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This Page features Dando Shaft,The Flying Machine,
The Peeps,Paul Arnold,Indian Summer,The Liberators,
The Pickwicks
817 hits
DANDO SHAFT
ROGER BULLEN bs
DAVE COOPER gtr, vcls
KEVIN DEMPSEY gtr, vcls
MARTIN JENKINS vcls, mandolin,
TED KAY perc
POLLY BOLTON vcls
ROD CLEMENTS bs PAUL DUNMAL sax TOMMY KEARTON keyb'ds JON STEVENS drms
DANNY THOMPSON bs
ALBUMS:
1(A)AN EVENING WITH DANDO SHAFT (Youngblood SSYB 6) 1970 R1
2(B) DANDO SHAFT (RCA Neon NE 5) 1971 R1
3(C) LANTALOON (w/ poster) (RCA Victor SF 8256) 1972 R2
4(D) KINGDOM (Rubber RUB 034) 1977 SC
NB: (1) released on Decca (75217) in the US. Reaping The Harvest (See For Miles SEE 291) 1990 includes all their second album and highlights from the third. Alternatively Early Dando Shaft (In Respect 847 446) 1994 compiles (1) and (2) on one CD. (2) reissued on CD (Repertoire REP 4470-WP) 1994 with four bonus cuts.
45s:
1 Cold Wind/Cat Song (Youngblood YB 1012) 1970
2 Sun Clog Dance/This Gift (RCA RCA 2246) 1972
Starting as a five-piece folk-band, Dando Shaft initiated a completely unique mixture of acoustic folk (none of the instruments are electrically amplified!) with driving rhythms and impeccable inventive musicianship. The lyrics are largely concerned with the relationship between man and nature, resulting in song-titles such as Rain, Cold Wind and September Wine as the first three tracks on their first album. They marvel in complicated structures and textures and are able to weave very intricate patterns, especially between mandolin (played in a highly original manner), guitar and violin. Very characteristic is also the combination of hand-beaten percussion and double-bass. After a change of label they acquired the services of a female singer, Polly Bolton, who had a pure and very expressive voice. Their second album brings in some elements of Bulgarian folk-music (asymmetrical time-measures) but is very much stamped by Polly's vocals and superb original compositions such as Whispering Ned, a rather funny drug-song and above all the achingly beautiful Riverboat. Preoccupation with travelling becomes discernable in Railway (a live favourite) and Kallyope Driver. After Neon folded they made another album on RCA, very much continuing in the same direction, although not as good as their previous effort. Road Song is another pulsating travel-song and Black Prince Of Paradise equals any track on the second album. Rumour has it, that another album was recorded for RCA, but due to lack of commercial success it never saw the light of day. Some seven years later some kind of reunion was attempted, but with the usual ambiguous results. Nevertheless, the magic returned for full on Stroller In The Air, an excellent composition and, at least partly, on Trees, a deceptively simple track with great atmosphere. Judging from a BBC Transcription disc, they were also a good live band. All their albums are worth investigation.
The Flying Machine ---- Smile a little smile
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THE FLYING MACHINE
STUART COLEMAN bs A
STEVE JONES ld gtr, vcls A
SAM KEMPE vcls A
TONY NEWMAN vcls A
PAUL WILKINSON drms A
This was a studio project of songwriters Tony Macauley and Geoff Stevens. The touring group featured Tony Newman as lead vocalist. He and the other members (except Wilkinson) had earlier been in Pinkerton's Assorted Colours (later known as simply Pinkerton's).
Sequel's double CD retrospective Flight Recorder compiles everything that they recorded for Pye between '67 - '71, plus sixteen previously unreleased cuts including demos of their Decca hits as Pinkerton's Assorted Colours.
Compilation appearances have included: Smile a Little Smile for Me on Paisley Pop - Pye Psych (& Other Colours) 1966-1969 (CD); The Flying Machine on Rubble, Vol. 7 - Pictures In The Sky (LP); Hey Little Girl and Smile A Little Smile For Me on Ripples, Vol. 7 (CD).
