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Toppermost of the Poppermost - UK Number Ones : part 2 - The 1960s

Started by daf, June 12, 2019, 01:55:00 PM

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Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Quote from: kalowski on December 07, 2019, 08:13:55 AM
How have people not heard 19th Nervous Breakdown? Is this a forum for school kids?

But that's one of the many interesting things about this thread. Some of us take this music for granted in a way, we've known it all our lives, so it's easy to forget that some people aren't familiar with it.

"Wow! Imagine hearing this for the first time!" is a hoary old cliche, I've invoked it myself in this thread, but it's been great reading posts from people who actually are hearing, say, You Really Got Me by The Kinks for the first time in 2019.

I first heard that particular record on the radio in the early '90s, when I was sixteen or so, and it blew me away. I assumed it was some sort of punk or alt-rock thing, it could've been recorded that week for all I knew.

CUT THE KIDS SOME SLACK, MAN.

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Quote from: daf on December 06, 2019, 08:59:46 PM
Always thought Tokyo Storm Warning owed a debt to this one.

It also formed the basis of The Great Airplane Strike by Paul Revere & The Raiders, a toppermost of the poppermost American band who will never trouble this thread!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS6xTsARvcU

Strange that they never had any hits over here, they were highly commercial, but I don't think they ever made a concerted effort to break the British market: "Not arsed/assed, mate/buddy, American hits."

Speaking of which, no Beach Boys so far! We'll have to wait until the end of '66.

Yes, but The Beach Boys will eventually sell more records in the UK in 1966 than anyone else so as with Motown, it was a case of the dam finally bursting, coinciding with The Beatles easing off the pace of their releases.

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Quote from: Satchmo Distel on December 08, 2019, 10:47:49 PM
Yes, but The Beach Boys will eventually sell more records in the UK in 1966 than anyone else so as with Motown, it was a case of the dam finally bursting, coinciding with The Beatles easing off the pace of their releases.

Yeah, I know. I'm just messing about in the fun spirit of this thread.

daf

Wouldn't it be nice, to get on with Don Arden, it's . . .

210c. (MM 158.)  The Small Faces - Sha-La-La-La, Lee



From :  12-18 March 1966
Weeks : 1
Flip side : Grow Your Own
Bonus : Beat Club

The Story So Far :
QuoteThe Small Faces were formed in 1965, and originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Jimmy Winston, Kenney Jones, and Ronnie Lane.



Steve Marriott was born on 30 January 1947 at East Ham Memorial Hospital, Plashet, East Ham, London. His father Bill worked as a printer and later owned a jellied eels stall, called 'Bill's Eels', outside the Ruskin Arms hotel. Bill bought Marriott a ukulele and harmonica which Marriott taught himself to play.

Marriott showed an early interest in singing and performing, busking at local bus-stops for extra pocket money and winning talent contests during the family's annual holiday to Jaywick Holiday camp near Clacton-on-Sea.

In 1959 at the age of twelve, Marriott formed his first band with school friends Nigel Chapin and Robin Andrews. They were called 'The Wheels', later the 'Coronation Kids', and finally 'Mississippi Five'. They later added Simon Simkins and Vic Dixon to their line-up.

From a young age, Marriott was a huge fan of American singer Buddy Holly and would mimic his hero by wearing large-rimmed spectacles with the lenses removed. He wrote his first song, called "Shelia My Dear", after his aunt Shelia to whom he was close. Those who heard the song said it was played at a jaunty pace in the style of Buddy Holly and his bandmates also nicknamed him 'Buddy'. They would play at the local coffee bars in East Ham and perform Saturday morning gigs at the Essoldo Cinema in Manor Park.

In 1960, Bill Marriott spotted an advertisement in a London newspaper for a new Artful Dodger replacement to appear in Lionel Bart's popular musical Oliver! in London's West End, and without telling his son, applied for him to audition. At the age of thirteen, Marriott auditioned for the role. He sang two songs, "Who's Sorry Now" by Connie Francis, and "Oh, Boy!" by Buddy Holly. Bart was impressed with Marriott's vocal abilities and hired him. Marriott stayed with the show for twelve months, playing various boys' roles during that time, and was also chosen to provide lead vocals for the Artful Dodger songs "Consider Yourself", "Be Back Soon", and "I'd Do Anything", which appear on the official album to the stage show.



In 1961 he auditioned and was accepted as a student at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London. Because his family were unable to afford the private school fees, it was mutually agreed the fees would be deducted from acting work the school found him. He quickly gained acting roles, working consistently in film, television and radio, often typecast as the energetic Cockney child. But before long he lost interest in acting and turned his attention back to music.

In 1963, Marriott wrote "Imaginary Love" and touted it around the big record labels in London. On the strength of "Imaginary Love", Marriott secured a deal as a solo artist with Decca. Marriott's first single was a song written by Kenny Lynch, "Give Her My Regards". The single was released in July 1963 and was commercially unsuccessful.

In the same year Marriott formed The Frantiks, who recorded a cover version of Cliff Richard's song "Move It" with ex-Shadows drummer Tony Meehan, who was brought in to help with production. Despite the single being hawked around the major record companies, no one was interested and the song was never released. The band then changed their name to The Moments.



In 1964, The group was asked to record a single for the American market, a cover version of The Kinks' UK hit song "You Really Got Me", released on the World Artists record label. When it flopped, Marriott was dropped from the band, with members claiming he was too young to be a lead singer. After leaving The Moments, Marriott joined The Checkpoints.

