Elkie Brooks - Hello Stranger (1974)

Elaine Bookbinder was born on 25 February 1945 in Salford, north west England, and raised in nearby Prestwich, coming from a musical family, with her father being a local bandleader and one of her brothers, Tony, going on to become the drummer for Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas (under the name Tony Mansfield). After leaving school in 1960, she headed for London, where she performed with the Eric Delaney Band and jazz musician Humphrey Lyttelton, for a while using the stage name Elaine Mansfield, before finally deciding on Elkie Brooks. After passing an audition, Don Arden became her manager, and he saw her as a kind of Mancunian answer to Brenda Lee, though her voice had yet to develop the husky tones she would later be known for. In 1964 she landed a recording contract with Decca, and one of the first things that label bosses did was to send her off to Belgium, to take part in the Knokke Cup, competing against the likes of Germany's Ria Bartok and the Netherlands' Rita Hovink and Trea Dobbs. Back in the UK, she recorded her fist single 'Something's Got A Hold On Me', which was issued in June 1964, but as the gospel into of the song - a cover of a two-year-old single by US soul singer Etta James - was not a sound that British record buyers were overly familiar with, the record sank. 'Nothing Left To Do But Cry' was issued as the follow-up in September, with Brooks promoting the single in earnest, including making her debut television appearance, and although it wasn't a hit, the track has gone on to become a Northern soul dance favourite. She gained further live experience by appearing on pop package tours alongside groups such as The Animals, and in late 1964 she supported The Beatles on tour, with The Yardbirds, Freddie and the Dreamers and others. 

In 1965 Decca released a version of The Temptations' 'The Way You Do The Things You Do', but when this didn't provide the hoped-for breakthrough hit she was dropped by Decca and moved to the HMV label. Her first record for the new label was 'He's Gotta Love Me' in early 1965, and it's generally considered one of her finest recordings of the period, with this being followed by a cover of the Leslie Gore tune 'All My Life' in October. In February 1966 'Baby Let Me Love You' became her final single for HMV, leaving the label after feeling that the material she recorded for them was meaningless and having no depth. Her disappointment when she joined Brian Epstein’s NEMS record label in 1969 must therefore have been palpable, with a third-placed song in that years A Song For Europe being chosen as the A-side of her first single for the label. 'Come September' was certainly a change in style, but it was better than performing in cabaret in a succession of northern clubs, which is what she'd been doing between leaving HMV and signing with NEMS. Just one further single was issued on NEMS in 1969, with 'Groovie Kinda Love' being credited to Elki And Owen And The Rim Ram Band, before she met and married Pete Gage the following year, and the two of them formed the rock-fusion band Dada. With the addition of Robert Palmer they changed their name to Vinegar Joe, and achieved a certain notoriety for the sexual chemistry they displayed in their live performances, with the band also going on to record a number of well-received albums. After Vinegar Joe split in 1974, Brooks signed with A&M Records, and in 1977 she finally scored her first international hit single with 'Pearl's A Singer', and she hasn't looked back since. To see how she got there, just listen to these early singles and hear that the talent was always there, if only the public had taken notice a little sooner.

Track listing

01 Something's Got A Hold On Me (single 1964)
02 Hello Stranger (b-side of 'Something's Got A Hold On me')
03 Nothing Left To Do But Cry (single 1964)
04 Strange Tho' It Seems (b-side of 'Nothing Left To Do But Cry')
05 The Way You Do The Things You Do (single 1965)
06 Blue Tonight (b-side of 'The Way You Do The Things You Do')
07 He's Gotta Love Me (single 1965)
08 When You Appear (b-side of 'He's Gotta Love Me')
09 All Of My Life (single 1965)
10 Can't Stop Thinking Of You (b-side of 'All Of My Life')
11 Baby Let Me Love You (single 1966)
12 Stop The Music (b-side of 'Baby Let Me Love You')
13 Groovie Kinda Love (single with Owen And The Rim Ram Band 1969)
14 Come September (single 1969)
15 Rescue Me (single 1974)
16 Lady Of The Rain (b-side of 'Rescue Me')

Andee Silver - Sterling Silver (1972)

Andrea Hilary Silverstein (aka Andee Silver) was born on 12 May 1951 in London, and is a singer and actress, best known for her acting role in the 1968 film 'The Libertine', although before that she had recorded a number of singles for HMV and Decca, with her 1964 debut 'Too Young To Go Steady' being perhaps her best-known recording. She also released the terrific 'You’re Just What I Was Looking For' in 1969, but inbetween those two stompers, a lot of her music was aimed at the foreign market. She married record producer David Pardo, who produced a number of singles for his brother Juan Pardo in the 60's, and so as he knew the Spanish music scene he tried to establish Silver in Spain and Italy by getting her to record a number of Spanish and Italian language singles, some of which were released in the UK on the Decca label. Because a lot of her songs were not specifically for the UK or American market, even though she did release the 'A Handful Of Silver' album in the UK in 1970, she is often unfairly overlooked when lists of the best UK girl singers of the 60's are compiled, but I hope that this collection shows that she deserves to be up there with the best of them.

