Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! / Off the Charts: 60s Rock Revelations😊

The Allusions — “Mr. Love”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 17, 2025

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

1,655) The Allusions — “Mr. Love“

Here is a fantastic Australian pop rock number with such a captivating melody by a band that once rivaled the Easybeats in popularity (at least in Sydney!).

Paul Culnane traces the history of the Allusions at the definitive Milesago: Australasian Music & Popular Culture 1964-1975:

The Allusions was a Sydney-based quintet that burst out of nowhere in 1966, scoring a couple of major hits in Sydney. Although they disappeared into obscurity after their short career ended, this is a band that deserves much more recognition. The Allusions formed in late 1965, its members drawn from several other accomplished Sydney groups, and boasting four singers. Their leader, singer-guitarist-composer Mike Morris, had previously played with Dennis & The Dellawares . . . . Within a short time of forming, The Allusions were signed to Robert Iredale’s Leopold Productions, one of Australia’s first independent record production companies . . . . The Allusions shot to prominence in early 1966 with their captivatingly melodic version of the old Rick Nelson hit “Gypsy Woman” . . . peaking at #12. . . . [The band] was given the opportunity to record two original songs (both penned by Morris) for their mesmerising follow-up. “The Dancer”/”Roller Coaster Man” . . . . The A-side . . . ma[de] the Sydney Top Ten (#9) . . . . [B]ecause of the parochial nature of radio and the pop scene at the time, The Allusions’ chart success was limited entirely to Sydney . . . . Morris’ impressive songwriting ability and the success of the two singles persuaded Iredale to finance the recording of a full album — a comparatively rare occurrence at that time for a new and relatively unproven group. . . . The LP contains a variety of material, mixing originals by Morris with covers . . . . Gary Aurisch, who wrote the only book about the band . . . describe[d] the album thus: “It remains a versatile work crammed with intelligently crafted pop songs, most of which are adorned with nifty little guitar solos and carefully thought-out, unobtrusive harmony”. . . . Their third single “Looks Like Trouble” (Oct. 1966) didn’t chart, although the follow-up “Roundabout” (another Morris original, released in March 1967) managed to scrape into the bottom of the Top 40. . . . The Allusions released two more Singles, “Seven Days Of Rain” (July 1967) and “Mr Love” (February 1968), but neither was successful. Between these two releases, Mike Morris left the band in late 1967, and he was replaced by John Spence. The Allusions continued as a four-piece until October 1968, when Terry Hearne quit to join Digger Revell’s backing band. Mike Morris then rejoined, to raise money for an overseas trip, but by this time the momentum of their early success had dissipated, and in the face of changing trends they split for good in early 1969. . . . The Allusions left behind a fine batch of records . . . .

http://www.milesago.com/mainframe.htm

Bruce Eder adds:

The Allusions . . . left behind some great Merseybeat-style records. . . . The new group’s influences and models came from the Beatles but also the early Zombies and the Fortunes, Gerry & the Pacemakers, and other lighter, pop-oriented rock & roll outfits being heard at the time in England. When they made their debut at the end of 1965, they were a pure cover band . . . . [but] moved into creating original material when they realized that it was the only way that they would ever get to record. Morris became their in-house mainstay in that regard . . . . They developed a modified Merseybeat sound, almost reminiscent of Gerry & the Pacemakers but with the harmonic subtleties of the Beatles and the Searchers . . . . From the beginning, they sounded more Merseybeat than the actual surviving Merseybeat bands of 1966 did, in some ways paralleling the early Australian work of the Easybeats — both had what was, essentially, a delightful throwback sound to the slightly more innocent years of 1964-1965. Their debut release of “Gypsy Woman” was a nationally charting Australian single that reached the island nation’s Top Ten in a nine-week chart run. They sounded so English that it was a surprise when they discovered that the Allusions were from Australia. . . . Their second single, “The Dancer,” did even better than its predecessor, peaking at number eight on the charts. The sky seemed the limit at that point — with the exception of the Easybeats, no Australian band was doing anything like the Allusions’ business . . . . their initial success fizzled out along with their third single, “Looks Like Trouble.” . . . The single’s failure, coupled with behind-the-scenes political maneuvers that kept them out of the best venues in Sydney, also cost them some momentum. Their fourth single, “Roundabout,” made the Top 30 in early 1967, rescuing the group from immediate decline . . . . Morris’ songwriting output was never fully adequate to keep them competitive in the singles marketplace, and their inability to break through to the best clubs in Sydney, or to get the best bookings elsewhere in Australia, coupled with the bare trickle of money that they ever saw from their records . . . all wore on the members. Attempts to crack Melbourne and Brisbane never paid off, and then the sales of their records fell off and the group gave up along with the record label. By the end of 1968, the Allusions were history . . . .

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/allusions-mn0000035433#biography

Let me quote an anonymous post that says it all:

I remember the great Saturday nights at the Hurstville Rivoli. We danced our legs off to the Allusions, especially Belinda, who I’m sure she was the idea for “The Dancer”. They were the best and we loved them all. John’s lovely deep voice and all their harmonies. Good lookers, great talent and treated us crazy girls respectfully. Wonderful memories, good times. I’m now 71, but still remember them and their songs like it was yesterday. I guess that’s the magic of music.

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

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.

Rev Black and the Rockin’ Vicars — “Walking and Talking”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 16, 2025

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

1,654) Rev Black and the Rockin’ Vicars* — “Walking and Talking”

This is the Australian group’s last A-side, written by the Easybeats’ [see #201, 1,310, 1,359, 1,450] Harry Vanda and George Young. Terry Stacey writes of the hyper-melodic and ingratiating song that:

“[It] was well recorded and a typical pop-psych song of the time. . . . guitar dominated . . . with a catchy intro riff played on a surfie sounding guitar and stop-start verses and choruses. Apparently it was a copy of the original Easybeats demo which has never been released.

https://web.archive.org/web/20061030122358/http://www.freewebs.com/rockinvicars/historyrockinvicars.htm

Apparently, the Vicars’ recording is “a virtual facsimile of the Easybeats’ original demo”. (Alec Palao, liner notes to the CD comp Peculiar Hole in the Sky: Pop-Psych from Down Under)

Here are some excerpts from Terry Stacey’s definitive history of the band (which I recommend you read in full):

In the early 1960’s, Blackpool was the home of a thriving beat group scene. . . . One of the many groups . . . was Bruce and The Spiders . . . . [including] Dave Rossall (vocals, lead guitar) . . . . Wollongong, on the shores of sunny New South Wales, Australia . . . had attracted many migrants in the great post WW2 wave, who had moved there to work at the big BHP Steelworks. . . . In 1963 a band was formed in Wollongong called Donnie and The Drifters. . . . [which] then mutated into The Finks who began playing R ‘n B & Blues . . . . In 1966 Dave Rossall migrated . . . with his parents and settled in Wollongong. . . . [He] join[ed] The Finks . . . switch[ing] over to vocals only. It was he who taught them the stagecraft he’d learned in the UK and renamed them. . . . [T]heir record company and some promoters . . . apparently felt rather uneasy in using the full name because, apart from their first release . . . where the band name is shown in full as “Rev Black & The Rockin’ Vickers” (even then they didn’t show it as Vicars), all their later releases had “R. Black and The Rockin’ V’s” on the label. . . . Adopting a name with a religious nature was a very controversial move in Australia then, which was very conservative. . . . Dressing as ministers of religion was fairly radical by the standards of the times. To add to the mystique, they initially put out the story that the whole band had come over from the UK. This gave them a further attraction as Australia was still fully in the grip of its dreaded “cultural cringe” which always looked on overseas music & culture as being superior . . . . However [bassist] Laurie Hellyer says . . . [that he was] the only Australian born member. . . . With the joining of Dave and the consequent name change & the clerical garb, they became more stage conscious and started playing new material such as early Small Faces, The Who and Motown. . . . Mike Mitchell . . . describes the opening of their appearances thus….. [“]the hall is shrouded in darkness……… slowly, very slowly, the stage lights up in a mist, accompanied by soulful church music, a choir in the distance…silhouettes of five people emerge from the receding fog, the choir and the organ steadily fade away as the black figures on stage come into the light…” In early 1967 they recorded their first single . . . . This was a period of plenty . . . with 4 nights a week at the Windang Hotel, plus running and doing spots at their own dances while using other bands. They also did country tours and worked out of Sydney for a while. They regularly headlined at Wollongong’s biggest music venue of the time, Wonderland, and on one occasion they were so popular that Australia’s top pop star Johnny Farnham appeared as support act for them there . . . . [I]n January 1968 . . . the band . . . record[ed] its 2nd single, Vanda & Young’s . . . “Down to the Last 500” and “Sugar Train” (a song written by four members of the band). . . . “Down To The Last 500” entered the Brisbane charts on 6 April 1968 at No 35 and there for 4 weeks, reaching a highest position of No 30. According to Laurie Hellyer it also reached No 13 on the Darwin charts. . . . The band continued on for the next year touring on the Ivan Dayman circuit to Melbourne, Adelaide & Queensland. They cut two more singles during that time. . . . Neither . . . achieved any chart success. . . . [The band] broke up in early 1969. . . . [M]ost members returned to Wollongong and formed Tin Pan Alley.

https://web.archive.org/web/20061029134642/http://www.freewebs.com/rockinvicars/beginningsrevblackthe.htm, https://web.archive.org/web/20061030122358/http://www.freewebs.com/rockinvicars/historyrockinvicars.htm

