177 Hello Fleetwood Mac - Black Magic Woman

Chart  entered : 10  April  1968

Chart  peak : 37

Number  of  hits : 27

And  so  begins  pop's  most  fascinating  story  of  all. No  other  band , even  the  Beatles, has  given  us so much  drama , so  many  intriguing  threads  to  follow   and  they're  still  going  so  there's  the  prospect  of more  to  come. What's  also  remarkable  is  that , despite  well-documented  traumas  and  excesses, everyone  who's  appeared  on  a  Mac  hit  single  is  still  alive  ( one  or  two  bit  players  have  been  lost recently ).

The  Mac  story  begins  when  Peter  Bardens  ( later  of  Camel )  invited  a  young  Cornish  drummer   living  nearby , Mick  Fleetwood,  to  join  his  band,  The  Cheynes  in  the  summer  of  1963. Their  first single  on  Columbia  in  November 1963   is  a  tight  beat  cover  of  the  Isley  Brothers'  "Respectable " distinguished  by  Bardens's  electric  organ.   In  January  1964  they  were  hired  as  the  backing  band   for  the  Ronettes  on  a  UK  package  tour  headed  by  the  Stones.  They  then  had a  weekly  spot  at The  Marquee,  sometimes  supporting  John  Mayall  and  the  Bluesbeakers   They  followed  it  up  with  the Northern  Soul  stomp  of  "Goin To  The  River"  in  September  1964  and  concluded  their  career  with the  unfortunately  titled  "Down  And  Out"  , Bardens's   Yardbyrds-style  rocker  unburdened  by  any tune. The  band  called  it  a  day  in  April  1965.

Mick  joined  the  Bo  Street  Runners  a  band  who'd  won  a  talent  competition  on  Ready  Steady  Go but  weren't  selling  many  records. That  didn't  change  with  Mick's  only  single  with  the  band  "Baby Never  Say  Goodbye"  in  July  1965  which  is  interesting,  with  its  blend  of  jazzy  organ  and  bossa  nova  beat,  without  being  particularly  good. The  singing  in  particular is  poor.

Mick  quit  the  band  shortly  afterwards  to  join  Bardens's  new  band  Peter  B's  Looners , an instrumental  act. The  guitarist  was  Peter  Green ( originally  Greenbaum )  a  19-year  old  Londoner whose  previous  groups  hadn't  been  signed. Their  only  single  was  "If  You  Wanna  Be  Happy" , a cover  of  a  1963   US  number  one    in  a  vocal  version  by  Jimmy  Soul.  You  can  hardly  hear  Peter behind  Barden's  organ  and  to  be  honest  it's  a  bit  muzak-y , not  a  million  miles  away  from  Klaus Wunderlich.

In  April   1966  they  decided  to  change  tack  and  bring  in  a  couple  of  vocalists  both  of  them  well-known  faces  who  hadn't  quite  made  the  grade  yet  , Beryl  Marsden  and  a  certain  Rod  Stewart ( of whom,  more  later ).  Soon  after, they  changed  their  name  to  Shotgun  Express. The  band  played almost  every  night  until  July  when  Peter  Green  received  an  invitation  to  replace  Eric  Clapton  in   John  Mayall  and  the  Bluesbreakers  and  quit.

In  October  the  band  released  their  single  "I  Could  Feel  The  Whole  World  Turn  Round"  where  the two  singers  bawl  against  the  over-heavy  orchestration  and  you  can  hardly  hear  the  rest  of  the band. Even  Bardens's  organ  struggles  to  be  heard. There's  probably  a  decent  song  underneath  the bombast  but  it  was  just  a  bit  too  heavy-going  to  be  a  hit. Stewart  quit  to  join  the  Jeff  Beck Group  at  the  start  of  1967  and  the  band  had  broken  up  by  the  time  their second  single  "Funny Cos' Neither  Could  I "  was  released.

When  Peter  joined  the Bluesbreakers  the  bass  player  in  situ  was  John  McVie  , a  20-year  old  former  tax  inspector. He  played  on  the  two  singles  before  Peter  joined , "Crocodile  Walk"  a  garage  rock  strutter  enlivened  inevitably  by  Clapton's  solo  and  "I'm  Your  Witchdoctor"   a  bluesier  number  with  a  feedback  wail,  produced  by  Jimmy  Page. Both  indicate  an  ongoing  problem  with  John  Mayall ; he  has  the  love  but  not  the  voice  for  the  music.  

Peter's  first  single  with  the  band  was  "Looking  Back "  in  October  1966. Written  by  Johnny  "Guitar" Watson,  it's  a  brassy  R &  B  number  about  making  eye  contact  with  a  girl  on  the  street.  It's  not  a  bad  song  but  the  best  bit  is  undoubtedly  the  instrumental  break  where  Peter  wheels  out  a  scorching  solo. John's  heavy  bass  line  is  also  a  plus  factor. The  next  one  in  January  1967  was  Mayall's  "Sitting  In  The  Rain"  a  lazy  blues  number  dominated  by  Peter's  unconventional  guitar  picking. His  increasing  influence  in  the  band  is  also  denoted  by  having  his  "Out  of  Reach" on  the  B side.

After  this  single  Mayall  fired  his  drummer  Aynsley  Dunbar. Knowing  that  Mick  was  now  available Peter  recommended   him  to  Mayall.  However  Mick  had  been  fired  for  drunkennes  by  the  time  of   the  next  single , "Double  Trouble ", an  Otis  Rush  song  in  June  1967  which  sounds  ponderous  to  a  non-blues  afficianados   like  myself  but  marks  the  entrance  of  Peter's  signature  style. It  also  marks  the  exit  of  Peter  from  the  group.

He  immediately  snapped  up  Mick  for  his  new  group  and  made  his  intentions  clear  by  naming  the band  "Peter  Green's Fleetwood  Mac". However  John  hesitated  and  stuck  with  Mayall  initially. Peter  hired  Bob Brunning  to  fill  in  for  him  on  the  understanding  that  it  was  probably  a  temporary  gig. The  line-up was  completed  by  slide  guitarist  Jeremy  Spencer  who  had  been  playing  in  a  blues  trio , The  Levi Set.

Bob  only  had  time  to  do  a  few  gigs  and  play  on  one  song , "Long  Grey  Mare"  for  the  debut  LP before  John  excused  himself  from  the  Bluesbreakers  and  joined  up. Bob  went  off  for  a  long  and successful  career  in  teaching.  The  debut  single  in  November  1967  was  "I  Believe  My  Time  Ain't Long"   written  by Elmore  James, Jeremy's  musical  hero. It's  largely  Jeremy's  record  with  him  doing the  vocal  and  most  of  the  guitar  work  but  too  faithful  to  the  original  to  be  a  hit. On  the  other hand  the  covers-heavy  debut  album  "Fleetwood  Mac"  made  number  4  in  the  album  charts  without it.

"Black  Magic  Woman"  was  the  next  single . It's  a  Peter  Green  original  with  simple  lyrics  attributing  his  erotic  obsession  to  the  dark arts. Beginning  with  a  startling  sustained  note  it  has  a  sparse  sound  with  Mick's  heavy  drums  up  front  alongside  Peter's  pleading  vocal. Peter  plays  individual  lines  rather  than  any  recognisable  riff  and  there  are  two  lengthy  pauses  before  the  instrumental  break  and  the  coda  where  the  tempo  changes  completely. It's  not  obvious  single  material  at  all  but  they  had  the  right  sound  for  the  time  and  a  charismatic  frontman   and  that  was  enough  to  get  them  on  the  board. The  song  was  a  massive US  hit  for  Santana  two  years  later  but  this  is  the  only  hit  version  here.  

