"If I had a million
pounds, I'd buy you the moon,
We could bounce it on the ground outside,
It would miss the animals as it went by,
No squashed frogs..."
SFA - SWEET FLORAL ALBION
The Journal of British Psychedelia
Issue No.: 13 * Date: Xmas 2002 * Price: 5 gold rings
E-mail: sweetfloralalbion@hotmail.com
Online at: Marmalade Skies "The home of British
Psychedelia" : http://www.marmalade-skies.co.uk/
Hi y'all~
Yo Ho Ho! and all that...Uncle Dave is away in Lapland with his
elves, arranging the Xmas Eve prezzie run, so I'm standing in.
We at SFA would like to wish all our readers, contributors and
their kith and kin, and fans and critics alike, a very, very
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! And for 2003 to be a year
of peace and joy.
Well, we can hope I s'pose... ~ Jason Scott (Guest Ed.)
CONTENTS
O- NEWSDESK
O- LIVRE ICY-DELIQUE (Brrrrrrr! Il fait froid!)
O- "CHAPTER FOUR were really JAY AND THE AMERICANS
"....Er, NOT QUITE!!!
O- OUT IN THE COLD - The Sorrows
O- ANGEL PAVEMENT - GRAHAM HARRIS INTERVIEWED
O- PENELOPE BREEDLOVE
O- THE EURO BUREAU OF HALLUCINATION INVESTIGATION
O- WHAT THE PAPERS SAID
O- THE MOTIVES - THE TRUE STORY!
O- CLASSIC REPRINTS- PART II
O- PREVIEW ? REVIEWS
O- CILLA GOES PSYCH !
O- THE SECRETS OF CLIFFORD T WARD
O- PSYCH DISCOGRAPHY
O- {Quotes/Lyrics, & c., & c.}
***LYRICS***
'Lonely Hearts Club
Christmas Party' by THE LOVE MACHINE
Harry meet Fred and Fred meet Mary
She's a meatpacker in the local dairy
Mary meet Ron and Ron meet Ivan
Surely you know Ivan is in advertisin'
And they all get together once a year
Oh, their desperate hours are forgotten here
At the Lonely Hearts Club Christmas Party
Lonely Hearts Club Christmas Party
Lonely Hearts Club Christmas Party Ball
Polly meet Bert and Bert meet Freda
Just call on Freda if you ever need her
Freda meet Clive and Clive meet Claira
She lives all alone with her sister Sarah
And they all get together once a year
Oh, their lonely hours are forgotten here
At the Lonely Hearts Club Christmas Party
Lonely Hearts Club Christmas Party
Lonely Hearts Club Christmas Party Ball
[Al voce femina:-]
"Walking outside in the dark and I'm trying to find you
Dancing with heaven knows who and I'm trying to find you
Love on my mind
Who's that behind me, creeping
Walking outside in the dark and I suddenly see you
Could this be love? Oh yes, could it be love?
Oh, I need you, holding my hand
Makes me feel grand
What's that you say?
Oh....you're one of the band !"
Abbie meet Carl and Carl meet Paula
She's still a good dancer even though she's taller
Paul meet John and John meet Davey
He's on leave from the Merchant Navy
And they all get together once a year
All their daily trials are forgotten here
At the Lonely Hearts Club Christmas Party
Lonely Hearts Club Christmas Party
Lonely Hearts Club Christmas Party
[ad lib to fade]
Irresistible Aussie psych/pop gem, with some of the most
audaciously bad rhyming couplets ever set to a fab libretto.
Satirical, and undeniably camp, yet with a certain degree of
pathos, in particular the waltzy middle section, where a tipsy
short-sighted spinster, desperate for love, ends up getting off
with a frog instead of her longed for prince; plus the deft
addition of a homoerotic reference! Ooooh hello sailor! Merry
Xmas everybody!
***NEWSDESK***
21st CENTURY FOX!
Sing Hallelujah!!! At l-o-n-g last one of our favourite albums
ever, The Fox - 'For Fox Sake', is being given the respectful
reissue it most assuredly deserves.
RPM (that fine outfit who are an example to the industry, pay
attention to detail, present their products beautifully and don't
charge the earth!) are handling this repress, which will include
2 demo bonus tracks and detailed info from guitarist Steve Brayne
- who was recently interviewed by those lovely lads at Marmalade
Skies.
In fact, it is due entirely to Marmalade Skies' interest that
Steve Brayne decided to reissue this fine album.
Catalogue number: RPMBC 254. Due for release end Jan/early Feb
2003.
"POP
45" YAHOO! GROUP
Check out Luis Suarez's http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pop45group if you dig Bubblegum, Psych, Glitter, Powerpop, Pop-psych, Harmony Pop, etc.
MARK WIRTZ NEWS
From Mark Frumento -
"I thought you'd all like to know that RPM has decided to
officially reissue Philwit & Pegasus. I got a phone call from
Mark Stratford (of RPM) who said that the "unofficial"
version prompted him to go ahead with some old plans he had been
making for putting the album out.
Mark S. likes the presentation of the "bootleg" but
it's likely that there will be some modifications to the track
list... if that's any comfort to anyone who's already purchased
the CD. What's cool is that we should hear a fully remastered
version of the LP and the Elephant Song single. I'm going to put
the "unofficial" version out of print but if anyone out
there would like to own it on the chance that it will be a mega
value collectors item in the future (tee hee!) please go ahead
and order a copy. I am personally excited about this since it is
an LP I believe deserves wider attention (though it does elicit
mixed reviews).
One last thing: I am going ahead with plans to put out Pop Works
2.
I will post [on 'Cherry Smash'] a proposed track list soon. The
main focus of the CD will be The Matchmakers and related projects
(i.e. The Guards, Miki etc). Half the CD will be material from
Anthology and the rest will be uncomped singles and LP tracks.
I'm thinking that it will be available by mid-January. Same price
possibly slightly lower!!!"
"ULTRA" E-ZINE
The latest issue (# 02.25
) of the highly recommended 'Ultra', which is rather beautifully
subtitled "the Sweetflorally Fading Takagi Tahiti Aoki
Cassini Sender issue", is now available.
Contact ultra@yucom.be or patrick.vandenberghe@coo.vlaanderen.be for details / subscription.
PAST & PRESENT NEW RELEASES
Two lovely new comps - one of psych & one of freakbeat - due for release on 13th December - 'We Can Fly', Volume 3, and 'That Driving Beat', Volume 3. Perfect stocking fillers methinks!
COLOUR ME POP VOLUME 2
The second volume of poptastic obscurities is on the way! Thus far the comp is still in its early stages, but will definitely contain 'Uncle Joe, The Ice Cream Man' by the Mindbenders, and 'Gingerbread Man' by the Mirror. It is also expected that Happy Magazine will make an appearance. Due early in 2003!
MORE E-MADNESS
Not stratospherically-high
prices this time, but "genre descriptions". A lot of
dealers are pretty good on describing condition of vinyl, etc.
After all, the RC Guide has become a kind of Imperial Measure.
Where they consistently fall down is on the
decscription/labelling of musical content.
There are always gonna be borderline cases which will arouse
debate. But in general, terminologies such as
psych/psych-pop/popsike et al are too easily bandied about,
causing confusion and disappointment. In recent weeks the
following have been given inappropriate psych-related epithets,
by either witless tone deaf sellers, or those unscrupulous
dealers over-eager to exploit the naive psych-hungry punter who
is happy to buy blind:-
SIMON - 'Dream Seller', which is weak
MOR pop of a very soppy and whimsical persuasion.
DON
SPENCER -
'Uproar In The House', a dreadful monstrosity, unlistenable and
totally unhip, from an OZ kids' TV star. Listed as "UK rare
unlisted pop/psych 45"!!! "More pop than psych and
certainly not country" said the dealer rather equivocally,
and added the ridiculous suggestion that Steve Marriot was
somehow involved!!! Well, it ain't psych, but it's total
rubbish and that's for sure.
SPOOKY
TOOTH -
'Witness' LP, described as "classic UK psychedelic
progressive". Nope!
CRISPIAN
ST.PETERS-
'Pied Piper' LP, schmaltzy drivel listed as "rare
psych LP"! Oh dear oh dear oh dear...
If you like decent music, you'd be best advised to avoid these
(and many, many others similarly mis-described) like the
proverbial plague. Buyer beware indeed! Where are those Trading
Standards wallahs when you need them? (Probably looking into
those cruddy 'Psychedelic (sic!) Salvage Company'
boots! (JS)
SELOFANE - 'Girl Called Fantasy',
orchestrated mainstream harmony pop listed as "Beat Pop
Psyche 1967". Well, it's certainly pop and most definitely
released in '67, but that's all that's true.
BRIAN CARROLL I.B.C. ACETATE
Brian Carroll legendary
engineer/producer from the even more legendary I.B.C studios has
informed us of a unique double-sided IBC (red label) acetate,
recorded in 1968. On side one there is 'How To Stop Smoking' a
lengthy (10 mins 8 secs) slice of psychedelic musique concrét,
which utilises various Beatles samples and effects to create a
work which in its own way is as competent as any similar
experiment it is a natural bridge between the avant garde works
of Luigi Nono and Mr. & Mrs. Lennon's 'Revolution 9'. The
second side contains the original sound effects created for
Factory's 'Path Through The Forest' but not wedded to the 45,
because as Brian himself says "there were a lot of suits
running the business then and it went over their heads".
As is known, the intended 45 has been re-created by welding the
sound effects to the issued 45 on 'The Complete [sic] Recordings'
(Heads Together HT 0), it is hoped that the acetate will be
issued in a facsimile edition, two fascinating slices of high
class studio creativity. There is also the strong possibility of
a new Factory compilation, which might even feature previously
unheard tracks, hopefully even the long lost acetate of 'So You
Wanna Be A Rock'n'Roll Star'! Watch this space! (DT)
SKIP BIFF COMP
We are told that due to the unacceptablility of some archive tapes and time required for mastering replacement media, the Skip Bifferty compilation will not appear until February 2003.
AEROVONS OFFICIAL
As a result of the great interest shown in the limited edition of The AeroVons test pressing album, EMI are - after a delay of only 33 years -finally to release this rarity. Hoorah!
STATION
TOP TEN- 'Chocolate Soup FM'
http://www.live365.com/stations/295662
Very pleased with how it
is going. I had someone in Denver listen for over six hours
continuously - then again maybe they just left their PC on. I've
now had well over 3000 listeners since September. Here's this
month's Chocolate Soup top ten, a very autumnal mellow list isn't
it? I think I need to beef up CS's freakbeat ratio!!!
