The Academy featuring Polly Perkins - Munching The Candy/ Rachel's Dream

- 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: Morgan Blue Town

Year of Release: 1969

Life wasn't easy for independent labels in the sixties, and Morgan was no exception. Constantly dealing with shambolic distribution networks, very few of them scored hits. President Records broke the mould in the later part of the decade, but Joe Meek's struggles with Triumph and the financial struggles experienced by Strike Records spoke volumes about the hurdles many truly independent businesses had to deal with.

Far from being just an independent label, though, Morgan was also a large and well-respected recording studio in North London, with an in-house session team of musicians and songwriters who regularly bypassed the Morgan label and licensed their product to majors (The Smoke's "My Friend Jack" probably being the most famous example). The best Morgan recordings, such as those by The Smoke, Bobak Jons Malone and Fortes Mentum, were compiled on a superb Sanctuary Records release called "House of Many Windows" some years ago. This is now out-of-print, but copies are well worth tracking down - the team had developed a distinctive and actually incredibly agreeable sound by the late sixties, filled with tricksy and classical inspired arrangements, a low-end bass fuzz, and peculiar woozy but nonetheless poppy psychedelia. Whereas a lot of other psychedelic pop of the period sounded like the melodic equivalent of cheap Christmas cracker toys, Morgan took their mission seriously - in anyone else's hands, a track like Fortes Mentum's "Saga of a Wrinkled Man" would have possibly sounded cheap and nasty. Not for no reason did one prominent Morgan man Will Malone go on to become the arranger for The Verve in the nineties (and it is just about possible to hear the similarities if you really try).

Morgan Blue Town was an incredibly short-lived offshoot of the main label which attempted to reposition their product in a more progressive vain, appealing to the hippy and student markets. Any recordings on the label tend to be hopelessly scarce now, including this single by actress, Ready Steady Go compere and singer Polly Perkins.

This is actually a somewhat threadbare inclusion to their usually heavily produced catalogue. Polly Perkins had failed to score any hit singles in her music career, but was nonetheless a "known name" at this point who had already put out some commercial sounding grooves - so her sudden shift to progressive sounding music must have seemed bizarre at the time, a bit like Twinkle suddenly going a bit way-out and boarding the weed bus to rural Cambridgeshire. Nonetheless, "Munching The Candy" is a very folky, campfire effort which nods and winks in the direction of naughty drug-taking behaviour. "Rachel's Dream", on the other hand, is a rather more epic B-side which considers the plight of the Jewish people. No, really.

Like everything else on the label, it failed miserably. Polly only issued one other single in its wake, 1973's "Coochi Coo" on Chapter 21 Records, and seemed to focus more on her acting career afterwards. Perhaps that was the right decision. Between 2011-12 she scored a job on "Eastenders" as Dot Cotton's estranged sister Rose, and had numerous other jobs on the go in the run-up to that moment. While there's nothing wrong with her musical output, it certainly seems as if her strengths lay in theatre and screen work. For the rest of us, however, this single will always feel slightly like Dot Cotton's sister singing about a "hole in my head" where "the light's shining in" while a flute puffs in the background. And that's something that stays with you. Honestly, you'd have thought Dot had enough to deal with having Nick in the family.

The Academy and Polly Perkins also put out an album entitled "Pop-Lore According To The Academy" in 1969 which failed to do much business but was recently reissued to some fanfare.

Label: Morgan Blue Town

Year of Release: 1969

Life wasn't easy for independent labels in the sixties, and Morgan was no exception. Constantly dealing with shambolic distribution networks, very few of them scored hits. President Records broke the mould in the later part of the decade, but Joe Meek's struggles with Triumph and the financial struggles experienced by Strike Records spoke volumes about the hurdles many truly independent businesses had to deal with.