176 Goodbye Frankie Vaughan - Nevertheless

Chart  entered  :  28  February  1968

Chart  peak : 29

Time  to  bid  farewell  to  another  fifties  survivor. This  was  the  third  and  last  hit  from  Frankie's  brief  renaissance  on  Columbia  after  the  hits ( on  Philips )  had  appeared  to  peter  out  in  1965 ( the  year  he  received  his  OBE ).

There  are  no  concessions  to  psychedelia  or  R &  B  here. This  cover  of  a  song  popularised  by  Bing Crosby  in  1931  could  have  been  in  the  first  chart. It's  strictly  MOR  schmaltz  for  the  over-35s . Frankie  sounds  a  bit  wobbly  on  the  long  notes; that's  all  I  can  think  of  to  say  about  it  really.

Frankie's  next  single  was  "Mame"  from  the  hit  musical  of  the  same  name  but  he  had  rather  missed the  boat  as  Bobby  Darin, Louis  Armstrong  and  Herb  Alpert  had  all  released  versions  ( all  hits  in the  US  but  not  here )  over  the  past  couple  of  years. If  you  enjoyed  the  Black  And  White Minstrel  Show you'd  love it.

Frankie  then  decided  to  try  his  hand  at  a  bit  of  social  work  and  flew  up  from  his  summer  season in  Blackpool  to  meet  the  street  gangs  on  the  Easterhouse  estate  in  Glasgow  and  try  to  persuade them  to  stop  stabbing  each  other. There  were  suggestions  at  the  time  that  it  was  a  publicity  stunt to revive  his  flagging  career  but  Frankie  did  have  a  longstanding  interest  in  Boys' Clubs  ( that  sadly would  be  suspect  today )  and  he  did  manage  to  arrange  a  knife  amnesty. Nevertheless  he  did  have a  single  out  "( Take  Back  Your )  Souvenirs"  which  I  haven't  heard.

I  can  only  list  the  next  few  Columbia  singles  as  no  one  at  EMI  thinks  they're  worth  compiling : "The  Same  Old  Way" , "Hideaway" ( 1969 ) ; "I'll  Give  You  Three  Guesses"   ( 1970 ); "Make  The Circus  Come  To  Town" ( 1971 ), "Paradise " ( 1972 ). From  the  latter  year  his  version  of  the  title song  from  the  flop  Newley-Bricusse  musical  "The  Good  Old  Bad  Old  Days"  has  made  it  onto compilations  and  is  good  if  you  like  ragtime  musical  numbers.  In  1973  he  sang  "Abide  With  Me" at  the  FA  Cup  Final.  His  last  single  for  Columbia  was  "I'll Never  See  Julie  Again"  in  1974.

In  1975  he  went  to  Pye  who  released  "It's  Too  Late  Now"  in  March  which  at  least  sounds vaguely  contemporary   - well  within  the  last  decade -  with  Frankie  doing  a  big  ballad  in  Tom  Jones version. From  then  on  it's  the  same  story  with  Pye : "Close  Your  Eyes", "Feelings" ( 1975 ) ;"One" , "I'll  Never Smile  Again" ( 1976) ; "Red  Sails In The  Sunset" , "Take  Me" ( 1977 ).  In  1978  he  teamed up  with  Al  Saxon  who  wrote  and  produced  "Think  Beautiful  Things"  on  the  little  known  Beautiful label.

In  1983  he  recorded  the  charity  single  "Stockport"  after  the  Daily  Mail  ran  a  competition  for songs  about  uncelebrated  towns  and  the  writer  Geoff  Morrow  asked  Frankie  to  record  his  effort. It is  a  terrible  sub- Sinatra  big  band  number  with  Frankie  understandably  corpsing  at  singing  such inane  ( and   clearly  untrue ) lyrics. Frankie  did  some  signings  in  the  town- well  you  can't  imagine  it sold  a  single  copy  anywhere  else.

Frankie  next  released  "Dreamers " on  PRT   from  the  disastrous  Marvin  Hamlisch  musical  Jean Seberg   which   had  already  closed  before  the  single  was  released  in   May  1984.  Shortly  afterwards he  went  into  42nd  Street  with  Shani  Wallis  but  had  to quit  in  1986  after  he  fell  seriously  ill  with peritonitis  and  almost  died  from  failing  to  seek  medical  attention  soon  enough.

His  last  single  appears  to  have  been  "When  Your  Old  Wedding  Ring  Was  New "  on  Spartan  in 1987  which  seems  to  plod  on  forever  in  pub  singer  mode  despite  some  palatable  trumpet  work.

In  his  last  decade  Frankie  was  inactive  due  to  health  problems. In  1992  he  suffered  a  ruptured artery. In  1996  he  was  upgraded  to  a  CBE.  He  died  in  September  1999 aged  71 , failing  to  pull  through   after  extensive  heart  surgery.

I'm  aware  that  I  have  not  done  Frankie  full  justice  in  this  piece. That's  simply  because  if  the  music isn't  readily  to  hand  I  don't  have  the  time  or  the  resources  to  hunt  it  down. Any  Frankie  fans reading  this  may  like  to  fill  in  the  gaps  using  the  Comments  box ; that's  what  it's  there  for.

175 Hello Eddy Grant* - I Get So Excited

( * as  part of  The  Equals )

Chart  entered : 21 February  1968

Chart  peak : 44

Number  of  hits : 19  ( including  8  as  part  of  The  Equals )

Two  almost  milestones  here . Eddy  was  born  in  Guyana  so  he's  not  quite  the  first  black  British  male  to  qualify  and  the  Equals  don't  qualify  on  their  own  account  so  they're  not  the  first  mixed  race  band   on  here.

Eddy  following  on  from  Status  Quo   seems  quite  appropriate  as  both  have  been  accused  of  milking a  winning  formula  dry.

The  Equals  were  formed  in  Hornsey  in  1965  comprising  Eddy ( Edmund  not  Edward )  on  lead  guitar,  the  Jamaican  twins  Derv  Gordon  on  vocals  and  Lincoln  on  bass  and  two  white  Londoners , Pat  Lloyd  on  guitar  and  John  Hall  on  drums. In  1966  they  were  signed  by Edward  Kassner's  President  records.

Their  first  single  "I  Won't  Be  There"  is  an  energetic  stomper  written  by  the  twins'  father. The  single  is  a  bit  ramshackle  with  Derv  shouting  rather  than  singing  the  verses  and  Eddy  chanting  "Hey  Hey"  at  seemingly  random  points  in  the  song.  It  did  well  enough  in  Germany  to  get  them  on  to  Beat  Club  in  early  1967.

Their  next  single  was  in  June  that  year. It  had  "Hold  Me  Closer"  written  by  Eddy  and  Lincoln  and  "Baby  Come Back"  by  Eddy  alone. It  did  nothing  here  at the  time but  was  a  big  hit  in  Europe  reaching  number  one  in  Belgium. Some  countries  were  playing  the  B-side  more  or  maybe  getting  confused  as  the  two  songs  have exactly  the  same  rhythm  track ( not  the  last  time  Eddy  would  be  accused  of  recycling ).