1 Robbie Curtice - When Diana paints a picture (Fading
Yellow 3)
2 Hermans Hermits - Rattler (There's a kind of hush)
3 Normie Rowe - Sunshine Secret (Sweet Floral Albion)
4 6AX - Penelope Breedlove (Syde Trips 7)
5 Four Kinsmen - It looks like a daybreak
6 Aerovons - She's not dead (Aerovons)
7 Tin Tin - Toast and Marmalade (Tin Tin)
8 Wayne Fontana - Words of Bartholomew
9 Cilla Black - Abyssinian Secret
10 Peter Sarstedt - Once upon an everyday (Peter Sarstedt)
Playlist specials include - a Top 20 tracks from the Syde
Trips comps; Graham Gouldman spectacular with hits and
obscurities from Herman's Hermits, Mindbenders etc plus tracks
from his 1968 solo album; and goodies from Sweet Floral Albion,
Fading Yellow, Peculiar Hole In The sky and Jagged Time Lapse.
***IL LIBRO PSICEDELICO: Book Review, by Paul Cross***
Steve Ingless. The Day
Before Yesterday - Rock, Rhythm and Jazz in the Bishop's
Stortford area from 1957 to 1969. Scila Publications: Bishop's
Stortford, Herts. 1999 ISBN 0 9535355 0 9
This tome is an absolute treasure in the fields of local history
and musical history. Writers of fiction are always advised to
write about what & where they know best, to reach close at
hand for inspiration. A maxim which non-fiction writers
should also adopt. Steve Ingless has focused on a small field and
in the process produced a minor classic. If every county, every
town had such a determined researcher we would finally have a
full history of the period, not just of the successful and the
renowned; but of the never-to-be-famous, which contained all the
minutiae of unknown local bands; and through which we could fully
gauge the true impact of psychedelia on the music scene.
Whilst pretty anti-psych in tone, Ingless has adopted an
inclusive, non-discriminatory attitude to data and so he has
amassed a veritable treasure trove of details, for example a fab
description of Cream onstage (p.167) and the most expressive
photo of Steve Marriott in action on 4th February 1967; and a
truly wonderful photo of The Band of Joy.
Here, extracted from this book, is a list of bands who performed
in Bishop's Stortford and the surrounding area during the years
1966 to 1969. A list which how just how vibrant was the scene,
even in the sticks. Some of these names are instantly
recognisable (these have been included for the sake of
completeness and also to show just what great quality bands were
on offer); others, often more evocatively named, are lost in a
seemingly impenetrable obscurity. However, if you or anyone you
know have any info about any of the unknown bands in the
following list, please do contact us. Cheers! Now, feast your
eyes on this lot and dream...
The Poor Souls, The
Cortinas, The Yardbirds, The Truth, The In-crowd, The Mode,
The Mooche, The Carnaby, Intrigue, The Switch, The Small Faces,
The Teapots, The Flies, Wages of Sin, The Exceptions, The
Style, The Move, Tracy's Circles, The Action, Pink Floyd, The
(sic) New Generation, Cream, The Void, Pussyfoot, The Quadrant,
The Eyes of Blonde, The Creation, Moss' Mixture, The Switch, The
Step, Marmalade, The Klick, Dum Dum, The Bees, The Versions, The
Unsolved, The Screen, The Jigsaw, The Lyres, Freak Down Lucifer,
Geranium Pond, Dr. Marigold's Prescription, The Spectrum, Formula
4, Tuesday's Children, The Lloyd, Episode Six, The Cymbaline,
Exploding Orange, Human Instinct, Warren Davis Monday Band, The
Plastic Dreamcoat, The Apricot, The Intransitives, The King
George Co., Honeybus, The Special Offer, Fish-Hook, The Herd, The
Precious Few, The Motion Picture, Omaha, The Mood, Time Box,
Dock, Dynaflow, The Village Green Mixed Show, The Mixed Creed,
The Fox, The Mushrooms, Peeps, The Raid, The Gothics, The
Reaction, The Spectrum, Breakthru, Peach Umbrella, The Trident,
Dream Police, The Exploding Magic Rainbow, Trouble In Mind, The
Throat, Almond Marzipan, The Glass Menagerie, Jack Straw's
Castle, Traction, Zebedee's All Spring Band, The Rubber Band,
Green Ginger, Taste, Midnight Plus, The Crazy World of Arthur
Brown, Delivery, The Formula, The Benefaction, The Chasers, Geth
Semane, Barrie's Magazine, Serendipity, The Track, Passion
Forest, The Nice, Pure Medicine, Brickdust, The Giant
Corporation, The Iveys, The Toast, The Committee, Hopscotch,
Shades of Pale, Tintern Abbey, Pussy, Octopus, The Haze, The
House of Lords, The Haze, Wellington Ketch, Tuesday's Outcome,
The Klan, Film Fun, The Sensations, Blue Ulysses, The Alphabet,
Emily Cue, Ace Kefford And The Stand, Bramble's Army, The Kiss,
Junior's Eyes, Eire Apparent, The Eden Tree, Madrigal, East Of
Eden, High Tide, Jesse Harper, Mighty Baby.
And last, but certainly far from least -Duke West's Circus Of
Fleas, Flicks and Primitive Influences, Yuk!
***"CHAPTER FOUR were really JAY AND THE AMERICANS "....Er, NOT QUITE!!! by Jason Scott***
"I wanna spend all my
money with the richest man,
I wanna know how it feels to be poor, pickin' at a garbage
can"
Much speculation over the years, plus too little in-depth
research, has lead to a rumour concerning the identity of the
band behind the Chapter Four moniker, being regarded as fact.
With no proof whatsoever and only the very slightest
circumstantial evidence a veritable theoretical house of cards
has been erected. This rumour, which originated a decade ago in a
thankfully long-dead fanzine, has been quoted verbatim in the
insert to the Chocolate
Soup CD (Reverberation V ). It reads:
"we can reveal the men behind this great track: they also
recorded for UA, and were none other than (gasp) Jay And The
Americans! Okay so it's hard to believe, but check out the
composer credits and take a listen to the B-side, 'In Each
Other's Arms', a bit of close harmony pop - that'll settle
it!"
That'll settle nothing!!! This half-worked bilge out supposition
has more recently been unquestioningly accepted as fact in 'The
Tapestry Of Delights' entry for Chapter Four, and again on the
sleeve of Rubble 20 (Past & Present PAPRLP 020).
For those of you (the vast majority, I guess?) who don't have
access to the original 45, here's the label info -
United Artists UP1143
Release date [from demo copy]: 15.7.66
A side: 'In My Life' credited to Sanders-Vance-Kane, and
published by United Music Ltd.
B side: 'In Each Others Arms' credited to
Vance-Sanders-Nathanson, and published by Redblood Music Ltd.
Both sides arranged and produced by Gerry Granahan, 'a USA
Recording'.
Kenny Vance and Marty Sanders were certainly members of Jay And
The Americans, but apart from that there is no evidence
whatsoever on the labels of their band's involvement.
Wishing to get to the bottom of this matter, the ever vigilant
SFA contacted Dave 'Jay' Black, the leader of Jay And The
Americans.
We can herewith confirm that, apart from the songwriters, the
rest of the band had no connection with the Chapter Four tracks.
Jay Black told us "I have no recollection of the
recordings", and went on to say that "No, it is not
possible that it was Jay And The Americans".
Jason Stone, the Americans current business manager, also
confirmed that, whilst Kenny Vance was involved with the
recordings, "he did not, however, have Jay Black involved
with the recording at any time". And he went on to state
that the co-writers / fellow Americans group members Marty
Sanders and Kenny Vance were both part of the Chapter Four
outfit, which was further enhanced by session musicians.
So, although Chapter Four featured two band members, it's simply
not strictly true to say that Jay And The Americans recorded
these songs. In fact, strictly speaking it is incorrect.
Unbelievably, it seems that this classic 45 was only issued to
fulfill a publishing obligation, with negligible promotion and
hence non-existent sales.
***OUT IN THE COLD by Jason Scott***
THE SORROWS - 'Old Songs,
New Songs'
Our usual assortment of clichéd "Adjectival Psych
Superlatives" (or "A.P.S." - usually fitted as
standard in all SFA reviews!) almost fail us here, simply cos
this album is so fabulously amazingly brilliantly wonderful! An
essential item for all fans of UK psychedelia.
An Italian-language version of 'Take A Heart', opens the L.P.,
which despite the different tongue is a better version, looser,
subtler more "late-60s" than "beat era".
'Same Old Road' is psych with garage-style Farfisa organ and
great break. 'Rolling-Over' - the Small Faces' track nicely
re-vamped, with soulful vocals retained and more Farfisa. Another
cover next - Traffic's 'Heaven Is In Your Mind', pretty true to
the original arrangement, but I prefer it to the original because
it's also sufficiently different (some manic guitar work). After
all, Stevie Windwood's voice is wonderful but 35 years of
exposure can dull one's appreciation of even the finest work.
'Hey Hey' is great (this is a different version to the 45),
self-penned, punchy, with some blinding guitar, a tad Skip
Biff-ish, which can't be bad, can it? A freaky version of
Family's 'Old Songs, New Songs', does more than justice to the
original. Two Italian language songs are up next - 'Io Amo Te Per
Lei' is psych-going-prog, that has real power and is frankly
rather delicious; its followed by 'Vivi (Baby)' a slab of
old-style ('65-'66) sorrows freakbeat. 'Hey Mr. Policemen' is as
good as their previously mentioned Family cover, it doesn't
diverge too sharply from the original, and has more of that
stunning guitar. 'Shark Fishing Blues' is da blooooze, and
unsurprisingly a bit of an old bore. 'Mr. Fantasy' -
another Traffic cover, another winner, for the same reasons as
above. For real "Hippie music" - flute, harmony vocals,
acoustic guitar and the obligatory drug reference - try 'Mary
J.', you'll not go far wrong.
The highlight of this L.P. and also not to over-hype it, one of
the highlights of late 60s British music, is 'The Maker', a
mini-symphony (six and a half minutes long) from the point where
psych went prog. The first part is fine-quality progressive pop
which is punctuated by the most brilliant Hendrix - inspired
guitar breaks; fluid heavy psych with powerful drumming and twin
guitars, which dissolves into the sound of sunshine, Spanish
guitar AND sitar, some kind of proto-world music collision. Pure
genius.
The close, 'Per Una Donna...No', is simply a quite nice
Italian pop song, but frankly a bit of a let down after 'The
Maker', as almost ANY SONG would be, few songs or bands could top
that! But custom dictated that each side of the album must begin
and end with musica lingua Italiana so...
'Old Songs, New Songs' is a blinding album, a real pleasure to
experience; and soon to be (properly) reissued for the first time
(forget those embarrassing jobs done by Psycho and Hyacinth
records) by those good people at Rockinbeat!
***ANGEL PAVEMENT - GRAHAM HARRIS INTERVIEWED***
Our man (PC) Paul Cross, asks the questions, Angel Pavement's bassist Graham Harris provides the answers.
PC - Where were you guys
from ?