Far from being just an independent label, though, Morgan was also a large and well-respected recording studio in North London, with an in-house session team of musicians and songwriters who regularly bypassed the Morgan label and licensed their product to majors (The Smoke's "My Friend Jack" probably being the most famous example). The best Morgan recordings, such as those by The Smoke, Bobak Jons Malone and Fortes Mentum, were compiled on a superb Sanctuary Records release called "House of Many Windows" some years ago. This is now out-of-print, but copies are well worth tracking down - the team had developed a distinctive and actually incredibly agreeable sound by the late sixties, filled with tricksy and classical inspired arrangements, a low-end bass fuzz, and peculiar woozy but nonetheless poppy psychedelia. Whereas a lot of other psychedelic pop of the period sounded like the melodic equivalent of cheap Christmas cracker toys, Morgan took their mission seriously - in anyone else's hands, a track like Fortes Mentum's "Saga of a Wrinkled Man" would have possibly sounded cheap and nasty. Not for no reason did one prominent Morgan man Will Malone go on to become the arranger for The Verve in the nineties (and it is just about possible to hear the similarities if you really try).

Morgan Blue Town was an incredibly short-lived offshoot of the main label which attempted to reposition their product in a more progressive vain, appealing to the hippy and student markets. Any recordings on the label tend to be hopelessly scarce now, including this single by actress, Ready Steady Go compere and singer Polly Perkins.

This is actually a somewhat threadbare inclusion to their usually heavily produced catalogue. Polly Perkins had failed to score any hit singles in her music career, but was nonetheless a "known name" at this point who had already put out some commercial sounding grooves - so her sudden shift to progressive sounding music must have seemed bizarre at the time, a bit like Twinkle suddenly going a bit way-out and boarding the weed bus to rural Cambridgeshire. Nonetheless, "Munching The Candy" is a very folky, campfire effort which nods and winks in the direction of naughty drug-taking behaviour. "Rachel's Dream", on the other hand, is a rather more epic B-side which considers the plight of the Jewish people. No, really.

Like everything else on the label, it failed miserably. Polly only issued one other single in its wake, 1973's "Coochi Coo" on Chapter 21 Records, and seemed to focus more on her acting career afterwards. Perhaps that was the right decision. Between 2011-12 she scored a job on "Eastenders" as Dot Cotton's estranged sister Rose, and had numerous other jobs on the go in the run-up to that moment. While there's nothing wrong with her musical output, it certainly seems as if her strengths lay in theatre and screen work. For the rest of us, however, this single will always feel slightly like Dot Cotton's sister singing about a "hole in my head" where "the light's shining in" while a flute puffs in the background. And that's something that stays with you. Honestly, you'd have thought Dot had enough to deal with having Nick in the family.

The Academy and Polly Perkins also put out an album entitled "Pop-Lore According To The Academy" in 1969 which failed to do much business but was recently reissued to some fanfare.

Spangs - Frightened of the Night/ Safe In My Room

- 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: RCA

Year of Release: 1980

Spangs are yet another band to add to the never-ending list of New Wave/ synth-pop acts who sneaked out a couple of singles early in the eighties but never released a full length LP. "Frightened of the Night" is, as its title suggests, a paranoid, wiry, edgy kind of effort, thick with a cold and foreboding atmosphere but not short on hooks. 

Released once on the independent Carno records before being picked up again by RCA, the added clout of a major label's promotion and distribution sadly did little extra for the record, and it failed to chart again. Once the follow-up "Who Invited You Anyway" was also ignored in 1981, the band were seemingly dropped and the game was over.

While Spangs might not be a name that's on the tip of anyone's tongue apart from the most hardcore New Wave collectors, some of the band's members did continue to appear on other records. Guitarist Mark Strobel and keyboard player Steve Bull joined the China Records signed The Name in the late eighties, who managed to drop two more albums into the world than Spangs.  Bass player Bernie Davis would also later go on to work with Alabama 3. 

The whereabouts of the lead vocalist Chris Spencer and drummer Dave Rice, however, are a little less clear. Discogs seems to suggest that Spencer became the frontman for American noise-rockers Unsane, but that smacks suspiciously of a database error - I strongly suspect he's an entirely different individual.