Track listing

01 Too Young To Go Steady (single 1964)
02 Sleeping Beauty (b-side of 'Too Young To Go Steady')
03 A Boy I Used To Know (single 1964)
04 What Do You Do (b-side of 'A Boy I Used To Know')
05 Only Your Love Can Save Me (single 1966)
06 L'Amore Dice Ciao (single, theme from the film 'The Libertine' 1968)
07 Te Quiero, I Love You (single 1969)
08 You're Just What I Was Looking For Today (single 1969)
09 No Digas Nada (single 1969)
10 Qualcuno Ti Ama (Love Me) (single 1969)
11 You're Breaking My Heart (single 1970)
12 Soledades (single 1971)
13 Mina Terra (single 1972)
14 Jimmy (b-side of 'Mina Terra')
15 Non C'e Domani (single 1972) 

Julie Driscoll - Stay Away From Me (1969)

Julie Driscoll was born on 8 June 1947 in London, and her first taste of the music business was when she was employed by producer/manager Giorgio Gomelsky as administrator of the Yardbirds' fan club in the early 60's. Spotting something about her, Gomelssy suggested a singing career, and her first single was 'Take Me By The Hand', which was recorded with The Harold Geller Group and released on the Columbia label in 1963. Two years later she released 'Don't Do It No More', and the following year saw a cover of The Lovin' Spoonful's 'I Didn't Want To Have To Do It'. In 1967 she recorded an early Randy Newman composition 'If You Should Ever Leave Me', which appeared on the b-side of her 'I Know You Love Me Not' single, although this period is better known for her membership of Steam Packet, an R&B-styled revue band which also featured Long John Baldry, Rod Stewart and the Brian Auger Trinity. She used the Trinity as the backing band for her 'Save Me' single in 1967, which was split into two parts and spread over both sides of a 7", and sticking with the Trinity she scored her biggest hit with their version of Bob Dylan's 'This Wheel's On Fire', hitting the top 5 of the UK charts. Two more singles with the Trinity followed that success, with 'Road To Cairo' appearing in 1968, and 'Take Me To The Water', backed with Richie Havens' 'Indian Rope Man' in 1969. Following a couple of albums with Brian Auger and The Trinity in 1967 and 1969, she released the jazz-rock album '1969' (recorded in that year with The Keith Tippett Group, later going on to marry Tippett in 1970) in 1971. In the late 60's her striking appearance engendered much publicity, and a cool, almost disinterested vocal style formed the ideal counterpoint to Auger's jazz-based ambitions, but as you can hear from these early singles, Gomelsky was right to suggest a career in music, as she had that 'cool' image right from the beginning. 

Track listing

01 Take Me By The Hand (single with The Harold Geller Group 1963)
02 Stay Away From Me (b-side of 'Take Me By The Hand')
03 Don't Do It No More (single 1965)
04 I Know You (b-side of 'Don't Do It No More')
05 I Didn't Want To Have To Do It (single 1966)
06 I Know You Love Me Not (single 1967)
07 If You Should Ever Leave Me (b-side of 'I Know You Love Me Not')
08 Save Me (Parts 1 & 2) (single 1967)
09 I Don't Know Where You Are (Giorgio Gomelsky session 1967)
10 This Wheel's On Fire (single version 1968)
11 A Kind Of Love In (b-side of 'This Wheel's On Fire')
12 Road To Cairo (single 1968)
13 Shadows Of You (b-side of 'Road To Cairo')
14 Take Me To The Water (single version 1969)

Paul over at albumsthatshouldexist has just posted a couple of albums from Julie Driscoll with Brian Auger and the Trinity, but only a few songs actually overlap, and so this will be a nice companion to his posts. 

