Category: Robin Wills’ Purepop

My Version Is Better Than Yours Part 6 –Incorporating the Mike Berry story Part 2: Round The Gum Tree:Fire VS Real McCoy


Fire –Round The Gum Tree/Toothie Ruthie –London 45 -20048 (1968 US issue)
Real McCoy –Round The Gum Tree/ I Will –Target 7N 17704 (1969 IRL)

We are talking Bubblegum here and with a capital B! Fire were a trio from Hounslow featuring future Strawb Dave Lambert, they are more widely celebrated for their classic Psych/ Freakbeat number My Father’s Name Was Dad (Decca). Mike was producing this later Fire session.

MB: Time was running out and their songs were not coming together, so I showed them this song that I knew we could finish before we ran out of time.

At 1 minute and 32 seconds you can see his point and it’s also a very simple but catchy tune, even the backing vocals are sped up sounding like the Chipmunks on Helium.
MB: After we finished the session, I said to myself –What I have done here? –I’ll never work in this business again.

Later Mike received a phone call… “Hello Mike –Dick Rowe (head honcho at Decca at the time) here –I have to say that Round The Gum Tree is the most commercial song I’ve ever heard, we must release it and it will be a huge smashâ€Â

MB: I thought it was a prank call and I put the phone down on him, but rang back to check and it was actually him…

Fire’s Round The Gum Tree wasn’t the predicted smash, but Irish showband Real McCoy gave it another shot. Their version is longer with added Psych guitar effects and even a key change. Whatever version you prefer, this song sounds like a real hit, just a shame that it wasn’t issued in the US as The 1910 Fruitgum Company…

Click on title for edits of Fire’s and Real Mccoy’s versions of Round The Gum Tree

Remember This –Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival

Remember This –Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival/Over and Over Again –Penny Farthing PEN 862 (1975 UK)

Remember This is in fact Brum legend Mike Sheridan as the A side was originally recorded for the unreleased Elmer Goodbody Jnr album (check out his version of The Move’s Do Ya on Charisma). Featuring members of Wizzard (minus Roy Wood), it stands head and shoulders above The Cherrie Vangelder-Smith version. Rock ‘N’Roll Revival is a real opus. Part Slade, Rubettes, Wizzard with some Glitter Band thrown in plus with a Bolan/ Buddy Holly (or is it Gene Vincent?) hommage at the end. The performance ends up being much more than the sum of its parts. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something happening here and it all ends up being strangely touching and evocative. The B side is also a pretty good rocker written by Mike Sheridan.
To check out the Mike Sheridan/ Elmer Goodbody Jnr story go to https://www.mikesheridan.org.uk/the_official_nightriders_website_002.htm
The Elmer Goodbody Jnr album is available there and real cheap

Click on title for a full version of Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival

Smith & Weston – A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues

Smith & Weston –A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues/Run Run Run –Decca F13441 (1973 UK)

Smith & Weston come up with a neat version of the Arthur Alexander track. Rawer than The Flamin’ Groovies‘ version from the previous year, this version stands (and stomps) at the crossroad of the then current Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival (Wild Angels, Fumble…) and crunching Glam. It features great power chords and handclaps, but the fuzzy/ scratchy guitar didn’t get quite through the mastering stage unscathed. Who the hell were these guys? More Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival/ Glam crossovers soon…

Click on title for a soundclip of A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues

Mogan David And His Winos –Savage Young Winos

Please welcome scribe and curator extraordinaire Collin to Purepop with his review of this artifact that I hadn’t taken out of its sleeve for at least 25 years…God it’s FUN. Hopefully Collin will be submitting more reviews, which will be great as I only have so many words in my vocabulary…

Mogan David And His Winos –Savage Young Winos –Kosher Records KOSR-001 (1973 US)

“Proto-punk and general good taste fans should definitely try and track this one downâ€Â