Whatever the full facts, "Frightened of the Night" is starting to pick up some attention among collectors of early eighties pop, and that's hardly surprising. Containing many of the era's melodic tropes which would later be utilised and used by the 21st Century Shoreditch cool kids with silly haircuts, it manages to be simultaneously of it's time and also faintly ahead of its time. 

Label: RCA

Year of Release: 1980

Spangs are yet another band to add to the never-ending list of New Wave/ synth-pop acts who sneaked out a couple of singles early in the eighties but never released a full length LP. "Frightened of the Night" is, as its title suggests, a paranoid, wiry, edgy kind of effort, thick with a cold and foreboding atmosphere but not short on hooks. 

Released once on the independent Carno records before being picked up again by RCA, the added clout of a major label's promotion and distribution sadly did little extra for the record, and it failed to chart again. Once the follow-up "Who Invited You Anyway" was also ignored in 1981, the band were seemingly dropped and the game was over.

While Spangs might not be a name that's on the tip of anyone's tongue apart from the most hardcore New Wave collectors, some of the band's members did continue to appear on other records. Guitarist Mark Strobel and keyboard player Steve Bull joined the China Records signed The Name in the late eighties, who managed to drop two more albums into the world than Spangs.  Bass player Bernie Davis would also later go on to work with Alabama 3. 

The whereabouts of the lead vocalist Chris Spencer and drummer Dave Rice, however, are a little less clear. Discogs seems to suggest that Spencer became the frontman for American noise-rockers Unsane, but that smacks suspiciously of a database error - I strongly suspect he's an entirely different individual.

Whatever the full facts, "Frightened of the Night" is starting to pick up some attention among collectors of early eighties pop, and that's hardly surprising. Containing many of the era's melodic tropes which would later be utilised and used by the 21st Century Shoreditch cool kids with silly haircuts, it manages to be simultaneously of it's time and also faintly ahead of its time. 

Reupload - Peanut - I Didn't Love Him Anyway/ Come Tomorrow

- 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: Columbia

Year of Release: 1967

The German born Mark Wirtz is best known in the UK for writing and producing the number two hit single "Excerpt From 'A Teenage Opera'" (aka "Grocer Jack") for Tomorrow frontman Keith West.  Supposedly forming part of a stage musical which in actual fact hadn't been written yet, the project stalled when the follow-up excerpts "Sam" and "He's Our Dear Old Weatherman" (the latter performed by Wirtz himself) fared less well.  Each single was an densely orchestrated pean to eccentric or otherwise unloved elderly gentlemen within a small community, and was - with the exception of "Weatherman" which I own a copy of and find hugely irritating - actually rather wonderful.

We're in danger of being sidetracked here, however, because there was so much more to Wirtz than this one famous project.  Amongst other things, he was also the producer for Katie Kissoon, aka Peanut, a singer from Trinidad who had previously had two flop singles on Pye before being brought under his wing to record a cover of "I'm Waiting for the Day" for Columbia.  That particular track is a fairly faithful reading of the "Pet Sounds" classic which probably should have been a hit single, but when it failed, the pair turned their attention to the Wirtz penned "I Never Loved Him Anyway".

This single is a sweet, mournful and terribly under-exposed part of Wirtz's catalogue, being filled with the same delicate toytown arrangements as the "Teenage Opera" tracks.  Gone, however, are the references to aged eccentrics and in their place is an understated ballad with some beautifully delivered vocals from Kissoon.  It contains all the sense of loss and finality which peppered the Opera project, but feels rather more personal, especially during the gentlest, quietest parts of this record where Peanut simply harmonises to an understated backing.  It lacks any kind of killer chorus, and it's perhaps for that reason that it failed, but it does prove that the use of toytown arrangements could be utilised beyond sixties psychedelic fantasia - ballads like this made fine use of the technique to recreate an atmosphere of child-like yearning.

Kissoon later went on to rather more success duetting with her brother Mac Kissoon on hits such as "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" (how many versions of this were there?!) and "Sugar Candy Kisses".  Once the hits dried up for them, she then put her fantastic vocals to use on sessions for (among others) Elton John, Roger Waters, Van Morrison, George Harrison, The Pet Shop Boys, Robbie Williams, and countless others.  Whether you think you've heard her before or not, you almost certainly have.