Anita Harris - London Life (1967)

Anita Harris was born on 3 June 1942 in Midsomer Norton, Somerset, and was the great niece of music hall entertainer Ida Barr. She began her professional career at the age of 8 as an ice skater, working seasons in Naples and Las Vegas, before joining the vocal harmony group The Cliff Adams Singers. In 1961, while still in her teens, she recorded her first single 'I Haven't Got You' with the John Barry Orchestra, going on to audition for Mike Margolis, who agreed to manage her, and who has produced her records almost exclusively ever since, with the couple marrying in 1973. She signed to Vocalion in 1964 to record the Margolis composition 'Lies', switching to Decca the following year, and then to Pye Records, where she stayed for a couple of years. While at Decca, she took part in the 1965 San Remo song contest in Italy, appearing alongside Dusty Springfield, Kiki Dee and Petula Clark, and performed her entry 'L’amore è Partito', later releasing it as a single to little success. Her time at Pye showcased her range, from the melancholy 'I Don't Know Anymore', to the more laid-back Bacharach/David compositions 'Trains And Boats And Planes' and 'London Life, while 'Something Must Be Done' was an upbeat stomper, and a fan favourite. In 1966 she moved from Pye to CBS, and as well as releasing singles with them, they also issued her first album 'Somebody's In My Orchard', which won the Music Critics' Album of the Year for 1966. The four-track EP 'Nursery Rhymes For Our Times' was a collection of modern fables for adults, and was a charming diversion for Harris, featuring covers of The Beatles' 'Eleanor Rigby' and Cher's 'Bang Bang', alongside two original jazz-themed compositions, 'Old Queenie Cole' and the superb 'B.A.D For Me'. Her first major chart success came in 1967 with 'Just Loving You', written by Tom Springfield at the suggestion of his sister Dusty, and it reached number 6 in the UK top 40, earning a double gold disc and staying in the charts for over a year. The follow up 'The Playground' stalled just outside the top 40, but has since become a northern soul dance floor filler, while 'Anniversary Waltz' proved more successful, reaching number 21 in the UK in early 1968. Saucy lead roles in two Carry on films, 'Carry On Doctor' and 'Follow That Camel', cemented her stardom, and she appeared on radio, TV, cinema and in theatres over the following years, but the chart success changed the focus of her music, and she became a strictly middle-of-the-road singer, abandoning the superb jazz stylings of some of her earlier recordings, which was a great shame as she was a fine jazz vocalist. She was still releasing records up to 2003, but this collection concentrates on her early work, and if you do remember her from her TV appearances in the 70's then you might be surprised at just what a gifted jazz singer she was when she started out. 

Track listing

01 I Haven't Got You (single 1961)
02 Mr. One And Only (b-side of 'I Haven't Got You')
03 Lies (single 1964)
04 Don't Think About Love (b-side of 'Lies')
05 L'amore è Partito (single 1965)  

06 Trains And Boats And Planes (single 1965) 
07 Upside Down (b-side of 'Trains And Boats And Planes')
08 I Don't Know Anymore (single 1965)
09 When I Look At You ‎(b-side of 'I Don't Know Anymore')
10 London Life (single 1965)
11 I Run To Hide (b-side of 'London Life')
12 Who's Foolish (single 1966, from the film 'Death Of A Woman')
13 Something Must Be Done (single 1966) 
14 Funny Kind Of Feeling (b-side of 'Something Must Be Done')
15 B-A-D For Me (b-side of 'The Playground' 1967)
16 Danger Route (from the film 'Danger Route' 1967)
17 Old Queenie Cole (from the EP 'Nursery Rhymes For Our Times' 1967)
18 Men (from the Marble Arch compilation 'Anita Harris' 1967)
19 Moody Soul (from the Marble Arch compilation 'Anita Harris' 1967)

Barry St. John - Hey Boy (1969)