Their  third  single  in  October  1967    was  "Give  Love  A  Try"  written  by  Eddy. It   sets  some  rather clumsy  universalist  lyrics  to  the  tune  of  Hey  Joe  or  very  close  to  it.

This  one  was  their  fourth  single  in  the  UK. Written  by  Eddy  and  Derv,  it's  a  very  simplistic record, little  more  than  a   circular  riff   and  a  repetitive  chant  of   the  title  for  a  chorus.It's  also  pretty  similar to  "Baby  Come  Back"   which  makes  the  disparity  in  their   relative chart  fortunes   rather  difficult  to explain.      

174 Hello Status Quo* - Pictures Of Matchstick Men

(* for  this  and  four  subsequent  singles  they  were  "The  Status  Quo" )

Chart  entered :  24  January  1968

Chart  peak : 7

Number  of  hits  : 62

After  five  farewells  in  a  row  it's  about  time  we  had  some  newcomers  and  the  Quo  are  always good  for  putting  a  smile  on  your  face.

The  band  started coming  together  in  1962  when  two  thirteen  year  olds  at  school  in  Catford, Francis Rossi  and  Alan  Lancaster,  formed  a  band  called The  Scorpions  with  Alan  Key  ( drums )  and  Jess Jaworski ( keyboards ). In  1963  they  changed  drummers  with  John  Coghlan  replacing  Key  and  their name  to  The  Spectres. In  1965  Jaworski   was  replaced  by  Roy  Lynes  and   Francis  met  Rick Parfitt  from  a  cabaret  outfit  called  The  Highlights  but  he  didn't  immediately  join  the  band.

The  band  now  signed  with  Piccadilly  and  their  first  single , in  September  1966, was  a   garage  rock  cover  of  "I  ( Who  Have  Nothing )  "  dominated   by  Roy's  rinky-dink  organ  and  under-pinned  by Alan's  rocksolid  bassline. For  better  or  worse, Francis's  nasal  whine  is  instantly  recognisable. It's  actually  a pretty  good  single  apart  from  Francis's  spoken  word  coda  which  is  just  a  bad  idea.  The  follow-up  in  November  was  Alan's  "Hurdy  Gurdy  Man"  ( nothing  to  do  with  the  Donovan song ) which  sounds  like  two  schoolkids  have  got  up  on  stage  to  sing  with  the  Inspiral  Carpets. I  don't  know  who's  harmonising  with  Francis  but  they're  awful  and  it  sinks  the  record.

The  third  and  last  single  for  Piccadilly  "( We  Ain't  Got )  Nothin  Yet "  in  February  1967,  is  a  cover  of  a  US  hit  for  the  Blues  Magoos  which  itself   utilised  the much-borrowed  bassline  from  Ricky  Nelson's  Summertime   that  we  know  best  from  Deep  Purple's  Black  Night.  If  anything  the  Spectres'  version  is  more  exciting, sounding  even  more  like  the  Carpets  at  least  until  you  get  to  the  superbly  raw  guitar  solo. Unfortunately  the  title  proved  to  be  an  accurate  statement  of  their  position .

They  then  changed  their  name  to  The  Traffic  Jam   and  released  "Almost  But  Not  Quite  There" which  Francis  co-wrote   ( with  someone  called  Barlow ? ) Though  still  quite  heavy  in  the  rhythm section  it  sees  the  group  moving  away  from  garage  rock  towards  Turtles-style  psychedelic  pop. Unfortunately  the  BBC  interpreted  the  lyric, with  some  justification  I  think, as  being  about  failing  to give  your  girlfriend  an  orgasm   and  banned  it.

Further  trouble  arrived  in  the  form  of  a  writ  from  Island  who  felt  the  new  name  was  too  close  to Steve  Winwood's  new  outfit. Without  support  from  Piccadilly  who  had  cast  them  adrift  the  band   had to  give  way  and  rename  themselves  once  more. With  Rick  Parfitt  now  coming  on  board  as  an extra  guitarist  they  became  The  Status  Quo  and  were  soon  signed  to  Pye.

"Pictures  Of  Matchstick  Men"  was  written  by  Francis,  allegedly  in  a  toilet  taking  refuge  from  his  mother-in-law.  It's  a  Top  Of  The  Pops  2  favourite . partly  through  the  happy  accident  of  escaping  the  general  destruction  of  sixties  TV  footage  but  more  I  suspect  because  it  gives  the  opportunity  for  the  likes  of  Steve  Wright  to  make  a  cheap  crack  at  the  sight  of  Francis  and  Rick  dolled  up  in  Carnaby  Street's  finest  togs.

The  band  themselves  have  generally  acquiesced  in  making  a  joke  out  of  their  brief  flirtation  with  psychedelia  but  I  think  the  song  stands  up  to  anything  Traffic  or  The  Herd  produced. The  lyrics  are  clearly  influenced  by  Lucy  In  The  Sky  With  Diamonds   more  than  anything  to  do  with  LS  Lowry. Unless  the  girl  he  is  missing  used  to  drag  him  off  to  art  galleries  that  reference  is  still  mystifying. However  that  piercing,  acid-fried  guitar  riff  that  kicks  off  and  re-starts  the  song  still  cuts  through  and  is  probably  the  main  reason  for  its  success. In  the  USA  it  remains  their  only  hit.

173 Goodbye Spencer Davis Group - Mr Second Class

Chart  entered : 10  January  1968

Chart  peak : 35

So  we  move on  into  1968,  the  year  I  think  my  earliest  memories  relate  to, none  of  them  pop  related. And  I  certainly  don't  recall  ever  having  heard  this  one  until  a  few  minutes  ago.

The  group  were  still  re-grouping  after  the  departure  of  the  Winwood  brothers  in  early  1967. They were  replaced  by  Eddie  Hardin,  a  vocalist  and  keyboard  player  ( ex - A  Wild  Uncertainty ) and  Phil Sawyer  on  bass  ( ex - Les  Fleurs  de  Lys ). However  Sawyer  only  lasted  for  one  single  so  this  one features  Ray  Fenwick  formerly  with  The  Syndicats. Despite  a  one  hundred  per  cent  hit rate  since first  breaking  through  and  an  immediate  hit  with  the  new  line  up  in  "Time  Seller" , Fontana  were not convinced  the  group  were  viable  without  Steve  Winwood  and  let  them  go  so   this  single  came  out on  United  Artists.

"Mr  Second  Class"  was  written  by  Davis  and  Hardin who  must  surely  have  paused  for  thought  on  the  ammunition  he  was  giving  to  those  who  thought  him  incapable  of  filling  Winwood's  shoes. In  fact  his  vocal  is  a  pretty  good  approximation  of  Winwood  and  he's  no  slouch  on  the  Hammond  either. It's  not  an  obvious  single ;  it's  by  far  the  heaviest  sound  we've  encountered  to  date  and  there  are  no  pop  hooks. I  guess  the  combination  of  post-Christmas  lull, the  general  tendency  of  a  rock  fanbase   to  greater  loyalty  than  a  pop  audience  and  support  from  Radio  Caroline  were  enough  to  make  it  a  hit. The  song  is  a  Weller-anticipating  attack  on  a  social  climber  deserting  his  old  friends  which  gets  off  the  odd  good  line  - "You've  got  up  off  the  floor, got  no  real  friends  no  more "  -  but  is  generally  clumsily  expressed  both  lyrically  and  musically. The  best  bit  of  the  record  is  the  last  half  minute's  energetic  coda  where  Hardin  proves  himself  the  equal  of  Jon  Lord  or  Vincent  Crane  on  the  organ  and  Peter  York  gets  to  whack  his  cowbells.

