The Settlers started as a trio, consisting of Cynthia Kent on vocals and tambourine, Mike Jones on vocals and guitar, and John Fyffe on banjo, but almost immediately they expanded by adding Mansel Davies on double bass, although he left in 1965 to pursue a career in teaching, and was replaced by Geoff Srdzinski. The group were initially known as the Birmingham Folk Four, but after their first single, 'Settle Down', was a moderate success, they changed their name to The Settlers, and before long they were offered a six-month residency on a BBC television series, 'Singalong', which led to support bookings on tours with, among others, Dusty Springfield, Roy Orbison and The Small Faces. Although they are generally thought of as a folk group, like the successful Australian group The Seekers, with which they shared marked similarities, they also performed material which gravitated towards mainstream pop. Like contemporaries Peter, Paul and Mary, We Five, and The Byrds, they readily absorbed folk influences in various ways in the mid-1960's, and their melodic style was largely ingrained before the advent of British folk-rock in the guise of Fairport Convention and Pentangle later in the sixties. The group's first single as The Settlers was 'Sassafras', released in 1964, and they followed this with a four-track EP of Lionel Bart songs, including 'Maggie, Maggie May' and 'The Ballad Of The Liver Bird'.
In 1966 they had a hit with their rendition of The Beatles' 'Nowhere Man', and together with The Overlanders' 1966 UK No.1 hit, 'Michelle', and the Truth's version of 'Girl', these were among the best known covers of songs from the Fab Four's 'Rubber Soul' album. However, although 'Nowhere Man' reached a high of No.5 in Radio London's non-sales-based Fab 40 in March 1966, and the group's spirited version of Gordon Lightfoot's 'Early Morning Rain' received a good deal of airplay in May 1966, The Settlers did not succeed in enjoying a Top 40 hit during the 1960's, and it was to be 1971 before 'The Lightning Tree' reached No. 36 in the UK singles chart, helped in no small way by its use as the theme tune of the British TV series 'Follyfoot'. Kent, like Judith Durham of The Seekers, attracted attention as the most recognizable face of the group, and was originally known for her fine singing voice, photogenic good looks, and tendency to wear mini-skirts, although later her public espousal of Christianity became the media focus, particularly when it brought her into contact with Cliff Richard, and she was later ordained as a priest in the Church of England.
Shortly after recording a religious album, 'I Am Your Servant', in 1973, she left the group, and the remaining members transitioned from acoustic four-part pop folk harmony, to a more contemporary five-piece electric sound, with Mike Jones being joined by Kent's replacement Andie Sheridan, plus Paul Greedus on guitar/vocals, Chris Johnstone on bass/vocals, and George Jeffrey on drums. In 1974 they recorded an album for York Records, entitled 'The New Sound Of The Settlers', but this line-up only lasted two years, disbanding in 1976, with Jones then setting about recruiting replacements. He asked Steve Somers-Smith, a young singer/songwriter from Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, who had won the National TV talent show 'New Faces', to join him, and together they searched for a new singer, eventually finding Valery Ann (also known as Valeryan, or Valerie Anne Lawrence), who had released a single on Decca in 1965 while she was still at school. This new line-up of Valery Ann, Jones, Greedus and Jeffry then went into the studios to record 'Whichaway Billy' for Riverdale Records, and this was released as a single in October 1976, by which time Valery Ann had already left to pursue a solo career, after only nine months with the group. The band soldiered on with numerous other female singers until Patty Vetta, a rising talent on the British folk scene, joined them, but their glory days were now behind them, and so as a reminder of their heydey in the 60's, here is a selection of singles and b-sides, unfortunately omitting their first three records, which are now impossible to track down.
Track listing
01 Woman Called Freedom (single 1965)
02 I Know I'm Right (b-side of 'Woman Called Freedom')
03 Nowhere Man (single 1966)
04 Call Again (b-side of 'Nowhere Man')
05 Early Morning Rain (single 1966)
06 Without You (b-side of 'Early Morning Rain')
07 On The Other Side (single 1966)
08 Can't Stop Following You (b-side of 'On The Other Side')
09 Always On My Mind (single 1966)
10 You Can't Win (b-side of 'Always On My Mind')
11 'Til Winter Follows Spring (single 1966)
12 Do You Want To Know The Reason (b-side of ''Til Winter Follows Spring')
13 Major To Minor (single 1967)
14 I Love Oo Kazoo Cos O Love Me (b-side of 'Major To Minor')
15 Penny To My Name (b-side of 'As Long As There's Love' 1968)
16 Nessie The Monster (single 1970)
17 Whichaway Billy (single 1976)
18 Hobbit Land (b-side of 'Whichaway Billy')
Thanks to Unknown, who suggested a Settlers post, and which I shot down as being too hard to track down their original material, but I stumbled on a stash of their singles, so here it is.