GH - York...the likes of the Smoke/Shots and Cliff Wade were
around at the same time. Cliff was lead singer and shining light
of an outfit called the 'Roll Movement' who had a distinctive
sound and style I really admired.
Angel Pavement eventually poached their drummer and later their
guitarist / trumpeter.
PC - When did Angel Pavement get together ?
GH - Early 1968. Local bands were like girlfriends in the
60's...you used to hop from one to the other 'til eventually
something clicked ! I was in a 'Modish' band called the Machine,
which included a couple of brothers whose parents seemed to be
grooming them for stardom...they obviously lacked any noticeable
talent and when we split in late '67 the drummer (Mike Candler)
joined Roll Movement. They split a few months later and, as fate
decrees, a group called Shotgun Package lost a drummer and
bass...hello Angel Pavement.
We clicked pretty early and were all impressed by the American
'West Coast' sound at the time. Our vocal harmonies were strongly
influenced by groups like the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and Moby
Grape. This suited me down to the ground as vocal harmony has
always intrigued me. The Hollies were my earliest heros.
PC - What was the full band line-up ?
GH - Paul Smith (lead singer) / Clive (Alfie) Shepherd (lead
guitar) / Graham Harris (bass) / Dave Smith (rythm
guitar)...later replaced by John Cartwright on guitar and
trumpet/ Mike (Candy) Candler (drums).
PC - Did the name of the band come from Elton John's '68 demo
"The Girl On Angel Pavement"?
GH - Afraid not. We took it from a 1930's book of the same name
by J.B.Priestly. It seemed pretty cool (the name, not the book!)
at the time and it's been suggested lately that the name is a
strong reflection of the 'psychedelic' era that spawned us.
PC - Could you unravel the ties with other projects such as
Pussy, Tin Biscuit, Fortes Mentum. Was Danny Beckermann the only
link between these outfits.
GH - Yes, Danny was the only link. He seemed to have a 'stable'
of bands that already had or potentially could, promote his in
house style.
PC - What was it like at Morgan studios?
GH - Walking into the owner, Monty Babson's office for the first
time was a bit of a shock....his pride and joy was a collection
of dildos and sex toys which he kept in a glass fronted display
case behind his desk. Quiet a shock for a load of naive northern
lads, even in the swinging sixties! We were always given the
Midnight recording slot at Morgan which was fine but often caused
quiet a few problems. We usually had to pick our way through
previous musicians equipment, and I can remember lead guitarist
Alfie Shepherd trying out Donovan's amp. with a wild riff, and
blowing it up! ( a bit late, but sorry Donovan ) The other
problem was tring to stay sober by Midnight....come on, it's not
that easy to do. There was a particular solo bass riff (I think
it was on the track 'Socialising') I was particularly proud of,
but you don't have to listen too carefully to realise it is not
maybe as crisp as it could be ( a few pints of flat southern beer
could have been at fault) Funnily enough perhaps, I cannot recall
drugs ever forming a part ( or any) of our musical career. The
studio always smelt of hash but that was down to the technicians,
and although a couple of the band had a go, we always seemed to
find a few beers the more attractive option. Not being London
Lads we always needed somewhere to crash out when we were down to
record, and the usual spot for out of town groups was the Madison
in Paddington.....what a dump, but a cheap dump. The best thing
was coming down to breakfast ( served all day by the way) as you
never knew who you would meet as even some better known bands
used it. We often had breakfast with the Grease Band (I think old
man Cocker stayed at the Ritz).
PC - Tell us about any magic moments ?
GH - The whole Mexican experience was unusual. We had a weekend
gig at Sybilla's in Regent Street in late '68 and the Managing
Director of a Mexican hotel chain was on holiday in the UK with
his wife and liked us. He offered a contract for his new club in
Mexico City and we flew over via New York in early '69. You have
to remember Mexico was just getting on the map. We were there
between the '68 Olympics and the '70 World Cup (the one where
Gordon Banks made his famous save against Pele & Brazil.) We
were actually big news out there which was fantastic and exciting
after trolling around the usual UK venues without making headway.
The most unusual gig was on a dam in Guanaguato in Northern
Mexico, facing a lake full of thousands of locals around the edge
and in rowing boats !! We were out there for 5 months and started
some serious recording when we got back. We would often turn up
at a gig in the UK and not know who we were playing with. Usually
the size of the place was a hint. We often played with great
bands like Status Quo, the Move, Marmalade (liked their
harmonies) Georgie Fame, Alan Price... and a lot of Soul bands
like Geno Washington. We got some good ideas from other bands. I
was always impressed by the sound the Move bassist got out of his
'Impact' amp and speakers, and eventually managed to get a set
myself, but never seemed to produce the same sound...
(See "Previews" below, for details of the forthcoming Angel Pavement compilation)
***'PENELOPE BREEDLOVE' - Further Info., by Paul Hodges***
Syde Tryps Seven (Tenth
Planet TP052) included a track, supposedly acetate-only, entitled
'Penelope Breedlove' and attributed to an outfit with the
unlikely name of "6AX". On first hearing this pop gem
it was obvious that I'd heard this one before - but not on an
acetate. A quick shoofty along the dusty shelves of the SFA
Archive revealed that a version of this track had been issued on
45. At the time I didn't play the track to do a direct
comparison; but just recently I gave it a spin and it can now be
revealed that - barring the ever-so-slightly compression and
degraded sound-quality - it is exactly the same. Same mix. Same
take. Same everything. So 'Penelope Breedlove' is not
"previously unreleased" as stated, but an actual
release, albeit extremely obscure and pretty damn rare.
But one mystery remains - why the different credits? Perhaps Dave
Christie was just his professional name?
'Penelope Breedlove'
A. Syde Tryps Seven : Acetate b/w: 'Love, You Don't Know What It
Means'
Artist: 6AX
Writers Credits: Cliff Hall/Rick Stevens
B. Mercury MF 1028. Released 05/68; b/w: 'Love And The Brass
Band'.
Artist: DAVE CHRISTIE
Writers Credits: D[ave] Christie/C[liff] Hall
***WHAT THE PAPERS SAID, selections by Jim Mac***
Letters from the NME, week ending July 1st, 1967:
What is Gary Leeds doing
apart from growing a beard and becoming a Christmas parcel? We
all know that John Walker made his debut at the Paris Olympia and
Scott is busy recording, but still no news of Gary. I think he
has the hardest of the three, being so much in the background
before and he should be seriously considering his solo debut
before the fickle public forget him altogether.
~Lyn Perkins (Droitwich, Worcs)
How much longer must I read that Bob Dylan is finished? he is
still a big name on the pop scene and is currently working on
something new.
Everybody said that the Beatles were fading. Then came along
"Sgt. Pepper" and an almost unprecedented show of
appreciation from all. Dylan is going to surprise everyone very
shortly and prove that he still the sound of the sixties.
~Stephen Miller (Bath)
Everytime a new group appears one member seems to be pushed or
brought forward at the expense of the others.
It started when Jeff Beck of the Yardbirds when it was stated
that his guitar playing sold the records. It happened with
Spencer Davis. The group's records supposedly made the charts on
the strength of Stevie Winwood's voice. Now that Procol
Harum are pushing Gary Brooker to the fore. When will people
realise that a group is a group and not one individual.
~Andrew Egleton (West Harrow, Middx.)
***THE MOTIVES - THE TRUE STORY ! ***
Finally, we can reveal the truth
about the band behind the magnificent, not to say amazingly rare,
psych E.P. - 'The World Is A Trapezium' (Telstar EP 1021 EP)
1967, 4 tracks: 'God Save Our Gracious Cream', 'I Can Hear
Colours', 'Ice Woman', 'Baby Of The May' - about which we raved
so passionately in SFA 5 (Feb-March 2002).
The Motives were not, as had previously been suspected, Opus
under another name, but a band of British servicemen!
With the generous assistance of Barry Beaumont-Jones (The Motives
bass player), together with additional information from Tom
Winter (the band's songwriter and lead guitarist), the true story
can now at last be told...
Barry Beaumont-Jones (BBJ) - It was with great amusement that I
read your article on the Motives. As a co-founding member of the
band, I can assure you that your facts were not accurate...
Dave Thubron (DT) - Was the band actually based in the
Netherlands?
BBJ - No, at Wildenrath in Germany, near the Dutch border. Formed
at RAF Wildenrath in Germany late 1965. Initially a five piece
outfit, the drummer leaving early 1966 to be replaced by John
Redpath, the band played many gigs around the military bases and
some in Holland. The band was similar in style to an Irish
showband and initially played only covers, until in 1967 the lead
guitarist was replaced with Tom Winter, who not only was a fine
guitar player but had the ability to write good material. The
band went from strength to strength, until we decided to record
the above mentioned EP. We paid privately to the Dutch studio and
commissioned about a hundred copies which we could either sell or
give to friends. I sincerely doubt if there are even now 10
copies in existence.
DT - The EP was recorded and issued in '67?
BBJ - Yes.
DT - Tom, what guitars did you play?
Tom Winter (TW) - Whilst with the Motives, a hand-defaced Hofner
60's model 4560 (with vibrato). Strange, but I have no idea what
happened to this guitar; with Mr.Fantasy (Budike) an Epiphone
Sheraton Model E-212T serial number 70827. Traded this for the
Les Paul. Current market value is at least £5000! With Opus
(Maastricht) a Gibson Les Paul Custom (1970 reissue) black with
gold Humbuckers and Grovers. Lost this to the management (along
with everything I owned) when I left Opus.
DT - Was Budike a town where Mr. Fantasy was based?
BBJ - No. The Budike was a student club in Moenchengladbach. It
was a great place to play in because the atmosphere was just
amazing, a cellar with beer barrels for tables and candles
instead of lamps and a real knowledgeable audience.
DT - Barry, what bass did you play?
BBJ - I played a Dynacord Semi-acoustic.
DT - What were your most memorable gigs?
BBJ - My most memorable gig was getting arrested for plugging
into a street lamp!
DT - Tell us about that!
BBJ - The incident with the street lamp was with Mr. Fantasy.
What basically happened was that there was this pub/club in
Heerlen in Holland where The Motives had done a series of
successful gigs, and We had recently formed Mr. Fantasy which was
a more Kickass outfit, and we decided to go there and ask for an
audition, but the management on that day were really nasty and
wouldn't give us the time of day.Outside the club was this
quadrangle courtyard with only two entrance/exits, it was the
only way to approach the club. Anyway we were rather cheesed off
with his attitude, so we decided to let him hear what he was
missing. I backed our van against the street lamp, and John our
drummer climbed on the roof of the van with our extension cable,
took the plate off the streetlamp, and plugged us in. Meanwhile
the rest of us had unloaded all the gear off the van and set it
all up. We opened our audition and got about half the way through
the first song when the Police cars came through the two
entrances. We were told we were being arrested for stealing
electricity, and we loaded all our gear back into the van and
were then taken to the local Police station, where we were made
to sweat for about half an hour. The upshot was that the
Police chief got us an audition at the biggest club in town, then
let us go with a ticking off. It was a very memorable event.