The  band  got  more  exposure  from  the  release  of  the  film  Here  We  Go  Round  The  Mulberry  Bush  for  which  they  provided  the  bulk  of  the  music. However  they  were  not  able  to  capitalise on  it. Their  next  single  was  in  May. Immediately  prior  to  joining  Ray  had  been  playing  in  a  Dutch  band  After  Tea  and  had  co-written  an  eponymous  hit  single. The  band  decided  to  cover  it  with  the  help of  Traffic's  Dave  Mason  on  sitars  and  unsurprisingly  it  sounds  a  lot  like  Traffic. It's  competent  psychedelic  pop  though  it  does  run  out  of  ideas  towards  the  end  and  ends  up  repeating  the  simplistic  chorus  ad  infinitum. It  was  also  up  against  a  rival  version  by  The  Rattles  which  has  a  cleaner  production  and  better  harmonies. In  the  end  though  neither  was  a  hit. This  line-up  also  recorded  the  theme  tune  to  the  newly-launched  TV  series  Magpie  under  the  nom  de  plume  The  Murgatroyd  Band  but  strangely  it  was  never  released  as  a  single.

The  band  went  on  a  US  tour  that  summer. In  October  Eddie  decided  to  quit  the  band  and  took Peter  with  him. They  were  replaced  by  Dee  Murray  on  bass  and  Nigel  Olsson  on  drums. Ray  took over  as  lead  vocalist. This  line  up  released  just  the  one  single   in  December  1968 ,"Short  Change" built  around  a  descending  bassline  with  some  similarities  to Cream's  In  The  White  Room . With  no keyboard  player  in  the  set-up  an  important  element  in  the  sound  had  gone  and  "Short  Change" doesn't  sound  fully  formed.  Davis's  guitar  solo  at  the  end  is  the  best  bit.  They  recorded  an  album "Funky" , entirely  written  by Fenwick  but  it  was  only  released  in  the  US. The  band  then  called  it  a day.

Spencer  first  tried  to  hook  up  with  Cat  Stevens' associate  Alun  Davies  then  moved  to  Germany  for a  short  while  before  a  re-location  to  California.  He  eventually  released  an  acoustic  album  with Peter Jameson,  "It's  Been  So  Long"  in  1970  then  a  solo  album  "Mousetrap"  the  following  year. These were  only  released  in  the  US  and  didn't  sell.

He  returned  to  the  UK  and  put  together  a  new  Spencer  Davis  Group  line-up  with  Ray, Eddie  and Peter  plus  Charlie  McCracken  on  bass. "Catch  You  On The  Rebop"  was  the  first  single  on  Vertigo in  March  1973,  a  loose  funk/rock  hybrid  with  similarities  to  Free  and  the  odd  nod  to  glam. It's  not  bad. "Mr  Operator", the  next  one  from  June  1973  sounds  a  bit  like  10cc  and  could  well  have  been  a  hit  with  the  right  breaks. The  album  "Gluggo"  sank  without  trace. The  next  single  "Living  In  A  Backstreet"  was  the  title  track  of  their  next  one  and  sounds  a  bit  like  a  humourless  Mott  The  Hoople  with  its  female  backing  singers. The  group  disbanded  again  in  1974. The  original  line-u  reunited  briefly  in  the  1980s to  fight  a  legal  battle  with  Island  over  unpaid  royalties.

Ten  years  later, after  a  decade  working  behind  the  scenes  as  a  producer  and  A  & R  man  he  put out  another  solo  album  "Crossfire"  then  decided  to  tour  with  a  new  US  version  of  the  Spencer Davis  Group. This  lasted  until  1993 when  he  joined  a  collective  known  as  the  Classic  Rock  All Stars.  The  SDG  banner  was  picked  up  once  again  in  2006  although  strangely  he  has  one  line  up in  Europe  and  an  entirely  different  one  in  the  US. The  European  version  features  Eddie  but otherwise  there  are  no  personnel  from  their  sixties  hey-day. Spencer  does  still  record  new  material as  a  solo  artist, his  last  album  being  So  Far  in  2008.

So  what  of  the  others ?  Well  I've  a  bit  of  a  problem  dealing  with  Steve  Winwood. Neither  with  Traffic  nor  as  a  solo  artist  does  he  rack  up  enough  hits  for  another  post  but  on  the  other  hand  his  is  too  substantial  a  body  of  work  to  cover  adequately  in  this one. I  think  I'll  just  give an  outline  for  further  exploration

1967  Forms  psychedelic  rock  band  Traffic  with  Jim  Capaldi, Dave  Mason  and  Chris  Wood . First             album   "Mr Fantasy"  reaches  number  8. "Hole  In  My  Shoe"  single  reaches  number  2

1968  Second  album  "Traffic" reaches  number  9 . Their  singles  stop   charting  as  the  band  switches to           a  more  folk/blues  style

1969  Third  album  "Last  Exit"  fails  to  chart  in  the  UK. Steve  leaves  to  form  supergroup  Blind  Faith            with  Eric  Clapton, Ginger  Baker  and  Family's  Rick  Grech. Eponymous  ( and  only ) album                    noted   for  sleeve  featuring  topless  13-year  old  ( for  which  they  may  yet  be  prosecuted  if                  she   decides  she  was  "abused" )  Contents  generally  felt  to  be  less  than  super.

1970   Rejoins  Traffic  for  album  "John  Barleycorn  Must  Die"  which  gets  to  number  11

1971  Starts  suffering  from  peritonisis

1974  Quits  Traffic  once  more

1977  First  solo  LP  "Steve  Winwood"  released. Reaches  22  in  the  US

1980  Second  LP   "Arc  Of  A  Diver " on  which  he  played  everything  a  huge  success although                       containing  only  one  minor   hit  in  the  UK.

1982  "Talking  Back  To  The  Night"  LP   also  successful  with  its  synth-dominated  songs.

1986  "Back  In  The  High  Life"  another  major  success. "Higher  Love"  becomes  the  biggest of  6  solo            hits.

1987  "Chronicles "  compilation  of  solo  work "Valerie"  is  second  Top  20  hit.

1988  "Roll  With  It"  tops  US  charts, number  4  in  Britain. Title  track  is  Steve's  last  hit ( number  53 )

1990  "Refugees  Of  The  Heart"  less  successfu  than  its  predecessors

1994  Re-forms  "Traffic"  with  Jim  Capaldi  only. "Far From  Home" LP  a  moderate  hit  on  both  sides             of  the  pond

1997   "Junction  Seven "  fails  to  sell  well

2003  "About  Time" LP

2008  "Nine  Lives  " LP  featuring  Eric  Clapton  reaches  number  12  in  the  US. Performs  with  Clapton            at  Madison  Square  Gardens

2010   "Revolutions"  career  retrospective  box  set

The  big-jawed   Mervyn  "Muff"  Winwood  quit  the  bass  to  go  into  the  industry  as  an  A &  R  man  and  producer for  Island which  Chris  Blackwell  was  just  starting.  He  produced  Sparks's  big  hit  albums. In  1978  he  was  poached  by  CBS  and  produced  the  first  Dire Straits  album.  He  signed  Shakin' Stevens, Sade  and  Terence  Trent  D'Arby  to  the  label. In  1990  he  became  managing  director  of  Sony  Music  UK. He  retired  in  March  2004.

