Knockin' on Tommy's door. Among the young guns: Mick Taylor, Alex Harvey, Dave Edmunds, John Lodge, Thane Russal and possibly Jimmy Page & Noel Redding. Taste and try before you buy: just a little service for all collectors before they cut off their right arms for a rubbish rubble on ebay. listen, learn, read on: hear first.
Today's menue:
01.:What More Can I Do - The Zombies (BBC Session 1-26-65) 2'09
02.:Hey Hey Hey - Blues Section with Jim Pembroke (Love Rec.,67, released in Finland) 3'52
03.:Maybe Someday - Alex Harvey (Decca,67) 2'44
04.:Bloodhound - Status Quo (unreleased BBC,67) 1'57
05.:Go-Go - The Human Instinct (Mercury,67) 1'58
06..Black Night - The Hideaways (EP"Beat in Liverpool", BGG,German release,66) 2'24
07.:Mr. Love - Bobby Angelo & The End (Sonet,67, Swedish release) 2'41
08.:All Night Long - The Animals (US-only LP "Animalism", MGM,66) 2'47
09.:Over Suzanne - The Applejacks (LP, s.t., Decca,64) 2'26
10.:Everybody Needs - The Cherokees (Columbia,66) 2'31
11.:Come Down To Earth - Force Five (United Artists,65) 2'27
12.:Just In Case - The Fourmost (Parlophone,63) 2'41
13.:Deep Down Love - The Persuasions (Columbia,65) 1'54
14.:Shake It Some More - Tony Sheridan & The Big Six (German-only Polydor,65) 3'19
15.:Morning Dew - The Human Beans (Columbia,67) 2'48
16.:Come On Down To My Boat, Baby - The Gods (Polydor, 67) 2'42
17.:I'm Looking For A Woman - The Saints (LP "Saints Alive", MJB,64) 2'01
18.:Inside My Mind - The Deejays (flexi-disc with Swedish "Bildjournalen" Magazine,67) 2'29
19.:Semi-Detached Suburban Mr. Jones - Herbie's People (US-only 45, Okeh,66) 2'32
20.:I'm A Man - The John Bull Breed (Polydor,66) 4'01
21.:I Can See You - The Cymerons (Polydor,66) 2'31
22..I've Got My Tears To Remind Me - Doug Gibbson (Decca,65) 2'30
23.:Don't Cry Baby - Lee Grant & The Capitols (Parlophone,66) 2'18
24.:Oyeh - The Dakotas (Parlophone,64) 2'09
25.:Small Town - Peter Fenton (Fontana,66) 2'07
26.:The Secret Of Love - The Minets (Rock It, US-only,64) 2'39
27.:That's What They Say - The Essex (Ariola, German-only,64) 2'07
28.:Here She Comes Again - Neil Landon & The Burnettes (unreleased,64) 2'43
29.:Look At Me - The London Chimes (Philips, US-only,65) 1'45
30.:Lose Your Money - The Moody Blues (Decca, 64) 2'02
31.:Mountain - Sunshine Theatre (Harp,71) 3'44
(45s except where noted)
Lift-off with St. Albans' pride, THE ZOMBIES. Both roots&tracers, aka the sturclub, love this immaculate band ad infinitum, and as they're more than well-documented on re-issues of their own, we decided to include a tougher rendition of the flip of the group's third 7". Just listen to the organ. It's two years ahead of The Doors! ---
JIM PEMBROKE is the English guy we know from volume 2. He stayed in Finland after his debut with The Pems, joined BLUES SECTION, the country's leading R&B band, and released two singles with them. This here is an incredible sonic assault for 67, every bit in the same league as Hendrix and Cream the same year. ---
ALEX HARVEY covers The Incredible String Band!!! And does a stunning job.'Nuff said... ---
Next are STATUS QUO on the Beeb with a brutal stomper that even challenges The Downliners' version of Larry Bright's trash rockabilly hymn. ---
THE HUMAN INSTINCT from New Zealand spent three years in Great Britain and are best remembered for two 45s on Deram, among them the glorious psych classic "A Day In My Mind's Mind". "Go-Go" was the last of three lesser known singles on UK-Mercury. ---
THE HIDEAWAYS were one of Liverpool's few real R&B bands. In spite of a huge local following, they never had a recording contract in a city, where every fart was put to tape in these days. The only surviving document of their existance showed up 66 as a "bonus" EP with a German book called "Beat in Liverpool", released by Büchergilde Gutenberg. The Hideaways' two tracks - one of them already immortalized on an old Prae-Kraut Pandaemonium in the mid-90s - were recorded at the Sink Club, while The Clayton Squares on the other side were taped at the Iron Door. (Stay tuned.) ---