[This blog entry was originally uploaded in May 2012. I've nothing to add, except to mention that I actually sold my copy of "Dear Old Weatherman" a year or so ago alongside other rarities to finance a  much-needed holiday]. 

Label: Columbia

Year of Release: 1967

The German born Mark Wirtz is best known in the UK for writing and producing the number two hit single "Excerpt From 'A Teenage Opera'" (aka "Grocer Jack") for Tomorrow frontman Keith West.  Supposedly forming part of a stage musical which in actual fact hadn't been written yet, the project stalled when the follow-up excerpts "Sam" and "He's Our Dear Old Weatherman" (the latter performed by Wirtz himself) fared less well.  Each single was an densely orchestrated pean to eccentric or otherwise unloved elderly gentlemen within a small community, and was - with the exception of "Weatherman" which I own a copy of and find hugely irritating - actually rather wonderful.

We're in danger of being sidetracked here, however, because there was so much more to Wirtz than this one famous project.  Amongst other things, he was also the producer for Katie Kissoon, aka Peanut, a singer from Trinidad who had previously had two flop singles on Pye before being brought under his wing to record a cover of "I'm Waiting for the Day" for Columbia.  That particular track is a fairly faithful reading of the "Pet Sounds" classic which probably should have been a hit single, but when it failed, the pair turned their attention to the Wirtz penned "I Never Loved Him Anyway".

This single is a sweet, mournful and terribly under-exposed part of Wirtz's catalogue, being filled with the same delicate toytown arrangements as the "Teenage Opera" tracks.  Gone, however, are the references to aged eccentrics and in their place is an understated ballad with some beautifully delivered vocals from Kissoon.  It contains all the sense of loss and finality which peppered the Opera project, but feels rather more personal, especially during the gentlest, quietest parts of this record where Peanut simply harmonises to an understated backing.  It lacks any kind of killer chorus, and it's perhaps for that reason that it failed, but it does prove that the use of toytown arrangements could be utilised beyond sixties psychedelic fantasia - ballads like this made fine use of the technique to recreate an atmosphere of child-like yearning.

Kissoon later went on to rather more success duetting with her brother Mac Kissoon on hits such as "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" (how many versions of this were there?!) and "Sugar Candy Kisses".  Once the hits dried up for them, she then put her fantastic vocals to use on sessions for (among others) Elton John, Roger Waters, Van Morrison, George Harrison, The Pet Shop Boys, Robbie Williams, and countless others.  Whether you think you've heard her before or not, you almost certainly have.

[This blog entry was originally uploaded in May 2012. I've nothing to add, except to mention that I actually sold my copy of "Dear Old Weatherman" a year or so ago alongside other rarities to finance a  much-needed holiday]. 

Michael Blount - Beautiful Morning/ Feathered Cloud

- 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: York

Year of Release: 1972

While very, very few of the records were actual bona-fide hits, the sixties and early seventies must have nonetheless felt like a time when it was perfectly possible for many British folk artists to score deals with major labels. Even minor acts like The Wedgwoods put out scores of singles across the two decades, and LPs besides... I doubt many of these people (if any) lived in wealthy circumstances, but folk certainly had way more mainstream television and radio exposure then than it does now. Nick Drake might not have been prime chat show interlude material, but a lot of the other artists were.

Michael Blount is a case in point. Mainstream enough to score a deal with York Records, connected to the business of regional TV company Yorkshire Television, both sides of this single are sweet enough for you to hear their mainstream appeal, but rustic enough not to completely betray their roots. "Beautiful Morning" in particular has a delicate lilt though could have perhaps sounded better without the chocolate box orchestral arrangement. Still though, it highlights the fact that Blount was capable of writing uplifting songs about rural Albion in a careful and intelligent way.

"Beautiful Morning" was also granted a release in the USA on Decca Records, where it also failed to make much of an impression. 

