Bad Times Special Edition: The Roulettes — “Bad Time”, The D-Coys — “Bad Times”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 2, 2025

The D-Coys — ATV-10 program The Go!! Show — September 19, 1966.

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

1,671) The Roulettes — “Bad Time”

How was this “priceless” (Bruce Eder, https://www.allmusic.com/album/stakes-chips-mw0000057150) irresistible ‘64 Merseybeat number not a hit (though it did reach #43 on Melody Maker)? (My Friend Jack, https://www.45cat.com/record/r5110)) Well, listen to the first line. Did he really say that? Well, teabiscuit “got a 45 of this & he really does seem to be saying a rude word, if more like ‘Wuck’ out of the door a regional accent.” (https://www.45cat.com/record/r5110) But to alquin, “[i]f anyone really thinks that there is a ‘rude’ word in the sentence ‘If you should walk right out of this door, and never come back anymore’ then that person has only him/herself to blame…” (https://www.45cat.com/record/r5110)

Bruce Eder writes about the Roulettes:

An underrated British quartet made up of John Rogan (bass), Russ Ballard (lead guitar), Peter Thorpe (rhythm guitar), and Bob Henrit (drums), the Roulettes featured future Argent alumnus . . . Ballard on lead guitar. They were originally formed as a backing band for . . . Adam Faith [see #1,274] . . . . Beginning in 1963 with the start of the rock & roll explosion coming out of Liverpool, the group was somewhat reorganized, and their and Faith’s work together became much more assertive; the result was Faith’s last big hit “The First Time” in August of 1963. The group began recording on their own for EMI in late 1963 and revealed themselves as an above-average group, fully competitive on a musical level with acts like the Searchers and the Hollies. . . . [with] soaring harmonies behind strong lead vocals, crisp guitar playing, and a good ear for memorable hooks. Ballard and Henrit and also appeared on “Concrete and Clay,” a major hit for the acoustic rock outfit Unit Four Plus Two, but the Roulettes’ own records stubbornly failed to make the charts. By 1965, they’d split with Adam Faith, but the concentration on their own careers didn’t change the inexplicably lackluster performance of their records. The group soldiered on through 1967 without any chart success, playing shows on the European continent, where any good British rock band could still earn a decent living. Finally, Ballard and Henrit joined Unit Four Plus Two, while Thorpe and Rogan left the music business. [Then] Ballard and Henrit hooked up with Rod Argent and Chris White, late of the Zombies, and formed Argent . . . .

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-roulettes-mn0000491652#biography

1,672) The D-Coys — “Bad Times”

The D-Coys give us an even better version — “one of the best beat songs I know . . . a censored cover of a Roulettes song” (michelst14, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbhxDWvgoJ8), with “the offending line . . . pointedly sung as Back right out”. (duckrrrs, https://www.45cat.com/record/r5110)

“Oh rip it up baby!!! (livinlifetothefullest2750, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvCbLTMJMsM) “Love this. The aussies kill it”. (harrywmiller, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hk4UabDPXlk) “[F]erociously fetching”. (Beverly Paterson, https://somethingelsereviews.com/2013/11/27/the-bee-gees-easybeats-others-down-under-nuggets-original-australian-artyfacts-1965-67/ “[N]othing short of . . . sensational”. (djiaind, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/the-d-coys/bad-times-youre-against/) Yeah, baby! And they kill it on the Go!! Show!

Kimbo:

The D Coys formed as a trio in Adelaide, South Australia around 1965. By 1966 Alistair Innes was the only one left until he was joined by Kevin Smith (ex-The Viscounts). After being signed by EMI they moved to Melbourne, released three singles, appeared on the Go!! Show and then sunk into obscurity. Kevin Smith would end up fronting The Cherokees around 1967. Innes later turned up in Multiple Balloon.

https://historyofaussiemusic.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-d-coys.html

Pop Archives:

Glenn A. Baker, who included “Bad Times” on his landmark Ugly Things Vol. 1 collection (1980), wrote that they were “remarkably adept at producing both great pop and great punk on either side of the one single”, and noted that [Alistair] Innes was a fine songwriter. Ian McFarlane in his Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop (1999) . . . [found] “jubilant pop and tough garage-punk on either side of one single”.

https://poparchives.com.au/the-vacant-lot/leaving-here/#the-d-coys:leaving-here

Oh, and from Verona here is I Memphis’ ’67 Italian version — “Che Farò”/”What Will I Do”:

I have added a Facebook page for Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock! If you like what you read and hear and feel so inclined, please visit and “like” my Facebook page by clicking here.

Pay to Play! The Off the Charts Spotify Playlist! + Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock Merchandise

Please consider helping to support my website/blog by contributing $6 a month for access to the Off the Charts Spotify Playlist. Using a term familiar to denizens of Capitol Hill, you pay to play! (“relating to or denoting an unethical or illicit arrangement in which payment is made by those who want certain privileges or advantages in such arenas as business, politics, sports, and entertainment” — dictionary.com).

The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify — now over 1,100 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.

All new subscribers will receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock magnet. New subscribers who sign up for a year will also receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock t-shirt or baseball cap. See pictures on the Pay to Play page.

When subscribing, please send me an e-mail (GMFtma1@gmail.com) or a comment on this site letting me know an e-mail address/phone number/Facebook address, etc. to which I can send instructions on accessing the playlist and a physical address to which I can sent a magnet/t-shirt/baseball cap. If choosing a t-shirt, please let me know the gender and size you prefer.

Just click on the first blue block for a month to month subscription or the second blue block for a yearly subscription.