Fact #20257

Alan Warner (EMI Records) : These were the heydays of the British cover versions: each week, the A + R guys received the latest 45's from the States and local music publishers would set UK release dates for the songs, allowing British producers to?ready their versions which, more often than not, were almost duplicate arrangements of the originals! An example of the result of all this is that Gerry Goffin and Carole King's Up On The Roof became a Top 10 British hit for Kenny Lynch, produced by Wally Ridley for EMI's HMV label and a Top 40 seller for Julie Grant produced locally for Pye, while the original by The Drifters never made the UK charts.
(Source - promotional radio interview)

Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) : I lived in the West End of London and I used to climb up onto the roofs near my house with my friend Andy. I used to climb onto the roof of the Shaftesbury Theatre, for example.

Then suddenly this song came along, Up On The Roof, and it completely encapsulated that time of my life. Suddenly there was a song that described exactly what we were experiencing. It felt amazing, the way that music coincided with life. It's amazing when a songwriter perfectly expresses what you're feeling.
(Source : interview with Johnny Black, October 2009)