THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,193) The Tremeloes — “Till the Sun Goes Down”
This May Day, enjoy stunning “soft, acoustic-textured balladry” that “rates right alongside the[ Tremeloes’] best work of the 1960s”. (Bruce Eder (talking about the album as a whole, but I know he meant this song!), https://www.allmusic.com/album/may-morning-mw0000472603) Be warned, though — it comes from the soundtrack to an Italian movie where bad things happen on May Day!
The song has quite a pedigree, or at least its Mellotron does. Geoff Leonard & Pete Walker tell us that:
[Bassist Chip Hawkes] had recently bought [it] from Jeff Lynne . . . . This was the very Mellotron used by the Beatles to record . . . “Strawberry Fields Forever” . . . . [T]he influence of the Fab Four is evident throughout this soundtrack; the Mellotron in particular on “Till the Sun Goes Down”.
liner notes to the CD soundtrack release of May Morning
The song is from the Tremeloes’ soundtrack to Italian director Ugo Liberatore’s May Morning (which had to wait decades to be released after the film failed at the box office). Bruce Eder writes that:
It’s not every day that a three-decade-old, previously unheard soundtrack surfaces — especially one written by one of the most successful pop/rock bands in England. That alone would make May Morning a reasonably important release, but equally to the point, it’s a great record — one of the group’s very best, in fact, and essential listening not just for fans of the Trems, but also for anyone who liked the very late-’60s sounds of the Beatles, Badfinger, et al. . . . The Tremeloes were supposedly just a little past their creative peak by the time they recorded this album — they were riding a number two hit in England at the time, but their fortunes were about to turn, a fact that no one could have guessed when they cut the soundtrack . . . in Rome in the summer of 1970. May Morning is a cheerful, often bracing, always tuneful mix of upbeat pop/rock, bluesy songs, exquisite instrumentals, and soft, acoustic-textured balladry that rates right alongside their best work of the 1960s. . . . In all, this might be the most solid long-player the band ever cut . . . .
https://www.allmusic.com/album/may-morning-mw0000472603
Vernon Joynson feels differently, that the soundtrack “was all part of their campaign to disown their pop history and court underground audiences, but on the evidence of this you can see why it didn’t work.” (The Tapestry of Delights Revisited)
As to the flick, Lazarillo says:
It focuses on the the brutal class relations and the storied May Day rituals at the world’s most prestigious university. The protagonist (Alessandro Oranio) is a working-class Italian student attending Oxford on a rowing scholarship and trying to fit in among his aristocratic British peers in an absolutely unforgiving environment of rarefied class privilege. He meets and gets severely teased by the daughter (Jane Birkin) of one of the Oxford “dons” who tutors him. The end, which takes place at the drunken May Day celebration, is absolutely brutal (albeit also pretty unmotivated). It’ll definitely stay with you for a long time afterwords.
Christopher Underwood adds:
Alessio Orano is the male lead and Jane Birkin the female and even money on who is the prettiest. Looks aside Orano is excellent as the politically aware Italian student enrolled at Oxford and disillusioned from the start. [H]e cannot see why whilst the rest of Europe is in turmoil, questioning everything, why the mighty college seems intent to carry on with its weird and bullying ways. The film begins leisurely but soon gets under the skin.
As to the Tremeloes, All Music Guide says:
When UK chart-toppers Brian Poole And The Tremeloes parted company in 1966, few would have wagered that the backing group would outdo the lead singer. Remarkably, however, the relaunched Tremeloes went on to eclipse not only Poole, but the original hitmaking act. At the time of their reconvening in 1966, the lineup was comprised of Rick West . . . Alan Blakley . . . Dave Munden . . . and Alan Howard . . . . In May of 1966 Howard was replaced by Mike Clark; however, a mere three months later his spot was taken by Len ‘Chip’ Hawkes . . . whose lead vocals and boyish looks gave the group a stronger visual identity. In order to keep up with the times, the group members abandoned their stage suits in favour of Carnaby Street garb and fashionably longer hair. . . . [Their cover of] ‘Here Comes My Baby’ (a Cat Stevens composition) smashed into the Top 20 on both sides of the Atlantic. An astute follow-up with ‘Silence Is Golden’, previously the flip side of the Four Seasons’ ‘Rag Doll’, proved a perfect vehicle for the Tremeloes’ soft harmonic style and gave them their only UK number 1 and their highest US chart entry (number 11). Having established themselves as a hit act, they notched up an impressive run of hits during the late 60s . . . . At the end of the decade, the Tremeloes seemed weary of their role in the pop world and broke away from their usual Tin Pan Alley songsmiths to write their own material. Their first attempt, ‘(Call Me) Number One’, was an impressive achievement, probably superior to the material that they had recorded since 1967. When it reached number 2 in the charts, the group members convinced themselves that a more ambitious approach would bring even greater rewards. Overreacting to their dream start as hit writers, they announced that they were ‘going heavy’ and suicidally alienated their pop audience by dismissing their earlier record-buying fans as ‘morons’. . . . Thereafter, they turned increasingly to cabaret, where their strong live performances were well appreciated. . . .
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-tremeloes-mn0000921359#biography
Here’s a clip from the movie:
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Very cool find!
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I gotta watch the movie!
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The clip looked interesting actually.
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