Elizabeth Thompson (aka Barry St. John) was born in Glasgow in 1943, and enjoyed singing from a young age, joining Ian Campbell & The Midnighters as a teenager. In 1961 she became vocalist and backup singer with Bobby Patrick Big 6, before moving to London with the band in 1962, and then onto a tour of American bases in Germany, eventually taking up residence at a club in Hamburg. It was at this time that she took the stage name Barry St John, and after a couple of years with the Bobby Patrick Big 6 her management encouraged her to leave the band and pursue a solo career in England, so in 1964 she recorded her first single for Decca, with covers of The Jarmels 'A Little Bit Of Soap' and The Shirelle's 'Thing Of The Past'. Both highlighted perfectly her soulful vocal stylings, and the follow up single 'Bread And Butter' made the German top 40. In 1965 she had a minor UK hit with Chris Andrews' 'Mind How You Go', but when the follow up 'Hey Boy' failed to attract chart attention she was dropped by the label. Moving to Columbia Records, she had her only UK singles chart entry with an anti-protest song 'Come Away Melinda', although it wasn't in her usual style, with the b-side 'Gotta Brand New Man' being more popular with her true fans, later becoming much in demand on the northern soul dance scene. The more soulful 'Everything I Touch Turns To Tears' didn't match the previous success, and once again she was dropped by her label. In 1967 she joined The Krew as lead vocalist, and this brought her back to work with former Bobby Patrick Big 6 member Archie Legget, with the band releasing the album 'According To St. John' in 1968, produced by Mike Pasternak, alias the DJ Emperor Rosko. In the late 60's Barry became a regular session singer and worked with Alexis Korner, Long John Baldry, and Duster Bennett, and between 1972 and 1973 she was a member of The Les Humphries Singers, singing backing vocals on Pink Floyd's 'The Dark Side Of The Moon' and Roger Glover's rock opera 'The Butterfly Ball And The Grasshopper's Feast'. Whilst still a session singer and working with Bryan Ferry, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel and Elton John in the 70s, she carried on with her solo career, releasing several singles in 1974 and 1975, and was still working in the music business into the early 90's, working with Elton John and Jorge Ben Jor.

Track listing

01 A Thing Of The Past (single 1964) 
02 Little Bit Of Soap (b-side of 'A Thing Of The Past') 
03 Bread And Butter (single 1964) 
04 Cry To Me (b-side of 'Bread And Butter')
05 Mind How You Go (single 1965) 
06 Don't You Feel Proud (b-side of 'Mind How You Go')
07 Hey Boy (single 1965)
08 I've Been Crying (b-side of 'Hey Boy') 
09 Come Away Melinda (single 1965)
10 Gotta Brand New Man (b-side of 'Gotta Brand New Man')
11 Everything I Touch Turns To Tears (single 1966)  
12 Sounds Like My Baby (b-side of 'Everything I Touch Turns To Tears')
13 Cry Like A Baby (single 1968)
14 Long And Lonely Night (b-side of 'Cry Like A Baby')
15 By The Time I Get To Phoenix (single 1969) 
16 Turn On Your Light (b-side of 'By The Time I Get To Phoenix')

Madeline Bell - Thinkin' (1969)

Madeline Bell was born on July 23, 1942 in Newark, New Jersey, and enjoyed singing from an early age, touring the US as part of a gospel troupe The Glovertones by her late teens. While on the road, she was spotted by gospel singer Alex Bradford and invited to become part of his backing group, who were invited to go to London to sing in the musical 'Black Nativity'. It was there that she was spotted by EMI songwriter and producer Norman Newell, who took her under his wing and suggested that she remain in Britain. Signing to EMI, she released one single on their HMV label before moving to the Columbia Records arm of the company for her next two singles, 'You Don’t Love Me No More' in 1964, and 'Daytime' the following year. When none of her releases registered with the record-buying public, she switched to the Philips label, where she remained for most of the rest of her career. With the songs of Bacharach and David in the ascendant in the mid 60's it was no surprise that 'What The World Needs Now Is Love' was issued as a single in 1965, with a b-side of 'I Can’t Wait Until I See My Baby’s Face', which label mate Dusty Springfield later recorded for her 'Where Am I Going' album. This was the beginning of a relationship which carried on for some years, and also brought in singer Lesley Duncan, where they would all sing backing on each others recordings, and even write songs together. A couple of great singles followed in 1966 – first a version of US singer Jean Wells' 'Don’t Come Running To Me', then one of Maxine Brown's with 'One Step At A Time' – before the unlikely decision was taken to have Bell record 'Climb Ev'ry Mountain', from the Julie Andrews film 'The Sound Of Music'. She did her best with the song, but it was not the style that she was associated with, and so it was up to her next two singles to re-establish her credibility, with 'Picture Me Gone' being one of her personal favourites, and featuring a b-side that she wrote with Dusty Springfield. The second single was 'I’m Gonna Make You Love Me', which reached number 26 in America’s Billboard charts in the spring of 1968, and was her biggest hit single. With this achievement under her belt, she released her first album 'Bell’s A Poppin'' that year, and from this point on had a very productive and successful career. Despite her new-found success Stateside, she continued her bread-and-butter work as a backing singer in the UK while she searched for a follow up to the US hit, although 'Thinkin'' failed to repeat the success of its predecessor. A second album 'Doin' Things' appeared later that year, with future Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones playing on the sessions, as well writing a number of songs for the album. 'We're So Much In Love', which hadn’t been included on the album, became her final solo release of the decade in the UK before she was invited to help form Blue Mink, with whom she stayed for the next half decade, releasing many hit singles and albums with them, as well as slotting in solo releases at the same time. She is still working to this day, with performances ranging from appearances at Ronnie Scott’s jazz club in London to tours of Europe singing jazz and popular songs, but this is where it all started, with a collection of fine soul and pop from the mid-to-late 60's.