* “The confusion with the British group, Rev. Black & The Rockin’ Vickers [Lemmy Kilmister’s first band] is hopefully now resolved. British immigrant, Dave Rossall . . . never played in the British group but ‘borrowed’ the name.” (Peter Kelaher, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENKELEk0KgM)

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

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

The Tol-Puddle Martyrs — “Time Will Come”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 15, 2025

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

1,653) The Tol-Puddle Martyrs – “Time Will Come”

From Australia comes “taut, distressed garage rock on the verge of getting slightly psychedelicized, with cutting minor-keyed distorted guitar/organ riffs and ominous, distrustful lyrics”, with “its organ, distorted guitar, and cool vocal recall[ing] American garage-psychedelia like Max Frost & the Troopers’ ‘Shapes of Things to Come'”. (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-tol-puddle-martyrs-mn0001442992#biography, https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-tol-puddle-martyrs-mw0000303751)

Listening Post Blog writes:

[It is] a very typical 60’s keyboard psyched-out sound with softened vocals contrasting the distorted guitar/organ riffs; but what I really like and what really sets the song apart is the ominous lyrics and the uneasy chord changes. . . . A little darkness amidst what initially seems to be an upbeat vibe makes for a pleasant surprise!

https://thelisteningpostblog.wordpress.com/2019/09/19/song-of-the-day-tol-puddle-martyrs-time-will-come/

Richie Unterberger tells us of the Martyrs:

The . . . Tol-Puddle Martyrs (evolving out of the mid-’60s band Peter & the Silhouettes . . . ) put out a couple of singles in 1967-1968 that are highly regarded by garage rock collectors . . . . Their name, incidentally, wasn’t as contrived a bit of ’60s weirdness as might be assumed, inspired by an 1834 incident in which six farm workers in Tolpuddle, England, were banished to Australia for unionizing, subsequently becoming known as the Tolpuddle Martyrs.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-tol-puddle-martyrs-mn0001442992#biography

Here is the original video:

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

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

Clarence Carter — “You Can’t Miss What You Can’t Measure”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 14, 2025

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

1,652) Clarence Carter — “You Can’t Miss What You Can’t Measure”

One of Clarence Carter’s (see #296) classic cheating songs. “My favourite Clarence Carter song . . . Perfect Southern Soul”. (michaelhinchcliffe7213, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4wtG2szSN0)

“But as sure as you can do it, brother She can do it too” “But as sure as you do it now, sister He might do it too”

Jason Ankeny gives us some history:

Clarence Carter exemplified the gritty, earthy sound of Muscle Shoals R&B, fusing the devastating poignancy of the blues with a wicked, lascivious wit to create deeply soulful music rooted in the American South of the past and the present. Born . . . in Montgomery, AL, Carter was blind from birth. He immediately gravitated to music, teaching himself guitar by listening to the blues classics . . . . He majored in music at Alabama State University, learning to transcribe charts and arrangements in Braille. With blind classmate Calvin Scott, Carter in 1960 formed the duo Clarence & Calvin, signing to the Fairlane label . . . . [They] left Fairlane for the Duke imprint, renaming themselves the C & C Boys . . . In all, the duo cut four Duke singles, none of them generating more than a shrug at radio . . . . [They] spent the first half of 1966 headlining Birmingham’s 2728 Club. One Friday night in June while returning home from the nightspot, the group suffered an auto accident that left Scott critically injured, initiating an ugly falling-out with Carter over the resulting medical bill. In the meantime, Carter continued as a solo act, signing to [the] Fame label for 1967’s “Tell Daddy,” which inspired Etta James’ [see #316, 498, 1,585] response record, “Tell Mama.” The superb popcorn-soul effort “Thread the Needle” proved a minor crossover hit . . . . Carter [went] to Atlantic with “Looking for a Fox,” issued in early 1968. . . . [and] prov[ing] the first of many singles to slyly reference the singer’s visual impairment, not to mention showcasing the libidinous impulses that dominate many of his most popular records. . . . “Slip Away,” a superior cheating ballad[, ] . . . . was a Top Ten hit, and its follow-up, “Too Weak to Fight,” also went gold, solidifying Carter’s newfound commercial appeal. He ended 1968 with a superbly funky Christmas single, the raunchy “Back Door Santa,” [see #296] . . . . The percolating “Snatching It Back” was Carter’s first Atlantic release of 1969 . . . . Subsequent singles . . . were only marginally successful, but in 1970 Carter returned to the Top Ten with the sentimental “Patches,” his biggest hit to date. . . . Carter left Atlantic in 1972, returning to Fame with “Back in Your Arms Again.” Released in 1973, the leering “Sixty Minute Man” proved a novelty hit, but in 1975 he attempted to reignite his career at ABC, releasing “Take It All Off” and “Dear Abby” to little notice.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/clarence-carter-mn0000148477#biography

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

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

Shades of Morley Brown — “Silly Girl”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 13, 2025

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

1,651) Shades of Morley Brown — “Silly Girl”

I’ve played the B-side (see #1,112), here is the A-side, one of those impossibly bubbly 60’s numbers, with a whistling intro to boot, from a “nice, very obscure [’68 UK] psych/pop single”. (Popsike.com, https://www.popsike.com/SHADES-OF-MORLEY-BROWN-Silly-Girl-UNKNOWN-UK-PSYCH/4014924238.html) The single was the only one to come from Chris Morley and Malcolm Brown, “who had worked together in a brick manufacturing plant before leaving their native Hampshire” for London. (liner notes the CD comp Piccadilly Sunshine: Volumes 11-20: A Compendium of Rare Pop Curios from the British Psychedelic Era) ”They found that they could harmoni[ze] loading & unloading bricks. Malcolm attempted to write lyrics and Chris attempted tunes. They were signed as songwriters to KPM after a whirlwind tour of the Music Publishers in April 1968. KPM prefered Morley/Browns demo so Mercury did a one off deal with them.” (chrismorley9230, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLUwCmZhsWs)

Oh, and the song was arranged by Keith Mansfield (see #599). We have all have heard Mansfield’s music — used by Quentin Tarantino, Danger Mouse, Gnarls Barkley, the NFL, and on and on — but few know his name. He wrote some of the “funkiest, grooviest and memorable orchestral themes” of the ’60’s (Gareth Bramley, https://www.robertfarnonsociety.org.uk/index.php/jim/jim-new-articles/2014/the-world-of-keith-mansfield)

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

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

The Pipe Dream — “The Middle of the Night”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 12, 2025

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

1,650) The Pipe Dream — “The Middle of the Night”

The Pipe Dream (see #105, 147) gives us absolutely ravishing, “[t]hrilling” and “evocative minor key” sunshine pop (hifrommike2120, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-maO2X9vjw), written by Estelle Levitt and Don Thomas and produced and arranged by Stephen “Wicked” Schwartz (see #585). Franko tells us that Thomas and Levitt were “American 60s songwriters that wrote Herman’s Hermits’ [see #300, 613, 639, 841] ‘This Door Swings Both Ways’, Lulu’s [see #960] ‘Love Loves To Love, Love’, [and] The Seekers’ ‘Music Of The World A-Turnin'”. (Franko, https://whatfrankislisteningto.negstar.com/sunshine-pop-and-baroque/the-pipe-dream-wanderers-lovers-rca-1969/)

“Middle of the Night” is from a “terribly underrated LP” (liner notes to CD comp Soft Sounds for Gentle People Presents: Sounds of She) that is “slightly lightly disturbing, but in the best way possible” with “a lot of glorious melodies and harmonies”. (holynosmoke, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/the_pipe_dream/wanderers_lovers/) Franko writes that:

This album breathes 1969. The cover suggests, that there are two women and three men in the band but the female vocalists are more prominent across the whole album. It’s sunshine pop with all its glorious harmonies with some, not surprising, asides and references to theatre and Broadway as well as some bubblegum and psych touches. It is well arranged with a lot of musicality. Lyrically, it is of its time also, questioning, gently cynical (look at the name of the band), with touches of humour. They were aiming at the Fifth Dimension audience but it is also apt to think The Mamas and the Papas or the late 60s Beach Boys [see #667] if they were a Broadway revue, or perhaps, theatre kids discover free love, drugs and class consciousness. Groovy …

https://whatfrankislisteningto.negstar.com/sunshine-pop-and-baroque/the-pipe-dream-wanderers-lovers-rca-1969/

Johndoejunior adds:

[Addictive] . . . Songwriting-wise, it’s more intricate than a lot of sunshine pop. Great lyrics. Great vocal arrangements by one of the future kings of musical theater. Steven Schwartz probably forgot all about this record once he was rolling around in his Godspell money. Its well worth owning though.

https://www.discogs.com/release/4847550-The-Pipe-Dream-Wanderers-Lovers?srsltid=AfmBOoqW-ltFntGHGkhpvC7JyzjbQG0pVAmHpmY4z8NzRZIGTfIe0b1M

As to the Pipe Dream, Franko tells us that:

We know that the “group” is three guys and two girls (David, Steve, Pete, Chris and Pat) and it . . . was arranged by, produced by, and largely written by Steve Schwartz. At the age of 21 to get an album deal, as well as write, arrange and produce shows some balls but he had it … after all he had two major Broadway successes under his belt by the time he was 24. Group member . . . David Spangler, is also from Broadway having done Nefertiti the Musical (1977) and worked with Schwartz on The Magic Box (1974). Interestingly he worked with John-Michael Tebelak on the musical Elizabeth 1 (1972).

https://whatfrankislisteningto.negstar.com/sunshine-pop-and-baroque/the-pipe-dream-wanderers-lovers-rca-1969/

Godspell money? Wikipedia says that:

Stephen . . . Schwartz is an American musical theatre composer and lyricist. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written hit musicals such as Godspell (1971), Pippin (1972), and Wicked (2003). He has contributed lyrics to a number of successful films, including Pocahontas (1995), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), The Prince of Egypt (1998, music and lyrics), Enchanted (2007), Disenchanged (2022), and the two-part adaptation of Wicked (2024–2025, music and lyrics).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Schwartz

A fuller description of his amazing career can be found at his website (https://stephenschwartz.com/about/full-bio/).

