Second Hand Record Dip Part 72 - Tik and Tok - Summer in the City

- Hola Music Lovers, Music іѕ а form оf art thаt involves organized аnd audible sounds аnd silence. It іѕ nоrmаllу expressed іn terms оf pitch (which includes melody аnd harmony), rhythm (which includes tempo аnd meter), аnd thе quality оf sound (which includes timbre, articulation, dynamics, аnd texture). Music mау аlѕо involve complex generative forms іn time thrоugh thе construction оf patterns аnd combinations оf natural stimuli, principally sound. Music mау bе uѕеd fоr artistic оr aesthetic, communicative, entertainment, оr ceremonial purposes. Thе definition оf whаt constitutes music varies ассоrdіng tо culture аnd social context.This Blog tell About , Music is formulated or organized sound. Although it cannot contain emotions, it is sometimes designed to manipulate and transform the emotion of the listener/listeners. Music created for movies is a good example of its use to manipulate emotions. .



Who: Tik and Tok
What: Summer in the City (b/w Crisis)
Label: Survival
When: 1981
Where: Music and Video Exchange, Camden High Street, London
Cost: 50p

Readers of a certain vintage may have hazy memories of Tik and Tok, a robotic dance duo who appeared on all manner of television programmes in the early eighties.  Robotic dancing in the present day and age is popularly regarded to be the folly of Covent Garden street performers rather than cutting edge cabaret, but like mime, the Jim Rose Circus and puppets that emit cuss words, there was a brief point in time where it seemed an exotic and thoroughly modern affair.  Such things usually have a shelf-life of six months to a year before the allure fades and the talent becomes a gimmick, and so it proved with this duo, whose career high wasn't especially prolonged.

For a time, however, Tik and Tok were actually quite mainstream, popping up on Kenny Everett's television programmes and The Royal Variety Show, and supporting Gary Numan on tour (as well as being supported by a young Depeche Mode).  Until I stumbled across this record in the racks of "Music and Video Exchange", I had no memory of what they sounded like, and was expecting the kind of staccato, psuedo-futuristic and alienated fare we've already heard from The Techno Twins and Karel Fialka.  On the contrary, their cover of the Lovin' Spoonful's "Summer in the City" here is actually surprisingly upbeat and effective.  Taking the simplistic stomping rhythms of the original and highlighting them for robotic effect, it's a piece of electronic music that's dated amazingly well, sounding almost like a piece of noughties post-modern pastiche.   The original song is good enough to weather most changes to the original arrangement, but Tik and Tok manage to make it sound as if it always was a piece of eighties electro-pop right from the first hearing, which is actually an astonishing feat for a familiar, evergreen single.  I bought this half-expecting to burst out laughing on the first spin, only to find myself getting strangely into it and promptly putting it on my iPod playlist.

The B-side "Crisis" has aged well too, sounding inspired by Kraftwerk and German electronic pop, and featuring a strange and jarring piece of dialogue which is supposed to be one of the Kray Twins dialling a wrong number and getting through to the robo-duo's HQ.  Again, it manages to give the impression of Shoreditch and Hoxton circa 2005 rather than the Kenny Everett Video Show circa 1981, although whether that's innovative or a grave war crime depends upon your personal perspective.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Tik and Tok are still performing today, and apparently regularly appearing at Star Wars conventions thanks to their appearance in "Return of the Jedi".  It almost feels as if I should finish this blog entry on a sarcastic or ironical comment, but actually... why should I?  It would be far too lazy and far too easy, and unnecessary given the fact that I like this single.

Who: Tik and Tok
What: Summer in the City (b/w Crisis)
Label: Survival
When: 1981
Where: Music and Video Exchange, Camden High Street, London
Cost: 50p

Readers of a certain vintage may have hazy memories of Tik and Tok, a robotic dance duo who appeared on all manner of television programmes in the early eighties.  Robotic dancing in the present day and age is popularly regarded to be the folly of Covent Garden street performers rather than cutting edge cabaret, but like mime, the Jim Rose Circus and puppets that emit cuss words, there was a brief point in time where it seemed an exotic and thoroughly modern affair.  Such things usually have a shelf-life of six months to a year before the allure fades and the talent becomes a gimmick, and so it proved with this duo, whose career high wasn't especially prolonged.

For a time, however, Tik and Tok were actually quite mainstream, popping up on Kenny Everett's television programmes and The Royal Variety Show, and supporting Gary Numan on tour (as well as being supported by a young Depeche Mode).  Until I stumbled across this record in the racks of "Music and Video Exchange", I had no memory of what they sounded like, and was expecting the kind of staccato, psuedo-futuristic and alienated fare we've already heard from The Techno Twins and Karel Fialka.  On the contrary, their cover of the Lovin' Spoonful's "Summer in the City" here is actually surprisingly upbeat and effective.  Taking the simplistic stomping rhythms of the original and highlighting them for robotic effect, it's a piece of electronic music that's dated amazingly well, sounding almost like a piece of noughties post-modern pastiche.   The original song is good enough to weather most changes to the original arrangement, but Tik and Tok manage to make it sound as if it always was a piece of eighties electro-pop right from the first hearing, which is actually an astonishing feat for a familiar, evergreen single.  I bought this half-expecting to burst out laughing on the first spin, only to find myself getting strangely into it and promptly putting it on my iPod playlist.