Chris Clements : "He actually approached us (The Checkpoints) and said he needed to fulfill some gigs that were pending. This was in 1965, he was with us for a couple of months. We rehearsed at The Kentish Drovers in the Old Kent Road in South London. He got us to learn James Brown numbers, which at the time we weren't very up in. One particular memory sticks in my mind. When we rehearsed with him, he almost spoke the words of the song, rather than sang the words. He was listening to us, making sure we got the backing right, so he didn't put himself out vocally. But when we did the first gig with him, out came this fantastic soul voice, we all looked at each other, and our mouths fell open!

"When doing the gigs, we would pick him up outside the Brewery in Romford road Essex. He always had a small case with his harmonicas in. His harmonica playing was excellent. Our transport at that time was a converted ambulance, and Steve would always sit up front with the owner driver, (a man in his early 50s) rather than sit in the back talking to us. He seemed to me to be a bit of a loner. Even when I had a conversation with him, he always seemed to be looking past me, as though in a hurry to be somewhere else."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ronnie Lane was born in Plaistow Maternity Hospital, Plaistow, Essex, to Elsie Lane and Stanley Lane, a truck driver. After leaving school at the age of 16, Lane met Kenney Jones at a local pub, and they formed a group they named The Outcasts.

Initially playing lead guitar, Lane quickly switched to bass. When shopping for a Harmony bass guitar, Lane visited the J60 Music Bar in Manor Park, London, where he met Steve Marriott, who was working there. Lane bought his bass, and went to Marriott's house after work, where Marriott introduced him to his Motown and Stax collection. With their shared love of R&B the trio were soon firm friends.

Marriott was invited by Lane and Jones to perform with The Outcasts at the band's regular gig the Earl of Derby in Bermondsey. The trio each ended up completely drunk and Marriott enthusiastically destroyed the piano he was playing, much to the amusement of Lane and Jones . . . but not of the landlord - who owned the piano. Unsurprisingly, he sacked them on the spot and the band was finished.

According to Dave Bowie from Dave Bowie and the Dave Bowie Band (feat. Dave Bowie), in 1964 he and his good friend Marriott planned to form an R&B duo called 'David and Goliath'. Instead, Marriott, Lane and Jones decided to form their own band, with Marriott bringing along his acquaintance, Jimmy Winston.



Kenny Jones : "David Jones, as he was then, was like a fifth member of the Small Faces when we got together. In the very early days, we'd hang around Denmark Street at the Gioconda. David was always in there – an ace Mod like us, completely unknown. We'd tell him we were playing Loughton or Epping and he'd ask to come along. We said, 'no problem, as long as you help us unpack the van.

"We got on great together and we'd like to have adopted him a lot more, but he was doing these Ban The Bomb songs, protest stuff. He'd be in the crowd and ask when he could come up and sing with us, and we'd keep telling him to wait. Then, when it was the break, we'd say, 'up you come' and he'd come on as we went off."

Marriott's friend Annabel, an ex-student from the Italia Conti, came up with the band's distinctive name after commenting that they all had "small faces"; the name stuck in part because they were all small, and the term "face" was the name given to a well-known and respected mod.

   

The band's early song set included R&B/soul classics such as "Jump Back", James Brown's "Please Please Please", Smokey Robinson's "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" and Ben E. King's "Stand by Me". The band also performed two Marriott/Lane original compositions, a fast and loud "Come on Children" and the "speed enhanced" song "E too D", in which Marriott would display his vocal abilities in the style of his heroes and role models, Otis Redding and Bobby Bland.

Marriott's unique and powerful voice attracted rising attention. Singer Elkie Brooks was struck by Marriott's vocal prowess and stage presence, and recommended them to a local club owner, Maurice King. Impressed, King began finding them work in London and beyond. Their first out-of-London concert was at a working men's club in Sheffield. Since the crowd was mainly made up of Teddy boys and hard-drinking workers, the band were paid off after three songs. Despondent, they walked into the mod-orientated King Mojo Club nearby (then owned by Peter Stringfellow) and offered to perform for free. They played a set that left the local mods wanting more.



The band signed a management contract with management impresario Don Arden, and they were in turn signed to Decca Records for recording.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Harry Levy was born into a Jewish family in Cheetham Hill, Manchester on 4 January 1926. He began his showbusiness career when he was just 13 years old as a singer and stand-up comic, briefly attended the Royal College of Music, and in 1944 changed his name to Don Arden.



Arden worked as an entertainer on the British variety circuit. He impersonated singers such as Enrico Caruso and film actors known for gangster roles such as Edward G. Robinson and George Raft. On weekends, Yiddish-speaking Arden impressed Jewish audiences with his Al Jolson routine. One of his record releases was his version of "Blue Suede Shoes" on the Embassy label, where he tried to impersonate Elvis.

In 1954 he went on to become a showbiz agent after realising it would be more profitable. He began his career organising Hebrew folk song contests, then started putting together his own shows.

Arden signed up American rock'n'roller Gene Vincent in 1960 and launched his career as a manager. Taking over from John Schatt, Arden became Vincent's manager. Arden could not control Vincent's compulsive alcoholism, and the relationship ended when Vincent reportedly pulled a knife on his manager. For a short period of time in the early 1960s, he worked with the British singer Elkie Brooks at the start of her career.

During 1964, Arden moved into beat group pop management with "Tobacco Road" Hitmakers The Nashville Teens. When group member John Hawken confronted Arden about some confusion over many many monies to be collected, his manager told him, "I have the strength of 10 men in these hands" and threatened to throw him from an office window.

In 1965, Arden met aspiring rock band Small Faces in his office in Carnaby Street. Half an hour later he had signed them up. Don Arden was immediately struck by their potential : "I thought at that time, on the first hearing, I thought it was the best band in the world."

