Cherrywood Green – Just William
Spark
single B-side, 1968 Hey,
it’s Herbie’s People again, this time under the name Just William.
One of many great Spark singles uncovered on Tenth Planet’s Electric
Lemonade Acid Test Vols 3 & 4.
|
Weatherman - John
Bromley
LP
track from Sing, 1968 According
to Bromley he wrote this song for kids even though its theme is
unrequited love. Apparently this perfect little McCartneyesque tune was
performed on the Children’s show ‘Rainbow.’ South African singer
Quentin E Klopjaeger also did an effective version on his album ‘Sad
Simon Lives Again.’
|
Dogs In Baskets -
Geranium Pond
Previously
unreleased. Issued on Syde Tryps 5
|
|
Three Jolly Little Dwarfs -
Tomorrow
LP
track from Tomorrow featuring Keith West, 1968
|
When I'm Five -
Beatstalkers
CBS
single B-side, 1969 The
first song in our list that proves the early inventiveness of Mr. David
Bowie. The arrangement on this version really shines although apparently
the Beatstalkers weren’t fond of the Bowie’s songs – being an
R&B outfit at heart.
|
|
Goodbye
Thimble Mill Lane - Peter Lee Stirling Yes,
there are two songs with this title and both were written by Peter Lee
Stirling (aka Daniel Boone). The other version of the song was recorded
by Schadel and is a big production Tom Jonesish affair. The version that
concerns us here is far more characteristic of Stirling’s bouncy pop
styling. Given that Stirling was working as a vocalist with Mark Wirtz
during this period it's not surprising that there is an air of Teenage
Opera about this story of the destruction of a “working class”
neighborhood. There is a thematic connection between the two versions.
The Stirling version is told from a young boy’s perspective during the
destruction and Schadel’s is told from a mature perspective, later.
|
|
I Lied to Auntie May -
The Neat Change
Decca
single, 1968
|
|
Ice
Cream Man – Kidrock Youngblood
Single, 1973 First heard by many of us on a volume of Circus Days, this track is credited to Clover. However, a couple of years ago the online fanzine Sweet Floral Albion uncovered the truth that it’s really a single by songwriter Tony Taylor under the name Kidrock. Apparently it was Taylor’s intention to release an album of children’s orient pop music and the result, as heard on the various singles, is an inventive array of tunes. Circus Days has done us the favor of compiling several more of them under the name Stars (Dream, Dream, Dream and Auntie Annie’s Place.). One additional Kidrock single exists, the charming pairing Rock-a-Bye Blues/Bang Bang.
|
Broken Toys - Broken
Toys
Polydor
single, 1971
|
Broken Toys is featured on the Circus Days Vol 4 compilation
|
Looking Glass - The
Bunch
CBS
single, 1967 Clearly
there were two or three different groups who were known as the Bunch.
Originally a light R&B act the name was ultimately taken over by
John Pantry and Peter and the Wolves. This one seems to fall somewhere
in between the two. Still its an effective portrayal of a topsy turvy
world using the Alice in Wonderland theme.
|
John Pantry at the controls in IBC Studios |
Fairyland -
Pop Workshop Page One Single, 1968 What
would you do if someone said to you “meet me Saturday night in
fairyland?” Please don’t answer that question. Anyway, that’s the
premise of this song that is neatly set on top of a Motown beat. But the
lyrics and arrangement transform its otherwise derivative musical
backing into something special. The song was written by harmony pop
master Ben Findon and the arrangement is by Mike Batt.
|
Harry the Earwig - Pete
Dello & Friends
LP
track from In to Your Ears, 1971 Can
anyone besides Pete Dello devise a song about sword play between two
insects?
|
Love
and the Brass Band – Dave Christie Mercury Single, 1968, A-Side of Penelope Breedlove The mysterious Mr. Christie produced this fantastic single who’s A-side, Penelope Breedlove falls just shy of making our list. However, the B-side gives Toytown its third brass band
|
Easy
Street – Eddy Howell Parlophone Single 1969 A market street on Saturday, a Salvation Army band playing, a bunch of strange characters and presto, an instant classic that made an appearance on the great soft pop compilation Fading Yellow.
|
Spare a Shilling – The Bunch CBS
single B-side, 1967 Under
the auspices of Eddie Tre-Vett the Bunch were handed this John Pantry
song. Pantry was especially adept at love-gone-bad songs and this one
appears to be about a man turned beggar when his girl leaves him.
|
Uncle Arthur - David Bowie
LP
track from David Bowie, 1967 Oh
boy, if someone wrote this song today there’d be all kinds of weird
interpretations. But in Bowie’s hands the tale of man who can’t seem
to escape his mother’s tight grip it told with such charm that you
can’t help but feel sorry for them both. Besides, anyone who follows
Batman can’t be half bad.
|
Jenny
Artichoke – Kaleidoscope Fontana
single, 1968 A
favorite Kaleidoscope track here because it's so uncharacteristic of
their previous material. This child-like rhyming number seems to fall
somewhere between the Move and the Hollies but the playing is all
classic K. Tons of fun!
|
Skeleton and the Roundabout -
The Idle Race
Liberty
single, 1968
|
Man in a Shop – Marmalade CBS
single, 1967 There
must something inherently lonely about men who dress shop window
mannequins, at least the way Marmalade tell it. Fans know that this
track was done by the first incarnation of the band. Eventually
songwriter/guitarist Junior Campbell would leave his spot to Hugh
Nicholson. Nicholson moved on to create the band Blue making room for
the third and last version of the Marmalade.
|
|
Victor Henry's Cool Book
-The Smoke
Metronome
(Germany) single, 1968 The
Smoke pays tribute to self-help books on this Lovin’ Spoonful-ish
number. Geoff Gill, the band’s drummer, eventually moved on to writing
and producing. He eventually found success with his partner Cliff Wade
when Pat Benetar covered their song “Heartbreaker.”
|