He put out three LPs, one on CBS in 1970 ("Patchwork") and the other two on York ("Souvenirs" and "Fantasies") which have had a mixed response from fans of the genre. That weighty and lofty tome "Tapestry Of Delights" warns readers away, while other online sources recommend them - I personally would argue that the average listener's tolerance for his work is going to depend on their taste for contemplative Fading Yellow styled acoustic pop. It's not necessarily a bad thing in my view, but a lot of collectors tend to prefer to have more angst and experimentation in the grooves, which would account for some of the rather harsh overviews. 

Blount is also apparently still active on the circuit, making him something of a rare individual so far as this blog is concerned. 

(Confession time - I've also stolen the images for this blog entry from 45cat user The Toad, as I'm presently miles away from a usable scanner. If he or the mods at 45cat object, I'll take them down and replace them with a scan from my own collection in a few days time. Not having access to the usual facilities felt like a poor reason for not updating the blog!)

Label: York

Year of Release: 1972

While very, very few of the records were actual bona-fide hits, the sixties and early seventies must have nonetheless felt like a time when it was perfectly possible for many British folk artists to score deals with major labels. Even minor acts like The Wedgwoods put out scores of singles across the two decades, and LPs besides... I doubt many of these people (if any) lived in wealthy circumstances, but folk certainly had way more mainstream television and radio exposure then than it does now. Nick Drake might not have been prime chat show interlude material, but a lot of the other artists were.

Michael Blount is a case in point. Mainstream enough to score a deal with York Records, connected to the business of regional TV company Yorkshire Television, both sides of this single are sweet enough for you to hear their mainstream appeal, but rustic enough not to completely betray their roots. "Beautiful Morning" in particular has a delicate lilt though could have perhaps sounded better without the chocolate box orchestral arrangement. Still though, it highlights the fact that Blount was capable of writing uplifting songs about rural Albion in a careful and intelligent way.

"Beautiful Morning" was also granted a release in the USA on Decca Records, where it also failed to make much of an impression. 

He put out three LPs, one on CBS in 1970 ("Patchwork") and the other two on York ("Souvenirs" and "Fantasies") which have had a mixed response from fans of the genre. That weighty and lofty tome "Tapestry Of Delights" warns readers away, while other online sources recommend them - I personally would argue that the average listener's tolerance for his work is going to depend on their taste for contemplative Fading Yellow styled acoustic pop. It's not necessarily a bad thing in my view, but a lot of collectors tend to prefer to have more angst and experimentation in the grooves, which would account for some of the rather harsh overviews. 

Blount is also apparently still active on the circuit, making him something of a rare individual so far as this blog is concerned. 

(Confession time - I've also stolen the images for this blog entry from 45cat user The Toad, as I'm presently miles away from a usable scanner. If he or the mods at 45cat object, I'll take them down and replace them with a scan from my own collection in a few days time. Not having access to the usual facilities felt like a poor reason for not updating the blog!)

Carpetbaggers - Sorry/ Beautiful Gas

- 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: Page One

Year of Release: 1982

Roger Greenaway is a hugely successful songwriter whose list of tracks would be the envy of anyone trying to get the public's ear. From "Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart" to Andy Williams' under-praised "Home Lovin' Man", to the... er... unique novelty talents of The Pipkins, his abilities and work with Roger Cook often seemed effortless throughout the sixties and seventies.

Besides his attempts to crack the charts, he also had a successful career writing songs for television adverts, some of them among the most iconic jingles of the period. This is a two-sided single boasting two of his better known efforts retooled for home listening, released on the short-lived relaunched eighties version of the Page One label.