Track listing

01 You Don't Love Me No More (single 1964) 

02 Don't Cross Over To My Side Of The Street (b-side of 'You Don't Love Me No More')

03 Daytime (single 1965)

04 What The World Needs Now Is Love (single 1965)

05 I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face (b-side of 'What The World Needs Now')

06 One Step At A Time (single 1966

07 You Won't See Me (b-side of 'One Step At A Time')

08 Don't Come Running To Me (single 1966) 

09 I Really Got Carried Away (b-side of 'Don't Come Running To Me')

10 Go Ahead On (b-side of 'Picture Me Gone' 1967)

11 Climb Ev'ry Mountain (single 1967)

12 It Makes No Difference Now (b-side of 'Climb Ev'ry Mountain')

13 Thinkin' (single 1968)

14 Don't Give Your Love Away (b-side of 'Thinkin'')

15 What'm I Supposed To Do (b-side of 'Hold It')

16 We're So Much In Love (single 1969) 

17 How Much Do I Love You (b-side of 'We're So Much In Love')

Adrienne Posta - Backstreet Girl (1976)

Adrienne Luanne Poster was born on 4th March 1949 in London, England, and demonstrated a love of performing from the beginning of her childhood, attending the highly regarded theater preparatory school the Italia Conti Academy. She made her acting debut in the film 'No More Tears' at the age of 11, and later appeared in the television soap 'Harpers West One', which launched singer John Leyton. While she was a student at the Italia Conti Academy, she started dating Steve Marriott, who later became lead singer with the Small Faces, and in 1963, while he was playing in a band called the Moments, she would once in a while go along with him in front of an audience and the pair would play out a two-part harmony of 'Twist and Shout'. She was signed to Oriole Records who released her first single 'Only Fifteen' in 1963, when she was in fact 14 years old, but despite exposure on 'Ready, Steady, Go!' it was not a success. In 1964 she came under the wing of the Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham, who produced her version of a Jagger/Richards song 'Shang A Doo Lang' for Decca Records, in the style of Phil Spector. The liaison was short-lived, and in 1965 session drummer Bobby Graham took charge for her reading of the Supremes' 'He Doesn’t Love Me', while her next single 'The Wind That Blows' was published by Jimmy Page's company, but these all star connections failed to lift the her career. 'Something Beautiful' and 'They Long To be Close To You' followed in 1966, with the latter single being the first under her new name of Posta. Acting now took precedence, with film roles in 'To Sir With Love', 'Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush', 'Up The Junction' and 'Percy', as well as appearing in several 70s sex/comedy films, including 'Adventures Of A Taxi Driver'. Her version of the film's theme song 'Cruisin’ Casanova' was issued on President Records in 1976, but this was to be her final recording, with acting then becoming her full-time career. While romantically involved with ex-Marbles singer Graham Bonnet in 1973 (they later married), she released a single written by him called 'Dog Song', which may have been a reference to the fact that they owned the Old English Sheepdog which starred in the Dulux paint adverts in the 70's. Although primarily known for her acting roles in British comedy films of the 60's and 70's, her singing career is often over-looked, and so this collection hopes to put that right.

Track listing

01 Only Fifteen (single 1963)
02 There's Nothing You Can Do About That (b-side of 'Only Fifteen')
03 Shang A Doo Lang (single 1964)
04 When A Girl Really Loves You (b-side of 'Shang A Doo Lang')
05 He Doesn't Love Me (single 1965)
06 The Way You Do The Things You Do (b-side of 'He Doesn't Love Me')
07 The Winds That Blow (single 1965)
08 Backstreet Girl (b-side of 'The Winds That Blow')
09 Something Beautiful (single 1966)
10 So Glad You're Mine (b-side of 'Something Beautiful')
11 They Long To Be Close To You (single 1966)
12 How Can I Hurt You? (b-side of 'They Long To Be Close To You')
13 Dog Song (single, with Graham Bonnet 1973)
14 Express Yourself (b-side of 'Dog Song')
15 Cruisin' Casanova (single 1976)
16 Sing Me (b-side of 'Cruisin' Casanova')

Truly Smith - Yours, Truly (1968)