TW - Most memorable gig with the Motives? Don't remember many, so
I must've been there, I guess. Gig I remember with great pleasure
was opening for Chris Barber at the beginning of his "new
career" as Jazz AND BLUES band, featuring John Slaughter on
guitar. That was a nice gig and, with Mr. Barber's permission, I
placed my TK24 at the front of the stage and recorded their set.
Still have the 1/4tk somewhere...it's probably disintegrated by
now.
DT - What or whom was Uncle Mac
management (as credited on the sleeve of the EP)?
BBJ - Graham McMurdo our manager, now living in Scotland.
DT - Who drew the cartoon cover for the EP?
BBJ - Tommy Winter.
DT - How long did the band last?
BBJ - The band broke up in June 1968, and three of us joined up
with another guitar player, Barrie Newby, and formed Mr. Fantasy.
Unfortunately no recordings were made which was a pity as it was
a better outfit than the Motives, but that's life. Mr. Fantasy
lasted a year, and Tom winter then joined Opus 23, and wrote
songs for them.
DT - Did The Motives ever record as Opus?
BBJ - Definitely NOT. They were 2 separate bands, although we
knew each other.
DT - So, did you guys record 'Master Of My Fate' / 'Cucumber
Sandwiches'; 'Baby, Come On' / 'Angela Grey'?
BBJ - NO, they weren't recorded by the Motives, but by Opus.
DT - ...these songs were written by Tom?
BBJ - Yes, Tom had by then left Mr. Fantasy (a group we formed
after the Motives) and joined Opus.
DT - Were you aware that the release of 'God Save Our Gracious
Cream' / 'I Can Hear Colours' (Killroy KR 1551) June 1970, has,
on the recent 'Waterpipes And Dykes' comp, has been suggested
that it was the work of Opus?
BBJ - No, I didn't know anything about that.
DT - Interestingly, the Killroy label was owned by Johnny Hoes,
also owner of the Dutch Telstar, based in Weert.
TW - The 'God Save...' 45 wasn't actually attributed to Opus - at
least not by Killroy. Killroy's angle was that the intro to 'God
Save...' had "foreseen" the intro to the recently
released 'I'm a man' by Chicago.
Codswallop, of course, as anyone who ever heard 'Purple Haze'
would recognise right away.
DT - It is this attribution, together with Tom's writer's credits
which lead to the belief that other/all Opus releases were the
work of The Motives.
BBJ - The only link between The Motives and Opus is that Tommy
[Winter] played in both Bands (not at the same time) and we were
bumping into each other playing the same venues.
DT - Did Tom live in Maastricht?
BBJ - Not while he was with the Motives, but later while with
Opus.
DT - Opus 23 and Opus were
the same band? But recordings credited to Opus...
BBJ - Yes, early name was Opus 23, they dropped the 23 later.
DT - The known Opus line up was Tom Winter (vocs, lead guitar),
Chrit Mandigers (keyboards), Robby Schaad (bass), and Jo Robeers
(drums).
Interestingly, according to your photo of Opus 23, the original
drummer was Frans "somebody". What was his surname?
TW - Opus 23 Line up was: Franz Theunisz- drums/voc (now
superstar of Maastricht-dialect "Karnevaal" music; Rob
Schaad- bass/voc; Chrit Mandigers-Hammond & Rhodes/voc; Paul
Rosier- gtr/voc; Tom Winter- gtr/voc.
Opus 23 was soon signed by EMI Holland, Paul left the group, the
name was changed and Opus recorded 'Master Of My Fate' /
'Cucumber Sandwiches'. Then Franz left the group and joined
"The Sharons"; the Sharons' drummer Jo Robeers joined
Opus and they recorded 'Baby, Come On'/'Angela Grey'. The third
Opus single was 'Gotta Get High' / 'À Bas L' État' (English
lyrics).
DT - What happened to the other guys in The Motives?
BBJ - John Redpath and Barrie Newby joined Emergency, John
replacing their drummer (Udo Lindenburg). Life is funny eh, he
[Lindenberg] goes on to become a German superstar....
DT - Who's who in The Motives band photo?
BBJ - Back row left: John Redpath (drums), right: Tom Winter
(guitar); middle row left: Dave Field (Hammond organ), right:
Barry B-Jones (bass); front: Clint Talbot (vocals).
DT - Barry and Tom - many thanks once again.
(Also, look out for a letter from Tom Winter in next month's
SFA.)
*********************************************************************
***THE EURO BUREAU OF HALLUCINATION INVESTIGATION by Lewis Anderson***
Welcome to the small
corner of Sweet Floral Albion that is forever European.
Here we shall attempt to grapple with the slippery beast that is
the Euro psychedelic octopus. And we don't take kindly to
Euro-skeptics 'round these parts, so if you're gonna snigger
behind your hands at the 'funny' accents or poke fun at
bouffant-haired German bands dressed in flowery blouses you can
go and dip your eye in a different stream. Here we admire the
imaginative use of English and gaze in wonder at the charity shop
psychedelic chic without a trace of irony. Hopefully the best of
what will be dissected here will appear at some future date
courtesy of Dig The Fuzz, who after a brief sabbatical conducting
research into the soul of psychedelic sound, are back from the
land of Nod and out in the sunshine, preparing to blow minds with
some new Incredible Sound Shows. The Euro Bureau is for the
people and by the people, so if you have any revelations of your
own just send 'em in. Anyway, we've got a lot to get through, so
stop slouching and pay attention at the back, you're here to
learn not enjoy yourselves!
JEFFERSON LEE-'Bubblegum music'/ 'Pancake trees'(US: Original
Sound,'67)
Immediately breaking the self-imposed rules of the Euro Bureau
with an anarchistic cackle, we present a little something from
the old colonies. In fact, names don't come much more U.S. of A.
than Jefferson Lee, but when he's from the John Wonderling school
of Anglophile psych pop, he must surely find a home somewhere in
SFA. Woozy fairground organ, disorientating tune, Lucy in the sky
lyrics and vocals that occasionally echo off into the ozone, make
'Pancake Trees' an enchanting ride, not dissimilar to
Wonderling's original version of 'Midway Down'. Lee made one
further 45 'Sorcerella' / 'Book Of Love' that while great, is
much more American-sounding and should therefore find a home
elsewhere.
LUCAS-'Antisocial Season' / 'Hymn To The Sun' (Sweden: Polar,
'67)
Sweden produced some pretty nifty music back in the sixties, much
of which still resides in the "to be discovered" file.
This band had at least seven 45s released back then, though this
is the only one I've heard.
Unfortunately the A side, whose title promises a snarling acid
punk blast of alienated teen angst, turns out to be a lame
attempt at bouncy commercial pop. 'Hymn To The Sun' though, is a
real thing of beauty. Beginning with a (mercifully very brief)
deeply pretentious spoken word intro, the song takes off on an
hypnotic ride anticipating Saucerful-era Floyd. The lyric is one
word; "sun" sang in elongated harmonies that are half
way between Yardbirds'-style Gregorian chant and multi-layered
'67 Syd. These flow on a sea of beautiful crystalline piano
grooves, some distant mournful brass and a well-timed floaty
flute/ recorder injection. The whole thing is anchored to a 'Set
The Controls...' bass / drum groove that's very er... groovy. The
boys look the biz on the sleeve too, sitting all sullen and
long-haired in suitable threads on some windswept rocky outcrop
like the turned-on outlaws they probably weren't.
RO-D-YS-'Earnest Vocation' (Holland: Philips LP, '68)
Ro-d-ys ( pronounced "roadies" ) have had very little
of their craft available since it first appeared more than thirty
years ago. A patchy CD "Best of" geared to the Dutch
nostalgia market is available and that's about it. Why? It could
be the name which doesn't mean a lot, sounds a bit crap and has
(presumably) unnecessary hyphens. It could be the music, which
never really ventured either into the fuzz-ravaged cave of
Pretties' punk or the interstellar cosmic eye of their more
celebrated contemporaries. It seems more probable though that
their best music simply remains largely unheard.
They were pretty big in Holland for a brief period, had a few
early hits and their first LP 'Just Fancy' from '67 sold OK. It
was a decent enough Kinks / Beatles-influenced pop effort with
occasional heavier sounds and the odd production flourish, but
was overall a bit derivative. As the music became more
adventurous sales plummeted and by the time of their second and
final LP 'Earnest Vocation' from '68, not even their mums were
interested. Along with 'C.Q.' and 'Beat Behind The Dykes' it's
one of the rarest major label Dutch LPs of the sixties though
unlike those two, remains relatively unknown outside Holland.
It's also about as close as the Dutch came on LP to the classic
studio-crafted '67 UK pop psych sound. They had developed a
pretty distinctive noise of their own by this point however,
still influenced by flowery sounds coming from over the North
Sea, but with plenty of homegrown lowland charm in the mix. One
thing that may deter the lily-livered from loving the Ro-d-ys
sound unconditionally is the unpredictability of their melodies,
which had a tendency to leap about, stop and start and generally
behave in a wayward fashion. This can sound great when they pull
it off, but can also be quite jarring and awkward on the
untrained ear. The title track is a prime example of this,
sounding like a zillion different orchestrated pop psych tunes
all welded together by a deaf fisherman, and it's great! It was
also issued with admirable optimism as a 45 'A' side, with
predictable sales. Any DJ who flipped it over hoping for a more
airwave-friendly pop effort was confronted by 'Isn't It A Good
Time', a disjointed trip through a scary turn of the century
fairground freak show, like a B-movie horror version of
"Being for the benefit of Mr. Kite". It also appears as
track 2 on the LP after the breezy but eminently forgettable
opener, 'Unforgettable Girl', probably the weakest cut on the LP.
'Easy Come, Easy Go' was possibly the high point, fizzing like a
chemical reaction between Tomorrow and The Who, riding on a
roller coaster of jet engine phasing. 'Love Is Almost Everywhere'
and 'Look For Windchild' by contrast are stately orchestrated pop
psych delicacies in an early Blossom Toes / Bee Gees vein. Other
highlights are the sprightly guitar-driven Move-like power pop of
'Robinetta' and 'Dr. Sipher', and one listen to 'No Place Like
Home' should make it obvious where Focus got the idea for the
operatics on "Hocus pocus".
There's also an irresistibly cheerful ditty about bicycles; an
allegorical tale about war called 'Peace Ants'; and plenty of
"draaiorgel". This large highly ornate street organ
that provides the Saturday soundtrack in every town in Holland,
helps explain the unique and distinctly Dutch feel permeating the
LP. After one more 45, the wistful and rather beautiful 'Winter
Woman' the boys called it quits, returning to their day jobs on
the farms of the northern province of Groningen.
