"Wait for Me Mary-Anne" was a hit single in the late 1960s for English group

The Marmalade Marmalade are a Scottish pop rock band originating from the east end of Glasgow, originally formed in 1961 as The Gaylords, and then later billed as Dean Ford and the Gaylords, recording four singles for Columbia Graphophone Company, Columbia ( ...

as well as New Zealand group The Dedikation.

Overview

"Wait for Me Mary-Anne" was written by

Howard Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard. ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'' notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no particular reason for ...

and Blaikley. The publisher was Southern Music Publishing Co.

The Marmarlade version

Background

The Marmalade version had also been referred to as "Wait for Me Marianne".

Reception

Penny Valentine Penelope Ann Valentine (13 February 1943 – 9 January 2003) was a British music journalist, rock critic, and occasional television personality. Biography Penny Valentine was born in London, England, of Jewish and Italian ancestry. In 1959, sh ...

shared her thoughts on the song in the 21 September 1968 issue of ''

Disc and Music Echo ''Disc'' was a weekly British popular music magazine, published between 1958 and 1975, when it was incorporated into ''Record Mirror''. It was also known for periods as ''Disc Weekly '' (1964–1966) and ''Disc and Music Echo '' (1966–1972). ...

''. It was to be released the following day. She said that even though everyone thought that the song would be a big hit, she didn't think that it had anything near the same impact as " Lovin' Things". She thought that the song ran into itself all the time and she would have liked a break between the verse and the chorus, so that the chorus would hit out a bit more.

Ian Middleton Ian Middleton (26 October 1928 – 24 October 2007) was a New Zealand novelist, who made a particular mark with his books set in post-Second World War Japan. Born in New Plymouth, he was the younger brother of noted New Zealand short story writ ...

wrote in the 12 October 1968 issue of ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' that with "Wait for Me Marianne", Marmalade had recorded a very fine follow up to "Lovin' Things". He also wrote that Marmalade was on a two-week break, and that he hoped they would find "Wait for Me Marianne" in the UK Top Ten when they returned. The single was one of the Best Bets in the 26 October 1968 issue of ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

''. The reviewer referred to it as a "good time bubble gum piece" that was a "cut above the bubblegum sound".

Charts

"Wait for Me Marianne" was in the ''

'' Bubbling Under" chart for the weeks of October 5 and October 12. The single peaked at no. 30 on the UK charts during its five-week run.

The Dedikation version

Background

New Zealand group The Dedikation followed up on their single, "Hayride" / "Bare Footin'" with their version of "Wait for Me Mary-Anne" in 1969. The single was produced by Rob Robinson. The horns were arranged by Wellington jazz saxophonist Don Richardson. Backed with " Sally Had a Party", it was released on

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

45213.

Reception

According to Bruce Sergent of Sergent.com.au, the Dedikation version of "Wait for Me Mary-Anne" has more depth than the version by

and is the superior version.

Charts

As shown in the 18 October 1969 issue of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', "Wait for Me Mary-Anne" by The Dedikation debuted at no. 10 in the New Zealand chart. Their version made it to no. 2 on the New Zealand national charts. The single was kept off the no. 1 spot by "

Something Something may refer to: Philosophy and language * Something (concept) * "Something", an English indefinite pronoun Music Albums * ''Something'' (Chairlift album), 2012 * ''Something'' (Shirley Bassey album), 1970 * ''Something'' (Shirley Scot ...

" by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

. "Wait for Me Mary-Anne" also spent a total of three months in the NZ charts.''Elsewhere'', Dec 18, 2019
DEDIKATION, AT AUDIOCULTURE (2019): Covering their way to the top - Graham Reid
/ref>

References

{{reflist

External links

* The Dedikation - Topic channel, Jul 21, 2018
Wait For Me Mary-Anne
* Kiwigold channel, Dec 1, 2024
The Dedikation Wait for Me Mary Anne HQ (video short)
Songs written by Ken Howard (composer) Songs written by Alan Blaikley 1968 singles Marmalade (band) songs Song recordings produced by Mike Smith (British record producer) 1969 singles CBS Records singles Polydor Records singles