Embassy label - The Typhoons - Beatles hits 1963/1964

This month a series of budget cover versions. These records were released mainly between 1960 and 1966, although in the UK the Top Of The Pops series continued deep into the 1970s.
One of the most collectable labels became Embassy. It was the houselabel of British department store Woolworth and their "beat group" were The Typhoons. In fact, there was not such a group as The Typhoons. Their "lead singer" was a session singer called Ray Pilgrim, a former big band singer, who also recorded under dozens of aliases. For the rest The Typhoons were whoever was available for a session in the Oriole studio in New Bond Street (London).
Oriole was taken over by CBS in 1965 and soon after Woolworth decided to stop selling budget records as the standard of living was rapidly rising and people could afford "the real thing".
Ironically CBS revived the Embassy name for a series of budget albums (by the original artists) most of them reissues of CBS albums.

Rating: ***

Discofoon label - The Bottles - Beatles hits 1963 - 1964

There were many Beatles covering "beatgroups" in the 1960s and one of those had the not so original name The Bottles. Records by The Bottles were released on the Discofoon label from The Netherlands (some also were sold on the Belgium market on the Smash label). Discofoon was the houselabel of department store chain Vroom & Dreesmann (V&D). They leased tracks from both the British Embassy label (CBS) and the Top Six label, which was controlled by Pye records in the UK.



The Bottles recordings came from Top Six, but the UK releases were anonymous, so in England nobody knew about The Bottles. Those tracks were also released by the German Pye distributor Deutsche Vogue in an LP series on the POP label called Original Beat aus England (aus=from). Bottles tracks appeared on those LP's under names like The Beat Kings when they were covering the Beatles, but The High Tops sounded conspicuously similar.
The Bottles were one of the best Beatles cover bands at the time. Their version of I wanna be your man beats both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones versions.

Rating: ****

Cannon label - Beatles hits 1963 - 1964

Like Top Six the Cannon label released six track EP's. The Cannon label was set up by Australian Allan Crawford in the early Sixties. Crawford also worked together with Ronan O'Rahilly in setting up Radio Caroline and was involved in music publishing company Southern Music. This label has become the rarest of all the budget cover labels as future star singer / songwriter / producer John Carter sang on a lot of the tracks. Carter (under contract to Southern Musci) sang in Carter/Lewis & the Southerners (with Jimmy Page on guitar) and The Ivy League, then proceeded to write/sing/produce hits under aliases like The Flower Pot Men (with his Ivy League partner Ken Lewis), Kincade (Dreams are ten a penny) and First Class (Beach Baby). He also co-wrote Mary Hopkins's Eurovision entry Knock knock who's there and sang the hit Winchester Cathedral. Between 1962 and 1964 he recorded for Cannon under such names as Frank Bacon, The Baconeers, The Bell Boys and The Sparrows, concentrating on hits by The Beatles, Gerry & the Pacemakers and Freddie & the Dreamers. In 2010 the RPM label released two download only albums with tracks sung by Carter (digitized from records from Carter's private collection) from which a six track Beatles compilation included here.

Rating: ****

Fonodisc label - Beatles hits 1964 - 1965

The label I know the least about is Fonodisc (confusing: Discofoon and Fonodisc). The Beatles hits were covered here by The Stars. Where the recordings came from remains a mystery. The pronunciation of the lyrics sounds British, but the audio quality of the records is tinny. Obviously these recordings were made with less professional musicians. The Extended Play records (4 tracks) were also relatively expensive at Hfl. 3,95 (the same price of a regular single), but they had stylish full colour sleeves with ladies in cocktail dresses or dancing teenagers and they were sold in sealed plastic outer sleeves in supermarkets and petrol stations.

Rating: **

You really got me b/w It's alright by The Kinks (Pye 7 N 15673)

I missed this one when it originally came out, somewhere in the summer of 1964 as I wasn't buying records yet. Obtaining an "envelope" copy became harder and harder over the years. Recently saw a documentary about British heavy metal on the BBC and this was mentioned as the beginning of heavy metal. Well, the riff is unmistakably heavy, but to call this metal? I never understood the comparison between You really got me and Louie Louie: the riffs are so far apart that a comparison is hardly possible. Louie Louie hasn't even got a real "riff" in the correct sense, it's more of a chord progression. I guess it was Ray Davies himself who mentioned the influence of Louie Louie on You really got me, but he also explained that the latter started out as a jazzy song. It was Dave's messing with his speakers (he used to cut little tears in them with a razor blade) that made the sound of this record.
Rating: *****

Pwd: bombersongs

Cadillac b/w Bad Bad Boy by The Renegades (Artone SM 25.288)

