for Sunday 5th February 1967

A multi-coloured selection of sounds with Snoopy Vs The Red Baron #5, Ruby Tuesday #8, Indescribably Blue #27, Maxine Brown #28, climber Mellow Yellow and a new category – 'Chartbuster' for the Beatles, with Strawberry Fields Forever.
The spell-checker thinks the number one single should be by 'Patella' Clark – but sadly Petula was never signed up as a member of the Knees Club!


Last
This
Presented by Ed Stewart
Week
Week
34
1
This Is My Song Petula Clark
5
2
I'm A Man Spencer Davis Group
2
3
I've Been A Bad Bad Boy Paul Jones
21
4
Stay With Me Baby Walker Brothers
13
5
Snoopy Vs The Red Baron Royal Guardsmen
6
6
Peek-A-Boo New Vaudeville Band
19
7
You Only You Rita Pavone
1
8
Let's Spend The Night Together/Ruby Tuesday Rolling Stones
29
9
I've Passed This Way Before Jimmy Ruffin
22
10
I Won't Come In While He's There Jim Reeves
18
11
Here Comes My Baby Tremeloes
25
12
My Way Of Giving Chris Farlowe
28
13
Get Down With It Little Richard
32
14
Niki Hoeky P J Proby
4
15
98.6 Keith
_
16
There's A Kind Of Hush Herman's Hermits
17
17
Release Me Engelbert Humperdinck
26
18
Harlem Shuffle Traits
24
19
Backstreet Girl Nicky Scott
31
20
The Beat Goes On Sonny & Cher
_
21
Pretty Ballerina Left Banke
3
22
Matthew And Son Cat Stevens
15
23
Thank You Baby Graham Bonney
40
24
Michael Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band
_
25
Call My Name James Royal
8
26
It Takes Two Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston
_
27
Indescribably Blue Elvis Presley
_
28
I've Got A Lot Of Love Left In Me Maxine Brown
_
29
I'll Take Good Care Of You Cliff Bennett & the Rebel Rousers
_
30
Reach The Top West Coast Delegation
_
31
Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye Casinos
38
32
All Kinds Of People Fingers
_
33
Finding You, Loving You Toni Eden
_
34
Love, Hate, Revenge Episode Six
_
35
Ride Ride Ride Brenda Lee
_
36
A Lovely Way To Say Goodnight Four-Evers
39
37
Guess I'm Dumb Johnny Wells
_
38
Just What You Want - Just What You'll Get John's Children
_
39
The Ways Of A Man Chasers
_
40
Yo-Yo Billy Joe Royal

40
24
Michael Geno Washington and the Ram Jam Band Piccadilly 7N35359

Originally from Indiana, Geno Washington came to England as a US serviceman. After his military discharge he remained in the UK, formed his soul band and generated Mod Genomania.

On February 7th at Wycombe Town Hall I (Mary) attended a Geno Washington and the Ram Jam Band concert, one of several I went to in late '66/early '67. They were the current hot band to see, and were guaranteed to get the place jumping. Audience participation was an essential part of the experience; knowing the rituals of when to point, when to clap and when to chant "Gee-no! Gee-no!", was what sorted the 'in' crowd from the likes of me, who had to resort to following the lead of the Mods!

Unfortunately, Geno's funky sound and stage presence seemed impossible to capture on vinyl. Studio recordings never seemed to do him full justice and even the Hand-clappin', Foot-Stompin', Funky-Butt... Live! album, (Piccadilly NPL 38026), despite being recorded at the height of his adulation, lacked that certain something.

Geno remained in his adopted country and still tours regularly. After concentrating for a while on an acoustic blues set, he has returned to the sort of stomping soul for which he is famous. He still has a great voice – and a funky butt! Official Facebook Page.


39
37
Guess I'm Dumb Johnny Wells Parlophone R5559

Guess I'm Dumb was written by Brian Wilson and Russ Teitleman. The song was released as a single by Glen Campbell in 1965 and according to the now-defunct Naive Harmonies website, was a gift from Wilson:

"In 1964, after suffering a nervous breakdown on the eve of a tour, Brian Wilson decided he could no longer participate in live performances with the Beach Boys. He would stay behind and concentrate on songwriting and production. Drafted temporarily in his place was a young LA session musician named Glen Campbell.

