No Time To Lose
Unearthing a Yacht Rock treasure.
I love this song, I really do.
It may be very much of its era, but it just never gets old for me.
Okay, so maybe the video is a little silly.
It is also very much of its era, but it’s a fun watch.
Okay, so maybe lead singer Alan Tarney looks like a cross between Kurt Russell and Paul Rudd… and no one is having more fun in this video than drummer Trevor Spencer. Also, I can’t say for certain, but it sure looks like Leo Sayer (for whom Tarney would later produce) is one of the background singers - it’s the afro.
And okay, so maybe the Tarney-Spencer Band wasn’t quite MTV ready… but the song predates MTV by two years. Ironically, it would be MTV that breathed life into the song for a second time.
If you’re old enough to recall “No Time To Lose”, then you’re old enough to recall that roller skating was all the rage in the late 70s and early 80s (ergo, the video). There was once talk of it being included in the Olympics, but only roller speed skating made it to the Olympic stage… and only on the Youth Olympic Stage… in 2014.
I would take roller skating over what we witnessed with break dancing.
But who was this almost-one-hit wonder, the Tarney-Spencer Band?
The Tarney Spencer Band took shape in Adelaide, Australia when Alan Tarney and Trevor Spencer met and formed the band James Taylor Move in 1967. It should be noted that I can’t find any evidence to suggest the band name refers to any kind of beef with future yacht rock icon James Taylor.
James Taylor Move landed a recording contract with Australian label Festival Records and released their debut single "And I Hear the Fire Sing" / "Magic Eyes" in August 1967. The A-side was apparently considered too radical for local radio (for Australia?!), but the B-side was picked up, received plenty of airplay and became a Top 40 hit in Melbourne. In October of the same year, Festival released the band’s second and final single, "Baby Jane", backed by the raga-influenced "Still I Can Go On".
After the collapse of James Taylor Move, Tarney and Spencer moved to the UK and reunited with their Aussie friend Kevin Peek. In 1969, along with Terry Britten, the four men formed the unironically named band Quartet. Quartet recorded one album with Decca Records which remains abandoned, but two singles were issued on Decca: "Joseph" / "Mama Where Did You Fail" and "Now" / "Will My Lady Come", in 1970.
Quartet eventually fell apart and the four members went on to become producers, songwriters and session musicians. In 1973, Spencer and Tarney, along with their fellow Aussie John Farrar (ex-the Strangers) on lead guitar, became the backing band for Cliff Richard on his 1973 Eurovision Song entry, "Power to All Our Friends".
Around this time, Alan Tarney joined the Shadows (a wildly successful pre-Beatles band and Cliff Richard’s backing band from 1958-1968) on bass guitar and stayed until 1977. Although, the relationship with various members of the Shadows would last for years.
During this time, Spencer and Tarney would also work for artists including Olivia Newton-John, Chris Squire (of Yes), and Bonnie Tyler, and a slew of other successful British artists.
By 1975, Spencer and Tarney had kick-started the Tarney-Spencer Band and released their debut album, the obligatory self-titled Tarney and Spencer on Britain’s Bradley’s Records. The band’s first UK single, "I'm Your Man Rock and Roll" was a dud. Despite an appearance on Top of the Pops, it turns out that the Tarney-Spencer Band would not be your men of rock and roll.
I’ll put it as delicately as I can, "I'm Your Man Rock and Roll" is not a good song. Sure, it’s entirely subjective, but I bet you’ll agree (link at the bottom). The song owes more to Stealers Wheel than it does to Led Zeppelin.
The single failed to reach the top 30 on the national chart in the U.K.; however it began a trend that would continue for the band in the U.S. - "I'm Your Man Rock and Roll" would climb to the lower range of the Top 100 in the states, in this case the song landed at #71 on the Cashbox top 100. This region of the national charts in America would be home during the tenure of the Tarney-Spencer Band.
One thing was clear though, the Tarney-Spencer Band was talented. So much so that by 1978, the duo had inked a 10-album deal with A&M Records.