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

The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify — now over 1,000 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.

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

Lee Lynch — “A Bad Time to Stop Loving Me”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 11, 2025

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

1,649) Lee Lynch — “A Bad Time to Stop Loving Me”

How was this grand ballad not covered a million times? Well, maybe not as a wedding song! County Galway’s Lee Lynch does it proud, as does The Avengers‘ Linda Thorson.

Irish Show Bands.com gives us Lee Lynch’s history:

Lee [real first name Liam] Lynch was born in Ballinasloe, County Galway . . . . In an article in Spotlight on February 8th, 1969, Lee told reporter John Kercher that his first break came when he left Ireland, “I always wanted to entertain people for as long as I can remember, but the real break came in 1959 when I left Ireland for London and appeared on the Carol Levis Discoveries Show.” The appearance caused a bit of a stir for the singer and he was discovered performing at the Roebuck pub in Chiswick, London, by singing star Vince Hill, who got him signed up to The James Tate Agency. He was immediately . . . sent on tour supporting Emile Ford and The Checkmates. While in England, Lee formed his first band, The Lynchmen and they spent 2 great years as resident band in the ‘Nuffield Centre’, an entertainment venue for members of the armed forces. With their gold suits and sky blue shoes there was never a dull moment! Lee returned to Ireland and the Irish Showband scene in 1963 when he answered an ad in Melody Maker for a lead singer for the Tropical Showband who had just landed a residency at the 32 Club in Harlesden, West London. For the next 2 years they built up quite a big fan base and worked with many top names, the late, great Jim Reeves and Tom Jones [see #330, 380] amongst many others. In 1965 Lee formed The Blue Angels . . . a mixture of Irish and English musicians who just seemed to click with the dancing public of the time. It is The Blue Angels who can be heard on Lee’s first record, Lennon & McCartney’s “You Won’t See Me”, released on the Decca label. He performed his second release, “Answer Me”, live on the BBC . . . . In 1969, Lee signed for Ember Records and his first release “Stay Awhile” [to which today’s song was the B-side] began to get a lot of airplay on the continent. With this in mind, he was chosen to represent Great Britain in an International Song Contest in Knokke-Le-Zoute. He returned to the UK feeling rather dejected having been pipped by a single point by the Spanish entry, but the dejection didn’t last as 2 weeks later he received a telegram to say that “Stay Awhile;” had topped the charts in Belgium, Holland and France. He was in pretty big demand on the continent for TV work for the next couple of years and had [a number of] top ten hits . . . . The album Stay Awhile With Lee Lynch also topped the charts. Lee couldn’t refuse the offer to Replace Brendan Boyer as lead singer of The Royal Showband in the early 70’s . . . . He . . . [then] decided to return to London and reform The Blue Angels. In 1973 he had a bit of success on Columbia Records with the Les Reed song “Mama Married A Preacher” and was looking for a follow up song for his next release. He remembered a song he had started to write during the long treks across Ireland with The Royal Showband and decided to finish it there and then. Soon, his favourite recording “The Love In My Woman’s Eyes” was born. With this song he was invited to represent Ireland later that year in an International Song Contest in Sofia, Bulgaria. He regards this period as the most satisfying of his career. . . . [A] long list of artistes have recorded his work, including amongst others Daniel O’Donnell, Dickie Rock, Foster & Allen, Joe Dolan, Brendan Boyer and Margo.

https://www.irish-showbands.com/Bands/leelynch.htm#:~:text=In%201965%20Lee%20formed%20’The,released%20on%20the%20Decca%20label.

Famous Shamus — The Lee Lynch Tribute Website adds that “[I]n 1980 he was voted London’s favourite Irish vocalist, appeared on another star studded bill at the Royal Albert Hall and released one of his best known singles, ‘Paddy’s On The Move Again’, followed up in 1982 by ‘Famous Shamus’.” (http://www.leelynch.co.uk/biography.php)

“Bad Time” was written by Kenny Lynch, about whom Richie Unterberger writes:

Although he had a couple of Top Ten singles in Britain in 1963, Kenny Lynch is most famous for a flop single he issued the same year. That was “Misery,” the first cover of a Beatles song to be released. . . . Lynch took the composition and gave it a much more pop-oriented arrangement than the Beatles would use when they recorded “Misery” themselves . . . . Lynch was one of the relatively few Black singers on the British pop scene in the early 1960s, and made the Top Ten a couple of times in 1963 with “You Can Never Stop Me Loving You” and a cover of the Drifters’ “Up on the Roof.” His records were an odd mixture of featherweight early-1960s teen-idol pop and American pop-soul . . . . [and he] wrote a fairly high percentage of his own material . . . . Lynch was ultimately more successful as a songwriter, often collaborating with other composers . . . . Some of his compositions were recorded by the Drifters, the Swinging Blue Jeans, and Cilla Black; a couple of his more notable efforts were the fine girl-group-styled “He’s Got Something” by Dusty Springfield and a minor hit by Billy J. Kramer [see #302] “It’s Gotta Last Forever.” In the mid-1960s, he somehow got the opportunity to write with Mort Shuman, the Brill Building songwriter who had collaborated with Doc Pomus to pen such classics as “Save the Last Dance for Me” and “Teenager in Love.” This resulted in Lynch’s most famous credit, as he co-authored “Sha La La La Lee,” the Small Faces’ [see #969, 1,024] first British Top Ten hit. Lynch also ended up writing or co-writing a couple of other songs from the Small Faces’ 1966 debut album, You’d Better Believe It (co-written with American soul writer/producer Jerry Ragavoy) and “Sorry She’s Mine,” which could have been strong enough to make it under its own steam had it been released as a single.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kenny-lynch-mn0000085023#biography

Unterberger also tells us about Linda Thorson:

Linda Thorson is known primarily as a stage, screen, and television actress, her late-’60s stint in the TV series The Avengers being her most famous role. It’s not well known that, at the apex of her exposure on The Avengers, she also recorded some pop singles for the U.K.’s small Ember label. Produced by Kenny Lynch . . . .

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/linda-thorson-mn0000831575#biography

Here is Linda:

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

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

The Smoke — “My Friend Jack”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 10, 2025

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

1,648) The Smoke — “My Friend Jack”

My friends, here is all-time classic UK pop psych, with “almost facetiously excessive reverb and shameless lyrical celebration of the underground community’s predilection for using sugar cubes to ingest [LSD]” (David Wells, Record Collector 100 Greatest Psychedelic Records: High Times and Strange Tales from Rock’s Most Mind-Blowing Era), “[s]uperbly produced with instantly memorable, skittish guitar and an ‘addictive’ chorus” (liner notes to the CD comp Mojo Presents: Acid Drops, Spacedust & Flying Saucers: Psychedelic Confectionery from the UK Underground 1965-1969), “a catchy, striking, aggressively trippy work . . . that now seems like the most delightfully subversive piece of freakbeat”. (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-smoke-mn0000751371#discography) “Massively contagious, toweringly confident, the song screams hit record!” (Mike Stax, liner notes to the CD comp Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts From The British Empire And Beyond 1964-1969) Well, it might have been a huge hit had it not been banned by the BBC. Except that it was a huge hit . . . in Germany. Anyway, eat a few sugar lumps and let the Smoke (see #1,499) envelop you.

Mike Stax rhapsodizes:

[This] should have been huge. Blasting-out-of-open-car-windows-worldwide huge. The protracted knife-edge-on-string intro immediately seizes the attention, and from there they have you. . . . The bass and drums provide a solid bounce beneath Mal Luker’s string-scrapin’, tremolo-shakin’ guitar and Mick Rowley’s winking, knowing delivery. But when the powers that be figured out the illicit implications of the song’s “sugar lumps,” the record was quietly pulled off the market, through not before poking its head into the lower reaches of the U.K. Top 50 [#45]. . . . [T]he song was released as a single in February 1967. . . . [I]t held the #1 spot in Germany for seven weeks.

liner notes to Nuggets II

David Wells adds that “arguably the first great UK exploito-psych record, [it] captur[ed] the zeitgeist to such an extent that Charles Shaar Murray later pithily described it as ‘an instant cultural reference point.’ (Record Collector 100 Greatest Psychedelic Records) Wells explains that:

After a furious row [with the record company], Mick Rowley backed down, replacing some of the more overt drug references with a toned-down, travelogue-style lyric. Even in its slightly watered-down format, “My Friend Jack” was still probably the most blatant espousal of the burgeoning drug culture so far. Seizing the opportunity to bait the authorities, the pirate stations played the track incessantly, though its progress in the British singles chart ground to a halt after it was banned by the BBC, who were presumably spurred into action after a News of the World expose had shrieked in banner headlines “THIS DISGRACEFUL DISC”.

Record Collector 100 Greatest Psychedelic Records

And so, “Oh what beautiful things he sees” became “sugarman hasn’t got a care” and “lost in a wonderland of colour and of sound” became “he’s seen the hawk fly high to hail the setting sun”.