A-side "Sorry" is actually the music used by Allied Carpets to flog their wares to excited home improvers, and would usually be accompanied by the slogan "Allied for carpets for you". However, it's only in this rewritten seven inch guise with the corporate sponsorship removed that you realise how much the damn jingle sounded like a Sparks tribute. "Sorry" suffers from a slightly cheap, Rumbelows synthesiser production, but besides that the jerkiness of the arrangement, the wryness of the lyrics and the vocal stylings smack of Ron and Russ Mael. All this begs the question - how on earth did anyone in the marketing department think that a subtle reference to the Mael brothers might have put people in mind of luxury carpet fittings? Did Ron's hypnotic stare indirectly help to sell many a roll of quality feltback? Could he, even today, resuscitate the ailing fortunes of the carpet showroom and cause a shift away from the modern trend in wooden floorings and laminates? We may never find out.

The flip side "Beautiful Gas", on the other hand is - if you haven't guessed already - an atmospheric synthesiser driven version of the "Cookability" theme for British Gas. I'd have preferred a vocal version myself, but what we have here is interesting enough, sounding strangely futuristic (especially next to its rather more minimally produced A-side) and almost ambient in style. If it doesn't make you want to install a new gas hob in your kitchen, I don't know what will.

Carpetbaggers were obviously a studio group and not a going concern, but it would be interesting to find out who sung on the A-side. If anyone knows, drop me a line.

Label: Page One

Year of Release: 1982

Roger Greenaway is a hugely successful songwriter whose list of tracks would be the envy of anyone trying to get the public's ear. From "Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart" to Andy Williams' under-praised "Home Lovin' Man", to the... er... unique novelty talents of The Pipkins, his abilities and work with Roger Cook often seemed effortless throughout the sixties and seventies.

Besides his attempts to crack the charts, he also had a successful career writing songs for television adverts, some of them among the most iconic jingles of the period. This is a two-sided single boasting two of his better known efforts retooled for home listening, released on the short-lived relaunched eighties version of the Page One label.

A-side "Sorry" is actually the music used by Allied Carpets to flog their wares to excited home improvers, and would usually be accompanied by the slogan "Allied for carpets for you". However, it's only in this rewritten seven inch guise with the corporate sponsorship removed that you realise how much the damn jingle sounded like a Sparks tribute. "Sorry" suffers from a slightly cheap, Rumbelows synthesiser production, but besides that the jerkiness of the arrangement, the wryness of the lyrics and the vocal stylings smack of Ron and Russ Mael. All this begs the question - how on earth did anyone in the marketing department think that a subtle reference to the Mael brothers might have put people in mind of luxury carpet fittings? Did Ron's hypnotic stare indirectly help to sell many a roll of quality feltback? Could he, even today, resuscitate the ailing fortunes of the carpet showroom and cause a shift away from the modern trend in wooden floorings and laminates? We may never find out.

The flip side "Beautiful Gas", on the other hand is - if you haven't guessed already - an atmospheric synthesiser driven version of the "Cookability" theme for British Gas. I'd have preferred a vocal version myself, but what we have here is interesting enough, sounding strangely futuristic (especially next to its rather more minimally produced A-side) and almost ambient in style. If it doesn't make you want to install a new gas hob in your kitchen, I don't know what will.

Carpetbaggers were obviously a studio group and not a going concern, but it would be interesting to find out who sung on the A-side. If anyone knows, drop me a line.

The Reps - Rebel/ No More Yesterdays

- 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: Kingsway Music
Year of Release: 1980

The Reps were the first band I ever saw live. That sounds like an impressive statement, as if they were some kind of gateway group who helped me discover my love of rock and roll, so let me clarify that a bit - I had no choice in the matter. My Religious Education teacher at secondary school, a much-mocked and faintly smug but, in retrospect, well-meaning sort of man - the kind who is always the first to volunteer to take forty schoolchildren on a camping expedition then nearly have a nervous breakdown in the process - booked the group to play at my school. The Reps, you see, had a reputation (or should that be Rep-utation?) for delivering edgy, relevant and not at all drippy Christian Rock music.

