Roachford -- "Cuddly Toy"

(Debuted April 15, 1989, Peaked #25, 14 Weeks on the Chart)

With this post, I've now finished a single week of reviews from each year from 1980 through '89. Next week, the reviews will return to 1980 and begin going through the 1980s another time. Since this was the beginning of the blog, I specifically avoided getting Top 10 hits as it was ramped up in favor of more "forgotten" tunes; bigger hits will start showing up soon. If anybody would like to request a song for me to consider, drop me an email and I'll check it out.

Today's review is a song that had a really short life on hit radio, and one that showed a lot more promise that never was fulfilled. Actually, that statement isn't correct. See, Roachford managed to get additional hit singles after "Cuddly Toy," but they were all on the other side of the Atlantic. Here in the United States, it would be their only appearance on the Top 40.

"Cuddly Toy" was a straightforward rock tune, which was a welcome addition to the Top 40 during a time where many of the hits were synthesized dance grooves, out-of-touch adult contemporary pap or bombastic hard rock. Roachford was actually a group, despite the way the video and Rolling Stone press focused on guitarist/bandleader Andrew Roachford. They were based in England, but should have been given a better chance in the U.S. than the one they eventually had.