Richie Unterberger smokes out the Smoke:

The band hailed from York, where bassist Zeke Lund and lead guitarist Mal Luke began playing together in a band called Tony Adams & the Viceroys, whose lineup eventually came to include drummer Geoff Gill. Though the band was successful locally, enjoying a decent fan base with a solid, basic rock & roll sound . . . [they] could hear the changes going on around them in music, with the rise of Merseybeat and the blues, R&B, and soul-based music coming out of London. They eventually decided to strike out on their own, playing a more ambitious repertory. They linked up late in 1964 with singer Mick Rowley and rhythm guitarist Phil Peacock, refugees from a band called the Moonshots. The resulting band, the Shots, played a hard brand of R&B . . . . [The band] signed up with independent producer and music publisher Monty Babson, who cut four sides with the group, two of which were issued as a single under license to EMI-Columbia. It was at just about that time that events began breaking against the band — they lost Phil Peacock, who wasn’t comfortable with the more complex sounds the rest of the band were interested in generating, and they lost their financing. They gamely decided to carry on as a quartet, the single-guitar configuration lending itself to an edgier sound, and sought new backing. That was how they ended up in a bizarre management situation, when they were offered a seeming rescue by a pair of twin London-based entrepreneurs, Ron and Reg Kray . . . . among the top crime kingpins in London at the time[. A]mong their other enterprises, they had an interest in a few clubs, and thought at one point that a more direct participation in the entertainment business might prove lucrative. . . . Thus, they signed the group and became the Shots’ managers, but were never able to do anything with them in terms of bookings . . . . The band decided to abandon the contract, and when they were served with an injunction, they were left unable to perform. . . . [T]hey still had a publishing and recording contract with Babson and access to his studio, and so they took advantage of their ban on performing by writing and making records. . . . [They] change[d] their name . . . [to] the Smoke. . . . [After “My Friend Jack”, suddenly there was demand for a Smoke LP in Germany. . . . It’s Smoke Time[ was] comprised of the best of the year-old tracks recorded for Babson . . . . The band actually relocated to Germany, while continuing to release records in England — their recording contract was sold to Chris Blackwell in late 1967, and he soon took over their management as well . . . . They cut some fine psychedelia . . . . The end came out of a degree of weariness . . . . [T]hey declined to obey a Blackwell summons to return to England for a recording session, and that marked the effective end of their history . . . . Luker, Gill, and Lund did finally return home and went to work for Babson’s Morgan Studios, working in various bands within Babson’s orbit, including Blue Mink, Orange Bicycle [see #1,647], and Fickle Pickle [see #568].

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-smoke-mn0000751371#discography

Here with the original lyrics:

On Germany’s Beat Club:

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

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

The Orange Bicycle — “Competition”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 9, 2025

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

1,647) The Orange Bicycle — “Competition“

This “gorgeous” (David Wells, liner notes to the CD comp Come Join My Orchestra: The British Baroque Pop Sound 1967-73) “Pop-Sike gem” (Bam-Caruso, https://www.45cat.com/record/imp200013) made its only appearance on the B-side of a French EP. Written by UK session musicians Vic Flick and Dougie Wright, it is a dead ringer for a Pet Sounds outtake. Are we sure that Wilson Malone wasn’t Brian Wilson on a busman’s holiday in London?

The Orange Bicycle was a “traditional [UK] harmony pop group . . . reconstituted to meet the demands of the flower power era”. (David Wells, liner notes to the CD comp Hyacinth Threads: The Morgan Blue Town Recordings) Bryan Thomas tells us that:

The British psych-pop outfit known as Orange Bicycle evolved from a Beat group, Robb Storme & the Whispers, also known as the Robb Storme Group. They had recorded a handful of harmony pop singles for Pye, Piccadilly, Decca, and Columbia Records during the early ’60s, but with little success. In 1966, the Robb Storme Group covered the Beach Boys’ “Here Today.” It was arranged by the band’s own multi-talented keyboardist/producer Wilson Malone and produced by Morgan Music’s co-owner Monty Babson at Morgan Studios in the Willesdon area of London. With psychedelic music at its zenith, the group decided to change its name change and, in 1967, they re-emerged as Orange Bicycle. Over the next few years, they released a half-dozen singles; their — “Hyacinth Threads” — remains the band’s best-known track . . . . In late August/early September 1968, Orange Bicycle — wearing matching black and orange suits — performed at the Isle of Wight music festival, reportedly covering songs by Love and the Rolling Stones. In 1970, already somewhat past their prime, Orange Bicycle recorded their only album, The Orange Bicycle. It was comprised largely of covers . . . . A few tracks were produced by John Peel. Psychedelic pop music, however, was on the wane, or transmogrifying into heavier prog or hard rock, so the group decided to call it a day, breaking up in 1971. Wilson Malone’s self-titled solo album (as Wil Malone) for Fontana was released that same year. Meanwhile, drummer Kevin Currie joined Supertramp, then Burlesque, before becoming a session drummer. Malone went on to form the heavy psych-prog trio Bobak Jons Malone [see #839, 1,053] with celebrated engineer/producer Andy Jons and guitarist producer Mike Bobak. They recorded one album, Motherlight. . . . Malone . . . went on to become a top producer/arranger on his own, working with many successful groups and solo artists. His string arrangement for the Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony” (which appropriated the symphonic arrangement from the Rolling Stones’ “The Last Time”) caused a ruckus that resulted in Andrew Loog Oldham suing the Verve for songwriting royalties.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/orange-bicycle-mn0000476242#biography

David Wells notes that:

Babson was immediately impressed with both [their] sound and, more pointedly, the varied talents of Wilson Malone. When Babson left Landsdowne to set up the Morgan Sound Recording Studios . . . he took Orange Bicycle with him, but also employed Malone as an all-round, multipurpose studio whizzkid who was able to write, sing, play, produce and arrange with equal dexterity.

liner notes to Hyacinth Threads

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

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

Mighty Baby — “Egyptian Tomb”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 8, 2025

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

1,646) Mighty Baby — “Egyptian Tomb”

Here is an “immortal” (Vernon Joynson, The Tapestry of Delights Revisited) “great piece of [UK] psych with early prog leanings”. (ProgFan97402, https://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=5961) Psychedelic Paul muses:

We’re in Raiders of the Lost Ark territory for the glorious opening number, “Egyptian Tomb”. It’s a trippy acid-drenched song that perfectly captures the American West Coast sound of the late 1960’s, emulating such bands of the time as Quicksilver Messenger Service and Jefferson Airplane, only with a saxophone providing some additional flawless flourishes. The music brings to mind exotic images of pharaohs, sphinxes and pyramids, and camel rides across the desert beneath a burning red sun.

https://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=5961

“This superb underground act emerged from the ashes of mod heroes The Action [see #393, 429, 966], who had been joined late in 1967 by ex-Savoy Brown guitar ace Martin Stone. . . . Much of their unusual sound derived from the sophisticated interplay between the twin guitars of [Alan] King and Stone, as well as [Ian] Whiteman’s woodwind accompaniment.” (Vernon Joynson, The Tapestry of Delights Revisited)

As to Mighty Baby’s first LP, Mighty Baby, Bruce Eder writes:

[I]t sounds like the early Allman Brothers; or maybe the Grateful Dead in one of their harder-rocking moments, jamming with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on an impromptu version of CSN’s “Pre-Road Downs.” The beauty of the original Mighty Baby album tracks is that they’re psychedelia with a solid beat, none of that noodle-rock that drugged-up Brits usually engaged in. . . . some of the most energetic psychedelia to come out of England, and anyone who enjoys psychedelic guitar will love Martin Stone’s and Alan King’s work on this album.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/mighty-baby-mw0000172901

Vernon Joynson adds that:

Sadly, Head went bust shortly after the album’s release, when its owner, John Curd, was jailed for drug offences, and it failed to sell in any significant numbers. He did, however, manage to secure the album a US release through Chess records . . . . The album appeared too late to capitalise on the psychedelic boom, and the group sound shed its acid-rock leanings.

The Tapestry of Delights Revisited

Bruce Eder gives us some Mighty history:

British psychedelic band Mighty Baby grew out of the Action . . . . Reggie King was gone by early 1968 to record a solo album, and the remaining members went through a number of name changes, at one point calling themselves Azoth. In 1968, they hooked up with the managers who represented Pink Floyd and T. Rex and cut a new series of demo recordings featuring Whiteman (who wrote most of the songs) and Alan King on lead vocals. These demos were even more ambitious than the 1967 sides, extending the structure of the group’s songs with long, beautiful guitar progressions and soaring choruses. Unlike a lot of R&B outfits that tried the psychedelic route and failed, they were suited to the new music by inclination and temperament. The president of the band’s new record label, Head Records, for reasons best known to himself, chose “Mighty Baby” as the group’s new name. The self-titled album that followed was a masterpiece of late psychedelic rock, with long, fluid guitar lines and radiant harmonies; still [it] didn’t sell very well, although the group continued to play live shows to enthusiastic audiences. Their record label folded in 1970, and the group eventually signed to the Blue Horizon label, where they released a respectable if not wholly successful second album, A Jug of Love. It was clear by then, however, that their moment had passed, both personally and professionally. Mighty Baby broke up in 1971 . . . .

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mighty-baby-mn0000482312#biography

Vernon Joynson adds:

[Following Mighty Baby, o]ver the next two years they played innumerable sessions as well as becomeing staples of the festival and club circuits . . . They also developed a strong commitment to Islam, which was reflected in the more contemplative music they were starting to produce. When they finally returned to thte studio in the summer of 1971 . . . they’d replaced the blazing guitar leads and driving rhythms of their debut with an aura of calm and reflection.