So there I was, sat in the school assembly hall, begrudgingly admiring the group. I had long made up my mind that I didn't believe in God, but nonetheless The Reps were loud and loved catchy New Wave and Powerpop riffs, two things I was also quite keen on. In fact, they played our school hall twice and I can still remember how the chorus to their track "What You Gonna Do About It?" goes even now. The hooks earwormed their way deep, and it's clear that the band had a very simple concept - keep the Christian message simple and subtle, the songs catchy, and the style relevant (they were a wee bit out of time in that respect by the time I saw them, admittedly) and eventually you may gain a few more believers. For all their efforts, I highly doubt anyone who actually knew their underground music would have been converted. A quick look at the quota of beards and rather casual clothes on the sleeve shows that the band were more likely to be found shopping at C&A than Sex on the Kings Road. Still, I could see how they might make an impact on the floating voters.

The Reps didn't actually begin as a New Wave styled band, starting their days as The Dunamis or Dumani Roadshow, a much more middle-of-the-road group. "Rebel" seems to catch them at a halfway house, an odd transition point. The A-side is squeaky, sprightly and definitely punk inspired, trying to reach the alienated kids out there. The intro even sounds almost like a nineties Teen C record, zinging along jauntily and only really mentioning Jesus about a minute in.

Flip "No More Yesterdays", on the other hand, is MOR 70s angst-rock, owing a slight debt to the space-age melodrama of Jeff Lynne and ELO. And, to be honest, while the lyrical message behind the track is even more naive than one of Jeff's more flippant exercises on "Time", it's actually the side I prefer. There's a keener expression of ideas here, and overall it sounds like a much more natural style for the group. You get no sense that they're trying to fit into a pair of trousers far too tight for them.

Their next single release, though, the aforementioned "What You Gonna Do About It?" would go on to defy the odds and become a punk/ new wave collectible, proving that they did eventually master the art impressively (and leave me regretting the fact I didn't buy the record for two quid at the time).

The Reps were apparently mainstays on the Christian Rock circuit for many years afterwards, picking up an impressive following along the way, but the trail for their activities goes cold after the late eighties. It seems as if the line-up at the point of "Rebel" was John Ritter on vocals and guitar, Sue Ritter on vocals and keyboards, Andy Clark on guitar and vocals, Paul Raper on bass, and Jo Stephens on drums, but that may have changed later on.

On a slightly tangential point, the small Christian orientated Kingsway Music label also put out a single by an artist called Adrian Snell with the title "That's Me In The Corner". Was Michael Stipe paying attention? It's doubtful, but you have to ask.

Label: Kingsway Music
Year of Release: 1980

The Reps were the first band I ever saw live. That sounds like an impressive statement, as if they were some kind of gateway group who helped me discover my love of rock and roll, so let me clarify that a bit - I had no choice in the matter. My Religious Education teacher at secondary school, a much-mocked and faintly smug but, in retrospect, well-meaning sort of man - the kind who is always the first to volunteer to take forty schoolchildren on a camping expedition then nearly have a nervous breakdown in the process - booked the group to play at my school. The Reps, you see, had a reputation (or should that be Rep-utation?) for delivering edgy, relevant and not at all drippy Christian Rock music.

So there I was, sat in the school assembly hall, begrudgingly admiring the group. I had long made up my mind that I didn't believe in God, but nonetheless The Reps were loud and loved catchy New Wave and Powerpop riffs, two things I was also quite keen on. In fact, they played our school hall twice and I can still remember how the chorus to their track "What You Gonna Do About It?" goes even now. The hooks earwormed their way deep, and it's clear that the band had a very simple concept - keep the Christian message simple and subtle, the songs catchy, and the style relevant (they were a wee bit out of time in that respect by the time I saw them, admittedly) and eventually you may gain a few more believers. For all their efforts, I highly doubt anyone who actually knew their underground music would have been converted. A quick look at the quota of beards and rather casual clothes on the sleeve shows that the band were more likely to be found shopping at C&A than Sex on the Kings Road. Still, I could see how they might make an impact on the floating voters.

The Reps didn't actually begin as a New Wave styled band, starting their days as The Dunamis or Dumani Roadshow, a much more middle-of-the-road group. "Rebel" seems to catch them at a halfway house, an odd transition point. The A-side is squeaky, sprightly and definitely punk inspired, trying to reach the alienated kids out there. The intro even sounds almost like a nineties Teen C record, zinging along jauntily and only really mentioning Jesus about a minute in.