This month four non songs that charted in 1965/1966. What is a non song? In essence a song without much substance in both musical and lyrical content. The first one is Cadillac by the Renegades, a Birmingham band, who originally recorded this for Polydor in the UK in late 1964. It was basically a slow version of Vince Taylor's Brand New Cadillac (later covered by such luminaries as The Clash and The Downliners Sect), but without the distinctive guitar riff that made the original so appealing. The Renegades' members, Kim Brown, Dennis Gibson, Ian Mallet and Graham Johnson, just put their name under the composition as if they'd written the song, but if there ever was a case of plagiarism this was one. The Renegades somehow ended up doing a televised show in Finland and became the next beat sensation over there, bigger than The Beatles. Cadillac became a #1 hit in Finland. Strangely enough their record didn't start selling outside Finland until Swedish band The Shamrocks had covered it and they hit the Swedish Top 10. Backed by record company Polydor the Shamrocks' version started selling in Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands, although the Renegades' version was far superior. A series of cover versions of the cover version (Shamrocks covered Renegades) of the cover version (Renegades covered Vince Taylor) followed by Dutch band The Phantoms, Swedish band The Hep Stars (with Benny from Abba on organ) and Dutch band De Maskers, who arguably had the best version called Brand New Cadillac, probably not because they were aware of Vince Taylor's original, but because they'd already released an instrumental called Cadillac. But their version was not helped by the fact that they were on the same label -Artone- as The Renegades.
Rating: ****

Balla Balla b/w Ju Ju Hand by The Rainbows (CBS 2117)

Of the four non songs here this is the ultimate non song of the 60's. It was "composed" by producer Horst Lippok who had German band The Rainbows record it. Like with Cadillac a series of covers followed. Of those covers the version by Chubby Checker and Dutch band De Maskers was the most interesting. When Checker was confronted with the song he was about to record, he was apparently appalled by the non song level of the composition and decided to write some extra verses to get the song out of the non song category. He didn't succeed, but his version is the best of the bunch. Manchester beat band The Scorpions (not to be confused with the Battersea instrumental combo or the later German 'Wind of Change' hard rockers) made an absolute mess of it. But ultimately to make a non song even more of a non event was an achievement in itself, so their version should be regarded "the most successful".
Rating: **

Hanky Panky b/w Thunderbolt by Tommy James & the Shondells (Roulette RL 45.232)

Third non song is Hanky Panky by Tommy James & the Shondells. Strangely out of place American rock & roll from the pre-Beatles era when it was a hit in 1965. But it made sense since this was recorded early 1964 by a 16-year old Tommy James and his Shondells when some American bands were not aware yet that The Beatles had changed rock music forever. By the time Hanky Panky became a hit the Shondells had long since broken up and did not wish to rejoin Tommy. James then hired a Pittsburgh band named The Raconteurs to become the "new" Shondells. Hanky Panky was a Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich song, which was originally recorded by The Raindrops, but it was not much of a song. A simple twelve-bar relying heavily on the My baby does the Hanky Panky repetitiveness.
*

Michelle b/w Girl by The Beatles (Parlophone HHR 139)

Two beautiful ballads from Rubber Soul on one single. After the single We can work it out b/w Day tripper, which was strangely dominated by Paul McCartney, Dutch record company Bovema decided to give Lennon a b-side here. This was released when the cover version by the Overlanders started rising in the Top 40. Messy chart practices of the 1960s counted different versions of the same song together, thus Michelle reached the top spot when the sales of the Beatles and The Overlanders singles (and to a lesser extent the version by David & Jonathan) were added together. This prevented the Golden Earrings from becoming the first Dutch band to have a number hit with That day. They would have to wait more than two years to reach the top of the charts. Needless to say that after the release of the Beatles original the Overlanders' version hardly sold another copy.
Rating: *****

That day b/w The words I need by The Golden Earrings (Polydor International 421 023)

This band became world famous in the 1970s with Radar Love, by which time they'd dropped the s from their name. But in the 1960s they were quite an eclectic pop group. They started out with strong Beatles influences, from 1967 they seemed to be mainly influenced by The Who, but they also did excursions into folk rock (Daddy buy me a girl) and bubblegum (Dong dong diki diki dong). In the late 60s they changed to hard rock (the album Eight miles high) and continue to this day as the most successful and most enduring band of the 1960s wave.
This single was recorded in London and that was clear from the intro. This single sounded much better than most Dutch pop productions until then. This single reached #2 in the Top 40, only narrowly missing out on being the first Dutch band to reach the top of the charts. That fate was in store for the rather silly Dong dong diki diki dong in 1968.
Rating: ****

Baldheaded woman b/w Lonesome town by The Hep Stars (Polydor International 421 007)

Dutch band the JayJays had released a single in January 1966 comprising two songs from the Kinks' debut album: Baldheaded woman b/w So mystifying. I managed to get both songs in the 1966 winter sale on two separate singles by Swedish band the Hep Stars. Their star was lead singer Svenne Hedlund, but little did I know it would be their keyboard player Benny Andersson who would rise to world fame in the 1970's with Abba. In hindsight their version of Baldheaded woman was a bit lame. The b-side, a Ricky Nelson song later covered by Paul McCartney, showed they were better at ballads.
Rating: **

No response b/w So mystifying by The Hep Stars (Polydor International 421 014)

Again a bit of a lame cover compared to The Kinks' original (I actually went out and bought the Kinks debut album when it was released in the budget Golden Guinea series to get the originals of Baldheaded woman and So mystifying). Later in 1966 the Hep Stars had an international hit with Sunny girl, written by Benny Andersson. That was clearly more their niche.
Rating: **

