"Hello World"
Cover of the single released in Germany
Single by the Tremeloes
B-side	"Up, Down, All Around"
Released	7 March 1969 [1]
Genre	Pop rock
Length	3:26
Label	CBS
Songwriter(s)	Tony Hazzard
Producer(s)	Mike Smith
The Tremeloes singles chronology
" I Shall Be Released" (1968) "Hello World" (1969) "Once on a Sunday Morning" (1969)

"Hello World" is a song written by Tony Hazzard. It was recorded and released as a single by the Tremeloes in March 1969 and peaked at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart. ^[2]

Background and release

Hazzard wrote the song at the suggestion of his publisher for the Eurovision Song Contest 1969. He conceived "Hello World" as an "obvious title" ^[3] and intended it for Cliff Richard, who recorded Britain's entry " Congratulations" for the 1968 contest. However, the song was rejected in the first round by the Music Publishers Association. ^[4] It was one of three songs rejected for that year's contest that ultimately became hit singles, the others being Roger Cook, Roger Greenaway and Jerry Lordan's " Good Times (Better Times)" (a number 12 hit for Cliff Richard) and Geoff Stephens and John Carter's " My Sentimental Friend" (a number 2 hit for Herman's Hermits). ^{[5] [6] [7]}

The Tremeloes recorded the song as they were fans of Hazzard's previous hit songs. ^[8] It was released as a single in March 1969 with the B-side "Up, Down, All Around", written by band members Len "Chip" Hawkes and Alan Blakley. ^[9] The band promoted the single with appearances on Top of the Pops, ^{[10] [11]} The Golden Shot and The Basil Brush Show. ^{[12] [13]} It peaked at number 14 on 22 April 1969, returning the band to the UK top twenty after the relative failure of the previous single, a recording of Bob Dylan's " I Shall Be Released" that peaked at number 29 in December 1968. ^[14] In an April 1969 edition of Record Mirror, Blakley revealed he didn't want it to be released, saying "I didn't expect "Hello World" to be even a top twenty hit, I didn't really like it. "I Shall Be Released", on the other hand, was not a commercial proposition, but it was a worthwhile record and was better than the things we usually do". ^[15]

Reception

The band received some criticism for a perceived retreat to more commercial territory following the disappointing performance of "I Shall Be Released". ^[16] Philip Crawley of the Newcastle Journal suggested they had reverted "to the lowest common denominator of pop" ^[17] while Tony Barrow, writing under his pseudonym Disker in the Liverpool Echo, said the band were "back in the usual happy-go-lucky rut". ^[18] Reviewing the single in the Daily Mirror, Don Short characterised it as "pleasant, but not as startling as the Tremeloes can be". ^[19] Geoffrey Elliot of the Coventry Evening Telegraph criticised the song as having "none of the verve of their earlier hits" and considered its changes in tempo "more annoying than arresting". ^[20]

Derek Johnson for New Musical Express described it as "typical Trems material – almost predictable. But it doesn't have such an instantly catchy chorus as some of their big hits and this could prevent it from becoming a whopper. Nevertheless, the cheerful, carefree sound, the relatively attractive tune and the bouncy beat makes it hitworthy". ^[21] Peter Jones for Record Mirror praised the song, writing that "they are back to the optimistic, fast-paced sort of determination that registered before ["I Shall Be Released"] – and "Hello World" is the right mixture of breeziness and brashness that should restore them high in the charts". ^[22]

Charts

References