Kenney Jones : "He was kind of a Jewish teddy bear I suppose. You liked him immediately because he was enthusiastic and he talked about what he could do and what he couldn't do and whenever he said – 'I'll do this, I'll do that' – he did and it came true."

The band's debut single - "Whatcha Gonna Do About It" (b/w "What's A Matter Baby") was released in August 1964.

 


Marriott and Lane are credited with creating the instrumental to the song, "borrowing" the guitar riff from the Solomon Burke record "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love". The lyrics were co-written by Drifters band member Ian Samwell (who wrote the Cliff Classic, "Move It") and Brian Potter (. . . who didn't). The single peaked at #14 in September 1964, Allegedly helped by a little bit of "chart-fixing" - which cost Arden £12,000.

Don Arden : "I had a saying, you can't polish a turd. In other words, if the record's no good to begin with it still won't be any good after you've wasted your time and money getting it played."

In 1966, Arden and a squad of 'minders' turned up at impresario Robert Stigwood's office to 'teach him a lesson' for daring to discuss a change of management with Small Faces. This became one of the most notorious incidents from the 1960s British pop business. Arden reportedly threatened to throw Stigwood out of the window if he ever interfered with his business again.

Kenney Jones : "Without Don, the Small Faces may not have existed, without his sort of vision at that time, be it short-lived or what. The fact is we became known and we got a break through Don. So if you think of it like that and I think all of us are prepared to swallow what went on, leave it, fine, it's history. We all learned from each other, he gave us our first break, fine, fair enough, you know, leave it. I've got good and bad memories but mainly I think of Don with affection, surprisingly enough."

The band appeared as themselves in a 1965 crime film titled Dateline Diamonds starring Kenneth Cope as the band's manager and it featured the band playing their second single release, "I've Got Mine". Arden thought the band's song would receive publicity from the film; however, the film's UK release was delayed, and the hard-edged mod number, backed with another of their own songs, "It's Too Late", failed to chart when it was released in November 1965, despite receiving good reviews.

 


Shortly thereafter, Jimmy Winston, the only tall member of the group, left the band for an acting and music solo career. He went on to succeed as an actor in TV, film and became a successful business man. Winston was replaced by Ian McLagan, and fitted straight into the band, due to him being a fellow short-arse.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ian McLagan first started playing in bands in the early 1960s, initially using the Hohner Cembalet before switching to the Hammond organ and Wurlitzer electric piano, as well as occasional use of guitars. He was influenced by Cyril Davies' All Stars, and his first professional group was The Muleskinners. In 1965, he was hired, for the sum of £30 a week, to join Small Faces by their manager, Don Arden, replacing Jimmy Winston.

Once the 'probation' period ended, his pay was reduced (at his request) to £20 a week, which was what the other band members were getting from their tightwad manager Don Arden. McLagan played his first performance with the band on 2 November 1965.



The new Small Faces line-up hit the charts with their third single, "Sha-La-La-La-Lee", released on 28 January 1966. It was written for the group by Mort Shuman (who wrote many of Elvis Presley's singles) and popular English entertainer and singer Kenny Lynch. The song was a big hit in Britain, and while it "officially" peaked at number three in the obscure Record Retailer UK singles chart, it was a number one in the hugely popular and accurate Melody Maker chart.



Their first album, Small Faces, released on 11 May 1966, was recorded at IBC Studios, Portland Place, London between June 1965 and February 1966. Glyn Johns was the studio engineer.

 

Despite having left the band, Jimmy Winston appears on many tracks on this album, and co-wrote "It's Too Late", "Come on Children", and "Don't Stop What You're Doing", as well as providing keyboards and vocals on various tracks. His replacement, Ian McLagan, is credited with co-writing "Own Up Time" along with the rest of the band. Other songs included a cover of Sam Cooke's "Shake", plus another couple of Kenny Lynch songs - "You Better Believe It" and "Sorry She's Mine".

The song "You Need Loving" was a thinly veiled cover of the 1962 song "You Need Love" - written by Willie Dixon, and recorded by Muddy Waters. Though "You Need Loving" only credited Ronnie Lane and Steve Marriott as writers, Dixon never sued. "You Need Loving" also became the basis for lyrics of Led Zeppelin's hit song "Whole Lotta Love" in 1969.



The band's fourth single "Hey Girl" (b/w "Almost Grown") released the same month, was not included on the album and reached #10 in the UK in May 1966.


 

The Single :
Quote"Sha-La-La-La-Lee" was written by Kenny Lynch and Mort Shuman, and recorded by the Small Faces. It was the first single by the group to feature Ian McLagan on keyboards. Kenny Lynch produced the song and also provided the backing vocals.

 

Because the group's previous song release, the Marriott/Lane composition "I've Got Mine," failed to chart in the UK, their manager, Don Arden, determined that the Small Faces would not be one hit wonders, decided to bring in well-known songwriters Kenny Lynch and Mort Shuman to make sure the group's next single would be a success.

The song proved a big hit and number one in the Melody Maker chart for a week in March 1966, while Nancy Sinatra's Boots were still walking at the top of the square old Record Retailer Chart.

 

Despite the success of "Sha-La-La-La-Lee", the band never really liked the song and felt it did not represent their sound, which was more R&B- and soul-oriented.

The B-side "Grow Your Own" written by the band, is an instrumental recording and strongly influenced in style by Booker T. & the M.G.'s, of whom all the group were big fans. "Grow Your Own" heavily features Ian McLagan on the Hammond organ.