The Tapestry of Delights Revisited

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

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

Little Milton — “Twenty-Three Hours”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 7, 2025

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

1,645) Little Milton — “Twenty-Three Hours”

The legendary bluesman Little Milton (see #1,470) turns soulward on a “decidedly funky note with th[is] splendid stomper”. (soulmakossa, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/little-milton/grits-aint-groceries/) He “would develop a rawer, funkier sound as the ’60s progressed. This fusion of blues and funky soul exploded on the 1969 [LP] Grits Ain’t Groceries [including today’s song] where a double whammy of horn packed groove sessions start things off, making the change in direction in-your-face apparent.” (soulmakossa again)

Little Milton was little in no way other than that his dad was Big Milton. Steve Huey gives us some early history:

[D]ie-hard blues fans know Little Milton as a superb all-around electric bluesman — a soulful singer, an evocative guitarist, an accomplished songwriter, and a skillful bandleader. . . . [with a ] signature style [that] combines soul, blues, and R&B, a mixture that helped make him one of the biggest-selling bluesmen of the ’60s . . . . As time progressed, his music grew more and more orchestrated, with strings and horns galore. He maintained a steadily active recording career all the way from his 1953 debut on Sam Phillip’s legendary Sun label . . . including notable stints at Chess (where he found his greatest commercial success), Stax, and Malaco. James Milton Campbell was born . . . in the small Delta town of Inverness, MS, and grew up in Greenville. . . . His father Big Milton, a farmer, was a local blues musician, and Milton also grew up listening to the Grand Ole Opry radio program. At age 12, he began playing the guitar and saved up money from odd jobs to buy his own instrument from a mail-order catalog. By 15, he was performing for pay in local clubs and bars . . . . He made a substantial impression on other area musicians . . . and caught the attention of R&B great Ike Turner, who was doubling as a talent scout for . . . Phillips at Sun. . . . [and] introduced the still-teenaged Little Milton to Phillips, who signed him to a contract in 1953. With Turner’s band backing him, Milton’s Sun sides tried a little bit of everything . . . [but none] of them were hits, and [his] association with Sun was over by the end of 1954. He set about forming his own band . . . [and] pick[ed] up and mov[ed] to St. Louis in 1958. . . . [where he] befriended DJ Bob Lyons, who helped him record a demo in a bid to land a deal on Mercury. The label passed, and the two set up their own label, christened Bobbin. Little Milton’s Bobbin singles finally started to attract some more widespread attention, particularly “I’m a Lonely Man,” which sold 60,000 copies despite being the very first release on a small label. As head of A&R, Milton brought artists like Albert King and Fontella Bass into the Bobbin fold, and . . . the label soon struck a distribution arrangement with the legendary Chess Records. Milton himself switched over to the Chess subsidiary Checker in 1961, and it was there that he would settle on his trademark soul-inflected, B.B. King-influenced style. . . . Milton had his big breakthrough with 1965’s “We’re Gonna Make It,” which hit number one on the R&B charts thanks to its resonance with the civil rights movement. . . . [followed by] a successful string of R&B chart singles that occasionally reached the Top Ten . . . . Milton eventually left Checker in 1971 and signed with the Memphis-based soul label Stax . . . . [where he] began expanding his studio sound, adding bigger horn and string sections and spotlighting his soulful vocals more than traditional blues. Further hits followed . . . but generally not with the same magnitude of old.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/little-milton-mn0000300534#biography

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

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

The Other Four — “Once and for All Girl”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 6, 2025

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

1,644) The Other Four — “Once and for All Girl”

If the Byrds were a garage rock band . . . a “top notch Byrds-inspired track bordering on psychedelia” (Tony Sanchez with the help of Mike Stax, liner notes to the CD comp Fuzz, Flaykes, & Shakes: Volume 3: Stay Out of My World), with a “folk-rockish riff that sounded a bit like the Monkees at their hardest-rocking”. (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-other-four-mn0000657741#biography) “Baby, I’m not a fool!”

Richie Unterberger tells us of the Other Four:

The Other Four were a San Diego garage band that released three singles in 1965 and 1966, the last of them appearing on the Decca label. Most of the group had played in the Man-Dells . . . . The Other Four’s 45s were . . . rather unexceptional efforts that were pretty typical of what countless other bands in the United States were doing at the time. . . . Members Rick Randle and Norman Lombardo later played together (and were the songwriters for) the Brain Police, a San Diego psychedelic group that recorded an obscure demo album in 1968.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-other-four-mn0000657741#biography

Was the band’s name a play on the Fab Four?

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

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

Midway Down Special Edition: John Wonderling/The Creation: “Midway Down”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 5, 2025

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

A glorious, delirious, hallucinatory walk down a circus midway, through the sideshows. What could be more 60’s than that?! I don’t know which is better, the writer’s version, or the Creation’s heavier cover.

1,642) John Wonderling — “Midway Down”

John Wonderling and Lou Shapiro wrote, and Wonderling released as a A-side, this “loose yet solid, psychotic stormer delivered in all seriousness . . [a] corker”. (liner notes to the CD comp Electric Sound Show: An Assortment of Antiquities for the Psychedelic Connoisseur) Larry tells us that:

[Wonderling’s version has] softer, more psychedelic focus, opening with a calliope and moving along with a ringing rhythm guitar and pulsing organ, as well as lots of echoed, trippy vocals. Things get a little heavier in the chorus . . . but never quite as much as the Creation.

https://ironleg.wordpress.com/2013/12/08/john-wonderling-midway-down-bw-man-of-straw/

Richard Morton Jack writes that:

Cash Box . . . raved that a “Distorted carnival atmosphere gives this track a staying power which will peg it for immediate response. Song is the first pop-flavored release from Loma, and has outstanding appeal for teen and progressive listeners. Should be welcomed by radio spots for exposure that should create a sales explosion.” In fact, the disc barely made a whimper in the marketplace.

http://rockasteria.blogspot.com/2018/08/john-wonderling-daybreaks-1973-france.html?m=1

Jack gives us a wonderful history of Wonderling:

Johnny Wonderling was born in France . . . and moved to Queens, New York, at the age of five. Always a music enthusiast, he began his career at Cameo-Parkway Records in the mid- 60s, before finding a job at Alouette, an independent NY music production publishing company . . . . April 1968 Wonderling’s song Midway Down – co-written with Lou Shapiro – was recorded by the Creation in the UK, via his publishing connections, but didn’t sell. . . . That autumn Wonderling became the first pop artist to sign to Jerry Ragovoy’s Loma Records [a subsidiary of Warner Brothers), which had previously devoted itself to R’n’B. On September l1th he recorded his only 45 for the label [with “Midway Down”] at Ragovoy’s Hit Factory studio in New York. He produced it himself . . . . both on Loma and Warner Brothers, one pressing for each Coast. . . . Wonderling therefore became studio manager at the Hit Factory, at a time when Jimi Hendrix, the Stooges, the James Gang and countless others were working there. He hadn’t abandoned his own creative ambitions, however. In 1971 his haunting song Jessica Stone – co-written with [engineer Bill] Szymczyk – was recorded by Jimmie Haskell on his eccentric California ’99 LP. The same year, he set about making an album of his own, in collaboration with Szymczyk. . . . The LP was scheduled to follow in mid- 1973 . . . but something went awry. The singer-songwriter scene was at its commercial peak, but Day Breaks seems not to have been distributed, and was effectively stillborn. Only a handful of copies are known to exist, and no promo material or references to it in the contemporary press (including trade papers) have yet surfaced. It was clearly expensive to make, and was packaged with a custom lyric inner sleeve, so the reason for its evidently tiny pressing size is baffling.

http://rockasteria.blogspot.com/2018/08/john-wonderling-daybreaks-1973-france.html?m=1

1643) The Creation — “Midway Down”

The UK’s Creation (see #129, 165, 1,502) “beguiling” (John Reed, liner notes to the CD comp “Our Music Is Red — with Purple Flashes”) but “heav[ied “Midway”] up a bit” (happening45, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YD5qbGC5yso), with a “hard-edged, UK mod pop sound with some of that heavy . . . guitar”. (Larry, https://ironleg.wordpress.com/2013/12/08/john-wonderling-midway-down-bw-man-of-straw/)

The Creation recorded “Midway Down” after the departure of guitarist Eddie Phillips. Wikipedia tells us that:

He was replaced for several European tour dates by guitarist Tony Ollard, but within a matter of weeks, vocalist Bob Garner also quit the group and by February 1968, The Creation had officially ceased to exist. However, demand was still strong in continental Europe for Creation records and live shows, and almost immediately after the band had disbanded drummer Jack Jones formed a new Creation lineup, bringing back Kenny Pickett as singer. Kim Gardner returned as bass player . . . and brought in his old bandmate from The Birds [see #33, 99, 220], Ronnie Wood on guitar. This lineup debuted with the single “Midway Down”, released in the UK and Germany in April 1968. However this Creation lineup splintered almost immediately, and by June, the band was no more.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Creation_(band) (citing C Larkin, Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music)

John Reed says that “Tours of Holland and Germany boded well, as did a new single, “Midway Down” . . . But then Wood was offered an American tour with the Jeff Beck Group and the band disintergrated”. (liner notes to “Our Music Is Red — with Purple Flashes”)

Mark Deming talks of the Mark Four and the Creation:

One of the most powerful and forward-thinking British bands of the 1960s, the Creation fused mod style to a freakbeat sound in a manner that anticipated psychedelia and boasted a sonic impact that was matched in their day only by the Who. Rooted in the adventurous guitar work of Eddie Phillips, whose bracing use of feedback and work with a violin bow gave him a unique sound, and the impassioned vocals of Kenny Pickett, the Creation also incorporated the influence of pop art in their music, and they attracted a loyal cult following. However, the group’s popularity in Europe far outstripped their following in England or the United States . . . . [The Mark Four] got signed to Mercury Records’ British division in 1964, but the resulting two singles failed to sell. Though audiences in the U.K. were slow to warm to their music, German audiences were greeting their performances at the Big Ben Club . . . with rousing enthusiasm. . . . [T]he band chanced to cross paths with a local band called the Roadrunners who were wowing fans with their use of guitar feedback in their songs. Eddie Phillips made note of the effect and started working out how he might assimilate it . . . . The Mark Four got a second crack at recording success with Decca Records, which resulted in the single “Hurt Me (If You Will)” b/w “I’m Leaving.” Sales were disappointing, but [“I’m Leaving”] did establish the beginning of a new sound[.] Phillips incorporated his own approach to guitar feedback. . . . [T]he band’s rhythm guitarist, Mick Thompson, and their bassist, John Dalton quit (soon to join the Kinks . . . ). The Mark Four finished their history with a temporary lineup and one last single in early 1966. During the weeks that followed, Pickett and Phillips, along with drummer Jack Jones . . . began rethinking their precise image and direction . . . . By the spring . . . the group had evolved into the Creation, with ex-Merseybeats bassist Bob Garner filling out the lineup, and they had also signed with an ambitious young Australian-born manager . . . named Robert Stigwood. The Creation burst on the British pop/rock scene that June with “Making Time,” a single that seemed to have everything going for it . . . . In portent of their future, “Making Time” soared to number five in Germany but peaked at an anemic number 49 in England, even as the Creation were getting enthusiastic press for their stage performances, which included artists creating and destroying “action paintings” on stage. . . . The group finally saw some slightly significant chart action at home in the fall of 1966 with “Painter Man,” a cheerfully trippy pop anthem with a feedback-oozing guitar break that made the Top 40; predictably, the same record hit number one in Germany. The B-side, “Biff Bang Pow[]” . . . jumped into a pop/rock idiom with a psychedelic edge that should have earned it airplay on its own. By the start of 1967, however, the Creation had hit a crisis point, as Kenny Pickett quit over creative differences and frustration over constant touring in Europe, where their biggest audience was rooted. He was eventually replaced by Kim Gardner, late of the group the Birds. . . . Still struggling for a commercial foothold in England despite being one of the most widely touted live acts of the time, the group’s German label decided it was time to release a Creation LP. We Are Paintermen was highlighted by the titular hit plus a surprisingly good, crunchy rendition of “Like a Rolling Stone,” and a jagged, powerful version of “Hey Joe.” . . . One more single, “Life Is Just Beginning” b/w “Through My Eyes [see #129],” showed up in the fall of 1967 — the A-side was a rousing psychedelic showcase, with elements of Indian raga and a catchy, chant-like main body, plus forceful guitar and a string orchestra. “Through My Eyes” was no throwaway, either, with a lean, crunchy guitar, beautiful choruses, and a great central tune, with three-minutes-and-change of spacy sensibilities ending in a feedback crescendo. Eddie Phillips apparently felt that the single was as good a showcase as he would ever get, and in October of 1967 he quit the Creation. His departure was followed by Kim Gardner’s decision to exit the group for a team-up with Ron Wood, Jon Lord, and Twink in what became known as Santa Barbara Machinehead. The Creation was kept “alive” into the spring of 1968 when their U.K. label, Polydor, released a single of “How Does It Feel” b/w “Tom Tom” on both sides of the Atlantic, with the U.S. version tarted up with all sorts of dubbed-on psychedelic effects. They were both impressive but failed to chart, and that might have been the end of the group, but for the sudden re-emergence of Kenny Pickett, who got Gardner and Jones back together to form the core of a new Creation. That band went through a couple of lineup changes, played around Europe for a bit with Ron Wood as a member, and then dissolved.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-creation-mn0000110341#biography

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

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

The American Revolution — “Opus 1”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 4, 2025

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

1,641) The American Revolution — “Opus 1”

Following the British Invasion comes an American Revolution . . . apparently for the benefit of Mr. Kite . . . “a real mindblower” (Psychedelic Guy, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/the-american-revolution/the-american-revolution/reviews/2/)

Electric Sound Shoe tells us:

Starting out as the Victorians, then Scottie & the Tissues, John Keith and Richard Barcellona formed the nucleus of Casey Kasem’s 1967 pop proteges, American Revolution. Having come out of 1966 with two singles as The Tissues and the Night People, the band signed to A.I.P. (American International Pictures) as The Band Without a Name. A.I.P. issued the single . . . but decided to then promote the band as a bubblegum act to rival the Monkees et al. . . . Keith . . . Barcellona, Eddie Haddad and Dave Novagroski ventured out on a promotional tour in 1968 and returned to record their LP under the “iron fist” of manager Casey Kasem and the direction of bubblegum producer, Mike Curb. Curb composed the majority of their songs (ignoring their own contributions) and directed a set of session musicians to play the major parts. . . . . The band appearing briefly in B-movies such as Glory Stompers, Wild in the Streets, and Born Wild. They also recorded songs for the soundtracks to these films . . . . The band split soon after the release of their LP and left singer Eddie Haddad and Casey Kasem to carry on the name which swiftly changed anyway to Max Frost & The Troopers. The remainder of the band become known as Edge who recorded their lone single . . . in 1969.

liner notes to the CD comp Electric Sound Show: An Assortment of Antiquities for the Psychedelic Connoisseur

Rainbow Rock Club 70’s adds:

A late sixties Hollywood hippie type rock band. Barcelona and Keith later played in Edge, who issued an album in 1970. The American Revolution album, produced by Harley Hatcher, is quite heavily orchestrated with pleasant vocal harmonies . . . . Some of the songs have a psychedelic taint, but it’s predominantly rather good psych-pop. Producer Harley Hatcher, was an exploitation film composer, member of Mike Curb’s gang and as an army buddy of Elvis he sang in ad-hoc groups with the King.

(Based on the writing of Vernon Joynson/Joe Foster/David Jaffe)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6KYmSSNkMU

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

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

I Shall Be Released: Maurice Gibb — “Silly Little Girl”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 3, 2025

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

1,640) Maurice Gibb — “Silly Little Girl”

Another lovely buried treasure from Maurice Gibb’s (see #353, 354, 466, 861, 1,336, 1,584) lost solo album recorded during the Bee Gees’ split. With a “topflight vocal and melody” (Brian Doherty, https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/with-the-sun-in-my-eyes-brothers-gibb-bee-gees-andy-gibb-song-by-song-thread.1188605/page-337) very reminiscent of John Lennon, it “very strongly recalls the Beatles’ more piano-based late-’60s work, though with a more naive and downbeat flavor”. (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-loner-mw0001053220) “[T]he chorus– where you learn it’s not his partner being sung to, but someone he’s missing– really makes it work.” (bRETT, https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/with-the-sun-in-my-eyes-brothers-gibb-bee-gees-andy-gibb-song-by-song-thread.1188605/page-337)

Bruce Eder writes of the lost LP:

In contrast to Barry and Robin, who have shared and alternated the spotlight as lead vocalists, Maurice . . . [was] almost exclusively a backing vocalist for his four-decade career, providing a key part of the harmony singing for his brothers. In less overtly visible ways, however, he [was] essential to the group’s sound from the beginning of their recording career — in addition to sharing arranging chores with his brothers and playing bass . . . he . . . also played guitar, piano, organ, and Mellotron on their recordings, and even occasionally the drums on their demos. . . . Gibb’s voice is the least familiar to the public, concentrated as it usually is on backup and harmony singing. The major exception arose during the 1969 split between Robin Gibb and his two brothers, when Barry and Maurice carried on as a two-man version of the Bee Gees. Cucumber Castle, the one album that they completed together before the two of them, in turn, parted company, included a delightful African-flavored number entitled “I.O.I.O. []” [see #594,] which featured Maurice intoning the title throughout, as far forward in the mix as Barry Gibb’s lead. Maurice Gibb did begin work on a solo LP, and released a single, “Railroad[]” [see #861,] co-authored by Billy Lawrie, a songwriter and singer, and also the brother of the British pop/rock legend Lulu [see #960], who became Maurice’s wife in 1969. Gibb handled all of the vocals on the single . . . . [H]e did begin work on a solo LP to have been called “The Loner.” He worked for three months with Billy Lawrie playing and singing, and with guitarist Les Harvey of Stone the Crows, drummer Geoff Bridgeford, and John Coleman and Gerry Shurry, the latter three members of the Australian band Tin Tin [see #355, 1,121] — whose 1970 debut album Maurice Gibb had produced — filling out what instruments Gibb didn’t wish to play himself. . . . [T]he sessions . . . only yielded one released song, “The Loner[]” [see #353] . . . . credited to “The Bloomfields” and appeared on the soundtrack of the movie Bloomfield . . . . Like the other solo albums begun by his brothers in 1970, Maurice Gibb’s LP was never released officially, though large parts of it have appeared on bootlegs over the years. Later in the same year, he and his brothers were able to patch up their differences and resume working together, and there’s been little serious talk of “The Loner” ever being issued since then.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/maurice-gibb-mn0000865286

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

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

The Saxons – “Things Have Been Bad”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 2, 2025

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

1,639) The Saxons – “Things Have Been Bad”

The singer’s girlfriend has abandoned him, and man is he bummed. From West Palm Beach, Florida, this A-side to the band’s second and last single has a riff to die for — “[g]reat garage sound- bluesy, urgent and immediate; love it” (notmarkatall, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eod7LydV5co), with “a mean edge, draped in nasty fuzz guitar”. (VALIS666, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/the-saxons/things-have-been-bad-the-way-of-the-down/)