"Till the end of the day" b/w "Where have all the good times gone" by The Kinks (PYE 7N15981)

The Kinks hardly seemed to make singles that were NOT good. I guess only "Everybody's gonna be happy" was a miss, but they were one of my favourite groups. I bought their first album when it came out in the budget Golden Guinea series, but this was their first single I owned. That was partly due to the great B-side, which could have been a hit in its own right. Until 1967 "Where have all the good times gone" was part of the repertoire of just about every "beat group" in my hometown. I didn't seem to date as quickly as other songs did. Still sounds great today.........
Rating: *****

P/w: bomber

Lucille b/w Now decide by The Rivets (Star-Club Records 148 510 STF)

During the summer sale of 1965 I was on holiday abroad and ultimately ended up in a department store in the city of Lörrach in the south of Germany where they had a discount record sale. The Germans were really slow in following trends in those days. I wanted to buy the latest Beatles single "Help!" which had been a number one when I left home, but it hadn't even been released in Germany yet! I went back to the camping with a cheap "live" LP by a group called The Ravers full of covered 1963/1964 hits and a single by German group The Rivets. The latter cost me just one Deutschmark and it contained a nice version of Little Richard's "Lucille" done Everly Brothers style, but more "beat". And it was of course on the Star-Club label, which I associated with The Beatles in their Hamburg-days.
The Ravers later turned out to be a group called The Tonics, who used the pseudonym to record for the cheapo TIP label. Amazingly the LP I bought in 1965 (and which I later bought again for a huge sum in order to digitize it) was released on cd: "Twist mit den Ravers"!
Rating: **

No reply b/w Rock And Roll Music by The Beatles (Parlophone HHR 136)

The Americans always "milked" albums for singles and unlike the UK many countries on the European continent copied the American releases. This happened with the single "Eight days a week"/"Baby's in black". Soon after that this one was "released by public demand": the great opener of the latest Beatles album "Beatles for sale". Of course it went straight to #1.
Rating: *****

I want to hold your hand EP (extended play) by The Beatles (Odeon MOE 3746)

I fell in love with The Beatles when I heard "I want to hold your hand" for the first time late 1963. But not having a record player buying records seemed a silly thing to do. In the spring of 1965 the single wasn't available in the shops anymore, but there was this French import EP (7 inch record with four tracks) available. Not strictly speaking a single, but always good value as the price was less than double of that of a single. EP's also always came in wonderful picture sleeves in cardboard covers like mini-albums. This one contained
I want to hold your hand
It won't be long
I wanna be your man
Till there was you
Pity they didn't replace "I wanna be your man" with the original flipside of the single "This boy" as "Man" is one of the weakest Beatles songs (and mainly sung by Ringo, clearly the least of the four vocalists). But "It won't be long" was The Beatles at their best with those almost hysterical "yeah yeah" questions & answers between John (who did the lead vocal) and Paul & George. It remains one of my favourite Beatles songs of all time, so to play it just after "I want to hold your hand" was always a joy. "Till there was you" was a good opportunity to prove to my parents The Beatles could really sing and play.
Rating: *****

It's all over now b/w Good times, bad times by The Rolling Stones (Decca AT 15024)

I never went for the Beatles / Stones battle. For me there was no comparison, so I bought what I liked by both beat groups. Surprisingly my father loved It's all over now, so it was safe to buy this single even if it was a few months old. In those days it was so important to be up-to-date and have the latest hits. Six months ago was old hat. It also had to do with the rapidly changing styles in the 1960's.
I liked this single better than the Stones hit at the time The last time. The flipside had an out-of-tune 12-string acoustic, a trademark of the Stones' early ballads. But they were more about a sound and atmospheric recordings than about musical perfection.
Rating: ****

I feel fine b/w She's a woman by The Beatles (Parlophone R 5200)

So at Christmas 1964 my grandfather sent me some Canadian dollars and I was able to buy the new Beatles single. After the beautiful "A hard day's night" trilogy the picture sleeve was a bit of a let down: a very "old" picture of the band (looks like late 1962) and a hazy one at that. But the music was all the better: from the feedback intro of I feel fine to the rave-up fade-out of She's a woman.
Rating: *****

If I fell b/w And I love her by The Beatles (Parlophone HHR 130)

My first single late 1964: If I fell b/w And I love her by The Beatles. In the USA this coupling was reversed it seems, but it was a close call. Two beautiful ballads, John's If I fell and Paul's And I love her. A good way of sneaking some beat music into the house without complaints from my parents. This was at #1 at the time. It was the third part of a trilogy that small company Stibbe released in identical picture sleeves with different supporting colours: A hard day's night - Things we said today in red, I should have known better - Tell me why in green and If I fell - And I love her in blue. This series of three became collector's items as If I fell was the last Beatles single to be released under the monicker of Parlophone-Stibbe. Big record company Bovema had obtained the distribution rights of EMI records and they put their name on the sleeves of the next releases (I think Bovema bought Stibbe and the old Mr Henk Stibbe, 80 by then, retired).
Rating: *****