ILLES - 'Illesek Es Pofonok' (Hungary: Qualiton LP, '69)
Hey come back here! So it's from Hungary and sung in Hungarian?
Give it a chance! This is the Hungarian Sgt. Pepper. Really! Put
through a indigenous folk pop mincer of course, but certainly
with enough skewed psychedelic surprises to satisfy the psyche.
There are some songs that sound like bouncy ska/ pop adaptations
of hoary old Hungarian folk tunes that I have to say, go way over
my head. Mostly though, the cultural collision is at least
interesting and sometimes pretty mind boggling. Two tracks in
particular go for a trance like mystical far eastern vibe that
sounds great, and not quite like anything else I've heard, shot
through with a vaguely sitar-like instrument of presumably
Hungarian origin. There's a fair bit of studio trickery,
especially between the tracks and some spoken snippets that could
be highly subversive acid humour digs at their communist
oppressors. At least that's what I like to think, though of
course because I don't understand a word, the lyrics are a blank
canvas on which any meaning can be gleefully imposed. My favorite
songs here are those that combine equal measures of
"Hungarian-ness" with Beatlesque pop to produce music
that is both interesting and pretty damn catchy. When you find
yourself singing Hungarian in the shower you know something's got
under your skin. The sleeve must have caused the Art Dept. at
Qualiton to mutter and grumble under their breath about decadent
capitalistic excesses, being a multi-coloured pop-art gatefold
pop-up job. There was even an insert featuring a 'Yellow
Submarine'-style rendering of the band in the same garish colours
as the sleeve. As far as I can work out this should be cut out,
folded origami style, made into a tube and then placed upright on
the label of the record as it spins on the turntable thereby
creating a low budget psychedelic movie show to accompany the
music.
The Outsiders - 'C.Q.' (Holland: Polydor LP, '68 / Holland:
Pseudonym LP/CD, 2002)
I wasn't originally going to include this, because, well, you all
already know and love this and play it every morning with your
cornflakes before you trek off in the drizzle to your under-paid,
under-appreciated job that music like this makes bearable. Right?
It then occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, someone reading
this will not have heard it. If that's you, turn off your
computer, slip out of your paisley pyjamas and hot foot it down
to your local sound emporium now. Don't worry, we'll wait 'til
you get back. Sorted?
Now listen to it, scoop your scrambled brains back into your
skull, write a review and send it for inclusion in the next Euro
Bureau which will consist entirely of first impressions of 'C.Q.'
(possibly).
**********************************************************************
***CLASSIC REPRINTS- PART II***
Here's the second part of
the classic Charles Shaar Murray piece (continued from last
month):
From the NME April 26th 1975.
NICE STUFF- VOLUME
2 (Dealer WOT
0002)
It's dream-time in Compilationsville once again, amigos. This
week Charles Shaar Murray does his worst to induce EMI into
issuing Volume Two in is discocartography of The Golden Age Of
British Psychedelia - an auspicious era during which this
country's youth eagerly did its brains in on everything from
S.T.P. to macrobiotic food, all of us caught crabs, and rock-wise
there were...
MORE
ZITS THAN HITZ...
Volume Two of "Nice Stuff" is really wish fulfilment on
an extremely grandiose scale, as Roy Carr and I discovered when
we dreamed up the idea of "Hard Up Heroes" eighteen
months or so ago. We took our little project to E.M.I., dazzled
with the extraordinary material that lurked in their capacious
vaults, and friends, they turned us down flat. (They also turned
us down flat when we offered to compile the ultimate Yardbirds
anthology, on the grounds that their extraordinarily slapdash and
inadequate "Remember The Yardbirds" set on Starline was
still selling, which it was - in the absence of something better)
Even the consistently high import sales of a series of
compilations put together by E.M.I. Germany haven't convinced
them that there is much that can be done in terms of creative
recycling of the wealth of legendary stuff still at their
disposal, and it doesn't look as if "Nice Stuff Vol.
II" will ever see the light of what passes for day on the
shelves of record shops. Time's a-wastin' though, so
awaaaaaaaaaaaaaay we go...
SIDE ONE
THE
SMOKE:
"My Friend Jack"
Who The Smoke were I never knew nor cared. For all I know they're
all butchers or bus-conductors now, though there's always the
possibility that one of them joined a group like Supertramp and
is currently a teenage idol.
"My Friend Jack" emerged in the misty dawn of 1967 and
was built around the central thesis that "my friend Jack
eats sugar lumps", which was a cutesy nudge-nudge-wink-wink
reference to the fact that users of lysergic acid diawhateritwas
(hereafter referred to simply as "acid") used to
consume the foul stuff pouring it onto sugar cubes and crunching
same, and then going out and seeing God. Naturally, all the
degenerates who indulged in this habit were delighted to hear
this public reference to their vice, and enough of them stopped
listening to the heartbeat of the cosmos long enough to buy this
record. Without a shadow of a doubt, it was dreadful in the
extreme, but it is included herein as an instant cultural
reference point. Besides, records as bad as "My Friend
Jack" cannot be allowed to vanish into oblivion. Proudly it
stands, therefore, as simultaneously a monument to the excesses
of a by-gone-era, and An Awful Warning to us all.
TOMORROW: "My White Bicycle"
Once upon a time, a radical group known as the Provos (short for
"Provotariat") flourished in Amsterdam. One of their
many admirable stunts was to get hold of a bunch of bicycles,
paint them all white, and place them at the disposal of the
public - ie anybody who needed to get somewhere in a hurry could
just grab the nearest white bicycle and use it to take him to
wherever he needed to go. With impeccable logic, the Dutch police
confiscated the lot because (a) they weren't registered in
anybody's name and (b) they were left around unlocked. Tomorrow
were Keith West (vocals, poses and Teenage Opera), Steve Howe
(guitars and subsequent superstardom), Junior (bass and mystique)
and Twink (drums, lunacy and notoriety as per Mr. Farren's
Fairies piece). During 1967 and early 1968, they were rated by
many as being in the same league as the pre-hit Pink Floyd,
Arthur Brown and Driscoll-Auger, but despite West's solo success
with the abominable "Excerpt From A Teenage Opera",
they never achieved what we rock writers are fond of describing
as "that elusive hit single". "My White
Bicycle" features loony guitar from Howe, all the production
gimmicks popular at the time and a very English vocal, Living
History, as is...
THE
YARDBIRDS:
"Happenings Ten Years Time Ago"
This little ditty is a curiosity on many levels. It was Jeff
Beck's last recording as a Bird, one of the only two tracks which
feature both Beck and Jimmy Page (the other being its B-side
"Psycho Daisies", the only Yardbirds single apart from
"Good Morning Little School Girl" to be an unqualified
flop, plus it conformed to the demands of the then-imminent
Psychedelic Era more than anything else the group ever did. It
has lyrics of the utmost cosmicity ("It is real or only in
my dreams/I gotta know what it all means"), a relentlessly
crazy guitar-solo-and-monologue from Beck, and a fabulous
impersonation of a police siren by Page. Every home should have
one.
PINK
FLOYD:
"Apples And Oranges"
And the flops just keep on comin'! "Apples And Oranges"
was the Floyd's last single to involve miracle ingredient
"Syd", and it was quite unutterably manic with a vocal
line that gradually spiralled ever upwards and then toppled
gracefully over the edge. It followed "Arnold Layne"
and "See Emily Play", but for some odd reason did
absolutely nothing. Maybe Barrett's lack of communication with
the outside world had something to do with it - just maybe.
Shortly after its release, he swan-dived into the infinite to be
replaced by Dandruff King David Gilmour, who gets his moment of
glory over on Side Two.
DANTALIAN'S
CHARIOT:
"Madman Running Through The Fields"
And God (or someone like him) created George Bruno, and George
Bruno created Zoot Money, and Zoot Money created the Big Roll
Band, and Sandoz and Owsley created most wondrously fine acid.
The result of all these geneses was Dantalian's Chariot.
Challengers Of The Unknown and Hallucinogenic Warriors
Extraordinarie, "Madman Running Through The Fields" was
an invigorating riot of backward tapes and other then fashionable
devices, and it sold not a whit. D. Chariot specialised in
all-which costumes and instruments, had what was for a while
regarded as the best lightshow in town, and lost a small fortune.
Such is life, and in the Great Psychedelic Era, it kept getting
sucher and sucher.
SIDE TWO
TOMORROW: "Revolution"
It was like this, see, Tomorrow were doing this gig at UFO, see,
and word of the Jagger-Richard bust came through, see, and
everybody got mucho indignant, see, and so Twink grabbed a
handmike and wandered out into the audience yelling
"Revolution now! Revolution now!", right? And later it
became a song, man, and it didn't sell. Tomorrow were actually a
fine band.
I have faint, dim memories of seeing them on this all-night
lunatics' convention entitled "Christmas On Earth
Continued", and during the set Steve Howe played
beautifully, Junior dropped his bass, and Keith West demonstrated
a variety of on-stage poses that anticipated many of the excesses
of the Sublime Seventies. In addition to "Bicycle" and
"Revolution", they performed a hideous creation
entitled "Three Funny Little Dwarves", and
"Strawberry Fields Forever", Twice.
THE
PINK FLOYD:
"Point Me At The Sky"
And enter David Gilmour, "Point Me At The Sky" ran into
problems right at the start because it mentioned the Evening
Standard, and so things had to grind to a halt while the
offending phrase was redubbed as "the Daily Standard".
I'm sorry to have to tell you that it wasn't a hit (is this
becoming monotonous?), since it was well over five minutes long
and not particularly catchy. It operated in sections, something
that the Great British Public wasn't quite ready for, and it
wasn't particularly orientated towards the taste of Radio 1
producers, which may have contributed to its downfall. The pirate
radio stations, y'see, had been packed up a couple of months
before, which had an immediate conservatising effect on public
taste.
After the "Sky" debacle, the Floyd stopped making
singles.
LOVE
SCULPTURE:
"Sabre Dance"
At last, friends, a bona fide HIT! One of the legacies of the
Psychedelic Age was a frenzied outburst of guitar-heroing, based
on either Strange Electronic Devices and/or recitals of The
Complete Works of Albert King Performed Consecutively In No Less
Than Eighteen Seconds. Dave Edmunds came from a peculiarly
demented Welsh branch of the latter school and, as part of Love
Sculpture, got signed to Parlophone because the label at that
time was without a blues band. (it was also 1968, when record
companies had to have blues bands or else be Last Year's Label.)
