Songoftheday 8/20/16 - I know you've heard so many people say I've got a different girl in every town...

"Cuddly Toy (Feel For Me)" - Roachford
from the album Roachford (1988)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #25 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 5

Today's song of the day comes from the British rock band Roachford, who came together behind group namesake and lead singer Andrew Roachford in London in the late 80s. With an all-black lineup that played rock music with a danceable beat, they stood out from their peers in mid-80s lily-white new wave-obsessed Britain. Their debut single, "Cuddly Toy", originally was released in the summer of 1988, where it was a minor hit at #61. Written and co-produced by Andrew, when it was re-released in January of 1989 (with the tag "Feel For Me") it did much better, and even became a success in the U.S...

"Cuddly Toy (Feel For Me)" became Roachford's sole top-40 pop hit in the U.S. in June of 1989. The 12" remixed version reached #34 on Billboard's Dance Club Play chart. Internationally, the song climbed as high as #4 on the British chart in its second run (their single top ten hit there), got into the top-40 in the Netherlands at #17, and was a minor hit in Germany (#49) and Australia (#73).

Their next single, "Family Man", made it to #25 on the UK list. With their sophomore effort, Get Ready!, in 1991, they landed another top-40 hit in their homeland with the title track, which also got them their first hit in France at #35. The band racked up five more top-40 hits in the UK in their next two album releases, with "The Way I Feel" going to #20. His last minor hit in the country was in 2000 with "From Now On" (#90), but Andrew continued to have success in Europe as a hired singer on club tracks like Bustafunk's "Run Baby Run" the following year (#11, France) and "Pop Musak" with Mousse T. (#19 Germany, #14 Austria) in 2004. In 2010 Andrew made the top ten in France as a vocalist on Laurent Wolf's "Survive" (#9, France). That same year he joined pop-rock band Mike + The Mechanics as a co-lead singer, while still releasing music with his Roachford band through 2013.

(Click below to see the rest of the post)


British soul singer Beverly Knight included a cover of the song in her 2011 album Soul UK, and while the single didn't make the chart, the album sold respectably, reaching #13...

In the same year, dance act Rhythm Central interpolated the song with Roachford's vocals into a new single called "What I Need (Cuddly Toy)"...

Finally, here's Andrew (with definitely not Roachford) for a gig in England...

Up tomorrow: Ginger popstar throws in the towel. I can relate.