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

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

Roberto Carlos — “Você Não Serve Pra Mim”/”You’re No Good for Me”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 1, 2025

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

1,638) Roberto Carlos — “Você Não Serve Pra Mim”/“You’re No Good For Me”

Brazilian legend Roberto Carlos (see #1,506), the King of Jovem Guarda, rocks out on the “first song recorded in Brazil with guitar distortion (fuzz)” (josenivaldosousa7044 (courtesy of Google Translate), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni-C8iAbEL4), with “Renato Barros on the distorted guitar, Paulo César Barros with his furious bass lines, Tony rocking the drums, Cid Chaves on the tambourine and Lafayette rocking the Hammond organ.” (andynunes9519 (courtesy of Google Translate), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni-C8iAbEL4) “I’m running out of adjectives to describe this song, damn it’s awesome!!!” (wilsondasilva8761 (courtesy of Google Translate), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni-C8iAbEL4)

The song was written by Renato Barros, a founding member of Renato E Seus Blue Caps (see #1,011) along with his brother Paulo César Barros. Felipeantunes4485 writes that:

I had spoken to a friend of Renato Barros who confirmed the story. Roberto Carlos liked the song by Renato Barros’ band (“Você Não Serve Prá Mim”) and wanted to re-record it. However, to the surprise of Renato and his band, Roberto Carlos asked and demanded that the guitars have a very distorted sound and that the mood of the song be very psychedelic and radical. This was back in 1967!

courtesy of Google Translate, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni-C8iAbEL4

However, trancosomarcus says that “Renato personally told me the story involving this song and it is different” (courtesy of Google Translate, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni-C8iAbEL4)

The song is on Roberto’s soundtrack to a movie he starred in — Roberto Carlos em Ritmo de Aventura/Roberto Carlos in Rhythm of Adventure — named the 24th best Brazilian LP by Rolling Stone Brasil! (https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lista_dos_100_maiores_discos_da_m%C3%BAsica_brasileira_pela_Rolling_Stone_Brasil) The plot? “While making a movie in Rio de Janeiro, the singer Roberto Carlos is kidnapped by an international gang that wants to make money with his songs in a computer, together with Pierre (José Lewgoy) , the villain of the movie, and sent to New York.” (Claudio Carvalhom, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0188180/)

As to Roberto, John Armstrong tells us:

By 1994, with over 120 million album sales [around the world], Roberto Carlos had broken the record held by the Beatles. And he was only part way through his career. There have been the inevitable snipes of ‘cheese’ suffered by many a Latin crooner . . . . But the tide of tributes from younger Brazilian artists – Cassia Eller, Chico Science, Barão Vermelho and Skank in particular – and collaborations with other very non-cheesy superstars such as Caetano Veloso, Marisa Monte and Jennifer Lopez, have quietened his detractors. So why is Roberto Carlos so culturally significant to Brazilians? A well-known Brazilian artist once confided to me in an interview: ‘We Brazilians love a sentimental song as much as we love a samba.’ Others say it is the way he sings these songs that sets him apart. The key to Roberto Carlos is that in the 50s he was trained under the magic of bossa nova, in the company of Jorge Ben and João Gilberto, before switching his repertoire to rock and pop in the 60s, becoming Brazil’s first big crossover artist. Soon, the albums were pouring out and selling by the cartload, and Carlos was dubbed the King of Jovem Guarda. This new-found fame gave him the artistic freedom, in time, to record whatever he wanted, from rock to bolero. When the right-wing military dictatorship took power in 1964, the artistic community responded with the Tropicalía movement which, in Gilberto Gil’s words, sought ‘a new perspective away from left-right binomial.” This meant unity amongst musicians and, perhaps surprisingly, the Tropicalistas who were associated with the left, supported the mass-market Roberto Carlos; his voice, his presence, was a beacon throughout the dark days of 1964 to 1989, and so he’s been regarded ever since. Roberto Carlos symbolises unity. There is a simplicity to his voice, a rare ability to synthesise complex arrangements and melodies into a soothing tone that washes over you and is overwhelmingly appealing. This makes Roberto Carlos more relevant today than ever. Never mind the white suit; the experience of thousands of Brazilians in a stadium, forgetting their divisions and coming together in tears of joy, is a very cool thing indeed.

https://www.latinolife.co.uk/articles/roberto-carlos

Alvaro Neder writes:

[W]ith his partner and co-writer, Erasmo Carlos [no relation], he has penned over three dozen Top Ten charting singles. . . . [H]e initiated a major revolution in Brazilian music during the 1960s thanks to his fusion of Anglo-styled pop and rock and the second wave of Brazilian samba. His initial success coincided with the emergent youth movement in pop . . . that took over the world. Carlos was the leader of the country’s Jovem Guarda. He was the host of the TV show that became a generic denomination of a musical style and what was a definitive change of face to the Brazilian phonographic market and of the very art of marketing itself . . . . His light music, derived from British pop, and his (and Erasmo Carlos’) lyrics (happy, humorous, full of fashionable youth slang, and naïve though unexpectedly sexual) were deeply contrasting to the more serious MPB, with its somber images and protest songs. After all, Brazil was living in a dark period of the military dictatorship . . . . A few years later, in the late ’60s, Carlos (counseled by his advisors) changed his style to become the most successful romantic artist in Brazil[,] writ[ing] (always with Erasmo . . .) some of the most beautiful songs in this style . . . Though the adherence to a worn-out sentimental formula proved to be effective in commercial terms, it ultimately led him to be known, in the ’80s and ’90s, as a cheesy artist by youngsters and a portion of adult listeners. Nevertheless, the mid-’90s witnessed a resurgence of Jovem Guarda talents through tributes by new rockers . . . . At six, he lost one of his legs and began using a prosthesis. At nine, he debuted on his home city’s local radio. In 1955 . . . he started to get into rock . . . Two years later, Carlos performed at TV Tupi, singing “Tutti Frutti.” . . . [H]e became acquainted with Erasmo Carlos . . . . Carlos and Erasmo played together in Erasmo’s quartet the Snakes until Carlos was called . . . to [join] the Os Terríveis band, which played Elvis Presley covers on TV shows and live performances . . . . Carlos left the band to try to become a bossa nova artist. . . . In 1961, during the same year in which Carlos recorded his first LP . . . [Carlos] accepted the suggestion of the record company CBS and changed his style to youth music, starting to write songs with the composer/lyricist who would become his most important collaborator: Erasmo Carlos. The duo’s first hit was Carlos’ rendition for an Erasmo version of “Splish Splash” . . . . The album was recorded and launched in 1963 . . . accompanied by Renato e Seus Blue Caps . . . . In 1964, the LP E Proibido Fumar . . . had hits with the title track . . . and with Erasmo’s version of “Road Hog,” “O Calhambeque.” It . . . was considered high-selling then . . . . Carlos’ nationwide success was ascending, with more and more invitations for TV and radio shows and CBS wanting to take him to Argentina. That year, Carlos recorded the same repertory in Spanish . . . and the album Es Prohibido Fumar was released by the end of 1964 in Argentina. It was planned to also be distributed in Brazil, but as the military government considered anything in Spanish (the language of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara) dangerous . . . the album was simply taken out of the catalog by the recording company. . . . In the same year, Roberto Carlos Para a Juventude broke all records established by the singer . . . . On September 5[, 1965], Carlos opened the legendary show Jovem Guarda as the main host and also featuring . . . Erasmo Carlos by his side. The show gave the name and directives to the first musical scene produced especially for Brazilian youth . . . . After the show’s debut, Carlos’ popularity reached levels unimagined until then. Scoring hits in Argentina and Brazil, Carlos became the best-seller for CBS. . . . [H]is album Jovem Guarda . . . took only one week to push Help! out of number one on the Brazilian charts, selling almost 200,000 copies in one year. “Quero Que Vá Tudo Pro Inferno” became a nationwide hit . . . . After performing in Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay . . . Carlos went to Europe in April 1966, singing in Portugal . . . . Returning to Brazil, he soon departed for a tour that started in South America, then Central and North America, where he sang in Los Angeles, Miami, and New York, then Europe (London, Paris, Berlin, and Lisbon). Roberto Carlos, released in December 1966, went right to number one in the second week (remaining there until April 1967), and sold 300,000 copies in less than a year. Also in 1967, Carlos starred the feature film Roberto Carlos em Ritmo de Aventura (whose soundtrack sold 300,000 copies, staying at number one from December 17 until June 1968; the film also broke all box office records until then) . . . . In 1968, Carlos left Jovem Guarda, which due to his absence would soon cease to exist. His departure was a result of a mature decision to migrate from a youth idol profile to that of a romantic singer. . . . As a romantic singer, Carlos had several hits in the 1970s that still had his creative impetus . . . . In the early ’70s, Carlos became the top record-selling Brazilian artist, a position he would keep for many consecutive years. After 1976, his albums were selling over 1,000,000 copies.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/roberto-carlos-mn0000292011#biography

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

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

The Secrets — “I Think I Need the Cash”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 30, 2025

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

1,637) The Secrets — “I Think I Need the Cash”

Cliff Ward (see #1,418), 70s singer-songwriter extraordinaire and writer of the defining UK pop-psych masterwork “Path Through the Forest” (see #5), together with the Secrets (see #1,417) give us pop rock perfections, a “droll” number that is their “catchiest” song. (David Wells, liner notes to the CD comp Let’s Go Down and Blow Our Minds: The British Psychedelic Sounds of 1967) He wants his diamond ring back “Cause I’m just about decided that we’re through . . . And what’s more than to point out, I think I need the cash”. Maybe Gary Lewis & the Playboys also needed the cash!