L.Sculpture dutifully made an album entitled "Blues
Helping", containing numbers like "The Stumble",
"Wang Dang Doodle", "Three O'Clock Blues" and
so forth, and then somehow persuaded their record company to go
for an absolutely murderous hell-for-leather version of
Khatchaturian's "Sabre Dance", which was first
premiered when the group guested on John Peel's "Top
Gear". Their performance so unnerved Peel that he
insisted on playing it again later on in the show. It boosted
Love Sculpture into a fair-to-medium-sized attraction on the
college circuit, and enabled them to only play blues when the
actually felt like it. Eventually they split up and Dave Edmunds,
apart from a temporary resurfacing with "I Hear You
Knockin'", turned to studio whizz kiddery and bailing out
"Stardust".
JEFF
BECK GROUP:
"Rock My Plimsoul" (single version)
While the vast majority were farting around with studio gimmicks
and hippie mysticism, a few resolute souls continued to play
blues and rock out. Among the latter division were the Jeff
Beck Group, who at that time included Rod Stewart (microphone),
Micky Waller (drums) and Ron Wood (bass), with the occasional
assistance of Nicky Hopkins (piano). They in fact recorded two
versions of "Rock My Plimsoul" (a bastardised version
of B.B. King's "Rock Me Baby"), one of which appeared
on the B-side of their "Tallyman" single in 1967 and
the other on the "Truth" album in 1968, though they
were probably cut at the same session. In the liner notes to
"Trust", Beck claimed that the album version was far
superior to the single version, and it is probably due to this
that the album version was included on last year's Rak
maxi-single of Jeff Beck Group triumphs. Personally, I
always felt the single cut to be more compact, more inventive and
to have a far higher energy level, and without wishing to re-open
any old wounds, a cursory listen to "Plimsoul" and, to
a certain extent, to "Blues De Luxe" on
"Trust", should demonstrate fairly definitely that Beck
and Stewart were developing at lest two years before Jimmy Page
and Robert Plant teamed up many of the stylistic devices that
were to characterise Led Zeppelin's blues work.
DEEP
PURPLE:
"Hush"
Once upon a time, before the formation of Purple Records, and
even before EMI formally acknowledged the fact that D. Purple
were a "progressive group" by switching them to
Harvest, they recorded a couple of albums for Parlophone, the
first of which was charmingly entitled "Shades Of Deep
Purple". They don't dream up titles like that any more.
Simultaneously, they were signed to Bill Cosby's Tetragrammaton
Records in the States, and achieved a couple of massive hits with
Vanilla Fudge-style reworks of songs like "Hush" and
"Kentucky Woman". "Hush" was actually an
object lesson in how to heavy up a pop song, complete with a neat
little organ riff and rather overstated vocals from one Rod
Evans, the D.Purple's singer. He waslater to reappear in a
singularly nasty group called Captain Beyond.
THE
EDGAR BROUGHTON BAND:
"Out Demons Out" God, how I used to hate this song when
the Broughtons' performed it - as they inevitably did - at large
open air gatherings such as Hyde Park freebies and the Bath Blues
Festival of 1969! As the First Psychedelic Age began to fade from
the nervous system and everybody calm down, it seemed that its
legacy was hordes of shirtless kinds in headbands banging Coke
tins together and howling "Out demons out!" right along
with the Broughtons. Little did they know, all those years ago,
that what they were actually doing was pioneering exorcism-rock.
Addendum: Something that I only noticed when I was halfway
through compiling this second volume of "Nice Stuff" is
that both anthologies consist principally, if not entirely, of
material originally issued on singles. At a time when only soul
and idiot pop actually think in terms of singles as singles, it
could be worth noting that the anthologists of the late '70s and
early '80s are going to be in one hell of lot of trouble.
***PREVIEW***
ANGEL PAVEMENT - Maybe
Tomorrow (Tenth Planet TP055) Vinyl LP comp 1000 copies only.
(Due January 2003)
Side One:
The Man In The Shop On The Corner
Maybe Tomorrow
The Time Is Upon Us
Green Mello Hill
Little Old Man
When Will I See June Again
Genevieve
Side Two:
Water Woman
Napoleon
Socialising
Jennifer
Carrie
I'm A Dreamer
Baby You've Gotta Stay
I'm Moving On
(See also our interview with Graham Harris, above)
***REVIEWS***
HERE LIES EBENEEZER GOODE
(1970-1974)- BRITISH PSYCHEDELIA: THE SOUNDS THAT TIME FORGOT
9Queen Victoria records 2004LP) Vinyl LP compilation. 400 copies
only.
CATS EYES - THE WIZARD 1970
RARE BIRD - HAMMERHEAD 1972
CHAMELEON - WHO AM I? 1971
TITANIC - BLOND 1972
MISTY - HOT CINNAMON 1970
QUIET WORLD - GEMIMA 1970
SKIN ALLEY - TELL ME 1970
CHRIS HODGE - WE'RE ON OUR WAY 1972
PARSON-SMITH - WHEN IT RAINS 1972
LEATHERHEAD - EPITAPH 1974
HUMBUG - EBENEEZER 1970
PEDDLERS - IT'S SO EASY 1973
LIFETIME - ONE WORD 1970
PARSON-SMITH - THE LETTER 1972
As some blinkered sixties-fixated souls continue to scrape
through the bottom of the sixties' barrel in the desperate hunt
for elusive head-sounds, others of a more open technicolored
mindset are defying received convention and have begun to explore
the terra incognita; so, at long last and for the first time
EVER, we are regaled with a Psych compilation which has as its
focus obscure recordings solely from the 1970s. This, in the
undeniably conservative world of compilations & collectors,is
no less than a revolutionary concept! Tradition has it that
"60s" and "Psych" are irresistibly and
irrefutably locked together- the smelly old 70s is for swelly old
Prog, et al. Well, Fiddlesticks and Flapdoodle! as Professor
Yaffle would exclaim. Queen Vic Records - part of the mighty and
currently resurgent Dig The Fuzz corporation - have challenged
The Man's overly strict and delineatory Historicist model and won
a resounding victory for common sense. Here they offer 14 dishes
from the 70's smorgasbord, some items of which will doubtless be
debated ad heaving nauseum by the "is-it-really-psych"
brigade...
These dishes range from a spicy and piccant Glam-Psych stomper
('The Wizzard') through a sweet "spontaneous Apple
creation" - as Arthur Brown would say (Chris Hodge), to a
minty and long-lasting dessert (Humbug - also see 'Discography'
this month, for another of their beauties). Mention must also be
made of the track by Chameleon, which features a fine production
by one of our fave CBS staffers, viz. Mike Fitzhenry; and
'Ebeneezer' by the afore-mentioned Humbug, which was co-written
by East Of Eden drummer, Dave Dufort (not DuFont as it says in
'The Tapestry Of Delights').
This is a compn of some significance in our wee world, not only
for the music profiled, but for the setting a ground-breaking
precedent, which it is fervently hoped will be emulated; for as
the sleevenotes to this collection clearly state -"This LP
represents the 'tip of the iceberg' & should introduce an era
to our ears that we may have igored". Ignored, yes, but not
any longer. (PC)
CLAP
HANDS DADDY COME HOME! PART 2: INCREDIBLE SOUND SHOW STORIES VOL.
17
(DIG The Fuzz DIG 045) Vinyl LP compilation. 400 copies only.
SNAPPERS/SHE'S A LOVER
IAN & ZODIACS - NA NA NA NA NA
RAINY DAZE - WHAT DO YOU THINK
DON FARDON - SUNSHINE WOMAN
JOHN SMITH & NEW SOUND - JUST A LOSER
HI FI'S - GRADE A GIRL
TONY RITCHIE - COMIN' ON STRONG
JOHN DEEN & THE TRAKK - FRIENDS
CASEY JONES & THE GOVERNORS - ALL YOU WANNA DO
DEEJAYS - WHAT'CHA TRIN' TO DO
RENEGADES - CAN'T YOU SEE
ARTHUR BROWN - DON'T TELL ME
TOP TEN ALL STARS - HEY DADDY
JIMMY & THE RACKETS - I WANT TO TELL YOU
DAVE ANTHONY'S MOODS - FADING AWAY
SAME D. - HOW DO YOU BREAK A BROKEN HEART
This DTF comp, the first from them for quite a while and one of
the most visually delightful they've yet produced, continues
where I.S.S.S. vol. 9 began, dealing with foreign releases by UK
artistes mostly from the freakbeat end of the 60s music spectrum,
but contains sufficient material to interest SFA- type ear holes.
Goodies include a track apiece from the under-appreciated but
very wonderful mega rare Kraut-only LP by The Hi-Fis, and one
from The Snappers' Swiss-released album (this track was also
issued, together with the only other decent cut from the LP -
'Smiley's Tram', on 'Syde Tryps 7').
And just check out the guitar on Tony Ritchie's 'Comin' On
Strong' -
Blimey!!! Don Fardon's 'Sunshine Woman' has long been recognised
as a winner - buttoned-down and phased too boot! Also great is
the maniacal 'Can't You See' by the equally maniacal Arthur
Brown, from the soundtrack of 'La Curee'.
Welcome back Dig The Fuzz!
THE
ELECTRIC LEMONADE ACID TEST VOLUME THREE: an anthology of the Spark label
1967-70 (Tenth Planet TP055) LP Comp. Ltd. edn. 1000 copies.
ELMER GANTRY'S VELVET OPERA - To Be With You
JUST WILLIAM - Cherrywood Green
THE NEW GENERATION - Sadie & Her Magic Mr. Galahad
CARTER/KEEN/SHAW - Rain Rain
FRUIT MACHINE - The Wall
CARTER/KEEN/SHAW - In The Sky
TIMOTHY BLUE - She Won't See The Light
ICARUS - The Devil Rides Out
FRUIT MACHINE - I'm Alone Today
THE BABY - Heartbreaker
FRUIT MACHINE - Cuddly Toy
ELMER GANTRY'S VELVET OPERA - Reactions Of A Young Man
THE NEW GENERATION - Digger
SIMON DE LACEY - Baby Come Back To Me
JOHN CARTER & RUSS ALQUIST - Midsummer Dreaming
THE EGGY - Hookey
EARTHA KITT - Hurdy Gurdy Man
Wowzer! Chock full of groovy grooves! We'll be brief. the track
list which pretty much speaks for itself, includes previously
un-comped gems from Just William, Timothy Blue, Simon De Lacey
and big SFA-fave The Baby; together with the unmissable John
Carter and chums' demos of the Threshold Of Pleasure classic
(note: the original shorter title!) and a fantastic early '68
recording: 'In The Sky', which is Premier League psych pop!!!
This is yet another must-have comp from Tenth Planet.
***CILLA
GOES PSYCH ! by Johnny Hortus***
The
following wondrous gem from the Orient (that's East Africa,
not Leyton), which is lyrically perplexing; and features, against
an orchestral backdrop, some atmospheric Eastern-styled keyboard
fills, can be found on Cilla's 'Time For Cilla' EP (Parlophone
GEP8967)1967. Whilst it is far removed from her usual
showbiz/schmaltz/MOR balladeering, it does nevertheless features
her unrecognisable trademark- the Grimsby fog horn vocal style,
which so moved Burt Bacharach.... to tears of frustration!