     

Other Versions include :   Twice as Much (1966)  /  Shanes (1966)  /  "Ce n'est pas une vie" by Pussy Cat (1966)  /  Elsa (1966)  /  Twinkle & The Blue Flames (1966)  /  The Rattles (1966)  /  Václav Neckář (1968) (Check out the moves on this fella!!)Allison Durbin (1969)  /  Mud (1974)  /  Stendy (1976)  /  Plastic Bertrand (1978)  /  Divin' Ducks (1994)  /  Danny McEvoy (2011)  /  The Mods (2013)

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! :
Quote                 

gilbertharding

Quote from: Satchmo Distel on November 30, 2019, 10:44:26 PM
"I thought he was coloured" (Winwood on Len Barry)

Still an ancient time in racial thinking, despite the genuine love of the music. Winwood thinks he's being progressive in praising a white singer for sounding 'coloured'.

And yet...

Quote from: Ballad of Ballard Berkley on November 29, 2019, 10:58:37 PM
Absolutely. It's a decent enough song elevated by a great band performance. And it really is insane that a white teenager from Birmingham was able to sing like that. He doesn't sound forced or ersatz either, he just somehow had the natural ability to sing like an African-American R&B artist. Steve Marriott had the same extraordinary gift.

and

Quote from: Jollity on November 29, 2019, 04:17:52 PM
When I first heard this song, I don't think I pictured it being done by a group of white British people. He does have an impressive voice.

It's easy to forget, but 'coloured' was literally the nice way to refer to black people back then. Well - that is, no-one checked with them, like...

gilbertharding


The Culture Bunker

I don't mind a bit of the Small Faces, which I assume is mainly down to Steve Marriot as the (plain old) Faces bore me shitless. This is a long way from their best, though, very much an example of them making a pretty duff song just about work.

daf

Quote from: gilbertharding on December 09, 2019, 02:59:16 PM
You're not even going to mention this, are you?

'Plonk'.

I assumed it was a knob reference, but apparently . . .
QuoteDuring his teenage years, Ronnie was affectionately known as 'Plonk' - for his hapless efforts to play guitar before discovering his talent was playing bass.

A couple of the articles also refer to him as "Plonk" or "Plonk" Lane.

Ian McLagan's memoirs are essential, as are Simon Napier-Bell's books on this period. Little essay by McLagan:

http://www.ianmclagan.com/small-faces

purlieu

What a punchy song. Despite a fairly playgroundy chorus, lyrically, it's got a lot of energy. Not huge on the song, but it feels more vital than the Stones stuff so far.

Also a hint of the forthcoming psychedelic era with the emphasis on organ in the second half.

The Culture Bunker

Quote from: daf on December 09, 2019, 03:12:03 PM
I assumed it was a knob reference...
According to Edwyn Collins*, Spandau Ballet sax-man Steve Norman was nicknamed "Plonker" for this reason...

*story regaled by him on Never Mind the Buzzcocks while possibly drunk.

kalowski

Two quick points

1 The Small Faces are utterly amazing
2 Don Arden was a cunt

DrGreggles

Quote from: kalowski on December 10, 2019, 06:42:35 AM
The Small Faces are utterly amazing

Utterly true.

Hard to believe that Marriott was still a teenager - and a white one at that.
(AKA: fucking voice on that cunt!)

timebug

I concur with Satchmo Distel that 'Ian McLagan's memoirs are essential'. I posted on another thread a while back, that 'All The Rage' (his memoirs), is a wonderful book. Warm and human, no big star posturing or ego at work; a great read by a friendly human being. He also gives a great account of Rod Stewart turning into a cunt as the book progresses!

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

I love the Small Faces, but you can tell they're really trying their damndest to polish a turd here. It's such a trite little bubblegum song, not their sort of thing at all, but they manage to make it sound quite exciting with their groovy Mod-pop arrangement.

I love the intro, those power chords suggest we're about to hear a belting blast of freakbeat, but then Kenny Lynch's silly lyrics and chorus kick in. Ach, it's not terrible, but it's their weakest single.

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Quote from: purlieu on December 09, 2019, 05:52:17 PM
What a punchy song. Despite a fairly playgroundy chorus, lyrically, it's got a lot of energy. Not huge on the song, but it feels more vital than the Stones stuff so far.

Also a hint of the forthcoming psychedelic era with the emphasis on organ in the second half.

Just noticed that you summed it up more succinctly than I just did!

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Quote from: The Culture Bunker on December 09, 2019, 02:59:59 PM
I don't mind a bit of the Small Faces, which I assume is mainly down to Steve Marriot as the (plain old) Faces bore me shitless. This is a long way from their best, though, very much an example of them making a pretty duff song just about work.

As did you.

I think the Faces are terribly overrated too. They were a funky rock and roll band, Rod was a great singer and frontman, but they just didn't have the songs. Marriott's post-SF band Humble Pie were really boring too, he squandered his gift on forgettable blues rock. Marriott and Lane were great together, though, one of the best songwriting teams of the '60s.

daf

Locked inside my Opium Den, Surrounded by some Chinamen, it's . . .

211.  The Walker Brothers - The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore



From : 13 March – 9 April 1966
Weeks : 4
Flip side : After The Lights Go Out
Bonus : Beat Club

The Story So Further :
QuoteIn March 1966, The Walker Brothers hit No. 1 for the second time in six months with "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore."  Their popularity in the UK – particularly that of Scott – reached a new high, especially among teenage girls, and their fan club in that country was said to have been larger than The Beatles.

In Late March they embarked on a tour with Roy Orbison topping the bill - which created some controversy in the press at the time :




In April 1966, to coincide with the UK General Election, Disc Weekly readers voted Scott Walker Britain's first "Pop Prime Minister".

Scott : "Fantastic man! It's a great surprise. I'm more surprised because I'm a foreigner and not supposed to sit for an election - which puts me on the same plane as peers and lunatics."