The Flying Machine is best known for its major hit single in 1969, "Smile A Little Smile For Me", which peaked at number 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart (on Kapp Records' Congress record label). By 12 December that year they had sold a million copies of the record, and it was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. [1] The song was penned by the songwriting pairing of Tony Macauley and Geoff Stevens. Oddly, despite originating from the other side of the Pond, the record had no presence at all on the UK Singles Chart, despite its initial release there on Pye Records.
A follow-up single, a cover version of "Baby Make It Soon", first recorded by Marmalade, scraped the U.S. Hot 100 the following year, but the group, somewhat ungratefully, grew frustrated with their pop-oriented style. A final single, "The Devil Has Possession Of Your Mind", suggested a change of direction, but the Flying Machine split up following its release.[1]
The bulk of the outfit started their musical career under the title of Pinkerton's Assorted Colours.
Bassist Colman went on to a successful career as a session musician, record producer and BBC Radio disc jockey
The Peeps
45s:
1Now Is The Time/Got Plenty Of Love (Philips BF 1421) 1965
2What Can I Say?/Don't Talk About Love(Philips BF 1443) 1965
3Gotta Get A Move On/I Told You Before(Philips BF 1478) 1966
4Tra La La/Loser Wins (Philips BF 1509) 1966
This band were also known as Martin Cure and The Peeps. Now Is The Time is quite a catchy beat number but their subsequent efforts were more soul-pop in style. They came from Coventry.
Compilation appearances include: Now Is The Time on English Freakbeat, Vol. 5 (LP & CD); Gotta Get A Move On on Echoes From The Wilderness - Sixteen UK R&B Freakbeat Trippers. (LP & CD).
Paul Arnold
45s:
1Somewhere In A Rainbow/Got A Feeling(Pye 7N 17317) 1967
2Bon Soir Dame/Don't Leave (Pye 7N 17473) 1968
This Wolston-based singer had previously been in The Overlanders. These 45s are beat ballads.
Compilation appearances include: Somewhere In A Rainbow and Got A Feeling on Ripples, Vol. 6 (CD).
Band member Paul Arnold Friswell was born in the village of Bretford, near Rugby, on August 18, 1942.
His early musical influences included Buddy Holly, Little Richard and Fats Domino.
But it wasn't too long before the skiffle boom took hold and all eyes were on Lonnie Donegan and his hybrid form of entry-level rock music.
Paul said: "I loved Lonnie's sound. It was so vibrant, and exciting and it was his sound that made me ask my dad to buy me a guitar. "I was about 14, and I was basically a front-room kid in the middle of Warwickshire, playing guitar and writing songs with no preconceived ideas.
"A friend of my mother's had a niece and she came up to stay in the holidays.
"They thought we would be company for each other - we became friends. She told me that she had a friend at school in London, whose dad was a manager. 'Record a tape and I'll get it to him', she said.
"Two months later I had a phone call 'can you come down to see us'!
"The man in question was Harry Hammond, a famous photographer for the New Musical Express, who had branched out into management."
Paul went to London in 1962 and met two other hopefuls - Peter Bartholomew and Laurie Mason - who were already performing as a duo named Peter and Laurie.
Manager Harry felt duos were becoming passé, hence the addition of Paul.
They sang together as a trio, and their voices seemed to gel - The Overlanders were born.
"I moved to London," said Paul. "In the day we all had temporary jobs like selling sheet music. At night we would rehearse for hours.
"We made an independent pop record called Looking Around.
"Just as we were about to release it, we got a phone call about this new band with a new sound that was going to change the face of popular music.
"It was of course The Beatles and Love Me Do. When we heard it we understood what they meant.
"We had a discussion, and decided we should go down another avenue.
The trio were always well rehearsed, and their recording sessions were slick and professional.
They released nine singles - none charted in the UK, but they all made a profit for the company and four of them entered the lower reaches of The American Billboard 100.
But The Overlanders and their management were becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of chart success in their own country.
Pye felt the pressure too and decided to pull out all the stops for the next single.
"It was just after Christmas," remembers Paul.
"We were booked to do the German beat clubs, but were told by our manager he was coming up with the new single that we had to learn and record before we did the German tour.
"It was a Beatles' number Michelle - taken from the Rubber Soul LP.
"We didn't think it was hit material. By this time the band had taken on drummer David Walsh and bass player Terry Widlake, though they would always augment the band, but would not be full members.
"We made the single, and had the most horrendous time in Germany.