BOBBY ANGELO (real name Robert Hemmings) from Walton-on-Thames was one of Britain's early rockers, and his two 61/62 singles on HMV, "Baby Sitting" and "Don't Stop", sounded closer to Johnny Kidd and Vince Taylor than to all the 2 I's-Elvis-clones who tried to rock, but didn't know how. Angelo moved to Sweden in 63, where he recorded four 45s for Sonet. This one is the last, and while sitar-into and backwards guitar might be an indicator, THE END isn't the more prominent band of "Introspection"-fame. --- Here's the best (actually the only worthwhile) of the US-only tracks from THE ANIMALS' "Animalism" album. The UK equivalent was called "Animalisms" (note the plural) and had a couple of different songs, while some Continental editions showed yet another tracklist. "All Night Long" was produced by Frank Zappa, and he did a fine job here. ---
THE APPLEJACKS where another of these under-estimated, uncool bands, who were written-off as second division Beatles-fakers after their instant hit "Tell Me When" and the follow-up "Like Dreamers Do", which in fact was a Lennon-McCartney composition in 64. On the flip of the debut, "Baby Jane", they pulled all stops and rocked like hell, but that one probably is too familiar. (If not, let me know in the comments.) Another very fine recording is the Pete Dello (later of Honeybus) composition "Over Suzanne" from their only LP, and it beats Tommy Bruce's version, which was released on 7" the same year, by miles. ---
THE CHEROKEES from Leeds were lesser-successful-than-usual-protegees of Mickie Most. This is the last 45 before they changed name to New York Public Library (see volume 5). The stressed attempts of an over-souling vocalist to steer clear of Solomon Burke's "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" on "Everybody Needs" is much funny. --- FORCE FIVE from Canvey Island, Essex, had five 45s on UK-United Artists. This is the flip of the third, "Baby Don't Care". (see volume 3) ---
More harmless Beatles-soundalikes from Epstein's Liverpool stable: THE FOURMOST with the flip of "Hello Little Girl", the first of six Top 40-hits they had - and hardly anyone remembers nowadays - with twelve singles from 63 to 69. --- Here's one of three 7"s on Columbia by THE PERSUASIONS, a band I couldn't find out much about. ---
TONY SHERIDAN from Norwich, the big figure of not only the Starclub, but the whole Reeperbahn in the early 60s in Hamburg, is known in his home country only as an "early collaborator of The Beatles" (Wikipedia), if at all. His first domestic release was a flopping 45 on the short-lived Buk label in 75. In Germany he had numerous singles and LPs, and he was respected as one of the originators of the sound we're talking about, and indeed, without elder beatmen like him and Kingsize Taylor, the whole Hamburg connection wouldn't have started at all. ---
Dave Edmund's band THE HUMAN BEANS make their second appearance on Tommyknockers here with the other side of the group's only 45. (See volume 3). The post-apocalyptic "Morning Dew" was often covered, and while it usually is credited to Tim Rose, it was written by Bonnie Dobson in 62. ---
I'm not quite as sure as most other sources, that these GODS here are the same, or an early line-up, of the group that recorded two albums for Columbia and mutated to Uriah Heep. While it's certainly tempting to construct a band with Greg Lake, Ken Hensley and Mick Taylor in the ranks, only the latter's membership among The Gods (subtitled Thor-Hermes-Olympus-Mars) on the Polydor 7" is confirmed. The song was a hit for the US-group Every Mother's Son, and the even better flip "Garbage Man" can be found on Echoes from the Wilderness. --- Nothing known about THE SAINTS except that they are responsible for not one,but too of the most expensive UK private pressings of the beat age, a 10" and an LP. Mostly covers and the style ranges from neat Shadowism to tough Bo Diddleyitis like on "I'm Looking For A Woman". ---
Big in Sweden: THE DEEJAYS (see volume 5). Here is a various artists flexi-disc given away with the teen mag Bildjournalen. It shows the beginnings of their turn to a more psychedelic sound, and would have been a highlight on the last LP "Haze", which, strange enough, was some kind of anti-climax in my ears. ---