 

In June 1966 they released a four track EP 'I Need You', featuring : "Looking For Me"  /  "Young Man Cried"  /  "Everything's Gonna Be All Right"  /  and "I Need You".

 

Their second UK album "Portrait" was released in August 1966, and reached number three on the UK Albums Chart. Typically of the era it did not include any of their singles, but did feature a couple of songs written by Engel : "Saturday's Child" and "I Can See It Now", as well as Tom Springfield's "No Sad Songs for Me", and an English version of Joaquin Prieto's "In My Room".



Portrait was not released in the USA. In its place Smash Records compiled The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore as the group's second album. This alternate version substituted the majority of the album's tracks with A-Sides, B-Sides and tracks from their first EP leaving only "Just For A Thrill", "Old Folks", "People Get Ready" and "Take It Like a Man". The final song, "Don't Fight It"  was exclusive to this album.

With Scott taking a more prominent role in their song choices and arrangements, The Walker Brothers continued to have chart hits in the UK in 1966, including "(Baby) You Don't Have To Tell Me" (b/w "My Love Is Growing") - which reached #13 in July 1966.




This was followed by the #12 hit, "Another Tear Falls" (b/w "Saddest Night In The World") in September  /  and "Deadlier Than The Male" (b/w "Archangel") - which reached #32 in December. Also released in December 1966 was the Solo John / Solo Scott EP - with "Sunny" and "Come Rain Or Come Shine" on the John side, and "The Gentle Rain" and "Mrs. Murphy" on the Scott side.

 


In 1967, they had to leave the UK for six months in because of work permit problems - and their two singles released that year - "Stay With Me Baby" (b/w "Turn Out The Moon") in February, and "Walking In The Rain" (b/w "Baby Make It The Last Time") in May both stalled at #26.

   

By the time of their third album Images, in March 1967, John Walker's musical influence on the Walker Brothers had waned - although he sang lead on a cover of "Blueberry Hill" and contributed two original compositions ("I Wanna Know" and "I Can't Let It Happen to You"). This led to tensions between him and Scott. For his part, Scott was finding the group a chafing experience.

Scott : "There was a lot of pressure. I was coming up with all the material for the boys, and I was having to find songs and getting the sessions together. Everyone relied on me, and it just got on top of me. I think I just got irritated with it all."

Images reached number six on the UK Albums Chart. Scott Walker's contributions, including "Experience", "Orpheus" and "Genevieve" exhibited a growth that foreshadowed his ambitious solo work to come. Appropriately, for the final '60s album from the trio, the last song was "Just Say Goodbye".



By the end of 1967, the pressures of stardom, internal tensions and 'artistic differences' began to weaken the group.



After a UK tour in April 1967, which also featured Jimi Hendrix, Cat Stevens, and Engelbert Humperdinck, followed by a tour of Japan in 1968, the group officially disbanded.

 


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

For his solo career, Scott shed the Walker Brothers' mantle and worked in a style clearly glimpsed on Images. Initially, this led to a continuation of his previous band's success. While his vocal style remained consistent with Walker Brothers, he now drove a fine line between classic ballads, Broadway hits and his own compositions, and also included risqué recordings of Jacques Brel songs - combining his earlier teen appeal with a darker, more idiosyncratic approach.

His first solo album, Scott was released in September 1967 by Philips Records in the UK. It reached No. 3 on the UK Albums Chart, and stayed on the chart for seventeen weeks.

 

The choice of material generally fell into four main categories : His own work - "Montague Terrace (In Blue)",  "Such a Small Love"  and  "Always Coming Back to You"; Contemporary covers - "The Lady Came from Baltimore" and "Angelica"; Movie songs - "You're Gonna Hear From Me" and  "Through a Long and Sleepless Night"; Plus English-translated versions of the songs of the Belgian singer and songwriter Jacques Brel - "Mathilde",  "My Death"  and  "Amsterdam".

Walker described Brel without qualification as 'the most significant singer-songwriter in the world'. The real coup for Walker was his luck in acquiring and recording the new Mort Shuman-translated versions of Brel's material before anyone else.

   

His second album was preceded by the single "Jackie" released in late 1967, which met with controversy in the UK because of lyrics like "authentic queers and phony virgins", plus drug and "Spanish bum" references. Despite the song being banned by the BBC on both TV and the radio, it eventually charted at #22 in December 1967.


   

His second album, the mysteriously tilted Scott 2, was released in March 1968, reached #1 for one week and stayed in the UK Albums Chart for eighteen weeks.



Like Walker's début release, the album included a mixture of Jacques Brel interpretations - "Jackie",  "Next"  and  "The Girls and the Dogs"; contemporary covers  - "Black Sheep Boy"  and  "The Windows of the World"; Film songs - "Wait Until Dark", "Come Next Spring"; Plus his own original classic compositions - "The Amorous Humphrey Plugg", "The Girls from the Streets", "Plastic Palace People", and "The Bridge".

The content of his own and Brel's material was markedly more risqué than on the first album, with themes of sexual tribulations and decadent lifestyles tackled on several songs.

Walker was also continuing to develop as a producer. In 1968, he produced a single "Cutie Morning Moon" with the Japanese rock group The Carnabeats, featuring Gary Walker on vocals, a solo album for the Walker Brothers' musical director and guitarist Terry Smith, and John Walker's solo single "Woman".

Scott's own relationship with fame, and the concentrated attention which it brought to him, remained a problem as regards his emotional well-being. He became reclusive and somewhat distanced from his audience.

   

In 1968 he threw himself into an intense study of contemporary and classical music, which included a sojourn in Quarr Abbey, a Catholic Benedictine monastery in Ryde on the Isle of Wight, to study Gregorian chant, building on an interest in lieder and classical musical modes.