The story goes that Guess I'm Dumb was Wilson's thank you gift to Campbell for his time of service. The song, co-written with Russ Teitelman, was originally tracked and intended for the Beach Boys' 1965 album Today! but was ultimately discarded."

The following year, Shel Talmy produced a female cover of the song by actress Dani Sheridan.

The producer of Johnny Wells' record was Mike Berry, (photo: Mike's personal website) who also wrote the B-side Wondering Why. As information concerning the single and its singer is almost non-existent, we asked Mike if he could fill in any gaps on the subject. He responded:

I seem to remember EMI/ Parlophone did the test pressings on Guess I'm Dumb, but I can't remember if it had a release 'proper'. I did a deal with Radio London on the B-side publishing in order to get airplay and therefore, some exposure for the A-side.

As for Johnny Wells, I got to know him through my manager at the time and discovered he had an excellent singing voice and was also very good looking. He was an extremely nice guy and would help anybody. The trouble was, he was rather suspicious of the music business and would never commit to anything. Obviously, nobody in the business would do anything without a contract and it all just fizzled out. Johnny later released, I believe on his own label and at his own expense, a reggae version of the old Victorian 'ditty' A Bicycle Made For Two or Daisy Daisy as it was sometimes known. I don't think anything much happened with that either.

The last time I saw Johnny was when he knocked on my door with a large bible under his arm, he had become a born again Church of Christ, Christian and he started too preach at me in a fairly unsubtle way! Being an atheist and in fact totally anti ANY religion I was not impressed, showed him the door and haven't seen him since.

I used to listen to Big L quite a lot, especially in the early hours of the morning on the way back from a gig. I'm more into Radio 4 now either a sign of 'maturity' or having developed a few more of 'the little grey cells'.

Regarding Mike's 'deal', Wondering Why was published by Pall Mall Music, Radio London's publishing company. Original Big L Programme Director Ben Toney wrote in his memoirs:

The American owners (of Big L) and (MD) Philip Birch cooked up a little scheme that would have been totally unheard of in America. They had been approached by Harold Shampan, owner of Film Music Ltd to set up a company which would publish the 'B' sides of records (in exchange) for airplays of the 'A' sides. I thought this was the most corrupt, inane scheme I had ever heard of. It openly set a "payola" standard for the station that immediately gave us a "black eye" in the music business. Philip called me in and told me that he had passed the idea across the owners and they thought it would be a good way to increase our income; besides, Radio Luxembourg was doing it, so why shouldn't we? I finally agreed to set up the company which we called Pall Mall Music. It was also agreed that nothing would go on the air without my approval. This meant that only two or three of these records would be sent to the ship weekly. If the record made it into the national charts within the first week, I would keep it in for another week. However, I can think of very few records that did make it for a second week.

The single was given the catalogue number Parlophone R5559 and was due for release on January 27th. It may be that Johnny Wells's reticence to sign contracts led to it being withdrawn.

Mike is also a Fab Forty artist, who had a climber in July and a #33 in December of 1965. Neither was associated with Pall Mall! Many thanks to Mike for his input. See his personal website for news of his latest gigs.

Besides climbers that were played at the time of the broadcast of the Sunday Fab Forty, Alan kept a note of others he heard later in the week and incorporated them into his list.

DJ Climbers:    
Keep It Out Of Sight Paul & Barry Ryan Tony Blackburn
On A Carousel Hollies Chuck Blair
Peculiar Situation Young Idea Pete Drummond
Is This What I Get For Loving You? Marianne Faithfull Kenny Everett
Everybody Dance Now Soul City Paul Kaye
I've Been Lonely Too Long Young Rascals Mark Roman
Baby I Need Your Lovin' Johnny Rivers Keith Skues
Lovin' You Bobby Darin Ed Stewart
Georgy Girl Seekers Norman St John

Aboard the Galaxy this week
It was all-change for the Big L DJs. TW caught the tender to Harwich for the final time on February 7th and his show was taken over by Keith Skues. Newcomer, Lorne King, had just celebrated his twenty-fourth birthday on February 1st and had not yet been allocated his own Radio London climber when he presented his first show, nine till midnight, on the 8th of the month.

