The Passengers –Something About You (I don’t Like)/Two Lovers –Private pressing (1979 UK)
I met these guys at the time outside the CBS building in Soho Square just as they were signing to Epic. They had pressed up this single privately in order to create a buzz and it worked as both tracks were later released on the faux-independent Blue Inc. and also on Epic proper. It looks like they were uncertain as to which song was to be the A side when they pressed it up, but in my book, there was no contest as Something About you is a powerful Punk/ Power Pop number of the highest caliber. To me it sounds like The Members infused with a top Pop tune and featuring a great rockin’ piano part such as Nicky Hopkins would lay down on those early Kinks sides.
Click on title for an edit of Something About You
As a dubious marketing exercise, I will also be listing this single on ebay https://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQsassZpurepop1ukthis evening. It’s the last single I will be listing until January -Thanks!
Pete Dunton –Taking Time/ Still Confused –RCA 42501 (1973 French issue)
Pete was the drummer With Freakbeat faves The Flies and Please. He was also in a late line-up of Gun before forming the Proggy T2. This single came out in the UK on Rockfield and the production by Dave Edmunds is pretty spectacular. Dave was in the middle of his Spector recreations in the Rockfield barn at the time and the Welsh wizard pulls out all the stops on this single. Swamped in flange and chorus, Taking Time literally explodes during the instrumental breaks full of psyched out Banjo and unmistakable Dave Edmunds guitar interjections. The B side Still Confused sounds like Badfinger on mushrooms with a nice understated vocal performance from Pete Dunton.
Click on title for edits of Taking Time and Still Confused
Change –Yaketty Yak, Smacketty Smack/When The Morning Comes –Orange OAS 210 (1973 UK)
This review definitely asks more questions than it answers…These two records seem to feature the same band, but they don’t sound at all alike. Wildcat is firmly in Brother Susan/ SladeGlam mode while Yaketty Yak, Smacketty Smack is a lovely pop tune to suit an afternoon of mild S&M activities. Both singles have Sigmund(s)son and Helgason credited as writers (Wildcat adds Rolfe –Could that be Barry Rolfe who recorded Look The Business?), so I would assume a Scandinavian connection. The EMI single is produced by Emil D. Zoghby and to confuse matters even further, I picked up a single by Chance (although credited to Change on the back cover) called Wash My Mem’ries (Pink Elephant PE 22.736 –H) also produced by Emil. That single is rather ghastly, but again could this be the same band? Hopefully our Nordic friends can perhaps provide some information here?
Click on title for edits of Wildcat and Yaketty Yak, Smacketty Smack
House Of Lilly – Turn Around/ Situations –Eurodisc 12805 (1973 French Issue)
House of Lilly were apparently a Swiss band, but Turn Around is a cracking Punk-edged performance that rocks hard without ever falling into Hard Rock histrionics or Prog indulgences. The only slight blemish is the weak organ solo, but the lead guitar that follows is positively blistering. Their use of English language was nothing if not creative…Can’t make it all out but there are witches flying about and the singer proclaims at one point: “I am The Devil and my breath will blow you upâ€Â. His last line ends with:“My….. WILL FUCK YOU UP“, but I’m not too sure as to what he was referring to. The B side is OK, but has a flute –go throw it in the lake boy and let’s have more cheese induced delirium!
While await requests for new reviews (if not the default setting will be House Of Lilly), I have put some singles up on ebay and you can expect up to 100 singles over the next few weeks.
Thanks to Duggi, the bass player from Smiley, we now know more about the band and the fascinating fact that they nearly became The Creation Mark IV!
The original review was posted on September 11th 2007, but I have uploaded the tracks again here for convenience sake.
From the man himself, who also sent the Smiley photo.
