King Midas In Reverse by The Hollies

Album: 30th Anniversary Collection 1963-1993 (1967)

Charted: 18 51

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Songfacts®:

The song title is a reference to King Midas, a legendary king of Phyrgia who asked the gods to turn everything he touched into gold. When the king's wish was granted, he was overjoyed, but when the food and drink turned into gold in his hands, Midas regretted his request and cursed it.

Graham Nash of The Hollies wrote this song where he warns that nothing he does goes right. He is the complete "reverse" of King Midas because "everything he touches turns to dust."
In his book Beeswing, Fairport Convention founding member Richard Thomson recalled an incident at one of the band's early gigs. Bass guitarist Ashley Hutchings was making some between-songs patter, saying Fairport didn't seem to have much luck with money – they were "sort of like King Midas in reverse." Graham Nash was sitting at a front table, and a few months later, Hutchings' quip showed up as the title of this Hollies' single.
Released on September 22, 1967, this psychedelic pop song was a relative failure compared with such previous Hollies' singles as "On A Carousel" and "Carrie Anne." In response, the band penned the more commercial "Jennifer Eccles" for their next release.
After Nash joined Crosby, Stills, Nash & (sometimes) Young, he performed the song in his solo part of their 1970s concerts. That version appears on the 1992 expanded form of their 4 Way Street album.
Graham Nash was on a high after he wrote "King Midas In Reverse," but it marked the beginning of the end of his time with The Hollies. "I loved that song," he sighed to Mojo magazine in a 2021 interview. "It was very personal and the Hollies really liked it. Normally Hollies singles would go in to the Top 10, but when 'King Midas' didn't, they started not to trust my desire to keep moving forward and to talk about real stuff rather than 'Moon/June/Screw-me-in-the-back-of-the-car' songs. 'King Midas' separated us."

Nash wanted to take the band in a new direction, and the relative failure of "King Midas" led to his departure and move to the United States. "He was going to change the world with this song, so everything went in," singer Allan Clarke recalled. "The kitchen sink didn't make it, but virtually everything else did."

Comments: 1

Grimtraveller from North West LondonI have a lot of time for some of the Hollies' work ~ but this is far and away my favourite of theirs. Right from the opening 12-string, through the delicious melody, and into the uplifting chorus, it's a masterpiece.
They went on to do some more great songs after this, but this was their apogee.

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