Ray Columbus and the Art Collection — “Kick Me (I Think I’m Dreaming)”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 13, 2023

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

1,014) Ray Columbus and the Art Collection — “Kick Me (I Think I’m Dreaming)”

From New Zealand with a stopover in San Francisco, comes “a classic piece of heavy psychedelic punk rock . . . with . . . monstrous fuzz guitars and freak-out lyrics: ‘This is a nightmare,” screams Ray, “and I’m going insane!'” (Steve Braunias, https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/when-steve-braunias-met-ray-columbus/GQHVOWZ3BAQY5RGA3ZPMREZZMA/). “Kick” is a “killer . . . fuzz punk classic” (Alec Palao, liner notes to the CD comp Biff! Bang! Powder: Also Featuring Ray Columbus, the Art Collection, Thomas & Richard Frost), “an incredible, fuzzed out stomper of the highest order” (Derek See, http://dereksdaily45.blogspot.com/2011/02/ray-columbus-art-collection-kick-me-i.html), “a fine example of fuzztone proto-punk”. (Mark Deming, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/powder-mn0001251845#biography)

Steve Braunias gets a kick out of the song:

It’s about the fear of flying mixed in with the fear of tripping on LSD; curious how [Columbus] tapped into panic and hysteria instead of the peace and love vibe going on just down the road at Haight Ashbury. Kick Me was less like the dreamy Eight Miles High by The Byrds than it was like the seething I Wanna Be Your Dog by Iggy and The Stooges. But then he was never very laidback, and never much belonged to any scene; he was always only ever Ray Columbus, who went his own way, did strange things. . . . I asked about his year in the US. He said: “I enjoyed the whole scene of just doing something a bit different. Kick Me was the most psychedelic thing I ever did. I sent it back to my management in New Zealand, and they took one look at it, one listen, and went, ‘Holy shit! This guy has gone completely wacko!’ They’d just released my version of Edelweiss, you see. I’d gone too crazy for them. Ha!”

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/when-steve-braunias-met-ray-columbus/GQHVOWZ3BAQY5RGA3ZPMREZZMA/

As to Ray Columbus, Mark Deming tells us:

In the ’60s, few figures were bigger or more respected on the New Zealand rock scene than Ray Columbus. A strong singer and a dynamic frontman, Columbus was the first NZ artist to land a number one single in another country. Columbus was also one of the first Kiwi acts to make a dent in the American music scene, and went on to a long, successful television career. [He] was born and raised in Christchurch, New Zealand . . . . The swagger and charisma of Elvis Presley in Jailhouse Rock had a powerful impact on young Ray, and he formed his first band at age 14. In 1960, Columbus became the lead singer with a combo called the Downbeats. The group landed gigs at an American military base, where they picked up on U.S. rock and R&B hits of the day that were little known in the Antipodes. The Downbeats’ sound toughened up as they gained a stronger R&B edge, and they evolved into Ray Columbus & the Invaders. By 1962, they had become the most talked about band in Christchurch, and landed their own show on NZ television, Club Columbus. A handful of gigs in Auckland led to a record deal with Zodiac Records, and [they] made their debut on vinyl in 1963. . . . . [I]t was with “She’s a Mod” that Columbus and company found their signature sound. . . . going to number one on the [Australian] singles charts, leading to extensive Aussie touring. . . . In 1965, [they] joined The Rolling Stones and Roy Orbison on a massive tour of Australia and New Zealand . . . . 1965 . . . saw the release of “Til We Kissed[]” . . . which became one of the biggest New Zealand hits of all time. In 1966, Columbus launched a solo career after the Invaders were denied visas to tour the United States. . . . [He] relocated to America (his wife’s father was a U.S. citizen, paving the way for a green card). Settling in San Francisco, Columbus began working with a local band called the Art Collection* and was signed to a small label, Colstar Records. He cut an album with the Art Collection . . . as well as a single, “Kick Me” . . . . However, Columbus had little success in America, and when he was offered the opportunity to host a pop music show in New Zealand, C’mon, he jumped at the chance.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ray-columbus-mn0001324547#biography

Michael Colonna, Grant Gillanders and Chris Bourke go deep on Columbus:

By 1955 he was a fashion-conscious, tap-dancing hipster, working at a cinema . . . . On leaving school, Columbus joined the Inland Revenue Department. He started visiting the US Navy icebreakers at Lyttelton Harbour and buying American records, clothing and cigarettes from the sailors. . . . One night . . . the Downbeats’ singer didn’t show up, and . . . [Columbus] scored a regular spot . . . . Ultimately the band evolved into Ray Columbus and the Invaders. The Invaders performed at the Bird Dog, a club for Operation Deep Freeze: US sailors who were heading to Antarctica. This exposed the group to R&B artists such as James Brown, Jackie Wilson and Ray Charles; Columbus also studied the dance moves of the black servicemen. . . . The Invaders became the resident band at The Plainsman . . . . One night in 1962 . . . . “Howard [Morrison] came over after their show and caught ours. He talked me into going to Auckland – he said we’d ‘kill them’ up there – so we took one of the offers and he was right. We were the toast of the Queen City.” . . . Eldred Stebbing signed them to a recording contract . . . . later recall[ing], “To me they were the complete package with a great mix of American R&B mixed with Shadows style riffs. They looked as good as they sounded and in Ray they had a world class front man – someone who could interact with an audience.” . . . Stebbing . . . agreed. . . . to finance a tour in Australia, and in November 1963 the Invaders played at Surf City . . . Sydney’s top teen dance venue. . . . The dynamism of their act – and their stage suits: black satin for the band, red for Columbus – quickly made the group a rival for local acts such as Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs. The Invaders returned to Auckland in February 1964 to record a cover of The Senators’ song, ‘She’s a Mod’. Initially, none of the Invaders liked it, although Columbus thought it had potential. The version they recorded was rockier than the British original, with a harder guitar sound and an exuberant “Yeah, yeah, yeah” hook that defined the times. Released in June 1964, it didn’t attract much immediate interest in New Zealand . . . . [but when] The Invaders returned to Sydney, where the song began to get airplay and then New Zealand programmers followed. . . . In August, Columbus married Le’Vonne – an American citizen . . . and the next day he flew to Australia to promote ‘She’s a Mod’. This time the group’s reception was different. Australia was still basking in the sunshine of The Beatles tour and ‘She’s A Mod’ . . . was tailor-made for Australian radio, which was looking for anything and everything Beatlesque. . . . Sydney went Mod crazy: the song sold 20,000 copies in two weeks then it began climbing the national charts. By October, [it] was on top of the charts on both sides of the Tasman, and the Invaders were the first New Zealand band to have an international No.1 hit. The song spent eight weeks at the top of the Australian charts . . . . During the song’s rise on the charts, the Invaders were on their first Australian tour . . . with The Searchers, Del Shannon, Peter & Gordon, Eden Kane and Dinah Lee. . . . A tour with Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs quickly followed. . . . They joined [the] package tour Big Beat 65, which also starred the Rolling Stones, Roy Orbison and The Newbeats. Also in 1965, Columbus and the Invaders recorded ‘Till We Kissed’, a Mann-Weil song originally called ‘Where Have You Been’ when it was released by Arthur Alexander. Columbus decided it should be a ballad . . . . Released in July 1965, it reached No.1 in New Zealand, and No.4 in Australia . . . . one of the biggest selling New Zealand singles. . . . Columbus recalled, “The band had tried to get work visas to America after we had big hits in Australia and New Zealand, and they turned us down because the consular general said, ‘We need teachers and nurses, not musicians’. I knew I could get a green card but I didn’t want to go without the group. Billy and Jimmy decided to leave the band and join up with Max Merritt and the Meteors in Australia.” . . . In 1966 Columbus toured New Zealand with Tom Jones and Herman’s Hermits . . . . Able to work in the US due to his wife’s citizenship, with his family he moved to San Francisco in July, signed a contract . . . and secured representation . . . . While in San Francisco, Columbus recruited . . . the Art Collection and in 1967 they performed throughout California. . . . [H]is first US single, ‘Kick Me’ got good airplay, but the band broke up soon after. . . . In 1968, he was invited . . . to return to New Zealand to join C’mon, the hit pop TV show that had recently lost its star, Mr. Lee Grant. . . . [“]That’s all I came back for, six months, because things were really starting to happen for me in the San Francisco Bay Area. In fact I’d just been offered a TV show the day I left. That’s timing, these things happen. I was doing quite a lot there. But I thought it’d be nice to come home for six months and see everybody and show off our baby and all those sorts of things. Sixteen years later, my contract finished[.”] . . . The 1970s saw Columbus become a stalwart of New Zealand entertainment, championing artists as a manager, producer, television host and NZ Listener columnist.

https://www.audioculture.co.nz/profile/ray-columbus

* The Art Collection, “d[oing] its best to sound like British mods” (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-art-collection-mn0001433121#biography), were in fact led by Thomas and Richard Martin, the wunderkinds behind Powder (see #789) and Thomas and Richard Frost (see #209, 211, 247, 385, 595, 775, 967).

Here’s an alternate take:

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