[1] Stretch is a rock band from the United Kingdom that grew from the collaboration between Elmer Gantry (real name Dave Terry) and Kirby (real name Graham Gregory) and was most popular in 1970s. Gantry was previously the frontman of Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera. Kirby was previously a member of Curved Air.
Stretch was a British outfit who recorded for the Anchor label. Their first LP was in fact "Elastique", produced by Martin Rushent, and now re-issued by Repertoire, enabling whole new generations to rediscover the power of a band once hailed as one of the hottest new names of 1975.
The start of the band had been quite controversial. In 1974 Fleetwood Mac manager Clifford Davis saw that group falling apart in the middle of an American tour with the departure of Bob Welch. Davis considered himself legal owner of name Fleetwood Mac. He named one of the other bands under his management Fleetwood Mac and sent them out to play the remaining shows of the tour. The result was unhappy fans, who paid to see another band and a lawsuit with the original Fleetwood Mac members that would stretch out for years. The fake Fleetwood Mac was renamed to Stretch and remained under the management of Clifford Davis. Needless to say that the reformed Fleetwood Mac, now with Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks as new bandmembers did not.
Stretch featured the fine vocal talents of one Elmer Gantry (who named himself in honour of the character in the Burt Lancaster movie Elmer Gantry). Elmer had previously led an outfit called Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera, which released three singles in the late Sixties on the Direction label. They were "Flames", (1967), "Mary Jane", (1968), and "Volcano", (1969), all now collector's items. He also recorded a song called "Psychobabble", featured on an Alan Parsons Project Album "Eye In The Sky". They all helped establish Elmer's reputation as a fine, expressive singer and imaginative composer. Stretch was a much more bluesy kind of band and featured a hot young guitarist, and songwriter simply known as "Kirby". Elmer was the lead vocalist and also played some guitar. They made a strong team, ably backed by Steve Emery (bass guitar), and Jim Russell (drums), who also played with rock'n'roll revival band The Wild Angels. Stretch was augmented on the album by horn players Mike Bailey and Ron Carthy, saxophonists Mick Eve and Chris Mercer, and keyboard player John Cook.
The band had made a promising start and enjoyed the thrill of a hit single, when "Why Did You Do It" (written by Kirby and featured on this CD) got to Number 16 in the U.K. in November 1975. It spent nine weeks in the charts and seemed to signal the start of a hugely successful career.
The band followed up "Elastique" with "You Can't Beat Your Brain For Entertainment" (1976), and "Life Blood" (1977), all on Anchor, by which time drummer Jeff Rich had joined the band. The blond-haired young sticksman was later to find job security with Status Quo. The final Stretch record, "Forget The Past" was released on the Hot Wax label in 1978. Alas, none of these last two quite matched up to the power of their debut album and they couldn't manage to find the panacea of another hit single.
By the time they released "Forget The Past" the band had virtually disintegrated. One music expert described the last album, rather cruelly as 'pure trash'. Only Kirby and Steve Emery remained, using session men like Nicko McBrain (drums), from the Pat Travers Band and Trust, who went on to fame with heavy metal gods Iron Maiden. The writing was on the wall for the kind of rock band Stretch typified. Soon they would be replaced by much heavier metal bands like Iron Maiden, or the combined forces of punk and New Wave. Soon, it would no longer be enough simply to get on the stage, yell 'Rock on!โ and play the blues all night. Bands needed an image, lots of special effects, dry ice and rings through their noses (not always in that order of course!). At their peak critics rated Stretch as 'the greatest British blues and boogie band of the era', and many spoke in whispered reverence of the crazed night in 1976, 'when they nearly blew Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow off stage'. With the miracle of the CD re-issue we can now once again enjoy the excitement of the band 'at full stretch', on their first album as they stomp through Elmer Gantry compositions like "Miss Jones", "Miss Daisy", "Snakes Alive", "Write Me A Note", "Tomorrow's Another Day", and "Buzz Fly". Most of the rest of the material was written or co-written by Kirby, including "Why Did You Do It?", "Down Home", and "Slip Away". "Navy Blues" was contributed by another bass guitarist, Paul Martinez (later with Paice Ashton & Lord).
The band eventually split up in 1979, when manager Davis decided to withdraw his financial input.
Stretch reformed in 2007 to coincide with a "Greatest Hits" collection, and toured in support of the Jeff Healey Band.
[2] Stretch were a melodic hardcore band with strong female vocals from Manchester, England. Similar to Life... But How To Live It?, H.D.Q. or Sofa Head.
They released a rare 1-sided 7" called Freedom Is In Peril
Contributed a track to the Headscrew 125: A Manchester Punk/ Hardcore compilation (with Kitchener, Pig Pile & the Amberjacks)
Plus released two demos Steppin' Out and Yourself on cassette in the 1990s
Why Did You Do It'
Stretch Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The damage is much deeper than you'll ever see
Hit me like a hammer to my head
I wonder were you pushed or were you led?
Why did you do it? Why did you do that thing to me?
Why did you do it? Why did you do that thing to me?
The only one who knows the truth
My friends they listen to the things I say
They listen and they hear more everyday
But I know they never understand it
Because it was no accident you planned it
Why did you do it? Why did you do that thing to me?
Why did you do it? Why did you do that thing to me?
