supplied by Merv Kennard
Just a small part of what Merv had with him at the last SMART meeting
records
Nice Enough To Eat – sampler Island Records 1969 & record covers
post suggested by Mark Sims & Eric Cawthraw
1. Fairport Convention – Cajun Woman
2. Mott The Hoople – At The Crossroads
3. Spooky Tooth – Better By You, Better Than Me
4. Jethro Tull – We Used To Know
5. Free – Woman
6. Heavy Jelly – I Keep Singing That Same Old Song
7. Blodwyn Pig – Sing Me A Song That I Know
8. Traffic – Forty Thousand Headmen
9. Nick Drake – Time Has Told Me
10. King Crimson – 21st Century Schizoid Man
11. Quintessence – Gungamai
12. Dr. Strangely Strange – Strangely Strange But Oddly Normal
Eric Cawthraw… Sampler albums eh! I’ve still got a copy of Island’s ‘Nice Enough to Eat’ – it was either 14/6 or 14/11, not too sure. It had some good stuff on it – Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Free and I particularly liked the Quintessence track – Gungamai. (I thing that’s the Ganges). It has been covered several times and was in the charts – by god knows who now! (John Storer – over to you, no pressure). Ah Quintessence – another great pier gig. As for the re-assurgence of albums – if you go to any major gig in the last 3 or 4 years – there is always LPs in the merchandising. I think the kids are beginning to get the fact that the artwork and the music are integral and should not be divorced as it is with downloads and even CDs for that matter. If anyone gets the chance to go to the Jewellery Quarter of Birmingham – go to St. Paul’s Gallery. It’s an art gallery specializing in LP cover art. They do it all properly – getting licences from the artists/record companies and then produce limited editions, they’re damn expensive mind but some are signed by the original artists. There is/was a lot of Hipgnosis stuff: Pink Floyd and Wishbone Ash. They even had a copy of the Sgt. Peppers album cover – the one that wasn’t used in the end. I see they have a website now – worth a browse. When I was chatting to the gallery owner, we were berating the fact that the art and music were no longer integral. I said that in times gone by the composers were influenced by the painters and in turn, the painters by the composers. I also said that you know damn well that when that cave-man made rock drawings he was going to be chanting. OK, so I’m nearly old enough to remember it first hand – I hear you thinking. It impressed him and the Mrs. and I were invited to a private gig the next day at the gallery to see Gordon Giltrapp. We had to refuse as we were off back to sunny Hastings! I’ve not had the opportunity to go back there since – it was about 4-ish years ago now. I’m pleased to see that the business is still operating.
Hipgnosis link…
http://www.hipgnosiscovers.com
Patrick Lewis… I had this one – favourite track :Time Has Told Me by Nick Drake.
Jim Breeds…. I remember seeing that in the shops and always meant to buy a copy. n:-/
The Beatles records – part of John Busbridge collection
supplied by John Busbridge
Paine Electrics – Opening 22nd February 1971.
Phil Gill… Great. I bought the first Taste album and The Mothers Live at the Fillmore there. Roger Carey bought a lot of music there too.
Alan Pepper… If you had a time machine and went back to ’71 what RECORDS would you get from Paine’s Electrics ?
Alan Esdaile… Loads of great albums in 1971. Subject to budget which was very tight then, I would say Carol King Tapestry, Who Who’s Next, Janis Joplin Pearl and Leonard Cohen Songs Of Love & Hate.
Andy Qunta… If I had a time machine, I would get Time Machine by Factory! I lost my copy! Also The Yes Album, Genesis’ Nursery Cryme, and Deep Purple’s Fireball came out that year, I think.
Nigel Ford… Seeing it was formerly HORNBROOKS, I think that was what the shop in Battle was called when I first bought my 7″s. I don’t desire anything else from that time other than those I have still : GRAND FUNK Live & HUMBLE PIE Performance Rockin the Fillmore, though the latter was much later in the year. I remenber getting GENESIS Nursery Crimes & HUMBLE PIE Smokin from the DISC JOCKEY at different times around then and taking them back as they were too boring, which BIG AL did no problem.
Andy Qunta… Nursery Cryme boring? No way!
Alan Esdaile… Great album Nursery Cryme. Also like Selling England by The Pound.
Ian Cramp… Thanks, fond memories of this shop Best album that year in my opinion Meddle by Pink Floyd.
Alan Esdaile… lots of great albums in 1971. Who’s Next, What’s Going On Marvin Gaye, Blue Joni Mitchell… difficult choice Ian.
Pete Fairless… Don’t forget ‘Sticky Fingers’, ‘Tapestry’ and ‘Hunky Dory’…
What Records remind you of fairgrounds?
© Andrew Dunn http://www.andrewdunnphoto.com
Colin Bell mentioned on a previous post that he has fond memories of hearing Runaway by Del Shannon at the fair on the oval. Two records that always remind me whenever I hear them, are Doris Day Move Over Darling and Chris Montez The More I See You.
Caz Simpson… Let’s Dance, Chris Montez. Fire, Crazy World of Arthur Brown.
Jim Breeds…. Anything by Fairground Attraction? 😉 Actually, Edgar Winter Group – Frankenstein. Although it also reminds me of bank holiday at Santa Pod in the 70s.
Pete Fairless… Ah, I remember the fairs on The Oval in the mid ’70s, so it was a lot of Glam – Slade, T. Rex, Suzi Quatro and, of course, that bloke we’re not supposed to mention… Think I might have first heard R Dean Taylor at the fair, too!
Peter Millington… “Timing a tick a tick a tick Timing” Jimmy Jones-1960
Caz Simpson… I loved Timing!!
Leigh Wieland-Boys… My Coo Ca Choo (or however it’s spelt) by Alvin Stardust immediately came to mind
Peter Millington… Caz I think it must be an age thing – Music was never louder than at the fair in the early 1960s
Caz Simpson… The fair was the most magical place in the world Peter, and it was the louder than loud music that made it so.
Who remembers Music Master catalogue in De Cham Avenue Hastings?
Alan Esdaile… I always remember the red cover.
Karen Sweatman… My old boss John Humphries. Four very happy years working there. Still got this one. David Kent, secretly put a photo of local band, Jaded Angel in there. The guitarist Rik, worked at Music Master. They had a bigger photo than Iron Maiden. Don’t think the boss ever knew.
Rik Goodman… Karen, Haha! I’d forgotten about that!!
Jennie Tocock… I worked for him too, for a couple of years!!
Sandra Cunningham… My son worked there, Jason Philpott and I still have one with the red cover. He transferred to London when it changed and is still there now!!
Martin Richter… I have a copy
Julian Humphries… that’s my dad!!!
Karen Sweatman… We took our work there very seriously. I’m on the left sporting an acid house t shirt.
David Kent… And then there was the annual catalogue in which Elvis Presley’s black strip was edited out. All of his recordings ended up being listed under Somebodyorother Presidenti.
Julian Humphries… spoke to my dad this morning… we talked about the old Music Master days he isn’t on facebook but has lots of very found memories of those days too
Mike Vawdrey… Came to this quite late starting with the 16th Edition (!) but then made up for lost time by using that and some later editions for a number of years. Once discovered it was an invaluable resource in pre and early internet days especially trying to track the back catalogues of certain artists who were hard to pigeonhole – for me that would include a.m.o. Annette Peacock, Sweet Honey In The Rock and gospel singer Marion Williams – but heaps more less esoteric too. Way back when I also used to consult The Gramophone Pop Catalogue not to mention even longer ago The New Records – still at school when I used to study that publication far back in the mists of days beyond recall (well nearly) – took me a while to fathom out what b/w meant
Mick O’Dowd… I worked there too. Made the dizzy heights as Labels List Manager cataloguing record label info. John was a nice guy and I attended a party at his 3 Oaks house with pool and did the disco along with The After Sunset Roadshow. Great days. Also I popped out on my tea break across the road to The Courts to get my divorce! Not many people could claim that!
Alan Esdaile… John was very good to me when I first started out in business. I could not afford to buy Music Master but needed it for the shop. He let me have ones with damaged covers very cheap and threw in some supplements for free as well. When he sold his record shop in London, I ended up buying the final stock for a good price.
George Rankin… I was Senior Editor and Production Manager at Music Master from 1989-1992. Fond memories of my time there working with everyone. I hope you all went on to have happy, productive careers. How I didn’t come to blows with John Humphries is something of a miracle. Just as well I suppose.
Karen Sweatman… Hello George!! Wow! Hope you are well!
Caz Simpson… Danny is this where you worked?
Danny Howell… Caz, it is!
Julia Ashton… I was there in about 87/88, first working as a data entry clerk on the new whizz bang (well it did crash a lot in those early days!) Texas Instruments system. Remember that attic room with all sorts of vinyl treasures and white label discs! Did night shifts on paste up for a while and then ended up as Subscriptions Manager. Good memories, lots of characters including Dave ‘out of my mind’ Kent, Pete ‘Bowie’ Smith, Jackie ?O Callaghan and the man himself!
Who remembers buying piano music in Attwells 22 Grand Parade St Leonards?
Josie Lawson… I remember the address now too. It was my first transistor radio I bought there. I used to listen to radio Luxembourg on it at night, and I believe the pirate stations, I think I was 16 years then so was in the 60s. Thanks Alan for finding it…
Barry French… My mum played Piano & would pop in there for sheet music , & I’m sure I bought guitar strings from there. (These were made by Cathedral & were always breaking)
Fiona Evans… I do & clarinet reeds !
Mark Hardwick… Black Cat Pub and Grill.
Part exchange your piano for a radiogram or television in 1965.
Was this still called Attwells in 1909?
Roy Penfold… in 1911 the shop was Hermitages, listed as a pianoforte dealer with branches here, Robertson Street, Eastbourne and Tunbridge Wells. (source 1911 Kellys)
supplied by Roy Penfold
Josie Lawson… I bought a transistor radio sponsored by my dad…It was called His Masters Voice
Matt Thomas… HMV
Kasa… I live in Hastings, and own an old PYE Valve Radio with an Attwells stamp on the side of it, So i started researching and there ain’t a lot i could find! Great to see those old ads too.
Melody House – Music Shop Hastings 1950’s
Ad supplied by Jim Breeds record bag supplied by Peter Quinnell
Jim Breeds… OK, a little early for this group – this is the fifties – but I don’t know of a FMARTIES Group so here goes. A musical shop in Queens Road advertising in my 1953 Kelly’s Directory.
Geoff Peckham… I’ll bet my dad would have bought his strings and sheet music from here!
Matt Thomas… That area seemed to have a lot of music history
Alan Esdaile… Great find Jim and Peter.
who remembers Top of The Pops – cover version albums
They used to play these in lots of shops, remember hearing them in Woolworth and the Wimpy bar.
Geoff Peckham… Before that, does anyone remember the EPs you could buy for about 3/11 that contained four current hits covered by session men? I had one with I Wanna Hold Your Hand, so that dates it to 1964.
Kev Towner… I saw some in a charity shop yesterday actually.
Darren Johnson… Could you get them free with petrol too I recall?
Jim Breeds… I have a couple of the LPs. And here’s a blog site dedicated to the subject.
http://copycatcovers.blogspot.co.uk
Jan Warren… They were terrible!
Martyn Baker… Yes they were.
Peter Thomson… I once read that an album existed called something like “Thin Lizzy Sings Deep Purple” but I never found it. I might Google it quickly before some other smartass gets the chance. Found it Funky Junction.
Pete Millington… Many of the Top of the Poppers became Cliff Richard’s backing band in the mid 1970s. Have a listen to the cover of Bohemian Rhapsody created in days not weeks and you’ll realise what a stunning bunch of talent they were.
Pete Fisher… I played on recording sessions in 1976 with Alan Tarney (bass) and Trevor Spencer (drums), who were then also Cliff’s rhythm section, and Alan Tarney wrote and produced “We Don’t Talk Anymore”
Peter Thomson… I saw a Dutch covers band while living in Germany, who performed a note perfect version of Bohemian Rhapsody, including the operatic mid section. Queen, who I’d seen in ’76 in Hyde Park, could never do that live.
Dave Nattress… Well I definitely remember the covers!! – Woolies specials weren’t they? I think my Wife has some of these LP’s stashed away in the loft. If I recall correctly were the copies a bit dodgy on the vocals? i.e. not actually very good copies of the originals. Jaffa (Geoff Peckham) mentioned some cheap EP’s. Don’t recall those but I did buy a couple of single/EP sized (EP’s I suppose – Duh) which were I think on the “Disc-a-Fran” label – I did say I think, it was long ago, in about 1966. These had 6 tracks I think and seemed like a bargain – not original tracks but copies and noticeably different. I can’t recall the tracks other than I think Long John Baldry’s Let the Heartaches Begin was on one of them. God alone knows where they came from.
Tim Moose Bruce… When I left school and started work in 76 the factory i worked at had piped music with covers of the recent chart hits. Prob the same musicians. Eventually got radio 1 .
Alan King… Elton John recorded a few, TOTP albums as did David Bowie and the singer out of Uriah Heap, when they were struggling of course
Oldies Unlimited
Anyone remember the firm Oldies Unlimited? We used to give out these catalogues in the shop. Interestingly the owner Antony Lewis lived in St Leonards before he set up Oldies in Telford. I used to buy Led Zeppelin USA import singles from him to sell in Stylus.
Redstar Richter… yeah!!
Nick Prince… Yes. Ive still got a credit note from them somewhere.
Darren Holmes… Being young Mods in late 70s/ early 80s it was like our bible trying to get hold of certain sounds! I use to biy loads from your shop!!! Lol
Karen Sweatman Was Blackman… Ordered lots from them
Matt Thomas… Spent a big chunk of my wages on them lol
Nigel Ford… Yes I still have a catalogue somewhere. I bought a number of ex-juke-box 7″ singles though from ads in Disc & Music Echo in the mid 60′s with the plastic inserts in place of the original centres, sometimes receiving 2nd choice items as what I really wanted had sold out.
Mike Vawdrey… I used to buy from them in the early 1990 s but they dropped me off the mailing list when they relocated – to Wolverhampton I think. Some good bargains especially vinyl at a time when it was going out of fashion(no more of course). There is still an Oldies Unlimited Shop in Wolverhampton ….
Carol Healy… I have a catalogue sales no 2, when does this date too?
Alan Esdaile… Sorry don’t know the date Carol.
Tony Ham… I remember Oldies Unlimited, also remember Adrian’s, who I have just Googled and found they’re still going.
Barbara Foulkes… Brilliant company, I bought loads of singles from them
Mido Leppard… Yes i bought from their catalogue many time and they shipped me the records but where are they now ? and is the shop Oldies unlimited on facebook belongs to them ?