The B-side "Crisis" has aged well too, sounding inspired by Kraftwerk and German electronic pop, and featuring a strange and jarring piece of dialogue which is supposed to be one of the Kray Twins dialling a wrong number and getting through to the robo-duo's HQ.  Again, it manages to give the impression of Shoreditch and Hoxton circa 2005 rather than the Kenny Everett Video Show circa 1981, although whether that's innovative or a grave war crime depends upon your personal perspective.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Tik and Tok are still performing today, and apparently regularly appearing at Star Wars conventions thanks to their appearance in "Return of the Jedi".  It almost feels as if I should finish this blog entry on a sarcastic or ironical comment, but actually... why should I?  It would be far too lazy and far too easy, and unnecessary given the fact that I like this single.

ReUpload - Wolfgang - Sandman

- Hola Music Lovers, Music іѕ а form оf art thаt involves organized аnd audible sounds аnd silence. It іѕ nоrmаllу expressed іn terms оf pitch (which includes melody аnd harmony), rhythm (which includes tempo аnd meter), аnd thе quality оf sound (which includes timbre, articulation, dynamics, аnd texture). Music mау аlѕо involve complex generative forms іn time thrоugh thе construction оf patterns аnd combinations оf natural stimuli, principally sound. Music mау bе uѕеd fоr artistic оr aesthetic, communicative, entertainment, оr ceremonial purposes. Thе definition оf whаt constitutes music varies ассоrdіng tо culture аnd social context.This Blog tell About , Music is formulated or organized sound. Although it cannot contain emotions, it is sometimes designed to manipulate and transform the emotion of the listener/listeners. Music created for movies is a good example of its use to manipulate emotions. .



Label: Bell
Year of Release: 1970


Brilliant flop records in the sixties were ten a penny, which is why there are so many Rubble, Pebble and Nuggets compilations out there, not to mention numerous illegal bootleg spin offs and label cash-ins. It was estimated at one point in 1967 that 60% of all young people in America alone were claiming to be in a band - with that amount of activity going on, it's no wonder so much good material got buried.

This has since lead to people like me desperately digging every single flop record from the period out of remainder boxes in second hand record stores in the hope that I've found another "one", moving a step ahead of the compilation compilers. Invariably, this stance goes horribly wrong, and I end up returning home with yet another woeful singer-songwriter disc with half-arsed orchestral backing (it's astonishing how many of these people got financed in the sixties - studio orchestras must have made a pretty penny backing mediocre provincial solo artists singing ballads. How come nobody has done a bootleg compilation of these yet, eh?)

Once every so often, I may find something which just about passes, though. And this is one example. Wolfgang's "Sandman" is not a breathtaking lost classic, but is a piece of short, chirpy, slightly bubblegum pop which possibly seemed rather too retro by the time it was issued in 1970. Its honking harmonica riff and twee simplicity probably seemed like a relic of the early sixties to the ears of the children of the new decade, which would explain how it ended up being ignored entirely.

The trouble is, I haven't really managed to find any information out about Wolfgang at all. The songwriting credit goes to "Schmidtt", so it may be the same Wolfgang Schmidtt who issued "Girl from Monmouth County" on RCA in 1969 - but from there, the trail goes cold, and I can't say I've ever heard or encountered that single either. The label also tells us that the song is a UK studio recording, so this is unlikely to have been a European hit which was issued on Bell in Britain.

So then - should anyone know who this Wolfgang character is, please leave a comment below and put me out of my misery. Feel free to embarrass me by telling me this was a massive hit in the Netherlands or somewhere if you like, or that he was later a major figure in some glam rock band, just so long as I know...

The B-side "You" is a lazy piece of filler which isn't worth the bother, but I include it bundled into the download for the Wolfgang completists out there.


(This entry was originally uploaded on 29 July 2008.  I'm still none the wiser as to who Wolfgang is, and I've always felt that this single was a bit unfairly ignored when I originally posted it.  It's a sprightly piece of pop which is as far from freakbeat, mod, soul or psychedelia as things get, but it still has a certain charm.  I may be alone in that belief, however...)

Label: Bell
Year of Release: 1970


Brilliant flop records in the sixties were ten a penny, which is why there are so many Rubble, Pebble and Nuggets compilations out there, not to mention numerous illegal bootleg spin offs and label cash-ins. It was estimated at one point in 1967 that 60% of all young people in America alone were claiming to be in a band - with that amount of activity going on, it's no wonder so much good material got buried.