“Maybe you can make out the name Creation written on floor…We were going to go out as TheCreation and adopt their image/music…it all kinda fell apart for Smiley… We signed a 10 year contract with Shel Talmy/ Shelbush organisation, who promised to release two singles per year, but it never happened. While we were playing at Top Ten Club in Hamburg ,a record scout Paul Murphy spotted us and we met with the then music director of BASF in Germany…Ralf Arni (think this right spelling) who wrote the song “Tulips from Amsterdam” (Max Bygraves!!!). They wanted to sign us under a fantastic recording deal (well was then), however The Shel Talmy Organisation wouldn’t let us leave, and we were cast into the wilderness…no recording possibilities…the band decided to make money we would have to change and be a cabaret band, (something I personally hated) so I left the band and they carried on for around another yearâ€Â
Smiley line up: John Ryan -vocals, Billy Fogg – drums, Peter Richardson – Guitar, Robert (Bob) Garner – Guitar, Douglas Dickson –Bass
Click on title for edits of I Know What I Want and Penelope
Just back from 2 days of walking up and down the huge hall at the Utrecht Record Fair, picking up singles along the way. I Came back with 57 singles, some real cracking discoveries in this lot…
Above you can see a Swedish copy of Son Of My father. Now, I know we had rely on Israel to beat the Russians for a chance to get to the European finals, but we’re not really that bad, or…are we? More probably it was an interesting comment by our Swedish friends on the state of the economy at the time and the three day week.
Here is a rundown of the pick of the bunch. You’re all welcome to make requests for the next reviews and sound clips from this lot…
Hard Horse -Let It Ride
Chris Hodge -We’re On Our Way
Pete Dunton -Making Time ( late Pop/psych number with a great Dave Edmunds production)
House of Lilly -Turn Around (incredible rocking Swiss!!! single from ’73)
Zingara -Mary Lee (pretty horrible first single, nothing like the great Girl Girl Girl)
Trifle -Devil Comin’ (7.45!)
Frame -Keep Those Blues On The Run (good Glam/pop 2-sider)
Blue Rock -Bye Bye Johnny (B side is more interesting)
Left Side -Mamma Mia
Shakane -Birmingham
Spunky Spider -You Won’t Come –YES, FINALLY!!!!
Pat Boone!!!-Little Honda (Pat goes Surf, Terry Melcher/ Bruce Johnston B side)
HMK -Delirious ([Perhaps Gary Holton‘s greatest moment)
The Panics -Superwoman
Santa Maria -Elle (French band from ’71 -absolutely killer fuzzed up psych/Pop B side)
Black Swan -Da Ga De Li Da
Rocky Underground -Groovy
Lemming -Good Morning
Kincade -Jenny Jenny (John Carter)
Edgar Broughton Band -Apache Drop Out ( forgot just how incredibly bizzare and brilliant this is )
Hot Rod Formula -Heavy Chevy (no car noises and a bit too discotheque for me, great sleeve)
Buzz -Mony Mony (the Buzz who did The Rock roller coaster, Great punked out B side)
BoogaLoo Band -Cadillac (The Vince Taylor number, similar to the Renegades‘ arrangement)
Teddy Palmer And The Rumble Band -Teddy Bear (exhuberant Glammed Up version)
Bryan Evans -Hold Tight! (late Glam version of the Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky Mick And Titch number)
6 different Teens singles,!
plus more spares/ upgrades and a few dodgy singles!
Rescue Co. No.1 –I Want To Save You/ Amanda –Jam 14 (1972 UK)
Arnold, Martin & Morrow (Go Go Thunder,Butterscotch etc…) are behind this fine slab of orchestral Glammy Psych/Pop. Rescue Co. No.1 had a plethora of singles on different labels, and this is one of the 3 singles they released on the Jam imprint. It’s probably my favourite Rescue single of the lot, but you can also check out Its Only Words posted May 28th 2007. The lush yet sharp arrangement and production is simply staggering and it all sounds a bit like The Move accompanied by The London Symphony Orchestra playing an unreleased Hello tune…I’m sure you’ll enjoy this!
Click on title for a full version of I Want To Save You.
Real McCoy – I Get So Excited/ Somebody’s Taken Maria Away –Pye N17618 (1968 UK)
The Real McCoy come up trumps with this KILLER cover of The Equals tune. It starts off as a real solid and driving performance and then all hell breaks loose when the track gets engulfed by majestic swirling phasing. Most records sounded this way anyway on Radio Luxemburg anyhow, but they certainly went the whole hog as the phasing is there for most of the track. Real McCoy were Irish and seemed to have specialized in covering key Bubblegum tracks of the time, but always adding an edge –check out the versions of Round The Gum Tree and Quick Joey Small for further examples of this.
Note: You can find all the tracks above on the Round The Gum Tree UK Bubblegum compilation that Sanctuary put out a couple of years back.
Click on title for a full version of I Get So Excited