Truly Smith was born Josephine Taylor in 1950, in Dallam in Warrington, in the North West of England, and her interest in music began when she worked behind the counter in Dawson's Record Shop. She also sang at the Club del Sol in Manchester, impressing the club's owner Harvey Livingstone, and in 1966 she auditioned for Noel Walker, who was an A&R man for Decca Records. Decca offered her a contract, and chose the name Truly Smith for her first recording with them, Tony Hatch's 'Love Is Me, Love Is You', which was backed with 'My Smile Is Just A Frown Turned Upside Down'. In June 1966 she released the Les Reed/Barry Mason ballad 'I Love Him', with the traditional 'Buttermilk Hill' on the flip, and this was followed by another ballad, this time from Italy, with 'You Are The Love Of My Life'/'The Merry-go-round Is Slowing You Down'. In 1966, the French Decca label decided to issue an E.P. of four songs, including both sides of her debut single, plus 'You Are The Love Of My Life' and 'He Belongs To Me'. This French release coincided with Smith having more exposure across Europe, including an appearance on 'The Dave Berry Show', which was screened on Belgian T.V. Her next UK single was in 1967, with Bacharach/David's 'Windows And Doors', coupled with 'Take A Broken Heart', and this was followed by another Motown song, 'I Wanna Go Back There Again', which was one of her finest records. Her final release on Decca was 'The Boy From Chelsea', with Goffin/King's 'Little Man With A Stick' on the b-side. Despite recording some fine records for the label, Decca didn't renew her contract, and so she signed to MGM Records for one final single in 1968, the Flett/Fletcher song 'This Is The First Time', backed with Mike Hurst's 'Taking Time Off'. This was to be her last single, after which she left the music industry to move into teaching, later becoming Headmistress of a school in Alnwick, Northumberland. As there isn't currently a comprehensive collection of the work of Truly Smith, then here it is. 

Track listing

01 Love Is Me, Love Is You (Single 1966)

02 My Smile Is Just A Frown (Turned Upside Down) (b-side of 'Love Is Me, Love Is You') 

03 I Love Him (single 1966)

04 Buttermilk Hill (b-side of 'I Love Him')

05 Windows And Doors (single 1967)

06 Take A Broken Heart (b-side of 'Windows And Doors')

07 You Are The Love Of My Life (single 1967)

08 The Merry-Go-Round Is Slowing You Down (b-side of 'You Are The Love Of My Life') 

09 Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (single 1967)

10 I Wanna Go Back There Again (single 1967)

11 He Belongs To Me (b-side of 'Love Is Me, Love Is You' French EP 1967)

12 The Boy From Chelsea (single 1967)

13 Little Man With A Stick (b-side of 'The Boy From Chelsea')

14 This Is The First Time (single 1968)

15 Taking Time Off (b-side of 'This Is The First Time') 

For more information on the career of Truly Smith then check out this great site trulysmith.webs.com

Friday Brown - Girl Friday (1973)

Marian Stockley (aka Friday Brown) was born on 18 February 1947 in Manchester, the daughter of a headmaster in Little Hulton. At the age of 15 she was introduced to the Mike Taylor Combo group by one of its members, Wilf Lewis, a fellow student at Bolton College of Art, and she joined them for gigs at venues in Darwen and elsewhere in Lancashire, until they disbanded in 1965. She left college to be auditioned at a Preston club, and her first single was 'As He Once Was Mine', written by Wilf Lewis, which was released in 1964 under the name 'Marianne And Mike', with Mike Taylor. A second single followed with 'You're The Only One' later that year, but it was not until 1966 that she recorded again, this time as part of a group formed by Graham Gouldman (later of 10cc) and Harvey Lisberg, the creator of Herman's Hermits, which they named High Society. The band also included Peter Cowap, Christine Ebbrell and Keith Lawless, and they recorded the Gouldman-composed 'People Passing By', backed by Cowap's 'Star Of Eastern Street'. In January 1966 Marianne released her first single under the name of Friday Brown, with Gouldman's 'Getting Nowhere', backed with her own 'And (To Me He Meant Everything)' on the b-side, which was written with her sister Barbara Stockley. Her next single remains her most well-known, and '32nd Love Affair' soon became popular in the realms of Northern Soul. This song was also co-written with her sister, and Brown either wrote or co-wrote most of the b-sides of her singles. In 1966 she appeared several times on the Granada TV series 'Scene', and by 1970 she'd acquired her own television show 'A Girl Called Friday', directed by George Adams and shown on ITV Tyne Tees. She also appeared on 'The Golden Shot' and 'The Stanley Baxter Show', and it was said that she'd guested on just about every major television and radio show in Great Britain. Further TV appearances followed, with two shows for the BBC2 series 'One More Time', and a programme of her own called 'Reflections', with the guest group Fivepenny Piece, before being given her own six-week show 'Tuesday Night Is Friday Night' on BBC1. In July 1968 she took part in 10th European Song Cup contest at Knokke-le-Zoute, Belgium, along with other entrants including Marty Wilde and Wayne Fontana, and she was seen by over 85 million viewers via Eurovision winning the final. She finally released her sole eponymous album in 1971, which comprised covers of contemporary songs, alongside two of Brown's own compositions. It was well-received, but remains her only long-player, as her TV career and live gigs took a lot of her time, but she did release one final single in 1973, which was a cover of 'Groovy Kind of Love', backed with her own ballad, 'Salford'. There's never been a compilation of her 60's singles, which is a major oversight, as with many of the songs being self-penned they won't be heard anywhere else, so here it is, showcasing yet another under-rated and overlooked British girl singer of the 60's. 

