Love Can Build a Bridge, by Cher (her 3rd of four #1s), Chrissie Hynde (her 2nd and final solo #1) and Neneh Cherry with Eric Clapton (their 1st and only #1s)
1 week, from 19th – 26th March 1995
What this? Cher… Chrissie Hynde?… Neneh Cherry and Eric Clapton? It can only mean one thing: charity single ahoy!
It probably means one other thing… That this record isn’t going to be much good. Not that it stinks – no, we’ve endured far worse chart-toppers in the name of a good cause. But following directly on from one of the all-time power-ballads, this one meanders by fairly blandly.
The three women gamely try to wring some cheer out of this tune, spending much of the video swaying arm in arm as if it was a trailer for ‘Steel Magnolia’s II’ (the fact that they do so while standing on a moving collage of famine victims seems slightly tasteless…) But really, a song with such an impressive cast-list should have little more life to it. The two moments that raise the pulse are the middle eight – When we stand together, It’s our finest hour… – and the solo, provided by one of the most famous guitarists ever to wield the instrument. File Eric Clapton under an ever-expanding folder titled: ‘legends poorly served by their ‘biggest’ hit’…
‘Love Can Build a Bridge’ was written and originally recorded by mother and daughter duo The Judds in 1990, with lyrics inspired by Naomi Judd’s battle against Hepatitis C. This version was the 1995 Comic Relief single, which is interesting, as there’s nothing ‘comic’ about this song. But considering that previous Comic Relief number ones have included Cliff and The Young One’s remake of ‘Living Doll’, and ‘The Stonk’, this comes as something of a relief (if you’ll pardon the pun).
Though this does mean that there’s not as much to write about here, compared to the truly heinous charity singles. The most noteworthy thing is that it is Clapton and Neneh Cherry’s highest-charting hit (it being the fourth of only five UK Top 10s for Cherry), and Chrissie Hynde’s final #1, after ‘Brass in Pocket’ with The Pretenders and a duet with UB40 (interestingly a cover of Sonny & Cher’s ‘I Got You Babe’). The one contributor that we will be hearing from again is, of course, Ms Sarkisian, who has the small matter of releasing the biggest-selling hit by a solo female… ever… to come.
The UK Number Ones Blog 
‘legends poorly served by their ‘biggest’ hit’…well said. Although it did mean at last that we didn’t have to put up with another ‘comedy’ charity single that sounded slightly amusing a couple of times and then became a major irritant.
Great write-up on a song that I never heard before.
Thanks!
This…is not horrible. Not great, but perfectly fine. It’s a waste of the talent, but for a charity single, it’s not terrible.
I had no idea Clapton – an overrated guitarist, an underrated singer and a shitty person (seriously, look up some of the stuff he’s done and said) – had come anywhere close to a No. 1 in the UK. He was much bigger in the US than the UK in terms of both singles and album sales, which is surprisingly since most rock-oriented post-60s artists do better on the singles chart in the UK than the US.
I did consider mention Clapton’s… opinions… especially on a record that was raising money for African children, among others… But I think most people know by now, and he’s not really the main story here. ‘Tears in Heaven’ was his biggest UK solo hit (#5), though he got to #3 with the Yardbirds in the sixties.
I love Eric…there has been worse people than him…and yea his talent was wasted in this but he sounds great!
It’s weird to see him with these ladies especially Cher…she is the odd one in this to me. Not bad for a charity single.
With Eric Clapton… They placed him like 34th on the Best Guitarists recently in Rolling Stone…they put Joni Mitchell in front of him! That is so damn stupid…and they put in his description how he was against the vaccine…and the author didn’t know why people still followed him becasue of that…what the hell? What does that have to do with his guitar playing? He got something like Guillain-Barré syndrome after the shot…my cousin got it also…it’s rare but it happens. She had it bad and was in the hospital for months and couldn’t walk.
Yeah it’s a decent solo, in an OK song. Not a career highpoint for any of them, though.
With Clapton, being anti-vax is very current, and personally I don’t see why anyone, musician or otherwise, has to broadcast their opinions on it. Get it, or don’t get it, whatever.
His views on race and immigration though… That’s far worse, in my opinion, and I can see why that would taint your enjoyment of his music. Whether it should affect his ranking in a list of guitarists, though… Probably not. Bowie also made some questionable comments on Hitler and the nazis, around the same time, and seems to have gotten away with it, mayber because everything else about Bowie ticks 21st Century boxes of creativity, gender fluidity etc etc…
We should just be objective about it, but music is so tied to our emotions and our personality that we can’t, and ideally we want to like musicians that aren’t terrible people… Except being rich and famous has a tendency to make you a terrible person… It’s a minefield!
Oh I agree about that…I guess when you can’t walk you may want to say something though. Even he said it was rare… but to me there is nothing wrong with that. Thats a choice…and why would I let a guitar playr, hollywood star, or anyone tell me whether to take a shot or not? I would decide myself.
Yea I’ve seen those before…those statements from Clapton from like 1976 or so I think. I’ve also seen interviews from black players who all say…Clapton is not a racist…now that still doesn’t make what he said right…but I don’t think he is a racist.
As far as Bowie…what’s that saying? “Cocaine is a hell of a drug”… because he never really did it again and that was during when he was blitzed living on cocaine.
I’m not endorsing people saying all of this at all… but I’m also not going to do a mob’s rule….
I mean Ted Nugent and Madonna both said they would like to kill the president or blow up the white house. Let ME say that in front of cameras….the FBI would be at my door… but I know they wouldn’t do it.
They got caught up in the moment…and they were recently…not back in the 70s.
This is one of the most interesting conversations I’ve had in days!
It is an interesting conversation, and one that could potentially never end. There’s no ultimate answer…! I like your point about mob rule – we just need to remember that they are human like us, say stupid things, often while high out their skulls… And some of them occasionally take advantage of their status, and do terrible things, which we as listeners/fans have to deal with however we see fit…
Sadly, people on both left and right (and I’m a fairly big leftie), seem to enjoy the mob rule side of things a little too much!
I know that I’ve done stupid things….many times…but our mess ups are not on an international level….
You know I used to be more on the left…but this PC or whatever you call it…has driven me away…far away from democrats over here…to way more in the center. Yes I agree with your last sentence.