SINGLES
THE CALIFORNIANS-Sunday Will Never Be The Same/
Cant
Get You Out Of My Mind (Decca)
CHERRY SMASH-Sing Songs Of Love/ Movie Star (Track)
CHOCOLATE WATCHBAND-Requiem/ Whats It To You? (Decca)
PETER COOK/DUDLEY MOORE-Bedazzled/ Love Me (Decca)
CROCHETED DOUGHNUT RING-Havana Anna/ Happy Castle (Deram)
SPENCER DAVIS GROUP-Mr Second Class/ Sanity Inspector (UA) #35
EASYBEATS-The Music Goes Round My Head/ Come In, Youll Get
Pneumonia (UA)
FINDERS KEEPERS-Friday Kind Of Monday/ On The Beach (Fontana)
THE HERD-Paradise Lost/ Come On Believe Me (Fontana) #15
THE HUMAN INSTINCT-A Day In My Minds Mind/ Death Of The
Seaside (Deram)
THE MICKEY FINN-Garden Of My Mind/ Time To Start Loving You
(Direction)
PAPER BLITZ TISSUE-Boy Meets Girl/ Grey Man (RCA)
PREGNANT INSOMNIA-Wallpaper/ You Intrigue Me (Direction)
SMALL FACES-Tin Soldier/ I Feel Much Better (Immediate) #9
THE SPECTRUM-Headin For A Heatwave/ I Wanna Be happy With
You (RCA)
STATE OF MICKEY AND TOMMY-Frisco Bay/ Nobody Knows Where You've
Been (Mercury)
CAT STEVENS-Kitty/ Ceylon (Deram) #47
STUDIO SIX-Strawberry Window/ Falling Leaves (Polydor)
SYMBOLS-(The Best Part Of) Breaking Up/ Again (President) #25
TINKERBELLS FAIRY DUST-Lazy Day/ In My Magic Garden (Decca)
TINTERN ABBEY-Vacuum Cleaner/ Beeside (Deram)
TRAFFIC-Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush/ Coloured Rain
(Island) #8
EP
THE
BEATLES-Magical Mystery Tour (Parlophone) #2
ALBUMS
ART-Supernatural
Fairy Tales (Island)
JULIE
DRISCOLL/ BRIAN AUGER—Open (Marmalade) #12
PICCADILLY
LINE—The Huge World Of Emily Small (CBS)
JIMI HENDRIX
EXPERIENCE—Axis: Bold As Love (Track) #5
THE
HERD—Paradise Lost (Fontana) #38
ROLLING
STONES—Their Satanic Majesties Request (Decca) #3
CAT
STEVENS—New Masters (Deram)
TRAFFIC—Mr
Fantasy (Island) #8
THE
TROGGS—Cellophane (Page One)
HAPPENING!
- The Beatles
Magical Mystery Tour is screened by BBC1 on
Boxing Day. The film confuses many; the situation
exacerbated by the fact that the colour film is broadcast
in black and white. The critics have a field day,
suggesting that the group are in terminal decline.
- The Move bassist Ace
Kefford is reported to have suffered complete
mental and physical breakdown during the filming of
a promo clip for the groups forthcoming Fire
Brigade single.
- Dave Mason quits
Traffic for the first time (23rd).
- Tomorrow appear in
the film Smashing Time but they decline to
attend the premiere because they consider the film to be
a complete misrepresentation of the pop
scene.
- George Harrison
agrees to write and record the soundtrack for
Wonderwall.
- The Rats, including
guitarist Mick Ronson, record the brilliant (and
unreleased until 1995) Rise & Fall of Bernie
Gripplestone at Fairview Studios, Hull.
- ITV screen The Bee
Gees Christmas special How On Earth which had
been filmed at Liverpool Cathedral.
- Kaleidoscope film a
promo clip for their single A Dream For Julie
(18th). It remains unseen, presumed lost.
- Another city declares war on Pop as
Leicester's top club the Nite Owl is refused a license and closed down by
the police.
- Sam Spoons and Vernon Dudley Bohay Nowell
(spoons and banjo respectively) quit the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band over
disagreements about musical policy.