Lorne joined too late to become a member of the Knees Club, which in January '67, had become an ex-club and had ceased to be. This was rectified when Lorne was finally inducted as member #388 at the First North American Offshore Reunion in Vancouver, in 2004, where he is shown flying the flag.

Left and below: Big L press release and publicity photo


Sadly, as Lorne was finishing his first Big L show at midnight, over on Shivering Sands fort, Radio City was closing down. A ten-minute home movie shot on the station by the late Leon Tipler has been posted on YouTube by Steve England. (Thanks to The Pirate Radio Hall of Fame)

Ashore
Life for those on 'shore-leave' was pretty hectic. Keith Skues and Paul Kaye were on display next to (or was it inside?) the 'Big L Catamaran' at the Camping and Outdoor Life Exhibition, Olympia, as reported below in the London Weekly Advertiser.

Chris Denning hosted a show at the Southend Cliffs Pavilion on the 9th; on the 10th and 11th, Dave Cash was hopefully not mooning at the Harvest Moon Club, Guildford on the 10th, and Mike Lennox and Ed Stewpot were the double-act at the Starlite Ballroom, Greenford on the 11th.

(Radio City and Colex clips, courtesy of Hans Knot from the Luuk Meuwese collection.)

Climbers:  
Mr Hyde Pussyfoot
Just Like A Man Emma Rede
The Impossible Dream Shirley Bassey
I Dig You Baby Jerry Butler
She Del Shannon
Mellow Yellow Donovan
Give It To Me Troggs
Detroit City Tom Jones
You Got To Me

Neil Diamond

Baby Loot
Four And Twenty Hours Ivy League
What's Wrong With The Way I Live Twilights
Man On The Flying Trapeze Leapy Lee
Goodnight Irene Originals
Sitting In The Rain John Mayall's Bluesbreakers
You've Got Me High Science Poption
This Just Doesn't Seem To Be My Day Roger Denison
Chartbuster:  
Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever Beatles
Disc of the Week:  
I'll Try Anything Dusty Springfield
Album of the Week:  
Trogglodynamite Troggs


Baby Loot Page One POF 013

The single was released in a picture sleeve in the Netherlands

The Loot single was also released in a picture sleeve in Germany. According to Badcatrecords the Loot line-up was Chris Bates, Dave Wright, Jeff Glover, Roger Pope and Bruce Turner.

Dave Wright, who penned Baby, had been a founder member of the Troggs with Reg Presley, and like the Troggs, the Loot came from Andover, Hampshire and were part of the Larry Page stable.

In the blurb for the German release, Baby Come Closer is promoted as the 'A' side (Hansa 19354 AT) rather than Baby, as is also the case with the single released in Holland (Fontana YF27876) The Record Collector Price Guide also lists Baby Come Closer as the UK 'A' and this was the side that Radio Caroline placed in the Caroline Countdown of Sound. Baby Come Closer entered the Countdown of Sound on March 4th and spent three weeks in the lower-end of the 50-single Caroline chart.

It seems that Radio London was in the minority in promoting Baby as the 'A' side, despite the Page One advertisement on the right, (courtesy of Brian Long). Perhaps Larry Page changed his mind about which was the stronger side.

For whatever reason, Radio London listed Baby as a climber for a mere two weeks, and the unfortunate Loot was heard no more on the station. Meanwhile, the teacher's pets were the other band featured in the Page One advert. Not only had the already-successful Troggs got their new single Give it to Me chosen as a Big L climber, but their album Trogglodynamite had also been picked as the Album of the Week. The Loot must have been crying in their beer when the following week (Feb 12th) they saw their stablemates crash into the Fab 40 at #11, while Barry Benson's cover of Cousin Jane (from the Trogglodynamite LP) was Radio London Club Disc of the Week.

