THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,894) The Living Daylights — “Jane”
No, this is not A-ha’s theme song to the James Bond flick! Though it would make a great Bond song. The criminally neglected band “struts like a confident Kinks” (Tim Sendra, https://www.allmusic.com/album/lets-live-for-today-the-complete-recordings-mw0003736890) on this killer UK freakbeat/pop psych tune — sadly unreleased at the time except on EPs in France and Portugal (https://www.45cat.com/artist/the-living-daylights). The band recorded an unreleased LP that is a “lost freakbeat classic” (Tm Sendra, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-living-daylights-mn0001489240#biography).
Kieron Tyler brings the Living Daylights to life:
[T]he Essex-based Living Daylights[‘]. . . . first single was issued on 21 April 1967. “Let’s Live For Today” had a good chance. Lightly psychedelic, it was in the same bag as The Hollies – very melodic, catchy, engaging. But no dice, and all that subsequently appeared under their name was a second and last single, October 1967’s “Baila Maria”. Another flop, so that was it. The band spilt in early 1968. Between their two singles, they recorded an album which was never issued. “Let’s Live For Today” had a backstory which could have helped Living Daylights into the charts. There was a lot of interest in the song. It was originally issued in Italy in June 1966 as ‘Piangi Con Me”, a B-side by ex-pat British band The Rokes [see #1,370]. Next, it was covered in the Netherlands by The Skope as “Be Mine Again”. The Rokes then issued it in English as “Passing Through Grey”. British music publisher Dick James got the rights but didn’t like the lyrics, so had it reconfigured as “Let’s Live For Today”. Living Daylights had just come onto his books, so they recorded it. Another Rokes version – as “Let’s Live For Today” this time – was issued on the same day as the Living Daylights’ single. Neither single charted. However, the song was recorded in America by The Grass Roots and [the rest is history] . . . . In America, to compete with The Grass Roots, their “Let’s Live For Today” was deviously marketed as “the original hit English version”. . . . Years later, the[y] . . . got some attention when “Always With Him” – the B-side of “Baila Maria” – and “Let’s Live For Today” were included in 1984 on the first volume of the Rubble collection[] . . . . [The band recorded] a confident pop album with some great psychedelic touches. . . . Living Daylights were a fine band, one worthy of having an album released . . . . But after “Baila Maria” stiffed . . . the album was shelved . . . .
https://theartsdesk.com/new-music/music-reissues-weekly-living-daylights-lets-live-today
Tim Sendra adds:
It’s hard to fathom that seemingly everyone involved with the group on the business side was so cloth-eared that they couldn’t hear just how good the album was. The songs that leaked out to comps over the years [including] “Jane[]” . . . gave a tantalizing glimpse of a band that was a combo of great players, singers, and writers. . . . [T]hree songs could have been hits . . . . The rest of the album has some similarly shiny gems; their producer Caleb Quaye [see #807, 1,169] penned the moody ballad “Cos I’m Lonely” . . . . [The LP not to be is] pretty close to revelatory and should be studied and enjoyed by all who consider themselves freakbeat aficionados.
[T]he Living Daylights recorded an album of rugged freakbeat and groovy post-beat pop in 1967 . . . . The band came together when two groups who were the toast of the Essex town of Harlow joined forces. Both the Naturals and the Guyatones built a large following with their beat group stylings; the former got as far as scoring a recording contract and releasing a few singles. One of them, 1964’s “I Should Have Known Better” almost broke into the Top 20, while another featured the first cover of a Pete Townshend [see #119, 548, 833, 976] composition (“It Was You”). By the time 1967 rolled around and the beat boom was giving way to freakbeat and psychedelia, the Naturals had broken up and the Guyatones were looking for a change. Their core membership (guitarist Garth Watt-Roy, bassist Norman Watt-Roy, and drummer Ron Prudence) welcomed refugees from the Naturals (vocalist Bob O’Neale and guitarist Dougie Ellis) into the fold. Rechristened the Living Daylights, they were taken under the wing of legendary publisher Dick James, signed to Phillips, and sent to the studio with producer Caleb Quaye. . . . Mixing together some catchy Garth Watt-Roy originals that leaned in the chunky freakbeat direction, a couple of Beatles covers . . . and a song penned by Quaye . . . the album never made it to record store shelves, a handful of songs were released on a French EP and the song “Always with Him” came out as a single later that year. The band continued to play live shows, hoping for a break that would inspire their label to issue their finished album. It wasn’t to be, though, and the group broke up in early 1968. The two Watt-Roy brothers and Prudence continued on together under the name the Greatest Show on Earth, signing to Harvest and making music in a more progressive vein. Once that band folded, the Watt-Roy brothers stayed active in the music business: Garth notably played in Fuzzy Duck, and Norman was a member of Ian Drury & the Blockheads and a session bassist.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/lets-live-for-today-the-complete-recordings-mw0003736890, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-living-daylights-mn0001489240#biography
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 Like Thisfamiliar 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 1,200 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.
Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! / Off the Charts: 60s Rock Revelations😊 