#1,000 Special Edition!: The Namelosers/The Electric Banana/Millennium: The Namelosers — “Land of 1,000 Dances”; The Electric Banana — “A Thousand Ages from the Sun”; The Millennium — “There Is Nothing More to Say”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 1, 2023

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

I’m not sure I would have believed when I started this blog in July of 2021 that I would hit the 1000 non-hit (in the U.S.) song mark in a little over two years. But here I am. I just hope you have enjoyed the ride even half as much as have I. And to the artists, God bless you, wherever you are. You have given us all such precious gifts of music. To the extent that I have been able to expose and turn people on to your creations who would not otherwise have ever heard them, I will consider this ongoing endeavor a worthy pursuit.

1000) The Namelosers — “Land of 1,000 Dances”

All the way from Malmö, Sweden, I’ve played the B-side (see #756), here is the A-side: “KILLER is the WORD – sickeningly great” (maups2, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vw0QuyrLus), a “FUZZ MONSTER” (Glendoras/DJ Mean Mojo Mathias, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vw0QuyrLus) with “fuzzy guitar and an attitude similar to those of the finest mid-’60s British mod bands” (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-namelosers-mn0001270532)

Unterberger says that the Namelosers “were among the rowdier Swedish mid-‘60s bands, heavily influenced by the British Invasion sounds of the Rolling Stones, Who, and Beatles”. (https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-namelosers-mn0001270532) Olle Berggren adds (courtesy of Google Translate) that:

[They] were the prettiest, cockiest and loudest. One of the few Swedish bands from this time that is still mentioned with respect to this day. . . . [They] forever put Malmö on the rock map. The tough port and working-class city. . . . Like Hamburg and Liverpool. . . . The clothes were bought at Ohlssons at Stortorget, where Åke Arenhill made sure to bring in the latest from Kings Road, Carnaby Street and Savile Row in London.

https://www.expressen.se/kvallsposten/namelosers-satte-malmo-pa-rockkartan/

Expressen tells us more (courtesy of Google Translate):

This group was perhaps the most popular of the Malmö bands in the 60s. It consisted of pop stars living like pop stars. The Namelosers started out as Tony Lee & The Fenders and mostly played songs associated with Cliff Richard and Elvis Presley. The group’s breakthrough came in the summer of 1964 in Pildammsparken. The highlight was supposed to be guest soloist Gunnar “Siljabloo” Nilsson, but when Namelosers started the crowd went wild. In the audience was Urban Lasson, who immediately realized the group’s potential and booked studio time for it in Copenhagen. Lasson then went to Stockholm and visited record company after record company. EMI pounced and with the song “New Orleans” Namelosers ended up in the Top Ten. There were several years of touring around Sweden, but there were no new hits in the Top Ten. “Land of a 1,000 dances” everyone believed – but no. It ended up off the list. The disappointment was so great that Namelosers lost their desire . . . and soon the group disbanded.

https://www.expressen.se/kvallsposten/har-ar-stadens-popstoltheter-som-ateruppstar-for-en-kvall/

As does Graham Reid:

Johnny Andersson and Tommy Hansson met in 1962 in Malmo and talked about getting a band together. They became Tony Lee and the Fenders who played covers of Elvis and Cliff Richard songs. When their bassist and drummer quit to get real jobs they found the lanky Christer Nilsson who had long Beatle-style hair and a Hofner bass. Andersson and Hansson adopted the Beatle mop-top look, pulled in drummer Anders Lagerlof and named themselves the Beachers, an amalgamation of the Beatles and the Searchers. They became very popular in Malmo for their live covers of songs popularised by the Beatles such as Twist and Shout and Roll Over Beethoven. They recorded an EP New Orleans and title track got to number 12 on the Swedish charts . . . . [T]hen a rival group from Gothenburg demanded they change their name. Improbably, they too were the Beachers. A local radio station ran a competition for a new name for the band and the winner was . . . the Namelosers. And suddenly it was all on: a tour of Denmark with the Kinks and the Honeycombs; around Sweden with the Dave Clark Five and Cliff and the Shadows; TV appearances; more recording; a holiday in London for Andersson and Nilsson where they caught the Who at the Marquee and came back with new and more rowdy influences . . . . They recorded Land of 1000 Dances which was critically acclaimed so they expected to top the charts but it only got to 11 and they became depressed. The band broke up in August 1966 after a hectic few years, the highpoint being opening for the Stones in ’65 and partying with them afterwards. They jammed with Jagger in a rehearsal hall in Malmo.

https://www.elsewhere.co.nz/weneedtotalkabout/10284/we-need-to-talk-about-the-namelosers-hair-boots-suits-but-no-hits/

If only they moved like Jagger!