The only one who knows the truth
Man it's him me and you
I've been thinking about what you have done to me
The damage is much deeper than you'll ever see
Hit me like a hammer to my head
I wonder were you pushed or were you led?
Why did you do it? Why did you do that thing to me?
Why did you do it? Why did you do that thing to me?
The only one who knows the truth
Man it's him me and you
The only one who knows the truth
Man it's him me and you
Stretch's song Why Did You Do It is a poignant and reflective piece about the aftermath of a painful experience that has left a deep scar on the singer's psyche. The lyrics convey a sense of frustration, anger, and confusion as he tries to make sense of what happened to him. Throughout the song, he asks repeatedly, "Why did you do it? Why did you do that thing to me?" This refrain encapsulates the central theme of the song: the need to understand the motivations behind someone's actions that have caused so much harm.
In the first verse, Stretch speaks of the damage that has been done to him, which is much deeper than what the other person can comprehend. The use of the metaphor "hit me like a hammer to my head" emphasizes the suddenness and intensity of the blow he received. He then wonders whether the person who caused the harm was pushed or led into doing it, suggesting that they may not have acted solely out of their own volition.
The second verse highlights the singer's sense of isolation and lack of understanding. He feels that his friends may listen to him, but they don't fully comprehend the situation because they weren't there when it happened. He also suggests that the act was not accidental, but rather a deliberate plan to cause him harm.
Overall, Why Did You Do It is a song that speaks to the universal experience of betrayal and hurt caused by other people. The lyrics express a desire to understand why someone would do something so cruel, and the frustration of not being able to fully comprehend the motivations behind such actions.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been thinking about what you have done to me
I've been pondering over the hurt you have caused me
The damage is much deeper than you'll ever see
The emotional harm you inflicted upon me is profound and far-reaching
Hit me like a hammer to my head
Your actions felt like a physical blow to my mind and emotions
I wonder were you pushed or were you led?
I am curious as to whether you acted on your own accord or were influenced by someone else
Why did you do it? Why did you do that thing to me?
What was your motive behind hurting me and why did you choose the specific action you took?
The only one who knows the truth
The only person who truly understands the situation is involved in it
Man it's him me and you
The truth is only known by the person who caused the harm, myself, and possibly others involved
My friends they listen to the things I say
My companions hear me speak about the situation
They listen and they hear more everyday
They are attentive and learning more about the situation as I speak
Because it was no accident you planned it
Your actions were premeditated and intentional
Lyrics ยฉ BMG Rights Management, Sentric Music, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Graham Gregory
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jessica Roth
The Mac were on an American tour when Mick Fleetwood found out that rhythm guitarist Bob Weston was banging Mick's wife, Jenny Boyd.
(Jenny had dated Donovan, who wrote "Jennifer Juniper" about her, and she was the sister of Patty Boyd, who was married to George Harrison when Eric Clapton fell in love with her, and wrote most of the "Layla" album about her. The Boyd sisters were in high demand, apparently.)
According to some accounts, Mick punched Weston out and kicked him out of the band. According to others, Mick kept it inside, eating away at him, until he got the other members of the group [John and Christine McVie, Bob Welch] together behind Weston's back, told them he couldn't work with them any more and wanted to call off the tour. The McVies and Welch flew back to England, but manager Clifford Davis told Mick that the band would be subject to all sorts of cancellation penalties if they ditched the tour and convinced him to get a new band together and fill out the rest of the dates. So these guys (Dave Terry aka "Elmer Gantry", Kirby Gregory, Paul Martinez) came out on the road, only to find that Mick had gone back home, too.
(According to Mick, Davis did all of this behind his back. According to Stretch, Mick was definitely going to be on the tour, and then backed out and claimed to have no idea. Probably the truth is in between; Mick gave Davis the go-ahead, but never had any intention of being part of "Fakewood Mac".)
The tour went on, but audiences pretty easily figured out that none of these dudes were Christine McVie, and the lawsuits happened, after all. Clifford Davis got fired. But everybody else did okay, even Bob Weston. Mick and Jenny Boyd even remarried.
(Of course by then, Mick was sleeping with Stevie Nicks behind Lindsey Buckingham's back, and after Stevie broke that off, he took up with her best friend Sara Recor, who was married to the manager for Loggins & Messina. Eventually he got divorced from Jenny for a second time, got engaged to Sara, had the engagement fall apart, got back with Sara, married her, and got divorced for a third time. And that's hardly the whole story. Yeesh.)
jan goolan
Fantastic historic music... Makes me cry ๐ข !!! โคโคโค
Salvatore Vadala
Quando la musica disco era suonata con veri strumenti e cantata con vera voce. Sono felice di essere stato testimone dell'era Funky, meraviglioso brano , ottima band. ๐
philip clarke
one of my favourite funk tunes of all time
Adel Qatramiz
A good judge of goooood music! Blesss!!! Xxx
Keith Holderness
Always Loved This from first hearing. BUT this 12" version
Blows me Away! yep 2023 and Still the Best 1,2 EVER!
william dean
Best soundtrack ever man
Jorge Roger Molins
Quรฉ buen funky, vivan los oldies!
yahu pawul
BEAUTIFUL !!!! I PLAY THIS TRACK ABOUT 30 YEARS :-)))))
Adel Qatramiz
Blessssss
ZORCE STOJANOSKA
THE BEST SONG... I LOVE.