 

The enigmatically titled third solo album, Scott 3, released in March 1969, was met with slightly cooler response than his previous albums, as pop audiences struggled to keep pace with Walker's increasingly experimental approach, though it still reached #3 on the UK Album Chart.



Unlike his first two albums, most of the songs on the album were written by Scott, including all of Side one : "It's Raining Today"  /  "Copenhagen"  /  "Rosemary"  /  "Big Louise"  /  "We Came Through"  /  "Butterfly"  /  and "Two Ragged Soldiers".

Side two was split between three Scott-penned songs : "30 Century Man"  /  "Winter Night"  /  "Two Weeks Since You've Gone", and three Jacques Brel covers : "Sons Of"  /  "Funeral Tango"  /  "If You Go Away".

The original U.S. version of the album dropped "30 Century Man", replacing it with "Lights of Cincinnati", a UK non-LP single from the same period.



At the peak of his fame in 1969, Walker was given his own BBC TV series, Scott, featuring solo Walker performances of ballads, big band standards, Brel songs and his own compositions. Footage of the show is currently very rare as recordings were not archived. In later interviews Walker has suggested that by the time of his third solo LP, a self-indulgent complacency had crept into his choice of material.

His fourth album, the pedantically titled 'Scott: Scott Walker Sings Songs from his T.V. Series' - released in June 1969, and reaching number seven on the UK Albums Chart - exemplified the problems he was having in failing to balance his own creative work with the demands of the entertainment industry and of his manager Maurice King, who seemed determined to mold his protegé into a new Andy Williams or Frank Sinatra.



The album does not include original compositions by Walker and consists of studio re-recordings of a selection of ballads and big band standards from his BBC TV series Scott, including : "I Have Dreamed"   /  "Country Girl"  /  "When the World Was Young"  /  "Someone to Light Up My Life"   /  "The Impossible Dream"   /  "If She Walked Into My Life"   /  "Who (Will Take My Place)"  /  "Lost in the Stars"  /  "The Look of Love"  /  "Will You Still Be Mine"  /  "The Song Is You" and "Only the Young"

The album received mixed reviews by the majority of critics. Gordon Coxhill of New Musical Express wrote : "This LP, totally different from anything he's ever done before, is just as creative, just as professional and perhaps more entertaining than his previous works."

A less positive review from the staff of Melody Maker stated that Walker "lacks the magic of the big league male singers" and that "he cannot be faulted on his choice of material — he handles some magnificent modern songs — but his slightly nasal singing palls before the record is over."

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Having parted company with his manager, Walker released his fifth solo LP, the numerically perplexing Scott 4 in late 1969. Compensating for his recent dip into passivity, this was his first record to be made up entirely of self-penned material: the 'standards' and Brel covers were gone.



The opening track, "The Seventh Seal," was based on the 1957 film by filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. The second track on side two, "The Old Man's Back Again (Dedicated to the Neo-Stalinist Regime)" refers to the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia.

Other songs included : "On Your Own Again"  /  "The World's Strongest Man"  /  "Angels of Ashes"  /  "Boy Child"  /  "Hero of the War"   /  "Duchess"  /  "Get Behind Me"  /  and "Rhymes of Goodbye".

The quote "a man's work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened", credited to the writer Albert Camus, appears on the back of the album sleeve.

The album failed to chart and was deleted soon after. It has been speculated that Walker's decision to release the album under his birth name of Scott Engel contributed to its chart failure.

His Sixth solo album, Til the Band Comes In was released in December 1970 but, again, failed to chart.



Three singles were released from the album : "Til the Band Comes In" in the Netherlands, "Jean the Machine" and "Thanks For Chicago Mr. James" were each released in Japan. No singles were released in the UK. The release is a loose concept album about the inhabitants of a tenement.

Walker wrote the songs for the album quickly while on a working holiday in Greece in September 1970. The album was recorded late that same year between September and November 1970 with Walker's usual Philips studio team consisting of producer Johnny Franz, engineer Peter J. Olliff and Wally Stott and Peter Knight directing the musical arrangements.

After the critical and commercial failure of Walker's previous album, Walker made several compromises with his manager and record company in an effort to restore his career momentum. The most apparent commercial decision was the singer's return to his stage name having chosen to be credited under his birth name, Scott Engel for the first time on his previous album Scott 4.

The album was split between the opening ten original compositions and five interpretations of middle-of-the-road standards and pop songs. Walker also took the unusual step of sharing his writing credits with his new manager Ady Semel. Walker summarised the collaboration with Semel: "He acts as my censor, vetting all my lyrics and striking out the words likely to harm old ladies".Walker also brought in Esther Ofarim, another singer managed by Semel, as a guest vocalist on "Long About Now". Other notable songs included : "Little Things (That Keep Us Together)"  and "The War Is Over (Sleepers)"

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Walker then entered a period of self-confessed artistic decline, during which he spent five years making records "by rote, just to get out of contract" and consoling himself with drink. Subsequent releases saw Walker revert to cover versions of popular film tunes and a serious flirtation with country music. The Moviegoer (1972), Any Day Now (1973), Stretch (1973), and We Had It All (1974) consisted entirely of covers.




Scott Walker : "The record company called me in and carpeted me and said you've got to make a commercial record for us... I was acting in bad faith for many years during that time... I was trying to hang on. I should have stopped. I should have said, 'OK, forget it' and walked away. But I thought if I keep hanging on and making these bloody awful records... this is going to turn round if I just hang in long enough, and it didn't. It went from bad to worse..."