Let's not also forget that she also got her tonsils round Skip
Bifferty's 'Follow The Path To The Stars', but you really didn't
want to know that now, did you? It remains highly doubtful
whether "Our Cilla" (Registered Trade Mark) understood
many of the words in 'Abyssinian Secret', and in particular the
drug / smuggling / paranoia ambiguities. Although, who can tell
for sure? After all, she was "a close friend of The
Beatles" , just in case you weren't aware of this
er..."fact".
***LYRICS***
'Abyssinian
Secret' by CILLA BLACK*
Come inside
my little castle
Let me show you something that is quite unique
On a trip to Abyssinia bought it from a peddler
Who had such a sheekh
Smuggle it away, don't give me away
I must keep it out of the light
Keep it in the back of my little shack
Now I never dare to fall asleep at night
Come inside and we'll enjoy it
Lock the door so no-one else can see inside
Smuggle it away, don't give me away
I must keep it out of the light
Keep it in the back of my little shack
Now I never dare to fall asleep at night
Come inside my little castle
Let me show you something that you won't forget
You won't forget
* First recorded by Merion/Marion (Page One POF 042) 1967.
***THE SECRETS OF CLIFFORD T. WARD by Paul Cross***
BRIEF
HISTORY:
Cliff Ward, who sadly died a year
ago on 18th December, is widely known for his heartfelt
sentimentalism and implicit melodic sensibility, as evinced in
such singer-songwriter classics as 'Gaye' and 'Home Thoughts From
Abroad'.
But in the mid 60s he was the leader of a forgotten beat band
whose recordings have long appealed to fans of the more esoteric
British releases.
Cliff Ward and The Cruisers were a typical product of the
Midlands beat scene, based in Stourport-on-Severn, they first
recorded four acetate-only tracks in August 1964 at Hollick &
Taylor, a small recording studio in Handsworth, Birmingham. Of
the four recorded songs, only one is of sufficient interest to us
here- 'Rachel' is a fine piece of light pop that was written by
Cliff, it firmly laid the foundations for where Ward's music
would develop in the early 70s. A dozen copies of the acetates
were cut for the Cruisers' manager, Nigel Rees. EMI showed some
interest in them, and commencing on 1st February 1965 they
recorded some demos at Abbey Road and at EMI studios in
Manchester Square. On 26th March at the latter they recorded
'Candy To Me' (the Eddie Holland Motown rarity) which was to be
their first A side. To avoid confusion with Dave Berry and The
Cruisers, they changed their name to the more contemporary
sounding Martin Raynor and The Secrets. Cliff adopted the stage
name Martin Raynor, probably inspired by one of his sons,
named Martin. (Note- 'The Tapestry of Delights' states
incorrectly that Martin Raynor was a separate member of the band)
They cut a version of 'Imagination' by The Quotations which
remains in the EMI vaults.
In Summer 1966, Jimmy Page showed interest in the band and
attempted to sign Ward to his Freeway Music production co.
(housed under the Immediate Records umbrella) and Ward and band
journeyed to I.B.C. where they recorded a demo of 'The Gloria
Bosom Show' (see below), which was covered in identikit fashion
in 1968 by The Sundowners. The Martin Raynor pseudonym was soon
dropped and the band-name truncated to The Secrets. Soon after,
they met Cornishman Eddie Trevett. Trevett, or Tre-Vett as he
liked to be known, a cult name among UK psych collectors (his
name is found on the labels of 45s by Peter & The Wolves,
Norman Conquest, The Factory, etc) was one of the first
free-lance producers (although his office was in the same
building as I.B.C., above the studios); he is credited as
producer of The Secrets' first single- 'I Suppose' / 'Such A
Pity', although the actual studio knob twiddling was most
probably handled by I.B.C. staffers such as Brian Carroll (see
elsewhere this issue). The B-side of the debut was also published
by Trevett's publishing company, T.V. Music. It soon became
obvious to Trevett that Cliff was developing a natural talent for
lyrics and he and John Pantry became Trevett's principal in-house
songwriters.
On 13 January '67 The Secrets recorded 'Infatuation' and 'She's
Dangerous', which featured a Move-style siren. Again, production
duties were credited to Tre-Vett and the B side was published by
TV music. Next month they recorded 'I Intend to Please' and the
witty 'I think I Need the Cash', this time both songs were
assigned to T.V Music. The 45 was issued on 23 June.
On 22 March '67 Cliff Ward recorded his freakiest journey into
the mind's eye, 'Path Through The Forest' (see "Lyrics"
last month), on 1/4" tape at Leon Tipler's bedroom studio in
Kidderminster. Leon Tipler had been part of Ward's circle since
early '63 when the whizz kid began recording the Cruisers' demos
and gigs. Tipler, a typical and genuine British eccentric also
had Cliff Ward and assorted friends perform his self-penned
slapstick comedy shows (it was this which was the inspiration for
'The Gloria Bosom Show') for his fictitious commercial station,
"Radio G-LTK". The psych emphasis of 'Path' was grist
to Tipler's mill, as he was a dedicated aural experimenter -
playing with cut-ups, overdubs, collages... editing and
re-editing tracks into nonsense. This explains why the songwriter
demo, instead of being, as is typical of virtually all such
recordings, a skeletal rendition captured on tape or vinyl to be
fleshed out at a later date, is in fact a fully-realised mellange
of layer upon layer of over-dubbed effects and sonic weirdness,
albeit in a perhaps rather inexpertly rendered fashion.
As such, it is an extremely rare and precious example of
"DIY psych".
Perhaps only The Rats' 'Bernie Gripplestone' ever came this close
to creating so much aural pleasure from so little and in such
inauspicious surroundings.
On 7 August 1967, after passing the obligatory and notoriously
strict BBC audition, The Secrets recorded for the 'Monday,
Monday' radio programme, ragged run-throughs of 'I Intend to
Please' and John Pantry's 'Two People'.
In Autumn '67 Cliff cut 'Coathanger' (to which Cliff would return
later in his career); and 'Naughty Boy', which was issued on 45
b/w 'Sympathy', attributed this time to Simon's Secrets (Simon
being the name of another of Cliff's sons). Interestingly the
writer credit for 'Sympathy' was given by Ward to
"Rollins"[sic] - i.e. his wife Pat, (Rollings [sic]
being her maiden name) - the same "Rollings" to
whom 'Path Through The Forest' was credited on the Factory
single. 'Sympathy' was another song that was later re-worked by
Cliff. 'Naughty Boy' is the jewel in the crown. An irresistible
melody and repetitive refrain, it could have so easily, with the
right degree of exposure, been a massive hit. It has a timeless
quality and if heard today on the radio wouldn't at all sound out
of place.
Their last 45 was issued in December, the punchy Mod-flavoured 'I
Know What Her Name Is', complete with understated stabs of fuzz
guitar, b/w the melancholic 'Keeping My Head Above Water'.
With further lack of success, not to mention a
complementary thorough lack of fiscal reward, staring them in the
face, the band sensibly jacked it in, and Cliff went off to
teacher training college.
Cliff Ward's mid-sixties recordings still sound vital and possess
an inordinate degree of originality, not perhaps so much
musically - they are very representative of their times with a
strong Tamla feel, some occasional sound effects and fuzz - but
lyrically. The words are more adventurous, witty and less
formulaic than most beat group chart fodder. At their best, The
Secrets in their various manifestations produced some finely
crafted and effortlessly catchy pop songs.
Unfortunately, multi-millionaire Eddie Trevett, who owns all the
original masters is apparently not interested in allowing these
fine tracks to be reissued.
DISCOGRAPHY A : CLIFF WARD
RECORDINGS, 1964-1968:
CLIFF WARD AND THE CRUISERS -
'Rachel' (composed by Cliff Ward)
'You're A Wonderful One' (Cover of Marvin Gaye)
'Oo wee Baby' (composed by Cliff Ward and Cruisers guitarist,
Graham Drew, )
'No Money Down' (Cover of Chuck Berry)
[All acetate-only, recorded August '64]
'Imagination', plus other unknown demos, recorded 1/2/65.
MARTIN RAYNOR AND THE SECRETS -
'Candy To Me'/'You're A Wonderful One' (Columbia DB 7563)
1965 ['Candy' recorded 26/3/65]
CLIFF WARD -
'Path Through The Forest' Songwriter demo. [Recorded on reel to
reel tape, 22/3/67]
THE SECRETS -
'Such A Pity'/'I Suppose' (CBS 202466) .../12/66
'Infatuation/She's Dangerous' (CBS 202585) 23/6/67 [Recorded
13/1/67]
'I Intend To Please'/'I Think I Need The Cash' (CBS 2818) 1967
'I Intend To Please' together with 'Two People'( a version
of the [John Pantry] Norman Conquest track) recorded by BBC at
Paris Studios, London on 7/8/67. Transmitted on the
'Monday, Monday' programme, hosted by Dave Cash, 1:00 PM on
28/8/67.
'Coathanger' (demo) recorded Autumn '67.
SIMON'S SECRETS -
'Naughty Boy'/'Sympathy' (CBS 3406) 4/68 ['Naughty Boy' recorded
Autumn '67]
'I Know What Her Name Is'/'Keeping My Head Above Water' (CBS
3856) 12/68
DISCOGRAPHY B : TRACKS WRITTEN BY CLIFF WARD (1965-1969) AND
RECORDED /RELEASED BY OTHER ARTISTS:
RAY CARLSON -'It's Getting Me Down Girl' (MGM)
THE FACTORY - 'Path Through A Forest' (MGM MGM 1444) ..../10/68
SUNDOWNERS - 'The Gloria Bosom Show' (Spark SRL 1016) 1968
BRONCO - 'Misfit on Your Stair'( Cliff sings on this track), 'A
Matter of Perspective', 'Some Uncertainty', 'Discernible',
'Southbound State Express', 'Attraction' - issued on their
first LP: 'Country Home' (Island ILPS 9124) 1970.
A TENTATIVE CLIFF WARD BAND FAMILY TREE, 1963-1970:
THE SENATORS (A high school band. Formed c. 1962. First (and
only) gig July 1963)
Cliff Ward - vocs.
Bob Newton - gtr.
Bob Spencer - gtr.
CLIFF WARD AND THE CRUISERS #1 (c. July 1963)
Cliff Ward - vocs.
Graham Drew (ex Strangers) - lead gtr.
Rodney Simmonds - rhythm gtr.
Trevor Jones - bass
Roger "Butch" Bower (ex Zodiacs (NOT the same band),
Rebel Rousers [NOT the Cliff Bennett outfit]) - drms.
CLIFF WARD AND THE CRUISERS #2 - MARTIN RAYNOR AND THE
SECRETS
( Line ups from c. July 1963 to Aug 1965. Note: name changed May
1965, with release of 'Candy To Me' )
Cliff Ward - vocs.
