Battle of the Bands – Friday on My Mind

It’s time for another Battle of the Bands. Today I’m featuring another one-hit wonder, this one by Australian rock band The Easybeats. Battling it out are two cover versions. Give a listen to each contender and tell me which one you prefer in the Comments. I’ll post the results in 6 days!

The song:

“Friday on My Mind” is a 1966 song by Australian rock group The Easybeats. Written by band members George Young and Harry Vanda, the track became a worldwide hit, reaching no. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 1967 in the US, no. 1 on the Dutch Top 40 chart, no. 1 in Australia and no. 6 in the UK, as well as charting in several other countries. In 2001, it was voted “Best Australian Song” of all time by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) as determined by a panel of 100 music industry personalities. In 2007, ‘Friday on My Mind’ was added to the National Film and Sound Archive’s Sounds of Australia registry.

Here are The Easybeats performing their hit song. This is NOT part of the battle and provided here for your enjoyment only.

 

This song has been covered by several musicians, including David Bowie (but I didn’t care for his version). This battle features live performances, pitting electric guitar against acoustic guitar, both with male vocals. See which one you prefer and let me know.

 

Contender #1:  Gary Moore  –  Robert William Gary Moore (April 4, 1952 – February 6, 2011) was a Northern Irish musician, most widely recognized as a singer, songwriter, and virtuoso rock and blues guitarist.

In a career dating back to the 1960s, Moore played with musicians including Phil Lynott and Brian Downey during his teenage years, leading him to memberships of the Irish bands Skid Row and Thin Lizzy, and British band Colosseum II. Moore shared the stage with such blues and rock musicians as B.B. King, Albert King, Jack Bruce, Albert Collins, George Harrison, and Greg Lake, as well as having a successful solo career. He guested on a number of albums recorded by high-profile musicians.

Gary Moore died of a heart attack in his sleep at the age of 58 during the early hours of February 6, 2011. At the time, he was on holiday with a girlfriend at the Kempinski Hotel in Estepona, Spain. After a quiet dinner, they went for a walk on the beach before going up to their room. The girlfriend raised the alarm at 4:00 am, and tried to give him a heart massage. His death was confirmed by Thin Lizzy’s manager, Adam Parsons.

According to The Daily Telegraph, Moore’s fatal heart attack was brought on by a massive amount of alcohol he had consumed the evening of his death. Moore had 380 mg of alcohol per decilitre (100 millilitres) of blood (0.38%) in his system, which meant he was five times the legal drink driving limit. Blood alcohol content from 0.40% to 0.50% is considered to be lethal.

Here is Gary Moore’s performance of Friday on My Mind:

 

Contender #2:  Richard Thompson

Richard John Thompson, OBE (born April 3, 1949) is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist.

He made his début as a recording artist as a member of Fairport Convention in September 1967. He continues to write and record new material regularly and frequently performs live throughout the world.

Thompson was awarded the Orville H. Gibson Award for best acoustic guitar player in 1991. Similarly, his songwriting has earned him an Ivor Novello Award and, in 2006, a lifetime achievement award from BBC Radio. Artists who have recorded Thompson’s compositions include such diverse talents as Del McCoury, R.E.M., Bonnie Raitt, Christy Moore, David Gilmour, Mary Black, Elvis Costello, Marshall Crenshaw, The Corrs, Sandy Denny, June Tabor, Joel Fafard, Maria McKee, Shawn Colvin, Norma Waterson, Martin Carthy, Nanci Griffith, Graham Parker, Jefferson Starship, The Pointer Sisters, Maura O’Connell, Los Lobos, John Doe, Greg Brown, Bob Mould, Barbara Manning, Loudon Wainwright III, The Futureheads, Jeff Lang, Dinosaur Jr., David Byrne, and The Blind Boys of Alabama.

Here is Richard Thompson’s version of Friday on My Mind:

 

TIME TO VOTE! Which version do you like better and why? And when you’re done voting, please visit these other BOTB participants and check out their cool battles:

• Stephen T. McCarthy’s Battle of the Bands Blog
• Tossing it Out
• Mike’s Ramblings
• Curious as a Cathy 
• The Sound of One Hand Typing
• dcrelief ~ Battle of the Bands 
• Shady Dell Music & Memories
• Cherdo on the Flipside 
• THE DOGLADY’S DEN 
• Jingle Jangle Jungle 
• Janie Junebug Righting and Editing
• Jeffrey A. Scott
• Holli’s Hoots and Hollers
• Quiet Laughter
• Your Daily Dose
• ReInvintaged
• Evil Pop Tart