This has since lead to people like me desperately digging every single flop record from the period out of remainder boxes in second hand record stores in the hope that I've found another "one", moving a step ahead of the compilation compilers. Invariably, this stance goes horribly wrong, and I end up returning home with yet another woeful singer-songwriter disc with half-arsed orchestral backing (it's astonishing how many of these people got financed in the sixties - studio orchestras must have made a pretty penny backing mediocre provincial solo artists singing ballads. How come nobody has done a bootleg compilation of these yet, eh?)

Once every so often, I may find something which just about passes, though. And this is one example. Wolfgang's "Sandman" is not a breathtaking lost classic, but is a piece of short, chirpy, slightly bubblegum pop which possibly seemed rather too retro by the time it was issued in 1970. Its honking harmonica riff and twee simplicity probably seemed like a relic of the early sixties to the ears of the children of the new decade, which would explain how it ended up being ignored entirely.

The trouble is, I haven't really managed to find any information out about Wolfgang at all. The songwriting credit goes to "Schmidtt", so it may be the same Wolfgang Schmidtt who issued "Girl from Monmouth County" on RCA in 1969 - but from there, the trail goes cold, and I can't say I've ever heard or encountered that single either. The label also tells us that the song is a UK studio recording, so this is unlikely to have been a European hit which was issued on Bell in Britain.

So then - should anyone know who this Wolfgang character is, please leave a comment below and put me out of my misery. Feel free to embarrass me by telling me this was a massive hit in the Netherlands or somewhere if you like, or that he was later a major figure in some glam rock band, just so long as I know...

The B-side "You" is a lazy piece of filler which isn't worth the bother, but I include it bundled into the download for the Wolfgang completists out there.


(This entry was originally uploaded on 29 July 2008.  I'm still none the wiser as to who Wolfgang is, and I've always felt that this single was a bit unfairly ignored when I originally posted it.  It's a sprightly piece of pop which is as far from freakbeat, mod, soul or psychedelia as things get, but it still has a certain charm.  I may be alone in that belief, however...)

One Hit Wonders #18 - Trash - Golden Slumbers/ Carry That Weight

- Hola Music Lovers, Music іѕ а form оf art thаt involves organized аnd audible sounds аnd silence. It іѕ nоrmаllу expressed іn terms оf pitch (which includes melody аnd harmony), rhythm (which includes tempo аnd meter), аnd thе quality оf sound (which includes timbre, articulation, dynamics, аnd texture). Music mау аlѕо involve complex generative forms іn time thrоugh thе construction оf patterns аnd combinations оf natural stimuli, principally sound. Music mау bе uѕеd fоr artistic оr aesthetic, communicative, entertainment, оr ceremonial purposes. Thе definition оf whаt constitutes music varies ассоrdіng tо culture аnd social context.This Blog tell About , Music is formulated or organized sound. Although it cannot contain emotions, it is sometimes designed to manipulate and transform the emotion of the listener/listeners. Music created for movies is a good example of its use to manipulate emotions. .



Label: Apple
Year of Release: 1969

Over the years, I've witnessed many entertaining arguments amongst Beatles fans on areas which seem peculiarly divisive.  Is Paul McCartney's solo material chock full of under-rated gems, or largely filled with prim, twee pieces of insignificant pop?  Is the early material unsurpassed sixties beat, or cheap, plastic, sanitised silliness compared to their later works?  And... is "Abbey Road" one of their finest albums, with the McCartney-dominated song cycle at the end being one of their strongest pieces of work, or ultimately an inconclusive patchwork quilt of half-baked ideas?

I firmly sit in the former camp where "Abbey Road" is concerned, and perhaps part of the reason for that (which I accept is an unfair reason) is the fact that the song cycle sounds fresher than the rest of their output.  Whilst the Beatles hits and their better album tracks get regular plays on nostalgia radio and have become part of the background hum to everyday life, the last side of "Abbey Road" remains relatively under-exposed, one of the few areas of Beatles-hood which is largely refined to my own living room.  That it also contains some supreme, over-in-a-flash instances of hook-laden pop obviously helps no end too.  It's easy to take the best Beatles work for granted, but Side Two of "Abbey Road" still excites me even on a bad day.

If you were going to isolate an aspect of the song cycle and issue it as a single, "Golden Slumbers/ Carry That Weight" would be the obvious pairing.  The Beatles clearly had no interest in doing so, but Trash - one of their Apple signings - were encouraged to exploit the potential of the tunes by the enterprising employee Richard Dilello.  According to the brilliant book documenting his time working for the label "Longest Cocktail Party", McCartney had already urged him not to waste any more studio money and time on the band, and he sneaked them in through the studio back door to record this.  When everyone's favourite thumbs aloft Scouser found about it, he apparently lost his temper.  However, when Lennon heard the track he gave it the green light, saying it was a good imitation (which hardly seems like flattery).  Dilello chose to observe Lennon's approval over Macca's, and out the record came.

