Hall & Oates are the best-selling pop duo ever, having outsold Simon & Garfunkel and the Everley Brothers. They are also the longest lasting hit duo ever – still friends after 53 years – playing together, still touring and writing songs. Bless?! They have of course made some of the most memorable music of the late 70s & early 80s. ‘Maneater’ & I’ Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)’ are my favourites. They both played regularly on the radio and both were nice sings to dance to, so they made their way onto our mix tapes as well. That was my intro to Hall & Oates ( for the record, Hall is the tall blond one and Oates is the short, moustachioed one.) For a long time those were the only H&O songs I knew. It was only in the late 80s when I was working in Bombay, I listened to my chummery mate’s ‘Best Of’ compilation and discovered Sara Smile and Rich Girl!  And, I discovered that Paul Young’s smash hit ‘Every Time You Go Away’, was actually a cover of a H&O song. And most importantly, I discovered the one of the most famous bass lines of all time – instantly recognisable to anyone who lived through the 80s – was copied from ‘I Can’t Go For That. Listen to the first 15 seconds of the song and you will realise what Michael Jackson did ?! Apparently Hall just smiled when Michael told him he’d copied the bassline and used it for Billy Jean !!

Hall & Oates met in a gunfight. I kid you not! The story is that they were both students at Temple University and each had their own band. One night they went to a band competition at a local theatre when a gang fight broke out and gunshots were fired. Both of them ran for the service elevator and riding down together. Two years later they were flatmates, and, came together as a duo. Their first stuff not very good and didn’t really take off. Their first big hit was ‘Sara Smile’ from ’76 written by Hall for his girlfriend Sara. Another hit ‘She’s Gone’ was inspired by Oates being stood up for a date on New Year’s Eve (I would have drunk myself silly, this guy writes hit record, go figure!).

Unfortunately, I kind of lost touch with H&O’s music after the 80s. Maneater has been on my playlist forever but nothing else. I’ve been listening to H&O non-stop all day today and reliving their fantastic music. It’s so obvious why they were a monster hit machine! Now if only someone can explain those hairdos ?