OLDIES SUNDAY: Janet Kay – Silly Games (1977)

Today (January 17), we celebrate the birthday of UK Lover’s Rock legend, Janet Kay on Oldies Sunday! Today we look back at her hit single, “Silly Games“.

Produced by Dennis Bovell and released through Arawak Records in 1977, Janet Kay sings about a man she has a lot of interest in. While she believes he shares the same feelings for her, but they both fail to approach each other and make something happen. It’s a mix of infatuation, What Ifs, and frustration, and Janet doesn’t want to keep playing this game of hide and seek when they’re around each other. The single was released in Europe and peaked at #2 on the UK Singles Chart. It later became one of the tracks that became an anthem during the rise of the UK Lover’s Rock movement in the 1970s, put Janet in the Guinness Book Of World Records as the first British Black Female to score a UK Reggae hit, and the single was the first Lover’s Rock track to appear on the BBC flagship music series, “Top Of The Pops“. It’s forever a classic with Janet’s high notes displayed throughout, and was inspired by the Queen of Jazz Ella Fitzgerald’s Memorex Commercial. The single was featured in the Film, “Lovers Rock“, a part of the Steve McQueen “Small Axe” Film series.