Peter  York  has  been  a   jobbing  drummer  ever  since  working  with  various  artists  and  taking  part  in  drum  workshops  in  Germany  where  he  now  lives. In  1991 he  toured  in  Germany  under  his  own  name  helped  out  by  Davis , Hardin  and  Chris  Farlowe. Farlowe  also  helped  him  out  on  an  album  of  standards  "Swinging Hollywood"  in  1994.

Eddie  Hardin  recorded  a  string  of  solo  albums  from  1972  to  2000  before  joining  Davis's  touring line-up. He  and  Peter  often  worked  together  as  Hardin  and  York  particularly  in  Germany  where they  were  popular. I'm  presuming  he  paid  the  rent through  session  work. 

Ray  Fenwick  also  remained  in  the  music  business. He  had  a  couple  of  hits  in  the  US   with  the   group  Fancy  in  1974  and  success  in  Japan  as  guitarist  in  the  Ian  Gillan  Band  in  the  mid-70s. He was  in  the  band  Forcefield  with  Cozy  Powell  in  the  late  eighties. After  that  he  alternated  session work  with  teaching  guitar  in  colleges. In  2003  he  did  a  tour  with  Steve  Howe  but  seems  to  have been  inactive  since  then.


         



 

172 Goodbye Judith Durham* - Emerald City

( * as  part  of  The  Seekers )

Chart  entered : 13  December 1967

Chart  peak :  50

It  was  now  the  turn  of  Australia's  finest  to  make   way. I  love  The  Seekers  so  it  pains  me  to  say they  went  out  with  an  absolute  stinker, by  far  the  worst  of  their  hits  and  barely  deserving  of  the   single  week  in  the  anchor  position   the  UK  public  saw  fit  to  give  it.  Written  by  Kim  Fowley  and  "John Martin"  ( a  nom  de  plume   for  Keith  Potger   that   he  didn't  admit  to  until  26  years  later )  it  sets  a lyric  about  the  Wizard  Of  Oz  to  the  tune  of  Beethoven's  Ode  To  Joy. There's  some  great  singing as  always  but  for  most  of  the  time  it's  accompanied  by  a  tuneless  kiddie  choir. It  just  goes  to show  that Christmas  singles  are  fraught  with  peril ; if  you  get  them  wrong  it  can  seriously  damage  your  standing.

In  fact  this  single  created  more  problems  for  the  band  than  just  a  poor  showing  in  the  charts. In  June , Judith  had scored  a  modest  hit  as  a  solo  artist  with  the  Tom  Springfield  song  "The  Olive  Tree"  , which  was  OK  but  not  up  with  the  group's  best  work. None  of  the  guys  were  happy  with  Judith  doing  solo  material  so  when  the  release  of   her  follow  up  single  "Again And  Again "  ( an  over-produced  mess  that  indicated  Judith's  talents  didn't  extend  to  songwriting ) was  delayed  until  a  fortnight  before  the  release  of  this  one  and  it  flopped, she  suspected  that  her  bandmates  were  conspiring  with  the  label to  thwart  her  solo  aspirations.

Matters  came  to  a  head  with  the  next  single  when  the  band  were  packed  off  to  work  with   Mickie  Most . When  Judith  realised  that  Most's  terms  included  a  4%  cut  of  the  royalties  she objected  that  the  band  were  only  on  3%  split  four  ways. The  guys  were  willing  to  accept  these terms  and  Judith  was  temporarily  placated  by  the  record  coming  out  under  the  banner "The Seekers featuring  Judith  Durham"  in  April  1968. "Days  Of  My  Life"   was  written  by  Tony  Romeo  and  plays to  their strengths, a  wistful  ballad  about  a  lost  love  that  can't  be  rekindled. The  promo  film  featured Judith sitting  on  a  separate  bench  from  the  others  then  waving  at  them  from  the  top  of  a  tower while they  remain  on  the  ground. Judith  also  said  in  a  2001  interview  that  she  was  unhappy  with   the  guys  for  not  telling  her  that  the  bloke  she  was  seeing  was  cheating  on  her.

When  the  song  failed  to  chart  Judith  took  that  as  a  cue  to  give  in  her  notice. This  was  not  announced  to  the  public  but  mentioned  to  the  BBC  during  negotiations  for  a  TV  special   to  be  broadcast  in  July  1968. Before  that  they  had  a  week's  residency  at  the  Talk  Of  The  Town  night  club  but  as  that  began  the  Radio  Times  came  out , billing  the   forthcoming  show  as  Farewell  The  Seekers . Judith  had  to  confirm  the  news  to  reporters  at  the  club  to  the  dismay  and  anger  of  fans  who  hadn't  realised  the  gigs  would  be  their  last  opportunity  to  see  the  band  live.

Given  that  the  Beatles  staggered  over  the  line  into  the  seventies  , the  Seekers  split  was  the  big break-up  story  of  the  Sixties. While  many  bands  had  petered  out  in  obscurity, the  Tornados  being  a good  example, few  had  dissolved  at  the  height  of  their  fame ; the  Springfields  perhaps,  but  they'd only  just  got  going,  or  the  Animals  but  they  disintegrated  until  there  was  only  one  of  them   left rather  than making  a  clean  break .

The  TV  special  drew  10  million  viewers. It's  poignant  viewing  as  the  band  perform  all  the  hits  interspersed  with  some  very  awkward  comedy; Athol  Guy , the  bassist  and  outright  winner  of  the  "Pop  Star  who  looks  most  like  a  Bank  Manager "  award, is  clearly  delivering  his  lines  through  gritted  teeth. Judith says  very  little  throughout. Guy's  choked-up  announcement  of  the  final  song  with  the  words  "The  carnival  really  is  over"  screams  for  a  cutaway  to  Judith  that  doesn't  happen  but  her  expression   during  the  song  is  uncharacteristically   sombre.

Despite  the  success  of  the  show  the next   single  "Love  Is  Kind  Love  Is  Wine"  a  slight  Bruce  Woodley song  recorded  at  the  Talk  Of  The  Town  wasn't  a  hit. Its  parent  LP  certainly  was, peaking  at  number  2.  In  November  Columbia  put  out  their  version  of  the  Springfields' "Island  Of  Dreams" from  1966's "Come  The  Day"  LP  as  a  hopeful  Christmas  single  but  it  didn't  happen.  The  following  March  Fontana  opportunistically  released  "Children  Go  Where  I  Send  You"  a  folk  carol  from  their  1963  audition  tape.  In  August  Columbia  released  "Colours  Of  My  Life"  as  a  single  to  promote  the  greatest  hits  LP  "The  Best  Of  The  Seekers". No  one  was  interested  in  the  '45  but  the  album  was  a  monster  hit.

