Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Vinyl Obscurities - Pye label

I was never a great fan of the UK Pye label of the 1960s. Yes there was Lonnie Donegan and the Kinks, but there was also a lot of rubbish released on the label and some successful, but rather run of the mill acts such as the Searchers, the Honeycombs, Petula Clark and Emile Ford. So finding some interesting 45s for my Vinyl Obscurities was not easy, and as a result there are just four this time. They are all interesting in their way and worth a listen on Youtube.
1. The Blue Rondos - Little Baby/ Baby I Go For You. Released in 1964. Mint value £40.
I found this in a batch of cheap 45s in a charity shop last week and was definitely impressed. It's a really classy Joe Meek-produced freakbeat double sider by a short-lived North London band. The B side has a great punk feel to it. They reformed in the 1990s for some Joe Meek tribute shows. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAmexbix9es  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75_-6hAqoig

2. Tony Jackson & the Vibrations - Bye Bye baby/ Warch Your Step. Released in 1964. Mint value £25.
Tony was bass guitarist with the Searchers and also vocalist on the band's first two hits but left in acrimonious circumstances and formed the Vibrations. This, their first release, featured two cover versions - of the Mary Wells song on the A side and the Bobby Parker number on the flip. Tony died in 2003.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFJUc_dkF5I

3. The Riot Squad - I Wanna Talk About My baby/ Gonna Make You Mine. Released in 1965. Mint value £55.
The main claim to fame of this London band, managed by Larry Page, was that David Bowie became a member a couple of years after this record was recorded. This earlier version included among its members Graham Bonney, who had a hit in 1966 with Super Girl.  There's a Joe Meek connection with the band as well - apparently.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uSKCBTrflc

4. Paul Brett Sage - 3D Mona Liza/ Mediterranean Heat Wave. Released in 1970. Mint value £15.
This psychedelic effort was by a guitarist who also played with the Strawbs, Overlanders, Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera, Tintern Abbey, Roy Harper and Lonnie Donegan, among others. He later wrote for music magazines and has appeared on Antiques Road Show and Flog It.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHsGpPPalHM

1 Comments:

At 8:56 pm , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hello Nick. I must get a copy of the Blue Rondos. I know the A side but the flip is a real revelation.
John S

 

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