Their second album Three's a Crowd, was released in 1978 and produced under the watchful eye and ear of David Kershenbaum (Joe Jackson, Duran Duran, Cat Stevens, etc). With the album receiving some help from the members of the Climax Blues Band (then riding high from “Couldn’t Get It Right”) the songs managed to finagle some airplay on U.S. AOR radio stations. The album reached No. 174 on the Billboard 200 and the single, "It's Really You", managed to claw its way to No. 86 on the Billboard Hot 100; however, the record and single failed to chart in Europe.
I’ll put this as delicately as I can, "It's Really You" makes Peter Frampton’s “I’m In You” sound like a God damn masterpiece.
But this song, “No Time To Lose” is found on the Tarney-Spencer Band’s third studio album, Run for Your Life, which came out in 1979 and it was once again produced by David Kershenbaum. However, the record was met with the same shrug as Three’s A Crowd.
Again the album got some play on AOR and much like its predecessor, the album and single hung out in the lower half of the Billboard charts, No. 181 for the album and No. 84 for “No Time To Lose.”
The death knell tolled for the Tarney-Spencer Band.
After the failure of the non-album single “Cathy’s Clown,” a cover of the Everly Brothers hit, the Tarney-Spencer Band called it quits. Under mutual agreement the band was released from the 10-album deal with A&M Records.
After the collapse of the Tarney-Spencer Band, both Alan Tarney and Trevor Spencer worked as freelance producers and songwriters.
In August of 1981, there weren’t that many promotional videos to play on television and how many times can you play “Video Killed the Radio Star” in one day? It would be the dodgy upstart cable network MTV who breathed new life into "No Time to Lose."
Hoping to recoup something, A&M reissued the single; but it just wasn’t in the cards. The song fared only marginally better than the first time around, inching its way on to the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 74.
Post Tarney-Spencer Band (aka the more interesting part)
Spencer eventually moved back to Australia. During his career, Trevor Spencer has been involved in performing, producing and composing with various artists resulting in sales of over 20 million records worldwide.
Right around the time Tarney-Spencer was collapsing, 1979, Alan Tarney began the biggest period of his career when he wrote and arranged the Cliff Richard number one hit "We Don't Talk Anymore". He also produced the Leo Sayer mega-hit "More Than I Can Say".
[Fun fact: “More Than I Can Say was written by Sonny Curtis and Jerry Allison, both former members of Buddy Holly's band the Crickets.]
Tarney would find even more success in the mid-1980s.
After the the first version of this song failed to chart, he partnered with the Norwegian pop band A-ha and produced “Take On Me” in 1984.
By 1985, the Tarney produced version of “Take On Me” was as ubiquitous as daylight and had reached number one in almost every country in Western world; in addition to producing a ground-breaking music video.
Alan Tarney would co-produce or produce A-ha’s biggest selling first three albums, Hunting High and Low (1985), Scoundrel Days (1986) and Stay on These Roads (1988).
Tarney's other production credits include Bow Wow Wow, the Dream Academy, Squeeze, Matthew Sweet, Voice of the Beehive, David Cassidy, Saint Etienne, and the Diana, Princess of Wales: Tribute album. Not a bad CV.
If the Tarney-Spencer Band proves one thing it’s that talent isn’t always enough; and while the three p’s (perseverance, persistence, and pivot) aren’t a guarantee of success, they are three of the more important ingredients.
“You don’t have to be great, you just have to know the right things to do.”
- Alan Tarney *
At the end of the day, maybe “No Time To Lose” is of its era.
I don’t care, it’s a great song.
And hell, I enjoyed roller skating.
VIDEOS (you’ve been warned)
“I’m Your Man Rock and Roll” on Top of the Pops.
ARTICLE FROM THE GUARDIAN:
* Cult heroes: Alan Tarney, the greatest British pop producer you've never heard of
Now here's a name I hadn't heard in a long time. I didn't know their repertoire and you explained it perfectly why :-) but the Cathy's Clown single I remember; It was a minor radio hit in the Benelux.
"No Time To Lose" is indeed a Yacht Rock gem ! Thanks for sharing !
Glad you covered this! Always really liked "No Time to Lose." It's a great track that most people probably don't remember. Love to also hear about his collaborations with Cliff Richard and Leo Sayer. I'm also a big fan of those hits. Did not know he produced "Take On Me" - another classic.