Sylvia McNeill - Be My Friend (1974)

Sylvia McNeill was born on 5 August 1947 in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, and began her career singing and playing bass guitar with various groups and bands. As well as being a bass player for Leapy Lee, she recorded as a solo vocalist from 1969 to 1975, on the RCA, Bell, and United Artists labels, with her first single, 'The Recipe', appearing on the RCA Victor label in 1969. That was followed by the Richard Kerr composition 'That's Alright By Me' later that year, and Jim Ford's 'Ugly Man' in 1970, backed with a nice version of Joni Mitchell's 'Chelsea Morning'.  A cover of Free's 'Be My Friend' was her last single on RCA Victor, moving to Bell Records in June 1971 for 'A Step In The Right Direction' and 'My Love Won't Fade Away With Time'. In 1972 she recorded 'I Don't Know How To Love Him' from the 'Jesus Christ Superstar' musical, which was released as by Sylvie McNeill on the United Artist label, and which she performed on The Benny Hill Show on 23 February 1972. As well as her recording career, she was a sought-after act to appear on TV variety shows, and in one 18-month period, she made over 30 appearances on television, including The Benny Hill Show, The Dave Allen Show, The Morecambe & Wise Show, The Simon Dee Show, The Dick Emery Show, Roger Whittaker's World Of Music, The Golden Shot, Anglia Television's Glamour '70 series, and her own eight-week series for Grampian Television. In addition to her own recordings, she sang on the track 'Anne Boleyn'/'The Day Thou Gavest Lord Hath Ended' for Rick Wakeman's 1973 album, 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII', and was session backing singer for Rod Stewart on his 1972 recording of 'What's Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me)'. In 1971, she acted in Emil Dean Zoghby and Ray Pohlman's musical, 'Catch My Soul', at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London, and has also appeared as a soloist in cabaret throughout the UK, and as a band with husband/guitarist Mike McNeill and son, drummer Mark McNeill. This post collects together the best of her recordings from the early 70's, and shows why she was so in demand for TV appearance during that period of her career. 

Track listing

01 The Recipe (single 1969)
02 Save Me, Save Me (b-side of 'The Recipe')
03 That's Alright By Me (single 1969)
04 Catch A Robber By The Toe (b-side of 'That's Alright By Me')
05 Ugly Man (single 1970)
06 Chelsea Morning (b-side of 'Ugly Man')
07 It's Too Good, Good (single 1970)
08 It's Gettin' Harder (b-side of 'It's Too Good, Good')
09 Be My Friend (single 1971)
10 Step In The Right Direction (single 1971)
11 Running Out Of Bridges To Cross (b-side of 'Step In The Right Direction')
12 My Love Won't Fade Away With Time (single 1971)
13 I've Still Got My Heart Joe (b-side of 'My Love Won't Fade Away With Time')
14 If I Try For Sure (single 1973)
15 Good Thing (b-side of 'If I Try For Sure')
16 Brown Eyes (single 1974)
17 Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues (b-side of 'Brown Eyes')