Sue & Sunny - The Show Must Go On (1972)

Yvonne (Sue) and Heather (Sunny) Wheatman were born in Madras (now Chennai) in India, and after moving to Britain they eventually settled in Camberley, Surrey, where they set their sights on a career in pop. In November 1962 they signed to the Oriole label, and their first single 'Just Let Me Cry' was issued the following year under the name The Myrtelles. The song had originally been recorded by Italian singer Mina, though the version by Lesley Gore remains the best known. After quitting Oriole they signed to Columbia as Sue and Sunshine, and the Spector-esque 'A Little Love (Will Go A Long, Long Way)' was released in November 1964, with backing on the record by The Breakaways. One further 45 followed, with 'We’re In Love' backed with Sue's own composition 'Don’t Look Behind', but for future releases they adopted the name of Sue and Sunny, with their first single under the new name being a cover of the Carla Thomas song 'Every Ounce Of Strength'. This 1965 record marked the beginning of the more soulful style that the sisters would become known for, with their next single, a cover of Willie Kendrick's 'You Can't Bypass Love' being even better than the last one. With their career in the UK proving a bit of a slog, the pair jumped at the opportunity to play the US air bases in Germany, and while there they cut some records for the lucrative German market, which were issued there in 1967 and 1968, with better songs on the b-side of both releases. They returned to the UK in 1968 and were signed by CBS, but they were becoming much better known for their superlative backing vocals for many of the top performers of the day, including appearances on Joe Cocker's 'With A Little Help From My Friends', and backing Lulu at the 1969 Eurovision song contest in Madrid. They continued to release singles when they could, like 1968's 'The Show Must Go On', with ithe great Kenny Lynch-penned Motown-esque 'Little Black Book' on the flip, as well as recording as The Stockingtops. In 1969 they were finally given the opportunity to record an album, which they filled with original gospel-styled tracks and a nice selection of covers, including Curtis Mayfield's 'People Get ready', Joni Mitchell's 'Michael From Mountains', and Ike and Tina Turner's 'River Deep, Mountain High'. Later that year the sisters joined session group Brotherhood Of Man and scored a top ten UK hit with 'United We Stand in 1970. They stayed with Brotherhood Of Man for a couple of years, and in 1974 Sunny scored a UK top ten hit with 'Doctor's Orders' under her own name. Although they will always be better known in the music industry for their backing vocal work, they did release a number of great singles in their early days as a duo, so enjoy the vocal stylings of the much under-rated Sue And Sunny.  

Track listing

01 Every Ounce Of Strength (single 1965) 
02 You Can't By Pass Love (single 1965)   
03 Hans Und Franz In Germany (single 1967)
04 Shame On You (b-side of 'Hans Und Franz In Germany')
05 Wir Dummen Mädchen Sind Ja Selber Schuld (single 1968)  
06 Spielt Mir Noch Einmal Die Bye Bye Melodie (b-side of 'Wir Dummen Madchen.....)

07 The Show Must Go On (single 1968)
08 Little Black Book (b-side of 'The Show Must Go On')
09 Stop Messing Around With My Heart (b-side of 'Let Us Break Bread Together' 1969)
10 Running Round In Circles (single 1969)
11 Ain't That Tellin' You People (single 1970)
12 Didn't I Blow Your Mind (b-side of 'Ain't That Telling You People')
13 Freedom (single 1971)
14 Break Up (b-side of 'Freedom')
15 I'm Gonna Make You Love Me (single 1972) 
16 High On The Thought Of You (b-side of 'I'm Gonna Make You Love Me')