Lennon was arguably incorrect, incidentally.  Like most cash-in Beatles covers, this eliminates a great deal of the care and attention the original was shown and sounds rather flat in places.  It's far better than the Orange Bicycle's John Peel-produced attempt at manipulating the song cycle for commercial gain, but in the end you're forced to conclude that it probably deserved its final number 35 resting place despite being issued ahead of "Abbey Road".  You can hear a snippet of the track over on YouTube, but due to its inclusion on the recent "Come and Get It: The Best Of Apple Records" album, I won't be offering it up for download.  Instead, you can hear the rather more prog-rock orientated B-side "Trash Can" below, which proves that had Trash been given the chance to carry on into the seventies they might have had more joy.

Back in the real world, of course, Trash - who actually consisted of ex-members of The Pathfinders and The Poets - split up when this single failed to become a hit and Apple Records fell into general disarray.

Label: Apple
Year of Release: 1969

Over the years, I've witnessed many entertaining arguments amongst Beatles fans on areas which seem peculiarly divisive.  Is Paul McCartney's solo material chock full of under-rated gems, or largely filled with prim, twee pieces of insignificant pop?  Is the early material unsurpassed sixties beat, or cheap, plastic, sanitised silliness compared to their later works?  And... is "Abbey Road" one of their finest albums, with the McCartney-dominated song cycle at the end being one of their strongest pieces of work, or ultimately an inconclusive patchwork quilt of half-baked ideas?

I firmly sit in the former camp where "Abbey Road" is concerned, and perhaps part of the reason for that (which I accept is an unfair reason) is the fact that the song cycle sounds fresher than the rest of their output.  Whilst the Beatles hits and their better album tracks get regular plays on nostalgia radio and have become part of the background hum to everyday life, the last side of "Abbey Road" remains relatively under-exposed, one of the few areas of Beatles-hood which is largely refined to my own living room.  That it also contains some supreme, over-in-a-flash instances of hook-laden pop obviously helps no end too.  It's easy to take the best Beatles work for granted, but Side Two of "Abbey Road" still excites me even on a bad day.

If you were going to isolate an aspect of the song cycle and issue it as a single, "Golden Slumbers/ Carry That Weight" would be the obvious pairing.  The Beatles clearly had no interest in doing so, but Trash - one of their Apple signings - were encouraged to exploit the potential of the tunes by the enterprising employee Richard Dilello.  According to the brilliant book documenting his time working for the label "Longest Cocktail Party", McCartney had already urged him not to waste any more studio money and time on the band, and he sneaked them in through the studio back door to record this.  When everyone's favourite thumbs aloft Scouser found about it, he apparently lost his temper.  However, when Lennon heard the track he gave it the green light, saying it was a good imitation (which hardly seems like flattery).  Dilello chose to observe Lennon's approval over Macca's, and out the record came.

Lennon was arguably incorrect, incidentally.  Like most cash-in Beatles covers, this eliminates a great deal of the care and attention the original was shown and sounds rather flat in places.  It's far better than the Orange Bicycle's John Peel-produced attempt at manipulating the song cycle for commercial gain, but in the end you're forced to conclude that it probably deserved its final number 35 resting place despite being issued ahead of "Abbey Road".  You can hear a snippet of the track over on YouTube, but due to its inclusion on the recent "Come and Get It: The Best Of Apple Records" album, I won't be offering it up for download.  Instead, you can hear the rather more prog-rock orientated B-side "Trash Can" below, which proves that had Trash been given the chance to carry on into the seventies they might have had more joy.

Back in the real world, of course, Trash - who actually consisted of ex-members of The Pathfinders and The Poets - split up when this single failed to become a hit and Apple Records fell into general disarray.

Leadfeather - God Love And Rock & Roll

- Hola Music Lovers, Music іѕ а form оf art thаt involves organized аnd audible sounds аnd silence. It іѕ nоrmаllу expressed іn terms оf pitch (which includes melody аnd harmony), rhythm (which includes tempo аnd meter), аnd thе quality оf sound (which includes timbre, articulation, dynamics, аnd texture). Music mау аlѕо involve complex generative forms іn time thrоugh thе construction оf patterns аnd combinations оf natural stimuli, principally sound. Music mау bе uѕеd fоr artistic оr aesthetic, communicative, entertainment, оr ceremonial purposes. Thе definition оf whаt constitutes music varies ассоrdіng tо culture аnd social context.This Blog tell About , Music is formulated or organized sound. Although it cannot contain emotions, it is sometimes designed to manipulate and transform the emotion of the listener/listeners. Music created for movies is a good example of its use to manipulate emotions. .



Label: Bell
Year of Release: 1971

One for all you truckers out there.  "God Love and Rock & Roll" would appear to have been the only single by Leadfeather - or at least, the Internet so far records no others - and sounds pretty much exactly as you'd expect it to, like some unholy alliance of gospel and whiskey-gargling rock.  It's akin to being harassed by a congregation on a squad of motorcycles.

The song itself was originally written and performed in a rather more subdued manner by Teegarden & VanWinkle, a Detroit based duo whose single has since cropped up on some Christian rock compilations, and could therefore be considered to be cultishly successful to this day (but in whose cult?  That is the question).