Graham Drew - lead gtr.
Terry Clarke - hythm gtr.
Trevor Jones - bass
Roger "Butch" Bower - drms.
2 x Female backing singers added Spring 1965, temporarily-
identities unknown.
THE SECRETS #1 - 1a (Aug 1965-c. Sept 1966:)
Cliff Ward - vocs.
Terry Clarke - lead gtr.
Kevin Gammond - rhythm gtr.
Dave Floyd - organ (temp)
Trevor Jones: replaced Summer 1966 by Paul Turner (temp)- bass
(line-up #1a)
Roger "Butch" Bower - drms.
THE SECRETS #2 - 2a (Sept 1966- c. early 1967)
Cliff Ward - vocs.
Fred Nash - lead gtr.
Kevin Gammond - rhythm gtr.
Dave Floyd - organ (temp)
Paul Turner - replaced by: Malcolm Russell - bass (line-up #2a)
Ken Wright - drms.
THE SECRETS #3 (c. early 1967 - c. end 1967)
Cliff Ward - vocs.
Fred Nash - lead gtr.
Malcolm Russell - bass
Ken Wright - drms.
Tony Scriven - Organ (temp., for BBC session/rehearsals Aug '67)
THE SECRETS #3 - SIMON'S SECRETS - CLIFF WARD SOLO (c. end 1967 -
1970.
Note: name changed from "The Secrets" to "Simon's
Secrets" for 45 released April 1968. This is a post-45
line-up, essentially a transitional outfit from group to Cliff
Ward solo. All (barring Cliff) were formerly The Bridge St. Jump
Band)
Cliff Ward - vocs.
Ian Simmonds - [?]
Davie Conway - rhythm gtr.
Dave Holder - bass
Rob Elcock - drms.
'SECRETS' CD:
1 'Rachel'
2 'No Money Down'
3 'Oo-Wee Baby'
4 'Candy To Me'
5 'You're a Wonderful One'
6 'I Suppose'
7 'Such a Pity'
8 'Infatuation'
9 'She's Dangerous'
10 'I Intend to Please'
11 'I Think I Need the Cash'
12 'Naughty Boy'
13 'Sympathy'
14 'I Know What Her Name Is'
15 'Keeping My Head Above Water'
16 'Misfit on Your Stair' (ft. vocal performance by Cliff)
17 'A Matter of Perspective'
18 'Some Uncertainty'
19 'Discernible'
20 'Southbound State Express'
21 'Attraction'
22 'Wherewithal' ('One More Chance' version)
23 'Lost Again' (K-Tel version)
24 'Contrary' (Alternate take)
25 'When The World Was Round' (Alternate take)
Tracks 1-3: Cruisers.
4-15: Secrets.
16-21: Bronco (Songs written by Cliff).
22-25: Clifford T. Ward solo.
This compilation - all profits of which go Cliff Ward's widow,
Pat - comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by SFA. It contains not only
three of the four Cruisers demos, but most notably, all Cliff's
45s from 1965-68, plus other rarities, it is available for £6
(inc. p&p UK - overseas prices on request) (tape versions are
also available), from Liz Williams, ctwmusic@tesco.net Tel: (01900) 67971 or send
cheque, made payable to 'Mrs. E. Williams' (not 'Liz
Williams'!!), to:
14 Ellerbeck Close
Workington
Cumbria
CA14 4HY
UK
Also, don't forget to check out the Clifford T. Ward website at :
http://www.shef.ac.uk/misc/personal/cs1ma/ctw/ctward.html
Acknowledgments:- Liz Williams, David Wells, Dave Cartwright.
**********************************************************************
***From "The Bumper Book Of Psych Quotations", by Roger St. John***
ENTRY No. 53b ROGER
HUTCHINSON (Underground journalist, editor, etc):
"In 1969 the British underground press was approaching, as a
confederacy, its corporate apex of magazine sales and advertising
revenue. It was also running out of ideas. Its original
constituency, the Mod generation which had, along with Bob Dylan
and the Beatles and even, the Beats, discovered LSD-25 and
electric rock and had briefly considered that they might somehow
fashion a new society from the two, was growing old and starting
to squabble. New and fiercer drugs were entering the magic circus
ring- drugs which the underground press stoutly resisted, drugs
which the underground press stoutly resisted, drugs which, they
warned their readers, could be as lethal as tobacco or alcohol,
but drugs which would be tested and taken by the empirical
generation which the underground press had served and encouraged.
The citizens of flower power, insofar as they ever existed, had
vanishes from the streets as sharply as had the missionaries of
Mod."
***DISCOGRAPHY OF PSYCH, etc.- Pt. 747***
MARQUIS OF
KENSINGTON
- 'Flash' (Germany: CBS 3123) 1968.
Euro-only follow-up to 'Changing of The Guards'. Great cheesy
psych keyboard-lead instrumental. Also released, but
credited to "Duke of Burlington", in the Netherlands:
(Pink Elephant PE 22.235-P), with a different B side- 'Criss
Cross', which is similar and almost as good. All Mike
Leander productions, of course.
ONYX
- 'Time Off'
(CBS 4635) 1969.
Nice spiky progressive pop charmer. From a band who in our eyes
could do no wrong.
SCOTT
HARRIS -
'Barry Johnson's Sad-Eyes Inn' (Morgan MR 7S) 12/68.
Actually the work of Dutch singer/songwriter John Vos. It's
a great chunk of melodic Anglophile psych pop, heavily phased and
with lashings of Sergeant Pepper-style Indian strings. Dutch
issue: (Delta DS 1272)
WAYNE
FONTANA
- 'The Words Of Bartholomew' (Fontana TF 933) 1968.
Same song as The Rokes. Out of the ordinary (in a particularly
'68-kinda way) pop. Here b/w 'Mind Excursion' which sounds the
complete and absolute dogs, and is completely and absolutely not.
CHOC - 'I Want You To Be My Girl'
(Decca 23106) 1970.
"I want you to be my girl - girl - girl!"
Absolutely brilliant Anglo-French hard beat/mod pop rip off of
'Paperback Writer', with psychy hints and echoey vocals.
Interestingly, the pic sleeve of the French issue (Decca 79.570),
released October 1970, has an attribution of "Choc ft.
Richard Jennings". Fast becoming a big collectable and
already a major floorpacker.
Co-written by Keith Fawcett. The B side - 'Way Of Life'
(co-written by Francis Lockwood)- is sadly a too-serious-by-half
prog yawner.
PURPLE
HEART '
Audrey' (Decca) 1970.
Gentle MOR pop, but with the lightest dab of quirky period
popsyke charm, b/w a version of the tiresome
"classic" '(They Long To Be) Close To You'.
TONY
HAZZARD -'
The Sound Of The Candyman's Trumpet' / 'Everything's Gone Wrong'
(CBS 3452) 1968.
Demo copies of this weigh about the same as a large bag of spuds,
mine also smells rather peculiar (Jason???). A lot have slight
water damage. Nice effervescent pop/syke (also covered by Cliff
Richard, as some of you may remember!). The non-LP B side is also
very nice. Talented chap, brill LPs (look out for an appreciation
in a future SFA)
ALAN
TRAJAN -
'Speak To Me, Clarissa' (MCA MK 5002) 3/10/69.
Funky, kick-butt cruncy dancer that's an amalgam of funky-soul,
psych and progressive pop, with its moronic piano riff, tremulous
cymbals and stops-n-starts, it has just what it takes to be a
future club monster.
Interestingly, the backing is similar to 'Flash' by the Marquis
Of Kensington (see above). The B side: 'This Might Be My Last
Number', is also quite er...nice (if that's the right adjective
for a song about impending death). From a man slightly better
known as Alan Trojan (sic), who cut some earnest albrit quite odd
singer songwriter/folk stuff (these two sides were reworked on
his rare 1971 LP).
ALAN
RANDALL -
'The Meditating Hindoo Man' (Electratone S.1002) 1968.
On teeny weeny Birmingham indie label, Electratone, best known
for a release by Giorgio & Marco's Men (S.1001). This is a
re-vamped version (which includes a gentle side-swipe at The
Beatles) of a George Formby song (complete with Lancashire
accented vocals), topped & tailed with some wonderful Green
Scarab-style electric sitar Eastern psych moves. Additional
lyrics by Alan Randall. This used to be fellow Lancastrian Barry
Phillips' last record of the night when he DJed at the 'Velvet
Onion'. Mental.
***LYRICS***
'The Meditating Hindoo
Man' by ALAN RANDALL
Over there in India, a Hindoo resides
Smoking his hookah all day
Opium and bits of rope and fag ends besides
A wise man from the east, Whitechapel way
Now he's got a lovely palace on the beach
He's a Hindoo, how do, who do, you do man
He's got twelve chalets with a guest in each
He's a Hindoo, how do, who do, you do man
A princess gave him jewels and said
For all your love I yearn
But jewels could not compare with what
He went and gave her in return!
He's ninety-nine, but she does all she can
For a Hindoo, how do, who do, you do man
His Indian dress is made of silk and lace
He's a Hindoo, how do, who do, you do man
Four lads from Liverpool call him His Grace
Cos' he's a Hindoo, how do, who do, you do man
They live on bread and water just when they meditate
It's only for a few days, then everything turns out great
They all eat chicken curry from a can
With the Hindoo, how do, who do, you do man
The Hindoo, how do, who do, you do man .
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*** 'TIL WE MEET AGAIN...***
Afore ye go - Next issue we'll try to include some of the things wot we've promised before but have thus far escaped, plus...and I kid you not - BILLY FURY, BOLAN, and BOWIE and that's just the Bs (OK, strictly speaking that's 2 Bs and an F!). Hope Santa delivers all that you've asked for. We wish you a Psychy Christmas and a Hashy New Year! See y'all in 2003! Love from all at SFA. XXXX
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SWEET FA - the world's
only periodical devoted to UK PSYCHEDELIA - is published monthly.
EDITOR - Dave Thubron (GUEST EDITOR - Jason Scott)
DEPUTY EDITOR - The Rt. Hon. Paul St. James Cross
CONTRIBUTORS - Lewis Anderson, Paul Cross, Paul Hodges, Johnny
Hortus, Jim McAlwane, Jason Scott.
All contents copyright (c).
Extracts from Roger St. John, 'The Bumper Book of Psych
Quotations' by kind permission of Tangerine Books, London.
Copyright (c.) 2000.
Charles Shaar Murray's text from the NME, Copyright (c.) 1975.
All other contents Copyright (c.) SFA, November 2002.
SFA is a non-profit making & non-capital generating
publication. No part of the contents may be reproduced for gain.
It's for "educational purposes" only.
Mess with us and we'll come round in the middle of the night and
stuff a bat right up yer nightdress.
**********************************************************************
The Carnabytian Army
marches on...