THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,765) Neil Christian and the Crusaders — “I Like It”
This ’66 France-only B-side is a “wild mod wonder” (happening45, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3uOn5hAaeZo&list=RD3uOn5hAaeZo&start_radio=1&pp=ygUYTmVpbCBjaHJpc3RpYW4gaSBsaWtlIGl0oAcB), “uncommonly tough R&B-rock” with “some storming . . . British R&B guitar” (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/neil-christian-mn0000390547#biography, https://www.allmusic.com/album/1962-1973-mw0000239620) courtesy of Jimmy Page. I like it!
Richie Unterberger writes about Neil Christian:
There’s no doubting Neil Christian’s contributions to the formative days of British rock. His groups included, at various times, Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore, Nicky Hopkins, Albert Lee, and Mick Abrahams. As a singer and recording artist, though, he was distinctly lacking, with a rather wimpy and tentative voice . . . . He tried his hand at teen idol tunes, Merseybeat-ish numbers, British R&B, and bloated MOR pop, but could not overcome his fundamental lack of strong material. . . . Ultimately he belonged to that peculiar British Invasion subgenre of male solo singers who had a stronger visual image than vocal chops, like P.J. Proby [see #1,186] and Dave Berry [see #554, 778, 887, 955]. Christian . . . land[ed] just one U.K. hit, the vaudevillian “That’s Nice,” which made number 14 in 1966. Born Christopher Tidmarsh, Neil Christian started fronting his backing group the Crusaders in the early ’60s. Jimmy Page was the guitarist at the outset, but left in mid-1962 due to illness, although he would later record with Christian in the studio. Page’s replacement was Albert Lee (though he too only lasted a short time), and other fine musicians would continue to pass through . . . . Christian started recording relatively quickly, making his debut on the 1962 Meek-produced single “The Road to Love” . . . but none of his 1962-1965 Columbia releases . . . made a mark. Christian’s fortunes went on the upswing after he hooked up with songwriter and producer Miki Dallon and began recording for the U.K. indie Strike Records, for whom Dallon often worked. Virtually all of his 1966-1967 singles were written by Dallon, including “That’s Nice” and “I Like It.” Christian couldn’t follow up “That’s Nice,” however, and Strike went out of business in late 1967. Christian released his final British 45 for Pye in 1967, though he did better in Germany, where he released some additional tracks in the late ’60s.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/neil-christian-mn0000390547#biography
Oh, and 45cat.com adds that:
The . . . single, “Two at a Time” released in October 1966 in the UK (only reaching Number 25 on Radio London’s Fab 40) and issued later in Germany, was a massive hit in the latter country and Neil quickly gathered a collection of musicians as another Crusaders group to tour Germany during April and May 1967 [including] Ritchie Blackmore . . . . Although Strike was folding in the UK, Neil was becoming a superstar in Germany. “I was Elvis Presley there; a big star” Neil says. “All I had to do was mime to my records in this club, then take a break to sign autographs, then mime a bit more.” Inevitably, he moved to Germany . . . . Neil remained in Germany until 1970 upon which time he returned to the UK where the countryfolk were totally unaware that he had been a massively successful and popular star in Germany.
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