roy wood – SMART

The Move – Hastings Pier 24th August 1969

August 24, 2024August 24, 2024 by Alan Esdaile

cutting supplied by Sarah Harvey and autographs supplied by Colin Bell.

Peter Gladwish… I was there!

Jenny Tyler… I saw The Move on the pier.

Joe Knight… BlackBerry way 1967 radio 1 opening song

Tony Davis… Was it? I always thought it was Flowers in the rain. Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me

Alan Esdaile… Your right Tony, sorry Joe and before anyone says it, yes we know that Tony played his theme tune before this.

Joe Knight… the flower got me

Roy Wood’s Wizzard – Hastings Pier 9th February 1973.

February 9, 2024 by Alan Esdaile

middle photo source: G00labek. black & white photo source: Beeld En Geluid Wiki – Gallerie: Toppop 1974 Licentie afbeeldingen Beeld en Geluidwiki

First ad above was a teaser advert by Martin Casson Agency.

Reg Wood’s autographed single from the pier gig.

John Mcewen….I was there!

Joe Knight… A great act

Alan Esdaile… I remember seeing Roy Wood early evening and shocked to see him with a normal haircut. I never realised he wore a wig on stage.

Joe Knight… Never got to see him, got married in 1970 and very little money.

Mick O’Dowd… Brilliant artist/band.

Martin Round… I remember that night so well. Before the gig Andrew Killick and I were in the bar and he just walked in and joined us, and he was dressed in all his finery. He was back later dressed down too. Nice guy!

Gerry Fortsch… I was there. I saw Roy Wood at the London rock & roll show when Ballpark first came out and I have seen him a number of times since including this gig at the pier.

Paul Slidel… I was only 12 in 1973 and would loved to have seen Wizard on the pier, but ‘See My Baby Jive’ and ‘Angel Fingers’ were the first 2 singles I bought from Disc Jockey in Queens Road in the same year!

Martin Waghorne… Remember it well, i was there

Peter Fairless… Of course, I was way too young(!) to have gone to this gig but Wizzard remain one of my favourite bands.

Harry Randall… He was living in Catsfield my old drummer from “Footloose and Slack Alice” did some session work for him

Di Veness… We were there Keith.

John Davis… Saw them

SMART SOUNDS by Colin Bell reviewing Roy Wood: Mustard, Remastered and Expanded CD Edition

December 23, 2022October 27, 2019 by Alan Esdaile

MUSTARD (Remastered & Expanded) Roy Wood

Straightaway I have to say I have a deep soft spot for Roy, he was the first bona fide ‘pop star’ I met when I started backstage on Hastings Pier in 1967, indeed elsewhere on the SMART site is the autographs of Roy and the rest of The Move obtained at the time. I’ve always ranked him in the top ten British songwriters. From The Move to ELO (briefly), Wizzard and solo his work has always trod its own very quirky path verging from pastiche to genius but always so original. ‘Mustard’ was originally released in December 1975 and was Roy’s second solo album following on from the successful ‘Boulders’ that had spawned quirky melodic songs such as the single hit ‘Dear Elaine’. ‘Mustard’ was commercially unsuccessful but arguably his ‘magnum opus’ showcasing his immense talent and creativity at its peak. All eight songs (+ 7 bonus on this release) were all written, sung, engineered and produced by Roy who also played EVERY instrument and even provided the artwork for the cover! His influences, in his own words, ranged from the 1940’s swing/doo wop of the Andrews sisters thru The Beach Boys, the Ronettes/Phil Spector to Led Zeppelin! Now that sounds like a complete mess of a recipe for an album, and in other hands it would be but Roy pulls it off.

The opening title track is a clever concoction that sounds just like a 40’s radio jingle by the aforementioned Andrew’s sisters but the ‘sisters’ is in fact Roy’s sped up vocal over sound effects, following on is classic Wood pop with ‘Any Old Time Will Do’. It’s on the next track ‘The Rain Came Down On Everything’ that shows what Roy’s vision of ELO might have been given the chance with its opening vocal (by Annie Haslam of Renaissance) a sweeping ballad that turns operatic before dissolving at the end into a thunderstorm (sound familiar Jeff Lynne!) Next up is a slice of boogie-woo blues/swing in ‘You Sure Got It Now’. For me the highlight of the album comes with the Brian Wilson/Beach Boys heavily inspired ‘Why Does Such A Pretty Girl Sing Those Sad Songs’ (some say written for Lynsey De Paul, Roy’s girlfriend at the time) whatever its almost a pastiche of God Only Knows meets Sloop John B/Good Vibrations its just wackily brilliant. And speaking of wackily brilliant track 8 and originally the closing track is Roy’s homage to Led Zeppelin in the shape of the rocker ‘Get On Down Home’ complete with a 2 minute drum solo in the mould of John Bonham, again as aforementioned with all the instruments being played by the man himself, in fact drums were the first and only instrument that Roy had any formal lessons in, remarkable, who teaches themselves bagpipes! With this new Esoteric release the album doesn’t end there but adds an extra 7 tracks (some released as singles like ‘Oh What A Shame’) with a couple attributed to ‘Wizzard’.

As I said ‘Mustard’ did not sell well on release mainly due to the record company (Jet Records) run by the infamous Don Arden concentrating on ELO which was an injustice but happily here in 2019 after years of being unavailable we can catch a musical prodigy at his best. Enjoy.

For more information go to https://www.cherryred.co.uk

Til next time…………………………… Colin

Derek Clemans… A friend of mine who I havn’t seen for many years and can’t remember his name I think played base for the Move then played Sax with Wizzard and I get to see him every Christmas on old Top of the Pops Christmas specials. He lived on the Tilekiln estate and when he got married he had his reception at the Tile Kiln community club and Roy Wood turned up to jam with him.

Neil Partrick… Great review Colin. Made me want to check it out

Colin Bell… Cheers Neil, I do my best! Do check it out you won’t be disappointed.

SMART SOUNDS by Colin Bell. Reviews The Move 3CD Remastered and Shazam CD.

January 21, 2023May 11, 2016 by Alan Esdaile

MOVE (3CD Remastered/Expanded Deluxe Digipack Edition. The Move I was delighted to see this release. The Move were one of the first ‘name’ bands I worked with on Hastings Pier back in 1967, so a large dollop of nostalgia involved. This was the debut album released originally in April 1968. What a debut! Containing some of the best tracks, in my opinion, they ever released. ‘Here We Go Round The Lemon Tree’, ‘Walk Upon The Water’ ‘Cherry Blossom Clinic’ ‘Flowers in The Rain’ and the gorgeous ‘Mist On A Monday Morning’ to name but a few. Ive always put Roy Wood right up there with Lennon/McCartney and Ray Davies as one of the best songwriters we have ever produced. This is a lavish package, featuring the mono mix of the album plus 52 (yes you read that right!) 52 bonus tracks all beautifully remastered. Alternate takes, studio sessions, interviews its a huge affair. ‘Night of Fear’ and ‘I Can hear The Grass Grow’ have never sounded this good. There just isn’t enough space to list all the treasures here present. The Move always were and will always remain one of my favourite bands for their live performances, dynamic singles, and capturing an era in music when anything seemed possible and Britain was the centre of the musical world. I cannot recommend this highly enough.

SHAZAM (Remastered) The Move Two years on in February 1970 and the band were starting to gain a ‘heavier’ sound which would lead to tracks like ‘Brontasaurus’. Shazam captures them at that turning point. ‘Hello Suzie’ is a good example of this heavier approach, even though of course Amen Corner had a hit with their cover ‘poppier’ version. ‘Beautiful Daughter’ and ‘Cherry Blossom Clinic Revisited’ are pure joy. The bonus tracks include the international number one ‘Blackberry Way’ the witty ‘Omnibus’ the irrestible ‘Curly’ and a personal favourite in ‘Wild Tiger Woman’ which, to be honest was a flop as a single by their standards, something I never understood its as well written, commercial and catchy as say ‘Fire Brigade’ but somehow didn’t capture the publics attention. Again the 14 tracks including the bonus ones are beautifully remastered and render previous releases redundant. There will be more releases to come in this series and I eagerly look forward to receiving them!

For more information go to http://www.cherryred.co.uk

Til next time……….

Colin