Track listing

01 Getting Nowhere (Gouldman) (single 1966)
02 And (To Me He Meant Everything) (Stockley/Stockley) (b-side of 'Getting Nowhere') 
03 32nd Love Affair (Stockley/Stockley) (single 1966)
04 Born A Woman (Sharp) (b-side of '32nd Love Affair') 
05 Ask Any Woman (Stewart/Langley) (single 1967)
06 The Outdoor Seminar (Stockley/Stockley) (b-side of 'Ask Any Woman')
07 Take What You Want (Stockley) (demo)
08 Stand By Your Man (Sherrill/Wynette) (single 1969)
09 I Want To Rain (Stockley/Stockley) (b-side of 'Stand By Man') 
10 God Bless The Child (Holliday/Herzog Jr.) (single 1969)
11 I Sing An Open Letter (Turn Around) (Stockley) (demo)
12 The Only One To Love Me (Trent/Hatch) (single 1971)
13 The Promise (Brown) (b-side of 'The Only One To Love Me') 
14 Shake A Hand (Carmichael) (single 1972)
15 Everything's Alright (Lloyd-Webber/Rice) (b-side of 'Shake A Hand') 
16 Groovy Kind Of Love (Vine/Bayer) (single 1973)
17 Salford (Brown) (b-side of 'Groovy Kind Of Love') 

For more information on the career of Friday Brown, check out this great site, which also includes many photos, rare audio tapes, the Marianne And Mike and High Society singles, and a complete unreleased album.

Lesley Duncan - Just For The Boy (1970)

Lesley Duncan was born in Stockton-on-Tees on August 12 1943 into a musical family, with her mother playing piano in clubs while her grandfather sang in the chapel choir. Lesley quit school just before her fifteenth birthday and soon after left home, traveling around the country and working various jobs, including waitressing in Scarborough and mother's helper in Wimbledon, and while waitressing in London in 1963, her brother Jimmy approached her with a few songs he had written, and invited Lesley to join him as songwriters. She and Jimmy walked into publishers Francis, Day & Hunter and sang their songs unaccompanied, and the pair were given a contract for a year with Jimmy receiving ten pounds a week and Lesley seven pounds. She had never sung publicly anywhere but made demo recordings of her songs and her manager took one of them to Parlophone, who signed her to a recording contract on the strength of her demo, and with no audition. The demo was 'I Want A Steady Guy', which became her first single, while the second Parlophone release, 'Tell Him'/'You Kissed Me Boy', was credited to Lesley and Jimmy, even though Jimmy had nothing to do with the writing of them. During this period, she also appeared in the 1963 film 'What A Crazy World' with Joe Brown, Marty Wilde, Alan Klein and Susan Maughan. She left Parlophone due to difficulties with producer Ron Richards, as she had wanted to record a cover of Doris Troy's 'Just One Look', as she was sure of its hit potential, but was told it would never be a hit. A few weeks later Richards produced the single for The Hollies, and it reached number two in the UK Charts. She then moved to Mercury Records, and her first self-composed single for them, 'When My Baby Cries' was later covered by other artists. 