Flip "No More Yesterdays", on the other hand, is MOR 70s angst-rock, owing a slight debt to the space-age melodrama of Jeff Lynne and ELO. And, to be honest, while the lyrical message behind the track is even more naive than one of Jeff's more flippant exercises on "Time", it's actually the side I prefer. There's a keener expression of ideas here, and overall it sounds like a much more natural style for the group. You get no sense that they're trying to fit into a pair of trousers far too tight for them.

Their next single release, though, the aforementioned "What You Gonna Do About It?" would go on to defy the odds and become a punk/ new wave collectible, proving that they did eventually master the art impressively (and leave me regretting the fact I didn't buy the record for two quid at the time).

The Reps were apparently mainstays on the Christian Rock circuit for many years afterwards, picking up an impressive following along the way, but the trail for their activities goes cold after the late eighties. It seems as if the line-up at the point of "Rebel" was John Ritter on vocals and guitar, Sue Ritter on vocals and keyboards, Andy Clark on guitar and vocals, Paul Raper on bass, and Jo Stephens on drums, but that may have changed later on.

On a slightly tangential point, the small Christian orientated Kingsway Music label also put out a single by an artist called Adrian Snell with the title "That's Me In The Corner". Was Michael Stipe paying attention? It's doubtful, but you have to ask.

Snips - Waiting For Tonight/ Smash Your TV

- 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: Jet
Year of Release: 1978

Steve Parsons - aka Snips - was a key member of the much-fancied (but commercially under-achieving) mid-seventies band Sharks along with Chris Spedding. When that band's time came to a natural end, he burst out on his own with a string of solo singles throughout the late seventies and eighties.

Debut 7" effort "Waiting For Tonight" was an incredibly strong opener. Aided no end by its chiming Steve Lillywhite production and insistent hooks, it's the kind of track that would be held in higher regard had it been issued by an established New Wave artist of the day, as opposed to someone who had already been around the block a few times (though that riff in the link to the track "Sophistication" above shows that some members of the punk brethren were certainly listening to Sharks). A simple riff propels things along, and there's a distinct power-pop edge at play here too.

While Snips never really tasted fame or success of the mainstream kind despite issuing two LPs and five singles on Jet and EMI, all was not entirely lost. Parsons became, and presumably remains, a force to be reckoned with in the soundtrack world, and also still maintains a presence on the live music scene with his present group The Presence LDN. Sharks also reformed briefly to issue the comeback LP "Like A Black Van Parked On A Dark Curve" in 1994. Unlike the vast majority of bands on this blog, he is clearly not a man whose musical ideas will easily be put to rest.

Label: Jet
Year of Release: 1978

Steve Parsons - aka Snips - was a key member of the much-fancied (but commercially under-achieving) mid-seventies band Sharks along with Chris Spedding. When that band's time came to a natural end, he burst out on his own with a string of solo singles throughout the late seventies and eighties.

Debut 7" effort "Waiting For Tonight" was an incredibly strong opener. Aided no end by its chiming Steve Lillywhite production and insistent hooks, it's the kind of track that would be held in higher regard had it been issued by an established New Wave artist of the day, as opposed to someone who had already been around the block a few times (though that riff in the link to the track "Sophistication" above shows that some members of the punk brethren were certainly listening to Sharks). A simple riff propels things along, and there's a distinct power-pop edge at play here too.

While Snips never really tasted fame or success of the mainstream kind despite issuing two LPs and five singles on Jet and EMI, all was not entirely lost. Parsons became, and presumably remains, a force to be reckoned with in the soundtrack world, and also still maintains a presence on the live music scene with his present group The Presence LDN. Sharks also reformed briefly to issue the comeback LP "Like A Black Van Parked On A Dark Curve" in 1994. Unlike the vast majority of bands on this blog, he is clearly not a man whose musical ideas will easily be put to rest.