- BBC 1 TV
Wednesday Play (13th) titled Death Of A
Private tells of a serviceman whose girlfriend
leaves him for a pop singer. The music score is specially
written by Ron Grainer and includes songs by Charles
Stuart and Paper Blitz Tissue.
- The final month of
Twice a Fortnight on the BBC boasts
appearances by Cream (performing Were Going
Wrong) (2nd), Cat Stevens (9th), Small Faces doing
Tin Soldier (16th), and The Who (23rd).
- BBC1 TV Dee
TimeTraffic (16th), The Herd (23rd)
- BBC1 TV
CrackerjackCat Stevens, The Herd
(15th), Simon Dupree & The Big Sound (29th)
- BBC2 TV Once
More With FelixManfred Mann (9th)
- ATV Morecombe
& Wise ShowManfred Mann (10th)
- ATV The Golden
ShotThe Spectrum (23rd)
- ABC-TV Eamonn
Andrews ShowEric Burdon & The Animals
(10th)
- German TV Beat
ClubSmall Faces, Bee Gees, Bonzo Dog Band,
Flowerpot Men, Billy Nicholls (30th)
- BBC
SESSIONSBonzo Dog Band (17th, Top Gear23rd,
Saturday Club), David Bowie (24th, Top Gear),
Alan Bown
(3rd, Top Gear), Eric Burdon & The Animals (31st, Top
Gear), The Cymbaline (11th, Monday, Monday),
Spencer
Davis Group (30th, Saturday Club), Easybeats (16th,
Petes People), Fairport Convention (10th, Top
Gear), Flowerpot Men (2nd, Saturday Club),
The Gun (10th,
Top Gear), Jimi Hendrix (24th, Top Gear), The Herd (2nd,
Saturday Club), Ice (4th, David Symonds, --24th, Top
Gear), Kaleidoscope (13th, Top Gear), Manfred Mann (16th,
Petes People), Marmalade (9th, Petes People),
Moody Blues (3rd, Top Gear9th, Saturday Club), The
Move (21st, Pop North), Nirvana (10th, Top Gear),
Pink
Floyd (31st, Top Gear), Pretty Things (3rd, Top Gear),
Soft Machine (17th, Top Gear), The Spectrum (22nd, Joe
Loss Show), Cat Stevens (14th, Pop North17th, Top
Gear30th, Saturday Club), Ten Years After (10th,
Top Gear), Traffic (24th, Top Gear), Tremeloes (8th, Joe
Loss Show), Troggs (9th, Petes People)
WATCHING!
- The last major
underground event of the year is Christmas On Earth
Continued, billed as an All-Night Christmas
Dream Party and held in the vast London Olympia on
the 22nd. Pre-publicity is hopelessly inadequate and
this, plus a particularly severe winter freeze, results
in a sparse attendance and financial disaster for the
organisers, despite a fabulous line-up of actsJimi
Hendrix Experience, Eric Burdon, Pink Floyd, The Move,
Soft Machine, Tomorrow, Graham Bond Organisation, Sam
Gopal and Paper Blitz Tissue. The Who fail to turn up! Hendrix
pictured above with Soft Machine.
- A projected film of
the event fails to materialise owing to poor picture
quality of the footage, probably caused by the use of
old, cheap film stock.
- If Olympia was a trip
too far, punters could go to Middle Earth instead and be
entertained by Eclection, Sensory Armada (1st, supporting
the Electric Prunes), Blossom Toes, The Deviants (2nd),
Family, Piccadilly Line (8th), Crazy World Of Arthur
Brown (9th), Pink Floyd (15th), Soft Machine, Paper Blitz
Tissue & Al Stewart (16th), Eyes Of Blue and Mabel
Greers Toy Shop (22nd), Fairport Convention and
Tintagel (23rd) Ten Years After (29th) and Family (30th)
- The Nice play a
Scandinavian tour in the middle of the month. A live
Swedish Radio session tape is excavated and released on
CD over three decades later.