Three more Mercury releases followed, with the final 'Hey Boy' including Dusty Springfield and Madeline Bell on backing vocals, and with the addition of Kiki Dee, all four of them would eventually feature as backing vocalists on an endless number of recordings. Following her time with Mercury, she had a brief period with RCA, releasing two singles, 'Lullaby'/'I Love You, I Love You' and the Goffin/King standard 'A Road To Nowhere', backed with her own 'Love Song', which became one of her most famous songs, with over 160 recorded versions of it. While working on sessions with Elton John for his 'Tumbleweed Connection' album, he asked to do one of her songs, and she suggested 'Love Song', which he recorded with Duncan playing acoustic guitar and singing backing vocals. Around 1971 she moved to CBS and released her first album, which was in a much more folky, introspective style than her 60's singles, and was the beginning of the second phase of her career, along the way becoming one of the UK's best-loved and most respected singer/songwriters. As so often happens, this acclaim didn't materialise until after her untimely death at the age of 66, with her albums much more popular now than they were on their release. To show that her song-writing talent was there right from the beginning, I've collected most of those 60's singles, including the original take of 'Love Song' complete with sound effects, for an album that celebrates the start of her burgeoning career.    

Track listing

01 I Want A Steady Guy (Lesley Duncan) ‎(single 1963)
02 Moving Away (Len Praverman) (b-side of 'I Want A Steady Guy')
03 You Kissed Me Boy (Jimmy & Lesley Duncan) (single 1964)
04 When My Baby Cries ‎(Lesley Duncan) (single 1964)
05 Did It Hurt? (Lesley Duncan) (b-side of 'When My Baby Cries')
06 Only The Lonely And Me (Lesley Duncan) (single 1964)
07 Just For The Boy ‎(Koppolman/Rubin) (single 1965)
08 See That Guy (Lesley Duncan) (b-side of 'Just For The Boy')
09 Run To Love (Lesley Duncan) (single 1965) 
10 Hey Boy ‎(Lesley Duncan) (single 1966)
11 I Go To Sleep (Ray Davies) (b-side of 'Hey Boy')
12 Lullaby (Lesley Duncan) (single 1968)
13 I Love You, I Love You (Lesley Duncan) (b-side of 'Lullaby') ‎
14 Sing Children Sing (Lesley Duncan) (single 1969)
15 Exactly Who You Are (Lesley Duncan) (b-side of 'Sing Children Sing')
16 A Road To Nowhere (Goffin/King) (single 1969)
17 Love Song (Lesley Duncan) (single 1970)

Chris Clark - The Promise Of Tomorrow (1968)

Chris Clark graced Motown’s abundant talent roster in the 1960's, but despite her obvious talent, it seemed like they didn't really know what to do with her. She was a statuesque six-foot-tall platinum blonde from northern California, with ravishing good looks and a stunning voice tailor-made for belting out soul, and during the 60's was the closest thing to a US version of Dusty Springfield. She signed with Motown Records in 1963, but had to cool her heels for a couple of years as a Motown receptionist until Berry Gordy had time to write and produce her debut single 'Do Right Baby Do Right' in December 1965. Holland-Dozier-Holland penned her next single 'Love’s Gone Bad', which was her only chart success in late 1966, and the following year she released her debut album 'Soul Sounds', which should have convinced anyone who heard it of her commercial and artistic possibilities. The trouble was that Motown didn't really know how to market her, and so while the album is considered something of a classic now, it didn't fare that well at the time. One more album followed in 1969, with 'CC Rides Again', and then she faded away from the recording scene, remaining close to Gordy by working in Motown’s front office, become proficient in photography, graphic design, and screenwriting (she received an Oscar nomination for co-writing  1972’s 'Lady Sings The Blues'). Clark stayed with Motown up to 1982, but didn’t sing again in public until she ventured over to the UK in 2006 to share a star-studded bill with fellow Motown artists The Temptations and The Four Tops at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Shortly before that, in 2005, Motown had released a 50-track retrospective double CD, which compiled her two albums, and added 25 previously unreleased songs, and yet that wasn't everything that she'd recorded in the 60's, as there are at least another twenty superb un-issued recordings which surfaced on the 'Motown Unreleased' series a few years ago, from which I've picked the best fourteen for this album. For a more in depth analysis of her career, and some more great music, then visit Pauls' site here, and there's a fascinating interview with her here. While you're checking those out you can listen to some stunning soul music from America's answer to Dusty Springfield.  

Track listing

01 It Hurts To Be In Love 
02 You Got What It Takes
03 Since I Fell For You
04 The Glory Of Love  
05 Standing In Yesterday 
06 All I Could Do Was Cry (with The Vancouvers)
07 All In The Promise Of Tomorrow
08 I'm Gonna Be True  
09 What The World Needs Now Is Love  
10 Whenever I'm Without You 
11 Feeling Good
12 My World Is Empty Without You
13 Growing  
14 Sunny

Tracks 1-7 1967
Tracks 8-14 1968