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The Walker Brothers reunited in 1975, and released their fourth album, 'No Regrets' in October. It reached number forty-nine on the UK Albums Chart. The single "No Regrets" became the group's final significant hit single - reaching #7 in the UK Singles Chart in early 1976.

 

The album was significantly different from the group's 1960s work. While the arrangements were still grandiose and often utilised an orchestra, the general musical styles were Country and Pop music. The album was also their first not to include original compositions by either Scott Walker or John Walker. John Walker's only new song "Remember Me" was included as the B-side to "No Regrets".

Their fifth studio album, 'Lines' was released in 1976 failed to chart as did the singles "Lines" and the superb "We're All Alone". The album was stylistically similar to their 1975 comeback 'No Regrets', matching the general musical styles of Country and Pop music and marrying them to romantic orchestral arrangements. Aside from "First Day" which is actually the work of John Maus, writing under the pseudonym A. Dayam, the album is consisted of covers.

 

With the imminent demise of their record label, the Walkers collaborated on an album of original material that was in stark contrast to the country-flavoured tunes of the previous 1970s albums. The resulting album, Nite Flights, was released in 1978 with each of the Brothers writing and singing their own compositions : The opening four songs were Scott's, the final four John's, while the middle pair were by Gary. This unusual division led to both critics and band members describing it as more akin to three miniature solo albums than a true group album.

The album is most notable for the first four songs, all written and sung by Scott  — "Shutout"  /  "Fat Mama Kick"  /  "Nite Flights"  /  and "The Electrician" — his first original material since 1970. The extremely dark and discomforting sound of Scott's songs, was to prove a forerunner to the direction of his future solo work.

In spite of a warm critical reception, sales figures for 'Nite Flights' were ultimately as poor as those of 'Lines'. The supporting tour saw the band concentrating on the old hits and ballads and ignoring the songs from their new record.

Apparently now fated for a stagnant career on the revival circuit, the Walker Brothers lost heart and interest, compounded by Scott's increasing reluctance to sing live. By the end of 1978, now without a record deal, the group drifted apart again and Scott Walker entered a three-year period of obscurity and no releases.

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In 1984, Scott Walker released his first solo album in ten years, Climate of Hunter. The album furthered the complex and unnerving approach Walker had established on Nite Flights. While based loosely within the field of 1980s rock music, it had a fragmented and trance-like approach. Besides "Rawhide" "Dealer", "Sleepwalker's Woman" and "Blanket Roll Blues", many songs lacked either titles or easily identifiable melody, with only Walker's sonorous voice as the link to previous work. Like 'Nite Flights' before it, 'Climate of Hunter' was met with critical praise but low sales.

Scott Walker : "I don't write songs for pleasure. I can only write when I have to – like I'm under contract, or to finish an album."

 

His next album, Tilt, released in 1995, developed and expandied the working methods explored on 'Climate of Hunter'. Variously described as "an anti-matter collision of rock and modern classical music", as "Samuel Beckett at La Scala" and as "indescribably barren and unutterably bleak... the wind that buffets the gothic cathedrals of everyone's favorite nightmares", it was more consciously avant-garde than its predecessor with Walker now revealed as a fully-fledged modernist composer.

Although Walker was backed by a full orchestra again, this time he was also accompanied by alarming percussion and industrial effects; and while album opener "Farmer in the City" was a melodic piece on which Walker exercised his familiar ballad voice, the remaining pieces were harsh and demandingly avant-garde.

In 1996, Walker recorded the Bob Dylan song "I Threw It All Away" under the direction of Nick Cave for inclusion in the soundtrack for the film To Have and to Hold. In 1998, in a rare return to straightforward balladeering, he recorded the David Arnold song "Only Myself to Blame" for the soundtrack of the Bond film 'The World Is Not Enough'. In 2000, Walker curated the London South Bank Centre's Meltdown Festival, writing the music for the Richard Alston Dance Project item Thimblerigging. The following year he served as producer on Pulp's 2001 album We Love Life.

On May 8, 2006, Scott Walker released The Drift, his first new album in 11 years. In both composition and atmosphere, The Drift was a continuation of the surreal, menacing, partially abstract approach displayed on 'Climate of Hunter' and 'Tilt'. It featured jarring contrasts between loud and quiet sections; instrumentation was similar to Tilt in the use of rock instruments and a large orchestra, but the album also interpolated unnerving sound effects such as the distressed braying of a donkey, a demoniac Donald Duck impression, and punching a large cut of raw meat.

 

Walker's final solo album, Bish Bosch, was released on December 3, 2012 and was received with wide critical acclaim. Unlike his previous experimental albums, which were written over several years, 'Bish Bosch' was written in just over a year. Walker had set aside a year to focus exclusively on writing, to speed up his process, and described it as "lightning speed". Even so, he still "had to wait and wait and wait almost every single day for the words to come".

Scott Walker : "I knew I'd be playing with language more than I had on any of the previous albums. I wanted the title to introduce you to this kind of idea and reflect the feeling of the album, which was bish bosh. And we know what bish bosh means here in this country – it means job done or sorted. In urban slang bish also [phonetically] means bitch, like "Dis is ma bitch". And then I wrote Bosch like the artist [Heironymous]. I was then thinking in the terms of this giant universal female artist. And this idea continued to play through the record in certain spots."

Scott Walker died at the age of 76 in London on March 22, 2019. His record label 4AD announced cancer as the cause of death. He is survived by his girlfriend Beverly Foster, his daughter Lee and granddaughter Emmi-Lee. John Maus died at his Los Angeles home on May 7, 2011, leaving Gary Leeds as the last surviving Walker brother.

The Single :
Quote"The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)" was written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio. It was originally released as a single credited to Frankie Valli as a solo artist in 1965 on the Smash label.

