of The Year (Dancing’ On A Saturday Night) 1977: 6 BMI / ASCAP Awards (Heatwave USA) 1977: Councillor – BASCA 1977: Music Week – Market Survey Top Record Producer 1986: Founded Aosis Studios in London 1989: Founded The Escape Artist Company 1995: Founded Connect 2 Music 2007: Founded Plan 8 Music 2010: Director, PRS for Music Ltd (2010–2019) 2014: Director, Karma Songs