Many thanks to Bruce Welsh in Victoria, BC author of What About Us? A Rocklopaedia Of Britain's Other Recording Groups 1962 – 1966.Working on Volume 2, What's That Sound? A Rocklopaedia Of Britain's Other Recording Groups 1967 – 1969 Bruce checked out our site, spotted this piece about the Loot and sent some pictures of their single which show that in the end, it was Baby Come Closer that was released as the A-side. Bruce also uncovered a photo of the song on EMI's Parlophone label although there seems to be no information about that release.

Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever Beatles

On February 3rd, Kenny Everett gave Strawberry Fields Forever its first-ever airing. Ken was so knocked out by his Big L Beatles exclusive (presumably given to him because of his close association with the band) that he played it twice in a row, describing it as "The most amazing record I've ever heard."

Radio City then claimed to be first with the single, but did not play it till February 10th, while Radio Scotland declared itself first to place Strawberry Fields at #1. Company policy dictated that Caroline could not play the single till it hit the Nationals, so while the Fabs topped the Fab on February 12th, the single was not on the Caroline playlist till the 25th.


Just Like A Man Emma Rede Columbia DB 8126

Emma Rede already had a place in the Fab Forty at #17, as a backing singer on Engelbert Humperdinck's Release Me. She had also appeared incognito in recent Fabs, on Hendrix's Hey Joe.

Born Jacqueline Norah Flood in Dublin, she was performing on Radio Eireann by the age of fourteen. Relocating to London's West End in the early Fifties, she auditioned for Ronnie Aldrich, who gave her the stage name, Jackie Lee when he made her the lead singer with his band the Squadronnaires.

In 1959, Jackie joined the Raindrops, (not to be confused with Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry's later US group) a quartet formed by her future husband Len Beadle, with Vince Hill and Johnny Worth. They found popularity on the Light Programme's Wednesday evening 'Parade of the Pops', performing interpretations of American hits, some of which they recorded. The Raindrops released a number of singles, including covers of Claudine Clark's Party Lights and the Shirelles' Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow. Some of the recordings were credited to 'Jackie Lee and the Raindrops'.

Jackie launched her solo career in 1965, but despite having access to strong material, including the Bacharach and David song I Cry Alone, which was in the Fab Forty in February of that year, her recordings failed to make any impact. Emma Rede was the name chosen for a relaunch of her career in '67.

Although success eluded her with her own singles, as a session artist, Jackie became a chart-topper! She led two vocal collectives called the Tears of Joy and the Jackie Lee Singers (featuring sometime member Elton John) who enhanced several smash hits. As well as those already mentioned, Jackie sang on Tom Jones's Green Green Grass. Her voice was also heard on many commercials of the day.

It was animals – horses and bears, specifically – that finally brought fame for Jackie. In 1968, top ten success arrived with her recording of the theme to hit Children's TV series, White Horses, this time under the name of Jacky. The singer reverted to her Jackie Lee persona to score a second a hit in 1971 with another children's TV theme. Rupert, was an animated version of the popular Daily Express cartoon strip.

In 1973, Jackie retired from showbiz, suffering from problems with her vocal cords. She now resides in Canada.

A complete Jackie Lee biography, which supplied much of the above information, can be found at www.jackielee.org/Jackie_biog.htm


The blue addition to the climbers indicate singles listed in Brian Long's book 'The London Sound' based on information typed in the Curzon Street offices or other sources. Alan Field did not hear this record played or announced as a climber
Green additions to the climbers indicate singles sourced from 'Monty's Diary'. (See Fab Forty for 010167).
Alan Field did not hear the records listed in
blue or green played or announced as climbers.


The Caroline 'Countdown Sixty' chart (south ship) for this week is here
This week's Radio City 'City Sixty' on the Pirate Radio Hall of Fame is here This was the final 'City Sixty' as the station closed on February 8th.

This week's Radio 270 Top 40 on the Pirate Radio Hall of Fame is here

Tune in next week for another Field's Fab Forty