- SpeakeasyMoody
Blues (10th), Traffic (18th), Pink Floyd (21st), Tintern Abbey (29th)
- MarqueeNeat
Change (2nd, 9th, 16th,
23rd, 30th), Open Mind (5th, 23rd), Amboy Dukes (7th,
28th), Ten Years After (8th, 22nd), Mabel Greers
Toyshop (9th), Simon Dupree & The Big Sound (11th),
Jeff Beck Group (12th), Nite People (12th, 31st), Remo
Four (14th), Herbal Mixture (16th), Timebox (17th, 21st),
The Nice (18th), Eric Burdon & The Animals (19th),
Eire Apparent (19th), Clouds (21st),
The Iveys (21st) Tuesdays Children (28th), Mud
(30th), Marmalade (31st)
- Scotch Of St James
Club, LondonKaleidoscope (30th)
- Upper
CutTomorrow, Breakthru (2nd), The Move (23rd), The
Who (31st)
- Whisky A Go Go- Dr Marigold's Prescription
(23rd), Shiralee (24th), Cortinas (26th), Trend (30th), Virgin Sleep
(31st)
- Barnes Red Lion Coven Club- Marc Ellington
(26th
- Pavillion,
BathAmen Corner (11th), The Who (18th)
- Ritz Ballroom,
BirminghamPink Floyd (16th)
- Penthouse,
Constitution Hill, BirminghamPink Floyd (16th-late
show)
- Birmingham
UniversityJeff Beck Group (8th)
- Rhodes Centre,
Bishops StortfordMarmalade (4th), The
Spectrum (11th)
- Boston Starlight
RoomThe Symbols (16th), Ferris Wheel (23rd)
- Pavilion,
BournemouthPink Floyd (14th)
- Bournemouth Tech
CollegeTraffic (12th)
- Bradford, String Of
BeadsEric Burdon & The Animals (16th)
- Sussex University,
BrightonJeff Beck Group (14th)
- Top Rank,
BrightonCream (1st), The Nice (27th)
- Bristol
LocarnoThe Move (28th)
- Cardiff
UniversityJeff Beck Group (1st)
- Chelmsford Corn Exchange- Pretty Things
(23rd)
- Chislehurst Caves,
KentPink Floyd (8th)
- Cleethorpes Purple
Onion ClubAlan Bown (10th)
- Coventry
CollegeEric Burdon & The Animals (9th)
- Doncaster Top
RankThe Kinks (22nd)
- Dunfermline Kinema- Robert Plant & Band
Of Joy (3rd)
- Dunstable California Ballroom- Tony Rivers
& the Castaways (23rd)
- Durham
UniversityThe Who (8th)
- Wellington Club, East
DerehamJeff Beck Group (16th)
- Exeter
UniversityEric Burdon & The Animals (12th)
- Harlow Birdcage- Alan Bown, Bonzo Dog Doo
Dah Band (24th)
- Pier Ballroom,
HastingsEric Burdon & The Animals (23rd), The
Who (30th)
- Hinckley St
Georges HallFlowerpot Men (16th)
- Skyline Ballroom,
HullTraffic (6th)
- Hull
UniversityThe Who (6th)
- Keele
UniversityFlowerpot Men (12th)
- Royal College Of Art,
KensingtonPink Floyd, Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band,
Marmalade (6th)
- Tech College,
Kingston-upon-ThamesJeff Beck Group (9th)
- Kirklevington Country
ClubEric Burdon & The Animals (17th)
- Leicester
CollegeTremeloes, Kaleidoscope (8th)
- Leicester
UniversityTraffic (8th)
- City University,
LondonSoft Machine (8th)
- London Soho Les Cousins- Roy Harper, Clive
Palmer, Wizz Jones, Victor Brox (23rd)
- London Tower Hill Dungeon Club- Roy Harper
(26th)
- Nantwich Civic
HallFlowerpot Men (23rd)
- Palais de Danse,
NottinghamThe Move (21st)
- Newcastle Club
A-Go-GoEric Burdon & The Animals (4th)
- Nottingham Britannia Rowing Club- Denny
Laine & The Electric String Band (16th)
- Nottingham
UniversityFlowerpot Men (9th)
- Town Hall,
OxfordJeff Beck Group (23rd)
- Oxford
UniversityEric Burdon & The Animals (5th)
- Flamingo Club,
RedruthPink Floyd (13th)
- Gaiety Ballroom,
RomseyJeff Beck Group (2nd)
- 69 Club, Ryde Castle
Hotel, IOWFairport Convention (2nd), Brian Auger
& the Trinity (9th), Pandemonium (16th), Marmalade
(23rd), Skip Bifferty (30ththe group were hiding
from their manager, the notorious Don Arden!)