It’s Harold Bronson, the guy who founded Rhino Records, leading a gang of school-pals (all with great names like ‘Cute Dan’ and ‘Speed Freak Paul’) through a side and one more of excellente giz-rock of the oily 1970’s vintage. Saturday Night Pogo owners should instantly recognize the Winos brand as their Beauty Queen (reecoded circa ’73) is probably – no, definitely – the best track on said sad slab o’ wax. Lethal levels of ineptitude are reached and somehow hitched to unbelievable lines of melodicism!!! Street Baby is The Real Kids seven years early, Party Games is more psychedelic than the Leopards picking a fight with Poobah and Nose Job has lyrics stolen from MAD Magazine – recorded on George Carlin‘s portable tape machine no less! Side two is live and kinda blows (plus it’s all covers – though there is a surprise bluezz bonus track!).

The packaging is Live-At-Leeds-lavish beyond all reason – especially given its limited nature – with the sordid history of the band all typed out on the back-side of the gatefold (three members quit to devote more time to working on their hot rods only to miss out on Nose Job becoming the semester hit of the UCLA campus bookstore). Funny inserts, comics, contests, failed music theory papers and clippings are all an extra-tall glass of glee and refreshingly round out this bubbly belly-washer of an LP. Can still find dis ‘un for not too much money (got mine for a ten spot) and it’s all over (the U.S.) given that it was sold mainly through the pages of Phonograph Record and other period TB sheets.

Has Chris Stigliano done a Winos tribute issue of Black To Comm yet – if not, somebody should tell him! Sure to be a hit amongst Low Numbers fans, especially since most of ’em were Winos before graduating to chic, L.A. modernity.

To sum up:The name of the band is Mogan David & His Winos, The name of the record is Savage Young Winos, available on Kosher Records


Click on title for edits of Beauty Queen, Street Baby and the bonus track (comes after The Berkowitz Blues)

Barracuda –Summer Girls

Barracuda –Summer Girls/ I Feel So Down–EMI 2027 (1973 UK)

Just to salute the end of summer (what summer???), here is a superb Beach Boys cop written by Marty Wilde and Peter Shelley. I don’t know how this one slipped by especially as it could easily be confused with that other summer song by The Barracudas (also on EMI). Summer Girls was later covered by Flash Cadillac And The Continental Kids as Hot Summer Girls on their fine Sons Of Beaches LP (Private Stock PS 2003). The B side I Feel So Down is a cool piece of hypnotic bongo psych and makes this single a great 2-sider.

Click on title for edits of Summer Girls and I Feel So Down

Zingara –Girl Girl Girl

Zingara –Girl Girl Girl/ Give It All Up Boy –Pink Elephant 22.698.G (1973 NL)

Girl Girl Girl is another heavy Glam Cruncher from The Netherlands. Zingara came from Coevorden and the line-up originally featured 4 members from Hartung Sound. After their first single (Mary Lee/This world – Pink Elephant 22.635-H) Richard Hartung left the band and the remainder of the group issued this single before splitting up for good. Although the tune itself holds few surprises, it’s a good foot-stomping performance with a suitably Neanderthal attitude.

Click on title for a soundclip of Girl Girl Girl

Spiv –Oh You Beautiful Child

Spiv –Oh You Beautiful Child/ Little Girl – Pye 7N 45293 (1973 UK)

Oh You Beautiful Child is a great example of the perfect Glam Cruncher with its slap-back compressed handclaps, cutting lead, catchy hook and exuberant vocals, it’s up there with the best. Little Child starts off like Dear Prudence but then turns into this Radio Birdman/ New Christ styled rocker with the vocalist sounding uncannily like Rob Younger! The single was produced and the A side written by Laurie Marshall – the same guy who was behind Grudge’s When Christine Comes Around/ I’m Gonna Smash Your Face In, Paul St. John (The Flying Saucers Have Landed) and Weeny Bopper (David, Donny And Michael). If anyone knows Laurie I would love to hear from him (email through my profile page). Laurie Marshall also released some Disco stuff, but I’m unsure if it’s the same person.