Judith  returned  to  Australia  in  August  1968  and  got  to  work  on  a  Christmas  album  "For  Christmas With  Love"  released  in  November  that  year  to  little  acclaim.  In  1969  she  married the  English  pianist  and  arranger  Ron  Edgeworth. Her  next  album  "Gift  of  Song"  didn't come  out  until  the  beginning  of  1970. The  lead-off  single  was  "The  Dark  Is  Light  Enough". Written by  Richard  Kerr  and  Jean  Maitland  it  has  a  grand  production  by  Chad  Stuart  with  Judith  soaring over  the  strings  and  crashing  drums  as  she  sings  of  newly  found  personal  liberty. The  BBC generously  gave  her  another  showcase  Meet  Judith  Durham  and  she  appeared  regularly  on  TV throughout  the  year  on  things  like  Mike  And  Bernie's  Scene  and  Frost  On  Sunday  but  it  didn't generate  sales. Another  single  not  on  the  LP  "Let  Me  Find  Love"  where  her  piercing  vocal overcomes  the  saccharin  nature  of  the  song, also  failed  to  make  an  impact. Judith  wasn't  slow  in looking  for  scapegoats  and  alighted  on  The  New  Seekers  accusing  them  in  the  press of  trading  on the  name. She  didn't  mention  Keith  Potger  by  name  but  could  hardly  be  unaware  of  his involvement.

Her  next  album  in  1971  was  "Climb  Ev'ry  Mountain". The  single  was  a  barnstorming  version  of  the title  track  with  Judith  hitting  the  heavens  with  the  final  note. The  problem  was  the  public  was  sated with  The  Sound  of  Music   by  this  time  and  just  wasn't  interested. Without  a  hit  single  the  album disappeared.

It's  hard  to  pinpoint  exactly  why  Judith's  solo  career  couldn't  get  off  the  ground. Judith  might  not have  liked  the  implication  of  obsolescence  in  the  New  Seekers' choice  of   name  but  that  probably didn't  have  much  to  do  with  it. Nor  do  I  think  the  harmonies  of  the  three  guys  were  essential  to her  appeal.  There  was  definitely  some  lingering  resentment  at  her  pulling  the  plug  on  a  well-loved group. Or  maybe  she  took  too  long  to  get  started  and  was  seen  as  a  face  and  voice  from  the previous  decade. I  think  the  most  likely  explanation, and  here  I  think  she  did  miss  her  old colleagues , was  the  perennial  problem  of  singers  who  don't  write ,  poor  song  choices. I  haven't heard  the  two  albums  end  to  end  but  what  I  have  heard  is  quality  adult  music  without  any  pop hooks. She  needed  a  solid  hit  single  to  lift  off   and  there  just  wasn't  one  there. In  1972  she released  "Here  Am  I"  which  is  a  compilation  of  the  best  tracks  from  the  previous  two  LPs   but the  public  still  wasn't  biting.

Judith  lay  low  for  a  couple  of  years  then  re-emerged  as  a  jazz  singer  once  more. She  got  a  deal with  Pye  and  released  two  LPs   and  three  singles  under  the  name  "Judith  Durham  and  the  Hottest  Band  In  Town"  in  1974.  "I  Wanna  Dance  To  Your  Music"  was  her  own  composition  in  a  1940s  dance  band  vein. "What'll  I  Do"  is  a  smoky  version  of  the  old  Irving  Berlin  number where  Edgeworth  as  producer  ( on  all  these  singles )  puts  her  voice  too  low  in  the  mix. "It's  Going  To  Be  A  Beautiful  Day"  is  another  of  Judith's  own  songs,  a  plodding  supper club  number  with  a  meandering  sax. She  appeared  on  Benny  Hill   but  strangely  did  an  album  track  rather  than  any  of  this  trio  of  singles. She  also  suffered  a  financial  calamity  in  1974  when  the  Swiss  bank  holding  her  savings  collapsed  and  she  lost  $80,000.

That  was  the  UK's  last  sighting  of  Judith  as  a  performer  ( she  did  reside  in  England  for  some  time )  for  nearly  twenty  years. She  was  not  invited  into  the  reformed  Seekers  in  1975; the  guys  took  up  the  option  they  had  spurned  in  1968  and  brought  in  a  new  singer. They  had  some  success  in  Australia   but  met  with  indifference  elsewhere. I'm  not  sure  her  next  LP  in  1978  as  a   jazz  duo  with  Edgeworth  recorded  live  in  concert  was  even  released  in  the  UK. For  the  next  decade  or  so  Judith  and  Ron  lived  a  semi-reclusive  lifestyle  in  Queensland  venturing  out  only to  play  gigs  as  a  duo  in  RSO  clubs  and  the  like. There  were  no  records.

In  1990  she  and  Ron  were   seriously   injured  in  a  car  accident  and  the  volume  of   goodwill messages   received  seems  to  have  persuaded  her  that  she  should  embrace  a  wider  public  once more. At  the  beginning  of  1992  she  released  her  first  single ( by  mail  order ) for  over  a  decade in "Australia  Land  Of  Today"  which  is  OK  if  you  like  flag-waving  anthems. More  significantly  she agreed  to  a  meeting  with  her  fellow  Seekers  at  a  restaurant  and  within  a  couple  of  months  they had  announced  plans  for  a  Silver  Jubilee  Celebration  Tour  in  1993. This  was  so  well  received  that the  group  remained  in  being  for  the  next  11  years  although  there  were  no  restrictions  on  Judith recording  solo  material. Their  Silver  Jubilee  album , issued  in  the  UK  as  "A  Carnival  Of  Hits"   contained  two  new  recordings  "Keep  A  Dream  In  Your  Pocket"   a  Bruce  Woodley  song   which was  released  as  a  single  and  "One  World  Love"   a  co-write  between  Judith  and  Oz-only  pop  star  John  Young.  Both  are  woolly-headed  hymns  to  postivity  that  only  they  could  get  away  with  in  the  nineties.

Judith  took  advantage of  her  regained  popularity  to  release  a  solo  album  the  following  year,  "Let  Me  Find  Love"  which  contained  all  the  songs  she'd  been  working  on  with  Ron  over   the  past  two  decades. Judith  had  at  least  a  hand  in  writing  all  bar  one  of  the  songs.  These  are  mainly  sentimental  ballads  with  glossy  nineties  production  values , a  bit  like  Celine  Dion  with  a  better  voice. I'm  not  saying  Celine  is  a  poor  singer  but  Judith's  voice  had  actually  got  better  over  the  years  acquiring  a  richer  tone. Apart  from  the  ghastly  "We  Must  Teach  Our  Children"   ( a  sick-  making  eco-hymn  with  kiddie  chorus )  it's  a  beautifully  sung  but  rather  bland  offering. It  did  restore  her  to  the  Australian  album  charts.

Just  two  months  after  its  release  Ron  passed  away  after  a  long  battle  with  Motor  Neurone   Disease  and  Judith  has  been  a  patron  of  related  charities  ever  since. Judith  returned  to  England  to record  her  next  album  with  former  Elton  John  producer  Gus  Dudgeon. "Mona  Lisas"  released  in 1996  is  all  covers  and  made  the  UK  album  charts. Judith  sounds  more  comfortable  with  a sympathetic  production  and  interpreting  well-chosen  songs. Her  versions  of  Lesley  Duncan's  "Love Song" , Renaissance's  "Northern  Lights"  and  "The  End  Of  The  World"  are  particularly  good.

1997  was  a  busy  year. The  band  got  a  lucrative  record  deal  for  two new albums  and  a  box  set. That  came  out  first.  "Treasure  Chest"  again  featured  two  new  songs. "Far  Shore"  was  written  by  Flash   and  the  Pan's  Vanda  and  Young  and  released  as  a  single  with  The  Seekers  doing  a  ( not  very  inspired )  video  for  the  first time. The  song  comes  across  as  a  bit  self-congratulatory  but  those  magical  harmonies  flatten  any  opposition. The  Indian-flavoured  "Hey  Hey  Hey"  with  its  tabla  rhythms  and  clumsy  eco-warrior  lyrics  is  best  forgotten.  Judith  then  had  a  duet  hit  with  Air  Supply's  Russell  Hitchcock  doing  Woodley's  song  "I  Am Australian"  and  helping  to  turn  it  into  an  unofficial  national  anthem.