Finally (from Google Translate, of course):

Namelosers also appeared in the documentary Rolling Like a Stone from 2005 by Stefan Berg and Magnus Gert. Everything revolves around a roll of film from the year 1965. It was filmed during a party in Ola Ströms (Gonks) parental apartment in Malmö. Gonks, Namelosers, regular girls and guys and then “unknown” The Rolling Stones join the party.

https://www.svenskpophistoria.se/NAME/info.html

1001) The Electric Banana — “A Thousand Ages from the Sun”

Who would have thought that the Electric Banana (see #94, 251, 731, 892) would do a Dylan impression. Well, they did, and it is pretty damn good. The EB, of course, was the Pretty Things (see #82, 153, 572) in disguise, making some much needed money by providing songs for films trying to be hip.

David Wells explains that:

[The] Swinging London phenomenon had led to a profusion of groovy movies chronicling life [there] that, naturally enough, required an appropriately switched-on soundtrack for added verisimilitude. However, film companies soon discovered that the cost of licensing bona fide hit singles was prohibitively high [so, the music library de Wolfe] started searching for a young, vibrant pop group who were capable of providing an authentic but relatively inexpensive sound.

liner notes to The Complete De Wolfe Sessions CD comp

1002) The Millennium — “There Is Nothing More to Say”

Sunshine pop went supernova with the Millennium (see #397, 506, 586, 662, 810), a 60’s sunshine supergroup that created Begin, the greatest sunshine pop album ever recorded. Begin cost more to make than any other album from ’68 other than The Beatles (the White Album)— and no one buys it (at least until era of CD reissues). As Richie Unterberger writes, it was “at once too unabashedly commercial for underground FM radio and too weird for the AM dial.” (https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-millennium-mn0000814312)

What more is there to say about “There Is Nothing More to Say”? It is a “Sunshine Pop ballad par excellence” (DoubleZ, https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/doublez/album/91645-begin/) “The melody and vocals are fascinating; kind of like having a warm blanket envelop your body. I’ve seen this one described as ‘lilting’ and that is actually a great tag.” (http://badcatrecords.com/MILLENNIUM.htm)

Matthew Greenwald says:

“There Is Nothing More to Say” ends [Begin] in grand, elegant style. Musically, most of the song is based on an almost Elizabethan-style folk melody with strong classical flourishes. Overall, it’s one of the more simple pieces of music on the album, but perhaps the most eloquent. The lyrics, however, really define the song. Encapsulating the overall utopian vision of the band (and especially producer Curt Boettcher), it sets the 1960s ethos of freedom and consciousness expansion in forged iron, and remains a classic of the period. All of this, and the song is less than two and a half minutes.

https://www.allmusic.com/song/5-am-mt0012504739

As to Begin, Dominique Leone says the album, “probably the single greatest 60s pop record produced in L.A. outside of The Beach Boys . . . found itself very much outside the times that year.” (https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/5546-pieces/) Noel Murray sagely adds:

On the surface, the music . . . is right in the mainstream of radio-friendly pop from 1966-68. [The] songs had the angelic harmonies of The Association and The Mamas & The Papas, the aspirational naïveté of The Beach Boys, the live-inside-the-music atmospherics of The Beatles, and the lysergic tinge of every California band from San Francisco on down. But [Curt] Boettcher and [Gary] Usher were also interested in the avant-garde and classical music, and their highbrow approach to the sweet and fluffy didn’t connect in an era where rock ’n’ roll was getting harder and rowdier. . . .

https://www.avclub.com/sunshine-pop-1798225095

Matthew Greenwald rightly fawns over Begin:

The Millennium’s Begin is a bona fide lost classic. The brainchild of producers Curt Boettcher and Gary Usher, the group was formed out of the remnants of their previous studio project, Sagittarius — which had been preceded by yet another aggregation, the Ballroom. On Begin, hard rock, breezy ballads, and psychedelia all merge into an absolutely air-tight concept album, easily on the level of other, more widely popular albums from the era such as The Notorious Byrd Brothers, which share not only Usher’s production skills, but similarities in concept and construction. The songwriting . . . is sterling and innovative . . . . Begin is an absolute necessity for any fan of late-’60s psychedelia and a wonderful rediscovery; it sounds as vital today as it did the day it was released.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/begin-mw0000690213

Finally, Jamobo adds that:

[Begin] is notable as being the second album to use 16-track recording and the group made the most out of that here. Wonderfully lush music that sweeps you in with its fantastic harmonies, both in the instruments and in the vocals, and with the individual melodies that grab your attention instantly and have you singing along by the end of the song. . . . [It] manages to capture a wonderful part of the the era that is was created in, but also remains timeless through its use of gorgeous melodies, harmonies and instrumentation.

“There Is Nothing More To Say” is a little unique, in that it’s the only track here penned by 3 members. It’s also my favourite track on the album. A simple ballad, but the vocal performance is easily the most emotive and powerful on the the record and the music backing them pushes those emotions to their max.

https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/jamobo/album/91645-begin/

Here’s the single version:

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