"On our return we all went around to the manager to tell him that we were packing it in, we had all had enough.
"He told us that we might want to reconsider - Michelle had just gone into the charts at number 15!
"We all reconsidered of course, and the next week we were number one in Britain and all over Europe.
"So it all began, and much of that time becomes a blur.
"I do recall we did five Top Of The Pops in a row, the London Palladium and Ready, Steady Go."
I asked Paul, who now lives in Rugby, and still loves doing the occasional live gig: 'Did the Beatles ever comment on their slightly folky version?'
"I have no idea," he replied. "I do recall I was once asked what I thought of the Beatles' version - I foolishly said that it was very nice, but it slowed down a bit towards the end.
"I wasn't criticising, just being honest.
"Next week I was a front-page headline in the New Musical Express - Paul Arnold says the Beatles' version is no good, or something like that.
"I got death threats!
"Despite that, it was great time, a very busy time but we all felt the pressure, and I knew I couldn't sustain the pace of the work.
"We followed it up with another Beatles song, In My Life, but it bombed.
"Some of the band wanted to move away from the folk sound then.
"I felt we couldn't cut it as a beat band so I left.
"By 1967 the Overlanders were no more. Though I have reformed them a couple of times.
"As for the term One Hit Wonder, that's fine by me - it was a great adventure."
THE OVERLANDERS OVERLANDERS MICHELLE
YESTERDAY'S GONE
INDIAN SUMMER
Personnel:
MALCOLM HARKER bs, vibes, vcls A
PAUL HOOPER drms, perc, vcls A
BOB JACKSON keyb'ds, ld vcls A
COLIN WILLIAMS gtr, vcls A
ALBUM:
1(A) INDIAN SUMMER(RCA Neon NE 3) 1971 R1
NB: (1) has been counterfeited and also reissued on CD (Repertoire REP 4257-WP) 1993.
A keyboard-driven progressive band from Coventry. Some tracks are quite pleasant but there is a tendency for them to be over-long and sometimes a little monotonous.
Bob Jackson became a member of Badfinger.
For more information check the following website: http://members.aol.com/UHEEP2/is.html
Personnel:
BARRIE BERNARD bs
SAM 'WIDGE' KEMP vcls
TOM LONG ld gtr A
TONY NEWMAN gtr A
JOHN WALLBANK drms
45:
1.It Hurts So Much/You Look So Fine(Stateside SS 424) 1965
A Rugby-based band who later became Pinkerton's Assorted Colours. This 45 was produced by Shel Talmy
The Pickwicks:
Larry Page managed group from Coventry, previously calling themselves the 'Echo Four'. Their final single allegedly has Jimmy Page playing on it.
Decca F11901 1964 Apple Blossom Time/ I Don't Wanna Tell You Again
Decca F11957 1964 You're Old Enough/ Hello Lady
Warner Bros. WB151 1965 Little By Little/ I Took My Baby Home
Of all the bands that came out of Coventry in the 60’s it’s the Pickwicks that are the most celebrated for their superb freakbeat music and unforgettable image.
With top hats, frock coats and even stick-on whiskers they rocked the likes of the Orchid Ballroom with a selection of beat classics including Apple Blossom Time and Hello Lady.
The guys began life as Tony Martin and the Echo Four, finally re-invented as The Pickwicks under the watchful eye of the flamboyant Manager Larry Page.
Page said recently: "The costume brigade were definitely The Pickwicks and we had them dressed up in frock coats with top hats at the ready.
"Great little band and they came in all shapes and sizes, and as I'm dictating this I can see them in my mind's eye. We did some very good records with them".
The Pickwicks (John Miles, Malc Jenkins & Alan Gee
Facts on The Pickwicks
Their record Little By little is valued at £60 in mint condition, mainly because most people believe Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin fame 'sessioned' on it. In fact it was a guitarist named Harry Friar.
They released three great singles in their career, with three even better B-sides, one of their B-sides "I Took my baby home" was written by the Kinks Ray Davies.
The guys stopped wearing their famous frock coats simply because they couldn’t find anywhere to get them properly cleaned.
Drummer Malc Jenkins once did a magazine fashion shoot with none other than Cilla Black. Malc was in full Pickwicks gear and Cilla in her best Mary Quant