Then  came  the  band's  first  studio  album  for  thirty  years, "Future  Road ".  They  and  producer Charles  Fisher  ( riding  high  with  Savage  Garden  at  the  time ) set  out  to  make  a  "classic"  Seekers  album  that  would  sit  alongside  their  sixties  material  and  within  those  parameters  succeeded. It's  safe  and  cosy  and  there's  a  careful  allocation  of  material  between  the  three  writers  in  the  band  but  really    Judith's  ballad  "It's  Hard  To  Leave"   would  be  the  only  contender  for  a  place  on  a  12  track  Best  Of... compilation. The  album  got  to  number  4  in  Australia  but  for  some  reason  wasn't  released  internationally.

There  seems  to have  been  little  enthusiasm   to  record  a  follow-up. In  2000  Judith  had  a  fall  and  broke  her  hip. She  had  to  sing  "The  Carnival  Is  Over " from  a  wheelchair  at  the  closing  ceremony  of  the  Paralympic  Games. Also  in  that  year  she  re-released  "Let  Me  Find  Love"  as  "Hold  On  To  Your  Dream".

In  2001  she  did  an  ostensible  solo  tour  though  the  other  Seekers  were  there  as  "guests". At  the end  of  the  year  they  fulfilled  their  contract  by  hacking  out  a  Christmas  LP  "Morningtown  Ride  To Christmas"  , almost  certainly  their  last  and  a  tawdry  addition  to  their  catalogue.

In  2002  she  did  a  concert  with  the  Melbourne  Welsh  Male  Voice  Choir  split  between  her  songs and  traditional  Welsh  hymns. It  was  released  as  an  album  shortly  afterwards. In  2003  the  band , amicably  this  time,  decided  to  bring  things  to  a  close  and  marked  it  with  another  compilation  "The  Ultimate  Collection" . This  had  just  one  new  track,  a  marvellous  version  of  "Maasachusetts"  (  which  the  Gibbs  had  been  intending  to  offer  them  in  the  first  place )  which  surpasses  the  original, Judith's  autumnal  voice  tapping  unusual  depths  of  melancholy  in  a  very  familiar  song.

Judith  did  a  solo  tour  to  celebrate  her  60th  birthday  that  year  with  a  well  received  concert  at  the Royal  Festival  Hall  released  on  DVD. She's  in  excellent  voice  but  is  starting  to  look  quite  frail  with thin  arms  and  old  woman's  hands  on  the  keys.

After  that  she  went  into  semi-retirement , making  brief  one-off  appearances  at  ceremonies  until  the release  of  an  a  capella  album  "Up  Close  And  Personal  Volume  1  in  2009  celebrating  the  fact  that her  voice  was  still   more  or  less  intact. She  did  a  one  hour  concert  in  Melbourne  to  further  make the  point. In  2011  she  released  an  LP  of  new  songs,  "Epiphany" . I've  only  heard  the  trailer  for  it  ; her  voice  sounds  in  fine  fettle  but  the  material  sounds  rather  soporific.

That  same  year  she  reunited  with  the  boys  for  some  support  dates  with  Andre  Rieu. This  led  on to plans   for  a  Golden  Jubilee  album  and  tour  and  yet  again  they  went  into  the  studio  to  record  a couple  of  new  tracks  for  the  album. , the  Springfields'  US  hit  "Silver  Threads  And  Golden  Needles" and  the  Beatles  "In  My  Life" . Both  are  pleasant  but  plodding  and  there  are  indications  of  vocal vulnerability  all  round.

The  European  leg  of  the  tour  had  to  be  postponed  in  May  2013  when  Judith  suffered  a  brain  haemorrhage  coming  off  stage  in  Melbourne. However  by  September  she  felt  recovered  enough  to  announce  that  the  tour  would  resume. The  last  date  in  the  UK  was just  last  month  at  the  Royal  Albert  Hall. Contrary  to  some  over-generous  reviewers  Judith's  voice  is  not  what  it  was, some  of  her  range  is  gone  and  the  arrangements  take  heed  of  that,  but  it's  certainly  still  good  enough  to  see  a  full  length  concert  through. Looking  at  Judith  now  in  a  long  wig  and  industrial  quantities  of  make-up,  being  helped  around  the  stage  by  the  blokes, all  still  chipper  ( like  Charlie  Watts  , Keth  Potger  will  still  be  a  good-looking  bloke  if  he  lives  to  be  100 ), you  can't  imagine  they'll  be  back  again  but  you  never  know.


 

171 Goodbye The Mindbenders - The Letter

Chart  entered : 20  September  1967

Chart  peak : 42

Wayne  Fontana's  old  band  now  followed  him  out  of  the  charts.

Having  decided  to  carry  on  without  Wayne, with  guitarist  Eric  Stewart  taking  over  on  vocals, they immediately  scored  big  with  "A  Groovy  Kind  Of  Love"  which  reached  number  2  in  the  UK  and went  one  better  in  the  US.  However  their  self-titled  LP  did  not  follow suit   Two  more  hits   followed  in  1966  but  their  last  two  singles  had  stiffed  and  their  ambitious  second  album  "With Woman  In  Mind "  had  failed  to  improve  on  its  predecessor's  poor  showing. They  also  had  a  couple  of  tracks  on  the  soundtrack  of  To  Sir  With  Love   after  appearing  in  the  film. Prior  to  the  release  of this  single  drummer Ric  Rothwell  left saying  he  was  fed  up  of  touring  and  wanted  a  sports  shop  and  was  replaced  by  Paul  Hancox.

"The  Letter"  was  about  to  hit  the  top  of  the  US  charts  for  the  newly-formed  Box  Tops  and  the  boys  were  perhaps  gambling  they  wouldn't  have a  UK  distribution  deal  fixed  up  yet. The  song  is  an  urgent  pop  classic  about  being  summoned  back  by  your  ex-girlfriend  and  the  original  is  in   a white  soul  vein  distinguished  by  the  young  Alex  Chilton's  husky  tones. The  Mindbenders'  version  is  a  bit  flat  by  comparison ; Stewart's  vocal  sounds  like  he's  playing  it  cool, fine  for  I'm  Not  In  Love  but   less  appropriate  here  and  Graham  Gouldman's  production  is  too  polite. John  Paul  Jones's  arrangement  gives  the  strings  a  more  prominent  place  but  that's  the  only  area  where  it  scores  over  the  original  and  the  public  obviously  agreed.

The  band  then  went  back  to  their  last  album  and  re-recorded  Gouldman's  "Schoolgirl" with  a  new  set  of  lyrics, if  anything  more  explicit  than  before. Young  Graham  really  did  have  a  bee  in  his  bonnet  about  teen  sex  as  this  is  yet  another  song  of  corrupted  innocence with a  storyline  about  a  studious  girl  who  stuffs  things  up  by  getting  knocked  up. I  suspect  it  didn't  get  much  radio  play  which  is  a  shame  because  whatever  your  thoughts  about  the  subject  matter   ( The  Hollies  recorded  it  too  but  decided  not  to  release  it  until  the  1990s )  it's  a  terrific  song. The  heavy  beginning  predicates  The  Green  Manalishi   and  Gouldman  as  producer  works  in  some  exquisite  string  parts  to  bolster  his  unerring  gift  for  pop  melody.