In 1966, The Walker Brothers released their remake as a single. Retitled "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore", this version met with much greater success than Valli's.



It topped the UK Singles Chart, and also became their highest rating song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S., where it peaked at #13. The single was also a Top 10 hit in Canada, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Norway.



Other Versions include :   Jay & The Americans (1966)  /  Vince Hill (1966)  /  Paul Nero Band (1966)  /  "Le soleil ne brille plus" by Richard Anthony (1966)  /  "Die Sonne scheint nicht mehr ohne dich" by Heidi Franke (1966)  /  "Il sole non tramonterà" by The Casuals (1966)  /  Caterina Caselli (1967)  /  The Little Bits Featuring Karyl Mann (1968)  /  The Lettermen (1970)  /  Les Humphries Singers (1970)  /  Vikki Carr (1970)  /  The Ormsby Brothers (1973)  /  Cliff Richard (1975)  /  Neil Diamond (1979)  /  Cannon & Ball (1982)  /  Flying Pickets (1986)  /  David Essex (1989)  /  Freddie Starr (1989)  /  "Der Himmel hat dich für mich erdacht" by Die Flippers (1991)  /  Cher (1995)  /  Keane (2005)  /  Danny McEvoy (2011)  /  Alfie 'Face of' Boe (2012)  /  Mason Williams (2014)  /  Dini Kimmel (2014)  /  'Dave Bowie' (2017)  /  Puddles Pity Party (2017)

On This Day  :
Quote16 MarchGemini 8 launched with Armstrong & Scott, aborted after 6.5 orbits
17 March : The Who drummer Keith Moon marries model Kim Kerrigan at Brent Registry Office
18 March : Scott Paper begins selling paper dresses for $1
19 March : "Poussé Cafe" closes at 46th St Theater NYC after 3 performances
20 March :  Football's World Cup Jules Rimet Trophy is stolen
25 March : The Beatles pose with mutilated dolls & butchered meat for the cover of the US "Yesterday & Today" album
25 March : Jeff Healey, guitarist, born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
26 March : Demonstrations are held across the United States against the Vietnam War.
26 March : 120th Grand National: Tim Norman aboard 50/1 outsider Anglo wins by 20 lengths.
26 March : Wales beats France, 9-8 at the National Stadium, Cardiff to clinch their 15th Five Nations Rugby Championship
27 March : Jules Rimet Trophy is found by "Pickles" the dog wrapped in newspaper in a south London garden.
28 March : Salt, Rapper (Salt-n-Pepa), born Cheryl Renee James in Brooklyn, New York
29 March : "It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman" opens at Alvin NYC
29 March : Muhammad Ali beats George Chuvalo in 15 rounds to win heavyweight boxing title
31 March : The Soviet Union launches Luna 10, which later becomes the first space probe to enter orbit around the Moon
31 March : The Labour Party led by Harold Wilson wins the United Kingdom General Election, gaining a 96-seat majority.
1 April : Chris Evans, Radio presenter, born Christopher James Evans in Warrington, Cheshire.
3 April : Luna 10 is the first manmade object to enter lunar orbit.
4 April : Pirate Radio Scotland changes name to Radio Ireland
8 April : Back in the U.S.S.R. Leonid Brezhnev becomes the Leader of the Communist Party and General Secretary of the Soviet Union
9 April : Sophia Loren marries married Carlo Ponti in Paris

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! :
Quote                         

sevendaughters

amazing song, one of the best #1s and what an absolute one-off dude

daf

Still working on this one - more to be added!

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(OK I'm done now - just need to finish proof-reading it and checking all the links work)

Cardenio I

Fucking love Scott Walker, especially the 1-4 albums. Less keen on The Walker Brothers, but this is an absolutely cracking tune. A wonderful bit of melodrama, presented in glorious Cinerama TM

Bit off topic, but I've heard tell of a lost Scott Walker track, a fully produced, strings and all, achingly beautiful version of Jacques Brel's Les Désespérés*, but never been able to find anything of it save the odd mention on a forum. Just mentioning it on the off chance, y'know...


*I adore this Nina Simone version of it, imagine an SW version would be very different.

purlieu


The Culture Bunker

It's a great performance of a very good song, and reminds me how it's a bit of a surprise how the Four Seasons didn't have any #1 hits in their peak years, though there's a couple more instances of another band taking a Valli-led hit to #1 here before the man himself manages it.

Probably heresy in these parts, but I actually prefer Frankie to Scott in the vocal stakes. I mean, how the fuck was his original version of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" not a hit here? 


Cardenio I

Until the remixed version hit big. Sometimes an idea just needs to find its time.

daf

If this doesn't get Julian Cope into the thread, nothing will - come on Arch Drude, get stuck in!

kalowski

Quote from: daf on December 11, 2019, 07:36:25 PM
If this doesn't get Julian Cope into the thread, nothing will - come on Arch Drude, get stuck in!
Scott = God.

But don't forget Cope went off Scott when Thighpaulsandra slagged off The Seventh Seal. I don't have Repossessed/Head-On any more, but there's a bit where Thighpaulsandra says something about the song like, "He wrote a song about a Bergman film? What a pretentious tit!" and Cope says, "Hey, he's right." And never listens to Scott again.

daf

Quote from: kalowski on December 11, 2019, 10:41:25 PM
"He wrote a song about a Bergman film?

[tag]Ah, she was wonderful in Casablanca, wasn't she[/tag]

(Joking aside, that track is amazing - He could be singing about mince & I'd still love it!)

famethrowa

Sadly, if the Pop Prime Minister poll was held today, Scott's policies of enlightened humanism would be no match for Savile's conniving populism.