As for whether Leadfeather were Christians or just covering a song they felt was good, as I can find no information on them at all that's hard to say.  The B-side "Don't Ask Me", however, is more pleasing to my ears and has tremendously cryptic, vaguely sinister lyrics backed with a snaking, buzzing guitar line.  The lead singer apparently took a girl off the street, gave her "some clothes and somewhere to live", but she must accept she "ain't his wife".  Hmmm.  Either this is Christian compassion in action or something else entirely.

I strongly suspect that Leadfeather may have been another example of a studio-bound, record company created act - Bell Records had them in spades throughout the seventies - but it would still be interesting to find out who was involved.  If you're reading this and know, or were a member yourself, please do enlighten us.

(Also, it's probably only fair to add that I suspect I bought this some time ago off Robin Wills' stall at a record fair - but there's been a lot of vinyl under the bridge since that event, so I wouldn't swear to that!)

Label: Bell
Year of Release: 1971

One for all you truckers out there.  "God Love and Rock & Roll" would appear to have been the only single by Leadfeather - or at least, the Internet so far records no others - and sounds pretty much exactly as you'd expect it to, like some unholy alliance of gospel and whiskey-gargling rock.  It's akin to being harassed by a congregation on a squad of motorcycles.

The song itself was originally written and performed in a rather more subdued manner by Teegarden & VanWinkle, a Detroit based duo whose single has since cropped up on some Christian rock compilations, and could therefore be considered to be cultishly successful to this day (but in whose cult?  That is the question).

As for whether Leadfeather were Christians or just covering a song they felt was good, as I can find no information on them at all that's hard to say.  The B-side "Don't Ask Me", however, is more pleasing to my ears and has tremendously cryptic, vaguely sinister lyrics backed with a snaking, buzzing guitar line.  The lead singer apparently took a girl off the street, gave her "some clothes and somewhere to live", but she must accept she "ain't his wife".  Hmmm.  Either this is Christian compassion in action or something else entirely.

I strongly suspect that Leadfeather may have been another example of a studio-bound, record company created act - Bell Records had them in spades throughout the seventies - but it would still be interesting to find out who was involved.  If you're reading this and know, or were a member yourself, please do enlighten us.

(Also, it's probably only fair to add that I suspect I bought this some time ago off Robin Wills' stall at a record fair - but there's been a lot of vinyl under the bridge since that event, so I wouldn't swear to that!)

Second Hand Record Dip Part 71 - Biddu Orchestra - Soul Coaxing

- Hola Music Lovers, Music іѕ а form оf art thаt involves organized аnd audible sounds аnd silence. It іѕ nоrmаllу expressed іn terms оf pitch (which includes melody аnd harmony), rhythm (which includes tempo аnd meter), аnd thе quality оf sound (which includes timbre, articulation, dynamics, аnd texture). Music mау аlѕо involve complex generative forms іn time thrоugh thе construction оf patterns аnd combinations оf natural stimuli, principally sound. Music mау bе uѕеd fоr artistic оr aesthetic, communicative, entertainment, оr ceremonial purposes. Thе definition оf whаt constitutes music varies ассоrdіng tо culture аnd social context.This Blog tell About , Music is formulated or organized sound. Although it cannot contain emotions, it is sometimes designed to manipulate and transform the emotion of the listener/listeners. Music created for movies is a good example of its use to manipulate emotions. .



Who: Biddu Orchestra
What: Soul Coaxing
Label: Epic
When: 1977
Where: Music and Video Exchange, Camden High Street, London
Cost: 50p

Back in the seventies, Biddu Appaiah was something of a disco legend, producing huge hits for Tina Charles and Carol Douglas.  He's still around today and creating new material, largely influenced more by the pop sounds of his Indian homeland than the likes of "Kung Fu Fighting" or "I Love to Love" ever really hinted at.

"Soul Coaxing" (or "Ame Caline" if you prefer) had been bubbling around on the Northern Soul circuit and indeed on the stereos of people at dinner and cocktail parties for some time - the ultimate easy listening version of the track for my money has already been posted on this blog here, which to me is still the definitive interpretation.  You don't agree?  Well, I'll forgive you just this once.

Biddu's disco reimagining of the tune is, it has to be said, lacking in the same wistful melancholy.  That kind of moodiness simply wouldn't have got feet moving on the dancefloor.  What it has instead is a lot of slickness which borders on the sultry or even sleazy - this sounds like the kind of record an unreformed seventies man would use in order to fondle the crotch of the lady of his fancy at a party.  It's an intriguing example of how one tune can shift mood with no major alterations to the melody, just a different arrangement.  This version is to me considerably less satisfying, and the public seemed to agree since it failed to sell in the same quantities as Raymond Lefevre's  - however, it's at least nothing short of curious, which is precisely what the "Second Hand Record Dip" should be about.