In  February  1968  they  released  "Blessed  Are  The  Lonely"  originally  recorded  by  Robert  Knight which  sounds  like  an  attempt  to  ape  Love  Affair's  big  pop  sound. It's  competent  enough  but   Jones's  orchestral  arrangement  ends  up  swamping  the  band.  At  this  point  bassist   Bob  Lang  bailed out  leaving  Stewart  the  only  original  member. Gouldman  was  invited  on  board   to  replace  him   which  was  surely  a  friendship  thing ; why  else  would  a  successful  songwriter  want  to  hitch  his wagon  to  an  obviously  struggling  band ?  Shortly  afterwards  they  decided  to  expand  to  a  five  piece with  another  guitarist, Graham  Foote  and  a  keyboard  player  Jimmy  O  Neil.

In  fact  there  was  just  one  more  single  to  come  in  August  1968. Gouldman  wrote  "Uncle  Joe  The Ice  Cream  Man" which   fairly  obviously  attempts  to  mine  the  same  seam  of  nostalgic  pathos  as Excerpt  From  A Teenage  Opera  though  Jones, arranging  again,  resists  the  temptation  to  bung  in  a kiddies' chorus.  According  to  Eric, Mick  Jagger  popped  his  head  in  during  the  session  and  told  him  it  was  crap  but  I  think  it's a  decent  swansong.

Gouldman  didn't  enjoy  his  time  with  the  band , later  commenting "They  were  sliding  down, they  were pretty  well  finished  by  the  time  I  joined  them". The  band  were  booked  on  to  a  tour  in  support  of The  Who  in  the  autumn  of  1968. They  announced  their  split  after  the  final  concert.

Eric  Stewart    ( and  Gouldman ) of  course  we  return  to  in  the  reasonably  near  future. There  aren't too  many  musicians  who  clock  up  the  required  number  of  hits  with  two  separate  bands   and  he's almost  certainly  the  first  to  do  it.

Bob  Lang   dropped  out  of  the  music  scene  completely. You  will  find  some  references  on  the  web to  him  being  in  Welsh  one  hit  wonders  Racing  Cars  but  that's  not  true. Nor  is  he  the  same  person as  the  Seattle-based  recording  engineer  Bob  Lang.

Ric  Rothwell  briefly  joined  Manchester  bands  The  Harbour  Lights   and  Tristar  Airbus  after  leaving The  Mindbenders  but  the  trail  has  long  gone  cold.

Paul  Hancox  was  in  a  later  line  up  of  Chicken  Shack  from  1971  to  1973  and  he  can  be  heard on  their  fifth   and  sixth   albums  "Imagination  Lady "  and  " Unlucky  Boy". The  former  is  38  minutes worth  of  heavy  blues  rock  and  Paul  certainly  gets  the  opportunities  to  pummel  his  kit  particularly on  a  six  and  a  half  minute, barely  recognisable  version  of  "If  I  Were  A  Carpenter"  and  the  eleven minute  "Telling  Your  Fortune"  where  his  drum  solo  accounts  for  over  half  that  length. The  latter  LP is  less  self-indulgent  but  mostly  rather  dull.

By  the  time  of  "Unlucky  Boy"'s  release  Paul  had  already  jumped  ship  for  Mungo  Jerry , in  time  to play  on  their  last  Top  5  single,  the  glam  rock  stomper  "Alright, Alright, Alright". By  their  next  single he  was  out   and  he  drops  off  the  radar  until  showing  up  for  Mungo  Jerry's  30th  Anniversary shows  in  2000.

170 Goodbye Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen - When I'm Sixty-Four

Chart  entered :  19  July  1967

Chart  peak : 43

By  the  Summer  of  Love, the  trad  jazz  revival  seemed  a  long  time  ago  and  one  of  its  leading  lights signed  off  with  this  nod  to  what  replaced  it. It  was  his  first  hit  in  three  years.

This  was  a  very  quick  cover;  Sgt  Pepper's  Lonely  Hearts  Club  Band  had  only  been  out  for a month. One  of  the  reasons  Kenny's  boys  could  do  it  quickly  was  that  the  original  already  had  a trad  jazz  arrangement  which  does  raise  the  question  what  the  point  of  this  was. Kenny's  version  is a  little  more  authentic  with  trumpet, trombone  and  tip-tap  drumming  but  his  diffident  vocal  doesn't improve  anything.

Despite   this  relative  success  Kenny's  time  on   Pye  was  drawing  to  a  close. There  were  two  more singles  in  1968,  " I  Wanna  Be  Like  You"  ( from  The  Jungle  Book  of  course )  which  swings  well enough  but  again  would  benefit  from  a  better  singer  and  "Wild  Daffodil"  , written  by  Ron  Grainer  ( best  known  for  the  Dr  Who  theme ) which  is  a  pub  singalong which  sounds  like  Lonnie  Donegan  in novelty  mode.

In  1969  Kenny  switched  to  Fontana  and   in  January  released  a  version  of   the  original  Nirvana's  "1999" . I haven't  heard  Kenny's  record  but  again  the  original  is  a  ragtime  tune  so  it  wouldn't  require  much re-arranging. In  April  the  follow-up  was  "The  Night  They  Raided  Minsky's "  a  burlesque  instrumental  from  a  musical  comedy  film  of  the  same  name  released  the  previous  year. It's  fine  if  you  like  that  sort  of  thing.

By  now  Kenny  was  a  TV  face  appearing  regularly  with  Morecambe  and  Wise  and  Pye  were happy  to  re-sign  him  in  1970. "Shake  Em  Up  And  Let  'Em  Roll"  was  an  old  Lieber  and  Stoller song  which  Kenny  got to  perform  on  The  Morecambe  And  Wise  Show  but  jazz  just  wasn't  selling singles  anymore. Kenny  released  a  long  string  of  singles  on  Pye  going  down  to  1976, none  of  which  I've  heard. I'm  guessing  there  were  no  great  departures  but  who  knows ?

In  1977  his  deal  was  with  Spiral . He  and  the  boys  had  a  new  TV  gig  as  the  house  band  on Saturday  Night  At  The  Mill  and  his  next  release  was  naturally  enough  the  theme  tune, a  good time  rag  tune  with  some  very  uninspired  lyrics. "Palomino  Pony "  from  the  same  year  was  his  only other  single  for  the  label.

Two  years  later  he  popped  up  again  on  Breeze  with  the  single  "Turtle's  Progress". Written  by  Alan Price  it  was  the  theme  tune  to  a  TV  series  of  which  I  have  no  memory  at  all.  In  1980  it  was  the  theme  from  Soap  although  Kenny's  version  isn't  the  one  used  by  the  series.

That  seems  to  have  been  his  final  7  inch. The  following  year  he  played  at  Charles  and  Di's wedding  reception.  The  TV  work  pretty  much  ceased  in  the  mid-eighties  and  thereafter  he  earned his  corn  through  live  work  interspersed  with  the  occasional  LP.  His  wigs  got  progressively  less realistic  as  he  got  older .He  often  appeared  with  his  contemporaries  Chris  Barber  and  Acker  Bilk. and  played  his  last  show  with  them  in  February  last  year, a  fortnight  before  his  death  from pneumonia  aged  82.