HERBIE'S PEOPLE from Wolverhampton already had two fine, but unsuccessful singles on CBS, when they got hold of a demo of a song called "Semi-Detached Suburban Mr. Jones", which had "hit" written all over it. They quickly recorded a proper version, just to see it withdrawn, when CBS found out, that Manfred Mann were about to release the song the same week. (For obvious reasons Mr. Jones became Mr. James, as Paul Jones had just left The Manfreds, and wouldn't have been too amused about being described as semi-detached.) But the tapes already were on the way to the USA, and Okeh released this very British little ditty in a country where the words didn't seem to make much sense. No chart action again When their last and best 45 "Residential Area", which already had been the US-b-side, flopped in 67, Herbie's People called it a day. ---
There never was a John Bull in Birmingham's JOHN BULL BREED, but a John they had, John Lodge on bass, who later made it pretty big with the second line-up of The Moody Blues. Hidden on the flip of the only single they left us is the most monstrous version of "I'm A Man" I've ever heard. Sounds like it must have made some impression onDavid Bowie too. Remember "The Jean Genie"?... ---
Manchester's CYMERONS were already featured on volume 4. Here's their other 45. ---
DOUG GIBBSON is the birth name of Thane Russal, and he used it for his debut on Decca. "I Got My Tears To Remind Me" was written by Jimmy Page and Jackie DeShannon, and was also recorded by Dave Berry. ---
Not much known about LEE GRANT & THE CAPITOLS, except that they indeed - despite the name combination of the two leading generals in the American Civil War - were British, and that they were more popular in Spain, where they had at least two EPs, while back home this was the only release. ---
Look out, here comes the first instrumental on Tommyknockers. It's the third of five 45s THE DAKOTAS made without Billy J. Kramer. ---
The wonderful "Small Town" was by far the best of PETER FENTON's (from Yorkshire) three 7"s between 65 and 67, and it certainly is one of the finest Howard-Blaikley compositions. Sounds like the Jilted John of the 60s. The plug side was a great interpretation of Drafi Deutscher's "Marble Breaks And Iron Bends". --- Next is the fourth and last track THE MINETS (OF ENGLAND) recorded and released in Boston, Massachusetts. (See volumes 1, 2 & 5). ---
Mysterious group THE ESSEX makes a comeback (see volume 1) with the flip of their only single on German Ariola. "That's What They Say" was written by "Warner". Maybe that helps, and someone out there can tell us something about this band. Or will they stay obscured by krauts forever?... ---
NEIL LANDON & THE BURNETTES from Folkestone never made a record, but had a lot of luminaries drifting through various line-ups, among them Peter Kirchner (aka Peter Carter), who joined Honeybus, Jim Leverton, later with Savoy Brown, Noel Redding and of course Neil Landon (real name Patrick Cahill), who was the singer in The Flower Pot Men and Fat Matress, before he settled down in Hamburg, where he sang with Rudolf Rock & die Schocker among others. They spent most of the time on the Continent, and in 64 they went to a studio in Frankfurt, Germany, where they recorded material for a whole LP, which unfortunately never saw the light. Here's one of the self-written numbers. ---
THE CHIMES were another group from England, who came to Hamburg and had to go through the German chitlin circuit without making it as big as their idols. They recorded for German Polydor, but only one track showed up on one of the many LP-compilations the company released in the mid-60s to cash in on the beat boom. Somehow two songs made it to the States, where the were put out on a 45 as by The London Chimes (to avoid trouble with the US-Chimes) by Philips, who stated on the label that they had licenced it from German Polydor. --- The always underrated MOODY BLUES with the flip of the first single, but did you ever realise, that this was the blueprint to Cream's "Outside Woman"? --- On the tailend of this edition we stretch our timeframe a bit for SUNSHINE THEATRE, a band from Wales, who released a fabulous early proto-punk single on the tiny local Harp label in 71. A real mindexpander. --- This series was planned to go for 5 volumes. Meanwhile I found out that there is material for at least 10. The torture never stops... See you next month, the Lolly Pope. (und der verwaltungsangestellte westfauster for your pleasure)
tommyknockers #6
(mp3 / 256 kbps / direct download)
(fröhliche arschnachten, ihr weinlöcher: merry f§xmess and X ya'all! - nee nee nee: we love you)