Who: Biddu Orchestra
What: Soul Coaxing
Label: Epic
When: 1977
Where: Music and Video Exchange, Camden High Street, London
Cost: 50p

Back in the seventies, Biddu Appaiah was something of a disco legend, producing huge hits for Tina Charles and Carol Douglas.  He's still around today and creating new material, largely influenced more by the pop sounds of his Indian homeland than the likes of "Kung Fu Fighting" or "I Love to Love" ever really hinted at.

"Soul Coaxing" (or "Ame Caline" if you prefer) had been bubbling around on the Northern Soul circuit and indeed on the stereos of people at dinner and cocktail parties for some time - the ultimate easy listening version of the track for my money has already been posted on this blog here, which to me is still the definitive interpretation.  You don't agree?  Well, I'll forgive you just this once.

Biddu's disco reimagining of the tune is, it has to be said, lacking in the same wistful melancholy.  That kind of moodiness simply wouldn't have got feet moving on the dancefloor.  What it has instead is a lot of slickness which borders on the sultry or even sleazy - this sounds like the kind of record an unreformed seventies man would use in order to fondle the crotch of the lady of his fancy at a party.  It's an intriguing example of how one tune can shift mood with no major alterations to the melody, just a different arrangement.  This version is to me considerably less satisfying, and the public seemed to agree since it failed to sell in the same quantities as Raymond Lefevre's  - however, it's at least nothing short of curious, which is precisely what the "Second Hand Record Dip" should be about.

Re-Upload - The Master Singers - The Highway Code

- Hola Music Lovers, Music іѕ а form оf art thаt involves organized аnd audible sounds аnd silence. It іѕ nоrmаllу expressed іn terms оf pitch (which includes melody аnd harmony), rhythm (which includes tempo аnd meter), аnd thе quality оf sound (which includes timbre, articulation, dynamics, аnd texture). Music mау аlѕо involve complex generative forms іn time thrоugh thе construction оf patterns аnd combinations оf natural stimuli, principally sound. Music mау bе uѕеd fоr artistic оr aesthetic, communicative, entertainment, оr ceremonial purposes. Thе definition оf whаt constitutes music varies ассоrdіng tо culture аnd social context.This Blog tell About , Music is formulated or organized sound. Although it cannot contain emotions, it is sometimes designed to manipulate and transform the emotion of the listener/listeners. Music created for movies is a good example of its use to manipulate emotions. .



Label: Parlophone
Year of Release: 1966

"What a funny chart you guys have!" - that's what Katrina out of Katrina and the Waves once said in reference to the British Top 40, and who am I to argue with the Eurovision winner? It is indeed a strange list, filled with all manner of urban noises, children's ditties, has-beens hitting it lucky with fortunate re-issues, and even unexpected bursts of Eurodisco. True, the majority of the chart will always be filled with stuff which is also hitting big in mainland Europe and America, but it's the anomalies I love, the outsider stuff gnawing its way through the nation's favourite pop list which makes it unpredictable and exciting even today.

This single is a prime example of a long-forgotten one hit wonder, a George Martin produced novelty track which - logic should dictate - should have struggled to sell a handful of copies. In fact, a single consisting entirely of a quartet of schoolmasters singing extracts from The Highway Code in an Anglican chant style got to number 25 in the charts. As Richard Littlejohn would doubtless splutter, you couldn't make it up - but that's precisely the sort of thing I like. 

You can read the full story of the track here - it would seem that what started life as a simple private joke/recording ended up falling into the hands of the BBC, who played it once and kickstarted a very minor phenomenon. Such was its success, in fact, that even a follow up single consisting of a Weather Forecast being delivered as an Anglican chant got to number 45. 

Whilst I find the single amusing for a couple of plays, I do have to admit that its success is highly baffling. The boxes and under-counter bins of second hand stores up and down the land are filled with similar cross-genre joke ideas which never flew, so it's a bit of a mystery why this one captured everyone's imagination. George Martin's involvement probably helped, since anything with his name on it was guaranteed some kind of exposure at this point. Perhaps it seemed vaguely anarchic as well, this religious reading of the Department of Transport's key text. Like so many minor novelty hits, however, it's largely been forgotten about in the years since, which is why it's nice to offer it up for download here.

The B-side, incidentally, is Highway Code advice dispensed via the folk genre, which isn't as effective. As I've said before on this blog, plenty of folk music is ridiculous, tongue-in-cheek and frivolous itself, therefore there's very rarely anything funny about sending it up.


(This blog entry was originally made in February 2009.  There's little to add at present, but if you do want to watch a YouTube video of their follow-up flop "Weather Forecast", feel free to entertain yourselves).

Label: Parlophone
Year of Release: 1966

"What a funny chart you guys have!" - that's what Katrina out of Katrina and the Waves once said in reference to the British Top 40, and who am I to argue with the Eurovision winner? It is indeed a strange list, filled with all manner of urban noises, children's ditties, has-beens hitting it lucky with fortunate re-issues, and even unexpected bursts of Eurodisco. True, the majority of the chart will always be filled with stuff which is also hitting big in mainland Europe and America, but it's the anomalies I love, the outsider stuff gnawing its way through the nation's favourite pop list which makes it unpredictable and exciting even today.