- Salisbury City Hall- Troggs (2nd)
-
Slough
CollegeJeff Beck Group (11th)
- Southampton
UniversityTraffic (14th)
- Southport Floral
HallEric Burdon & The Animals (2nd)
- Southport
KingswayFlowerpot Men (19th)
- Stevenage
LocarnoSimon Dupree & The Big Sound (13th),
Amen Corner (27th)
- Silver Blades Ice
Rink, StreathamThe Herd (24th)
- Uxbridge Burtons- Amboy Dukes (23rd)
- North East London
Polytechnic, WalthamstowJeff Beck Group (15th)
- Yardley, The Swan- Penny Peep Show, Magazine
(10th)
REVIEWS
Crocheted
Doughnut Ring
Havana Anna : Opens
with the sound of waves breaking on the sea-shore, then slips into a captivating
Caribbean rhythm. Like most calypso flavoured songs, it's very repetitive, but
the excellent treatment prevents it from becoming monotonous. The vocal blend is
delightful, the throbbing beat sets your toes tapping uncontrollably and the
dubbed-in effects create a genuine tropical atmosphere. It has a warm
away-from-it-all feel.
Human
Instinct
A Day In My Mind's Mind : A
scintillating disc with a storming beat and reverberating twangs, plus
embellishments from harp and flute. Delicious harmonies from the Human Instinct.
The lyric is not so nearly complex or abstract as the title suggests. It's a
happy sounding record, brilliantly produced by Mike Hurst.
Paper
Blitz Tissue
Boy Meets Girl: You may have seen
the group perform this Ron Grainer in BBC-1's "Wednesday Play" this
week. A biting reverberating sound with vocal on deep echo. A competent beat
group disc.
Small
Faces
Tin Soldier: A complete breakaway
from "Itchycoo Park". This reverts to the earthy, raucous sound and
energetic beat that have typified most of the Small Faces earlier hits. Don't be
misled by the title - it's not a protest song. It refers to a boy's relationship
with a girl, and is an analogy rather like "putty in your hands".
Starts slowly, and builds remorselessly to a frenzied climax, with Steve Marriot
blues-shouting till you think his lungs will burst. Has a tremendous sense of
urgency and excitement.
Spencer
Davis Group
Mr Second Class : I
like this considerably better than "Time Seller"--it's not so complex
or involved. In fact, it's a straight-forward and extremely commercial pop
record.
Tinkerbells
Fairydust
Lazy Day: A relaxed jog trotter with
a descriptive lyric. Beautifully harmonised, but it's main appeal lies in the
imaginatively scored pseudo-classical backing with fugal undertones.
Traffic
Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush:
Traffic prove their versatility with a cleverly written piece of music for the
film, but like much film music it is rather incidental and indecisive. S Winwood
Esq sings well and there are interesting passages of mellotron, flute and vibes.
Parts of the theme are reminiscent of Donovan's "Mountain". Saleable,
but not up to the hit standard of "Hole In My Shoe".
Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush:
Another startling, punch-packed and absolutely fascinating disc from
Traffic--full of light and shade, contrasting tempos and intriguing sounds. For
the most part it's busy, urgent and infectiously beaty--but there are constant
breaks in the rhythm, when all manner of absorbing things happen. The organ is
gutty and fruity, and on one occasion gives out like a ship's siren. The whole
record swings along with an uninhibited eagerness, and works up to walloping
fever pitch--apart, of course, from those sudden breaks. In fact, on first
hearing, you're never quite sure what's going to happen next. The vocal is
spirited and alive, and the whole thing has an irresistible carousel flavour. As
the title song from a film, it must be big.
BACK
TO MONTHLY INDEX