Oh You Beautiful Child appears on Glitter From The Litter Bin ( Sanctuary CMQCD675)

Click on title for edits of Oh You Beautiful Child and Little Girl

Stumblebunny –Tonite vs Tony Sherman –Tonight

Tonite from Stumblebunny –While You Were Out LP –Mercury 9198 135 (1979 French issue)

Tony Sherman –Tonight/Slippin’ Into Darkness –BASF 05 15455 0 (1974 NL)

The mystery to be cleared up here is how Tony Sherman had a hit on Holland in 1974 (number 11 in the charts) with Chris Robison’s Tonite which I originally thought first appeared on the Stumblebunny EP released in 1977 (see August 9th 2007 posting). Both version are credited to C. Robison and they are definitely the same song. I’ve uploaded a clip of the later 1979 Stumblebunny LP version produced by Richard Gottehrer. All 3 versions make one thing clear –the song is a total classic whichever version you pick.
Chris Robison’s website https://www.chrisrobison.net/index.html mentions the possibility of a CD release of the Stumblebunny stuff and it would be great have this stuff out as the album contains other ace Power Pop tunes including Walk Away and Knock’in Around.

Thanks to Jos for pointing out the Tony Sherman release and for sending me a copy!

Click on title for edits of Stumblebunny’s Tonite and Tony Sherman’s Tonight

U.K. Jones –Let Me Tell Ya / And The Rains Came Down (The Mike Berry Story Part 1)

I had the pleasure of meeting up with Mike Berry recently. I had to hook up with him as I kept noticing his name on so many great “lostâ€Â singles (Ning, The One Hit Wonders, Small Wonder , UK Jones, Boneshaker, Biggles etc…). Mike Berry is not the same Berry as the “Are you being servedâ€Â/ Tribute to Buddy Holly guy, nor is there any relation to Dave Berry or Chuck for that matter…Mike was a radio DJ, publisher (Sparta Florida and Apple– he signed Badfinger to Apple publishing), songwriter, producer , singer and overall music biz mover and shaker. For a Beatles overview of his career check out: https://triumphpc.com/mersey-beat/beatles/wordsofwisdom.shtml
Mike is currently working as Executive Producer on a series of programmes on UK labels for Capital Radio. Over the next installments, I’ll be uncovering some of these lesser known gems, starting with:

U.K. Jones –Let Me Tell Ya / And The Rains Came Down – Deram DM 231 (1969 UK)

Let Me Tell Ya has been referred to elsewhere as being the first ever Glam number and although it features handclaps and HEYs, this single is so much more than that. It’s a riotous performance with the same exuberance as found on Mike’s One Hit Wonders CBS single (Hey Hey Jump Now/ Goodbye). The tune is simply the mother of all hooks, the gang-show vocals give it a Frat Rock/Party feel and the driving beat hurtles along relentlessly. The key change at the end is a great touch –perfect and all so simple.
And The Rains Came Down is also really special and is like nothing else I’ve ever heard . It has this HUGE Gold Star drum sound, a wonderful upbeat bubblegum chorus and very LOUD thunder and rain effects.

Mike Berry: A lot of these singles were recorded quickly at the end of sessions. It was my release at the end of the sessions, to get the session men or band members and say “let’s do this, let’s do thatâ€Â in the hope that something might happen. When I did the U.K. Jones single, it was while I was doing sound-alike records for a label called Reditunes. It was recorded at R.G. Jones in Morden. We were experimenting, trying to get the sounds that the Americans were getting. The influence of R.G. Jones was unbelievable as he taught me a lot in how to get those sounds. The name U.K. Jones came about because we recorded at R.G. Jones and I’m from the UK –it’s as simple as that!

Click in title for edits of Let Me Tell Ya & And The Rains Came Down


Stumblebunny –Tonite

Stumblebunny -4 track EP –Slip-Shod Records (1977 US)

Tonite is simply a top draw Power Pop tune. While less glossy than the later Mercury version produced by Richard Gottehrer, it’s a fine rockin’ performance and sounds like The Raspberries or Dwight Twilley if they had recorded for Titan (well to these ears anyway…)

Click on title for a full version of Tonite