This single is a prime example of a long-forgotten one hit wonder, a George Martin produced novelty track which - logic should dictate - should have struggled to sell a handful of copies. In fact, a single consisting entirely of a quartet of schoolmasters singing extracts from The Highway Code in an Anglican chant style got to number 25 in the charts. As Richard Littlejohn would doubtless splutter, you couldn't make it up - but that's precisely the sort of thing I like. 

You can read the full story of the track here - it would seem that what started life as a simple private joke/recording ended up falling into the hands of the BBC, who played it once and kickstarted a very minor phenomenon. Such was its success, in fact, that even a follow up single consisting of a Weather Forecast being delivered as an Anglican chant got to number 45. 

Whilst I find the single amusing for a couple of plays, I do have to admit that its success is highly baffling. The boxes and under-counter bins of second hand stores up and down the land are filled with similar cross-genre joke ideas which never flew, so it's a bit of a mystery why this one captured everyone's imagination. George Martin's involvement probably helped, since anything with his name on it was guaranteed some kind of exposure at this point. Perhaps it seemed vaguely anarchic as well, this religious reading of the Department of Transport's key text. Like so many minor novelty hits, however, it's largely been forgotten about in the years since, which is why it's nice to offer it up for download here.

The B-side, incidentally, is Highway Code advice dispensed via the folk genre, which isn't as effective. As I've said before on this blog, plenty of folk music is ridiculous, tongue-in-cheek and frivolous itself, therefore there's very rarely anything funny about sending it up.


(This blog entry was originally made in February 2009.  There's little to add at present, but if you do want to watch a YouTube video of their follow-up flop "Weather Forecast", feel free to entertain yourselves).

We Do Like To Be Beside The B-Side

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I was having a discussion with a friend the other week about how, in idle moments of boredom on Sunday afternoons, no time is ever truly wasted flicking through those 50p sixties singles you picked up at the local junk shop and just quickly checking what's on the flip side.  There's a modern aversion to the concept of the B-side, a lingering suspicion that the second division side of the disc will only be hiding rush-recorded, rush-written pieces of flannel, or something only the band's most ardent fans could love.  In truth, not only did B-sides in the sixties frequently hide some uncharacteristically freaky jams - as with Dave Clark Five's "Concentration Baby" above, the flip to the monotonous middle-of-the-road ballad "Everybody Knows" - they were also often the place where established acts would leave the dancefloor friendly material, or up-and-coming acts would showcase some of their other quality tunes for the kids out there who might be tempted to dial the 200+ numbers on a jukebox out of curiosity.

Sitting neatly within the dancefloor groover category is "Hey Hey Girl", the flip to Amen Corner's number one single "If Paradise Is Half As Nice".  The organ honks away on this like nobody's business, and the track itself has a repetitive, barn-storming energy which would be the envy of most sixties mod bands.  My copy of "Paradise" has worn grooves and a below-average sound on the A-side, but the B-side still sounds crisp, fresh and ready to create a party in my living room - whoever owned it before clearly didn't think to pay closer attention to its other half.  More fool them.

Taking their cues from the Dave Clark Five in the "somebody put something in their drinks" stakes are Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick and Tich of all people, with "The Sun Goes Down" resting on the B-side of "Zabadak". This is such an uncommercial piece of droning psychedelia that it's a wonder anybody at all captured it on disc, never mind DDDBMT.  I suspect their tongues were firmly in their cheeks at the time of recording it, but that doesn't stop it from being a hugely eccentric outing, a noise-fest which seems one part Beatles, one part Rolf Harris circa "Sun Arise", another part BBC Sound Effects LP.  Despite suffering from the reputation as being something of a mass-marketed "pop" act by the tail end of the decade, DDDBMT did actually issue a number of class singles - the lyrically interesting "Last Night In Soho" being a particular favourite of mine - but this is as psychedelic as they got.

Away from the stench of incense and back towards the sweaty, beery basements of London's swinging clubs, the flip side of Chris Andrews' rather oompah ridden piece of pop "Yesterday Man" is the distinctly more abrasive, howling rocker "Too Bad You Don't Want Me", which rips up a storm and makes the A-side seem like a limp entrant for "A Song For Europe".  Andrews squawks and screeches his way through a tune about a girl who doesn't want his company, whilst guitars twang merrily along and the groove concocted is entirely infectious.  Andrews wasn't averse to making loud, abrasive noises, and one of his later singles "Hold On" is well worth tracking down for this very reason - but the company "Too Bad" keeps itself in makes it seem like a decidedly pleasant surprise.  That 50p need not have been spent on a chocolate bar after all.