David Wells tells us that::

Led by Cliff Ward, Kidderminster band The Secrets were undertaking a tour of southwest English coastal resorts in the summer of 1966 when they were introduced to music industry all-rounder Eddie Trevett. Over the next couple of years, regular Trevett outlet CBS would issue five Secrets singles (the last two as Simon’s Secrets) that, although not wildly successful, were notable for Ward’s witty, erudite songs. Sadly . . . [“Cash”] was buried away on [a] B-side . . . and Ward would remain hidden from public view until his re-emergence a few years later as sensitive singer/songwriter Clifford T. Ward.

liner notes to the CD comp Let’s Go Down and Blow Our Minds: The British Psychedelic Sounds of 1967

As to Cliff Ward, All Music Guide informs us that:

Clifford Thomas Ward . . . . typified the early 70s bedsitter singer-songwriter with a series of albums that were at best delightful and at worst mawkish. Ward left grammar school before A-levels to work as a clerk, but by 1962 was fronting local beat group Cliff Ward and the Cruisers. The group changed their name to Martin Raynor and the Secrets and made their recording debut for EMI Records in 1965, before recording several more tracks as the Secrets for CBS Records. In 1967 Ward enrolled at Worcester teacher training college to study English and divinity, after which he taught at Bromsgrove high school. His debut album appeared on disc jockey John Peel’s brave-but-doomed Dandelion Records label in 1972. His second album and his first release for Charisma Records, Home Thoughts, proved to be his finest work and gave him wider recognition. . . . The beautiful “Gaye” became a UK Top 10 hit but surprisingly the stronger “Home Thoughts From Abroad” and the infectious and lyrically excellent “Wherewithal” failed to chart. Mantle Pieces and Escalator contained a similar recipe of more harmless tales . . . . Ward’s refusal to tour and promote his songs did not help endear the singer to his record company, however, and he switched to the Phonogram Records label for 1975’s No More Rock ‘N’ Roll.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/clifford-t-ward-mn0000157416#biography

Dave Laing adds:

The best songs of Clifford T Ward . . . synthesised pop melody and an English poetic sensibility. His most creative years were the mid-1970s, when such songs as “Home Thoughts From Abroad” and “Gaye” brought commercial success and critical accolades. . . . [B]orn in . . . Worcestershire . . . . [b]y 1962, he had become the singer with Cliff Ward and the Cruisers, a proficient local beat group that won the 1963 Midland Band of the Year contest in Birmingham. As Martin Raynor and the Secrets, the group made a recording for EMI in 1965, and several more for CBS as the Secrets, though none was successful. . . . [H]e continued to make private recordings of his songs, and, in 1972, his tapes were passed to . . . John Walters . . . producer of John Peel’s BBC Radio 1 show. However, his first album, Singer Songwriter, issued by Peel and Clive Selwood’s Dandelion Records, sold few copies. Soon afterwards, Dandelion closed but Selwood, by now Ward’s manager, placed him with the Charisma label.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/dec/22/guardianobituaries1

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

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

Richard Henry — “Oh Girl”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 29, 2025

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

1,636) Richard Henry — “Oh Girl”

An American in London’s killer baroque/mod stunner (how often do you hear those two words together?!). How was this not a hit? “Seems to be a one record wonder full of promise of a hit but never really made it.” (colincarroll7954, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uirj12TvElU&pp=ygUVUmljaGFyZCBoZW5yeSBvaCBnaXJs)

Piccadilly Sunshine tells us:

Fulham[, London]’s finest songwriter Ted Fraser was partly responsible for this lone single by Richard Henry. Frazer had befriended American-born singer Henry in London when the two met on tour. Fraser had recently departed from the Flat Top Band, a local Blues act. The two musicians formed a professional songwriting partnership in the late sixties writing for Writer’s Workshop and Essex Music. It was this partnership that gave birth to Richard Henry’s single for Regal Zonophone. Although the record never gained the huge attention it deserved at the time, it did establish Fraser’s more fruitful career when he was offered a job in Spain touring with the Eddie Lee Mattison Band circa 1971. He has since become a more celebrated songwriter.

liner notes to the CD comp Piccadilly Sunshine: Volumes 11-20: A Compendium of Rare Pop Curios from the British Psychedelic Era

Here is Ace Kefford’s cover:

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

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

Nick Garrie — “Evening”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 28, 2025

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

1,635) Nick Garrie — “Evening”

Yet another gorgeous and contemplative gem from Nick Garrie’s (see #3, 19, 41, 65, 104, 137, 245, 362, 493, 871, 965, 1,088, 1,120) The Nightmare of J.B. Stanislas, a top contender for the greatest lost album of the 60’s. If Nick’s French record company’s owner hadn’t committed suicide on the eve of Stanislas’s release, who knows what might have been. Stunning songs — I was transfixed the first time I heard them and I have been a huge fan of Nick and his music ever since.

John Clarkson writes:

Nick Garrie’s 1969 album, The Nightmare of J.B. Stanislas. is now seen to be a psychedelic folk/pop masterpiece. It has, however, only recently gained this reputation and for over thirty five years was largely unheard. The son of a Russian father and Scottish mother, Garrie’s early years were divided between Paris, where his Egyptian stepfather worked as a diplomat, and Norwich, where he attended a boarding school. He recorded The Nightmare of J.B. Stanislas at the age of twenty in Paris with Eddie Vartan, who was a then fashionable French producer and the brother of the actress Sylvie Vartan. Garrie originally intended the album to have a sparser sound, but when he turned up at the studio on the first day of recording he found that Vartan had employed a 56-piece orchestra to expand on his more tender arrangements. The finished result is a compelling oddity and merges together Garrie’s wistful melodies and often abstract lyrics with Vartan’s colourfully extravagant orchestrations. It is . . . much deserved of the cult status it has since come to gain. Lucien Morrisse, the owner of Disc AZ, Garrie’s record label, committed suicide before The Nightmare of J.B. Stanislas was ever released and for years it languished in obscurity, eventually starting to attract fan interest when tracks from it began to leak onto the internet. . . . only finally s[eeing] official release when it came out on CD on Rev-Ola Records in 2004 . . . .

https://pennyblackmusic.co.uk/Home/Details?id=18614

Here are excerpts from a vintage interview (2010) that Clarkson conducted with Nick:

NG: I had just started teaching when I found out about it. I had done a PGCE course late in life and I typed in Nick Garrie as a joke because I hadn’t used the name since Stanislas and I couldn’t believe it when there was all these pages on it. I don’t know for sure, but I believe there was a company called Acid Ray who were in Korea and they must have bootlegged some tapes as they put out a compilation album called Band Caruso with “Wheel of Fortune” on it. I think that was the first thing on the web and it did quite well, so that is probably how the name got about. Things went from there.

JC: What did you feel troubled about when you were writing Stanislas?

NG: I wrote most of it when I was between nineteen and twenty. I was at Warwick University at the time, but I had spent so much of my life living in France that I had been called up for the French army as a national. Although I was eventually released from it, for a year I couldn’t go in to France and so I was essentially homeless.. . . .

JC: The suicide of Lucien Morrisse led to The Nightmare of J.B. Stanislas remaining unheard for over three decades. Even before he died, you, however, imply again in your autobiography that Disc AZ didn’t know quite what to do with you and how to promote you. Do you think that too was a factor in Stanislas remaining undiscovered for so long?

NG: Absolutely, because it was never released at all. It was not as if it came out. No one ever heard it. I would go in to see them. We would talk about it. They would say that it would be in the shops next month and it never was. It went on like that for about six months, at the end of which I had had enough. To be honest as well at that stage I didn’t really like it much either. I didn’t like the arrangements, so after his suicide I gave a couple of copies to my stepfather and for me it was finished. I didn’t listen to it again or even really talk about much for years.

JC: How do you think it stands up now? Do you like it better?

NG: I do like it now, but I still don’t hear it through everybody’s ears. I have had a lot of correspondence with people who really love it, people from all over the world who say how much it has moved them, so it seems a bit churlish to say now that I didn’t really like it. They were songs, however, that I didn’t really recognise at the recording stage and again for a long time afterwards. . . .

JC: There is the story about Eddie Varden introducing you to a fifty six piece orchestra which you didn’t know about until you turned up at the studio. What did you expect the songs to sound like? Were they going to be just you and your acoustic guitar or were they going to involve a band?

NG: . . . . I knew that it wouldn’t be my guitar work because I wasn’t a good enough guitarist. I am still not, but I suspected that would be the basis of it. The first song that I started recording was Stanislas. I had no idea that was what we were playing though. [Eddie] would shove me in the booth and prompt me when and what I had to sing. He was using these mainly classical musicians who were all wearing cardigans and who didn’t think much of me anyway because I was a pop artist. But having said that he was really, really nice and was in many a sort of uncle or father figure to me.

JC: It seems that you had quite an odd relationship with him really because at one level he was very praising and told you that he thought that you would be the next Bob Dylan, but at another level he would do something like that and not tell you what was going on.

NG: I realised years afterwards that it was a terrific investment for them, this orchestra playing for two weeks with this guy who completely unknown completely unknown. I just never expected it and didn’t feel in a position to say very much about it. I think as well that it was just the way it was in those days. . . .

JC: How did The Nightmare of J.B. Stanislas gain it audience? Do you know?

https://pennyblackmusic.co.uk/Home/Details?id=18614

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

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

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: