Alan Bown Set - Gonna Fix You Good

When the band’s Pye Records contract expired in 1967, Bown reformed the band as “The Alan Bown!” a psychedelic band on Verve Records, They finally released their first full album Outward Bown in 1967 and appeared on Top Gear. The album included a cover of Dylan's All Along the Watchtower, a stage version which "directly inspired Hendrix's arrangement of the song". In 1968 they performed "We Can Help You" on Top of the Pops; this was at No 26 in the UK chart but the pressing plant went on strike, so they could not capitalise on the exposure.

In 1969 they changed to Deram Records where they had a minor hit with "Still as Stone". As with many bands at the time, they recorded cover versions for the BBC, appearing on the ’’Jimmy Young Show’’, "The David Symonds Show" and others, as restricted needle time required "live" performances between the records. Their next album The Alan Bown! had been recorded when Roden left the band. Robert Palmer joined and the vocals were re-recorded by him, before the album's UK release, although the Roden vocals were issued in the US. The band appeared on BBC TVs Disco Two (which became The Old Grey Whistle Test).

In 1970 the band changed labels yet again, this time to Island Records. They recorded the album Listen, but Palmer promptly left, being replaced by Gordon Neville, who re-recorded the vocals before the album was eventually released. The single "Pyramid" was released before Andy Brown replaced Haldane and Mel Collins joined on sax. They recorded another album Stretching Out  and re-appeared on Disco Two. Bannister left, but was not replaced, then Dougie Thomson replaced Brown and Derek Griffiths, formerly with The Artwoods, replaced Catchpole. This line up continued until February 1972. Bown then formed a new band with Dave Lawson (keyboards) Tony Dangerfield (Bass) Frank White (guitar) and Alan Coulter (drums), but after a major tour, Bown finally disbanded the group in July 1972.

The Symbols - Gentle art of loving

The group began in the early 1960s as Johnny Milton and the Condors, and they released two singles, including "Cry Baby" on the Fontana label. In 1965, they changed their name to The Symbols, and their initial line-up included John Milton (vocals), Mick Clarke (bass guitar), Shaun Corrigan (lead guitar) and Clive Graham (drums). Their debut single under the Symbols name was produced by Mickie Most. However, "One Fine Girl", was a commercial failure. The follow-up single was their cover version of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love", but after lack of mainstream success, by 1966 they were released from their recording contract. They had been regular performers at the California Ballroom, Dunstable, Bedfordshire.

Clarke left them to join The Tremeloes and was replaced on bass by Adrian Gurvitz, later of The Gun. Clarke introduced The Trems to a track that The Symbols had played in their repertoire, "Silence is Golden". Clarke later returned to The Symbols, who experienced other changes in their line-up with Joe Baccini (bass), and Chas Wade (drums), variously playing with the group.

Ray Stevens - The Minority

Capitol Records signed Stevens to its Prep Records division in 1957, and produced the singles "Silver Bracelet" and a cover of "Rang Tang Ding Dong", for which Billboard credited the 16-year-old Stevens' vocals as "strong, attractive."^[4] The latter was originally recorded by Manhattan doo-wop group The Cellos in 1957, and written by Cellos bass singer Alvin Williams.

In 1958, Bill Lowery created the National Recording Corporation (NRC), and brought Stevens on board to play numerous instruments, arrange music, and perform background vocals for its band. Around that time, he had adopted the professional name of "Ray Stevens," which was inspired by his middle name and his mother's maiden name.

Stevens signed with Mercury Records in 1961.  With Mercury, he recorded several hit records including songs such as "Harry the Hairy Ape", "Funny Man", the original recording of "Santa Claus Is Watching You", "Jeremiah Peabody's Polyunsaturated Quick-Dissolving, Fast-Acting Pleasant-Tasting Green and Purple Pills", and "Ahab the Arab." Ahab the Arab reached number five on the Hot 100 in the summer of 1962.

In 1966 Stevens signed with Monument Records and started to release serious material such as "Mr. Businessman" in 1968, a Top 30 pop hit; "Have a Little Talk With Myself" and the original version of "Sunday Morning Coming Down" in 1969, which became Stevens' first two singles to reach the country music charts. O.C. Smith covered the Stevens-penned Isn't It Lonely Together while Sammy Davis, Jr. covered Have a Little Talk With Myself. Stevens continued to release comedic songs, and in 1969 he had a Top 10 pop hit with "Gitarzan." Stevens also became a regular on The Andy Williams Show during the 1969–1970 season, and he hosted his own summer show, The Ray Stevens Show, in 1970. In Australia, Ross D. Wylie reached the top 20 with his cover of the Stevens-penned, Funny Man. Stevens' collection of Hot 100 hits is evenly divided between serious and comedy.

Alan Bown - Technicolour Dream

Alan Bown formed The Alan Bown Set in c May 1965, initially with three former members of The John Barry Seven :- Jeff Bannister (lead vocals and organ) (born Jeffrey Bannister, 7 January 1943), Dave Green (sax, clarinet and flute) and Stan Haldane (bass) together with Pete Burgess (guitar) and Vic Sweeney (drums). They played American R&B and soul and played the same club circuit as Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames and Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers.

In 1965 Tony Hatch signed to them to Pye Records but their first single "Can’t Let Her Go" / "I’m The One" did not chart. In 1966 Green was replaced by John Helliwell and shortly after Jess Roden joined as a vocalist, allowing Bannister to concentrate on keyboards. They appeared on Ready Steady Go! and at The Windsor Jazz Festival and began headlining London’s Marquee Club.
This line up released 3 singles, none of which charted, although "Emergency 999" later became a Northern Soul club anthem.

 The Alan Bown Set and Jimmy James and the Vagabonds were both recorded live and released on a joint album London Swings: Live at the Marquee Club with one side each. In November 1966 Burgess was replaced by Tony Catchpole and in 1967 the band released "Gonna Fix You Good (Everytime You're Bad)" / "I Really, Really Care" and recorded the soundtrack for Jeu de Massacre a French film featuring Jacques Loussier. They recorded for the BBCs Rhythm and Blues programme in 1966 and Saturday Club in 1967.

Town Criers - Living In A World Of Love

Town Criers were an Australian band formed in Melbourne in 1964. They are best known for their 1968 cover of "Everlasting Love", reaching #13 on the Australian Charts.
Town Criers had hits with "Everlasting Love" (1968), "Any Old Time (You're Lonely and Sad)" (1969), "Love Me Again" (1969) and "Living In a World of Love" (1970).
Founding vocalist Andy Agtoft was replaced around 1968, by Barry Smith from Adelaide.

Discography

Singles

• 1965 The World Keeps Going Round/Big Deal — Trend Records.
• 1968 Everlasting Love/I Can't Help Myself — Astor Records. #13
• 1968 Unexpectedly/It's Hurting Badly — Astor Records.
• 1969 Any Old Time/Rene — Festival Records. #53
• 1969 Love Me Again/Hey Girl — Festival Records. #35
• 1970 Living In A World Of Love/Roundabout — Festival Records. #42
• 1971 Laughing Man/Living In A Dream World — HMV.
• 1971 Love, Love, Love/Chorus Girl — HMV.

Pop Workshop - Fairyland

The Pop Workshop were a quartet from  Harrow, in northwest London.

After a few years following the trends and changing  name from time to time,
they were signed as The Locomotion by famous producer and owner of the Page One label,
Larry Page, who changed their name to The Pop  Workshop:

Alan Box (singer and guitar)
Dave Evans (lead guitar)
Andy Love  (bass)
Terry Gibbs (drums)

They  were only to release two 45s, their  first single, "Fairyland",
was released  in september 1968 and "Punch And Judy  Man", the second,
in April 1969.

Craig Scott - Let's get a little sentimental

Craig was groomed for television and with a star spot on television's "Happen Inn" he was destined to take over the male pop idol role left vacant after Mr Lee Grant left for England. No time was wasted in getting out the first release, but it was a curious choice of song that was picked for him. Released on the 29th April 1970 came "Star Crossed Lovers"/"So Many People". "Star Crossed Lovers" was a cover of Neil Sedaka's original. The song was extremely controversial due to its lyrical content, but amidst a wave of publicity, it was soon at the number 1 position on the New Zealand National charts, a spot it held for four weeks.

Craig's follow-up, on 26th June 1970, was a bit of a contrast to the haunting ballad that established him in the first place. It wasn't long before "Let's Get A Little Sentimental"/"They Call the Wind Maria" shot up the charts to become his second hit single, reaching number four on the charts. "Let's Get A Little Sentimental" was nominated for the 1970 Loxene Gold Disc Awards and was good enough to make it to the finals, where Craig received the Soloist Award.

Craig's first album "MacArthur Park" was released in 1970 also. The title track was an excellent rendition of the Jim Webb classic made famous by Richard Harris. The NZBC even did a video of Craig singing this song, standing on a bridge over a river, and used it often as an interlude, back in the days when television stations sometimes ran ahead of time.

Mike Redway - Have No Fear, Bond Is Here

Mike Redway is one of the truly great vocalists. Having been a backing singer for years, he successfully made the transition to solo artist, proving what a talented singer-songwriter he is. He even deputised for Sinatra on a Tony Hatch produced recording which sadly never saw the light of day - such a shame, his vocals were every bit as good as Frank's.

Few will know that, along with the likes of Shirley Bassey and Tom Jones, Mike was vocalist on a James Bond theme - he was the singer on the vocal of the original "Casino Royale" theme tune.  Not only was this written by the legendary Burt Bacharach, but Bacharach also conducted the session too!  While the orchestral theme by Herb Alpert and Dusty Springfield's "Look of Love" are recognised as modern classics, incredibly Mike did not even get a credit for his superb vocal recording.

Mike was vocalist on a James Bond theme - he was the singer on the vocal of the original "Casino Royale" theme tune.  Not only was this written by the legendary Burt Bacharach, but Bacharach also conducted the session too!  While the orchestral theme by Herb Alpert and Dusty Springfield's "Look of Love" are recognised as modern classics, incredibly Mike did not even get a credit for his superb vocal recording.

Del Shannon - Gemini (1968)

 

During Shannon's Liberty Records tenure, success on a national scale eluded him, but he did score several "regional" US chart hits with "The Big Hurt", "Under My Thumb", "She", "Led Along" and "Runaway" (1967 version). That version (recorded in England and produced by Rolling Stones producer Andrew Loog Oldham) also did well on Canadian and Australian pop charts.

In early 1967 Shannon recorded the album Home and Away in England, with Oldham at the helm. Intended by Oldham as the British answer to Pet Sounds, Home and Away was shelved by Liberty Records, although a handful of singles were issued. It was not until 1978 that all of the tracks were eventually issued (with three non-related tracks) on a British album titled And The Music Plays On.

In 1991, all of the tracks were released in the US as part of the Del Shannon--The Liberty Years CD. In 2006, 39 years after it was recorded, Home and Away was finally released as a stand-alone collection by EMI Records in the UK. This CD collected the 11 original tracks in stereo and the five single releases (US, UK and Philippines) in their original monaural mixes.
In September 1967, Shannon began laying down the tracks for The Further Adventures of Charles Westover, which would be highly regarded by fans and critics alike, despite disappointing sales. The album yielded two 1968 singles, "Thinkin' It Over" and "Gemini" (recently the subject of a Pilooski remix). In October 1968, Liberty Records released their tenth (in the US) and final Del Shannon single, a cover of Dee Clark's 1961 hit "Raindrops".

Hurricane Smith - A melody you will never forget

 

He was the engineer on all of the EMI studio recordings by The Beatles until 1965, when EMI promoted him from engineer to producer. The last Beatles album he recorded was Rubber Soul, and Smith engineered the sound for almost 100 Beatles songs in total.
John Lennon first bestowed upon Smith the nickname of "Normal," and it was quickly picked up by the other Beatles. Lennon did so as a humorous reference to Smith's very unhurried and unflappable nature.

While working with The Beatles on 17 June 1965, he was offered £15,000 by the band's music publishing company, Dick James Music, to buy outright a song he had written.

In early 1967, he began working with a new group, Pink Floyd, producing their first, second, and fourth studio albums The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, A Saucerful of Secrets, and Ummagumma. During the sessions for the song "Remember a Day", drummer Nick Mason became agitated that he could not come up with the right drum part for the song. Smith, however, knew what he wanted with the drums, so he played the part himself.

In 1968, Smith produced one of the first rock concept albums, The Pretty Things' S.F. Sorrow.
He produced early recordings by Barclay James Harvest, including their highly rated album Once Again, and many years later was name-checked in John Lees' song, "John Lennon's Guitar".

In 1971, Smith, using a recording artist pseudonym of Hurricane Smith, had a UK #2 hit with "Don't Let It Die". This recording was a demo of a song that he had written with the hope that John Lennon would record it. When he played it for fellow record producer Mickie Most, Most was impressed enough to tell him to release it as it was. In 1972, he enjoyed a transatlantic hit with "Oh Babe What Would You Say?", which became a U.S. #1 Cash Box and a Billboard Pop #3 hit. It reached #4 in the UK Singles Chart. Also included on Smith's self-titled debut album was a third hit single, a cover version of Gilbert O'Sullivan's "Who Was It?" (UK #23)

Butterscotch - Don't you know she said hello

The songwriting/production team of Chris Arnold, David Martin and Geoff Morrow is probably best known for giving us Barry Manilow’s “Can’t Smile Without You,” and for bubblegum singles like Edison Lighthouse’s “It’s Up To You Petula” and Domino’s “Have You Had A Little Happiness Lately” (featuring Tony Burrows). They also wrote for Elvis (“This Is The Story,” “A Little Bit Of Green,” “Change Of Habit”).

The trio released a few singles under their own names, but their only full-length album was "Don’t You Know Butterscotch.”

"Don’t You Know Butterscotch” is a kind of bridge from Petula to Barry, coming off almost like an early Bread album. The kiddie pop tracks released as singles are all here (“Don’t You Know,” “Surprise Surprise,” “Things I Do For You”), but it’s the “adult contemporary” cuts (“Us,” “Bye For Now,” “Cows”) that really balance out the program and add a depth never found on your average bubblegum album.