If you're lucky enough to own a copy of The Easybeats' "Friday On My Mind" (which still only seems to retail for around the £5 mark at the cheapest, despite its hit single status) you've already got one of the best pieces of sixties freakbeat there is - on its flip, however, is "Made My Bed Gonna Lie In It", a tune which admittedly fails to top the A-side (few things would) but is a damn good showcase for the band in itself, with Shel Talmy's production sounding spectacularly akin to his work with The Who in this instance.

We could talk forever around this topic, even excluding obvious artists like The Beatles who seldom wasted the space afforded on B-sides.  I could bring up The Kinks "Big Black Smoke", Herman's Hermits' surprisingly garagey "It's Alright" (not on YouTube yet, surprisingly), or any number of obscure artists whose B-sides represented their sound better than their Tin Pan Alley off-the-peg purchased A-sides - but perhaps I'll throw it over to you good readers for more suggestions, if you want to contribute in the comments.  The best thing about these flips is that even if you're rummaging around the record bins in a charity shop or find yourself in a second-hand record store with no bank notes, just loose change, they still give you a ray of hope that you  may walk out with something unexpectedly good.

I was having a discussion with a friend the other week about how, in idle moments of boredom on Sunday afternoons, no time is ever truly wasted flicking through those 50p sixties singles you picked up at the local junk shop and just quickly checking what's on the flip side.  There's a modern aversion to the concept of the B-side, a lingering suspicion that the second division side of the disc will only be hiding rush-recorded, rush-written pieces of flannel, or something only the band's most ardent fans could love.  In truth, not only did B-sides in the sixties frequently hide some uncharacteristically freaky jams - as with Dave Clark Five's "Concentration Baby" above, the flip to the monotonous middle-of-the-road ballad "Everybody Knows" - they were also often the place where established acts would leave the dancefloor friendly material, or up-and-coming acts would showcase some of their other quality tunes for the kids out there who might be tempted to dial the 200+ numbers on a jukebox out of curiosity.

Sitting neatly within the dancefloor groover category is "Hey Hey Girl", the flip to Amen Corner's number one single "If Paradise Is Half As Nice".  The organ honks away on this like nobody's business, and the track itself has a repetitive, barn-storming energy which would be the envy of most sixties mod bands.  My copy of "Paradise" has worn grooves and a below-average sound on the A-side, but the B-side still sounds crisp, fresh and ready to create a party in my living room - whoever owned it before clearly didn't think to pay closer attention to its other half.  More fool them.

Taking their cues from the Dave Clark Five in the "somebody put something in their drinks" stakes are Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick and Tich of all people, with "The Sun Goes Down" resting on the B-side of "Zabadak". This is such an uncommercial piece of droning psychedelia that it's a wonder anybody at all captured it on disc, never mind DDDBMT.  I suspect their tongues were firmly in their cheeks at the time of recording it, but that doesn't stop it from being a hugely eccentric outing, a noise-fest which seems one part Beatles, one part Rolf Harris circa "Sun Arise", another part BBC Sound Effects LP.  Despite suffering from the reputation as being something of a mass-marketed "pop" act by the tail end of the decade, DDDBMT did actually issue a number of class singles - the lyrically interesting "Last Night In Soho" being a particular favourite of mine - but this is as psychedelic as they got.

Away from the stench of incense and back towards the sweaty, beery basements of London's swinging clubs, the flip side of Chris Andrews' rather oompah ridden piece of pop "Yesterday Man" is the distinctly more abrasive, howling rocker "Too Bad You Don't Want Me", which rips up a storm and makes the A-side seem like a limp entrant for "A Song For Europe".  Andrews squawks and screeches his way through a tune about a girl who doesn't want his company, whilst guitars twang merrily along and the groove concocted is entirely infectious.  Andrews wasn't averse to making loud, abrasive noises, and one of his later singles "Hold On" is well worth tracking down for this very reason - but the company "Too Bad" keeps itself in makes it seem like a decidedly pleasant surprise.  That 50p need not have been spent on a chocolate bar after all.

If you're lucky enough to own a copy of The Easybeats' "Friday On My Mind" (which still only seems to retail for around the £5 mark at the cheapest, despite its hit single status) you've already got one of the best pieces of sixties freakbeat there is - on its flip, however, is "Made My Bed Gonna Lie In It", a tune which admittedly fails to top the A-side (few things would) but is a damn good showcase for the band in itself, with Shel Talmy's production sounding spectacularly akin to his work with The Who in this instance.

We could talk forever around this topic, even excluding obvious artists like The Beatles who seldom wasted the space afforded on B-sides.  I could bring up The Kinks "Big Black Smoke", Herman's Hermits' surprisingly garagey "It's Alright" (not on YouTube yet, surprisingly), or any number of obscure artists whose B-sides represented their sound better than their Tin Pan Alley off-the-peg purchased A-sides - but perhaps I'll throw it over to you good readers for more suggestions, if you want to contribute in the comments.  The best thing about these flips is that even if you're rummaging around the record bins in a charity shop or find yourself in a second-hand record store with no bank notes, just loose change, they still give you a ray of hope that you  may walk out with something unexpectedly good.