Oscar had first begun his musical career under the name of Paul Dean and was the pianist in two of the many line-ups of Lord Sutch's Savages. He is often spotted in TV documentaries about the famous 2 IIs Coffee Bar, where the band played regularly. Paul featured on the 1963 Sutch single, I'm A Hog For You Baby and was with the band in 1964, when His Lordship was running Radio Sutch from the Shivering Sands fort. Two singles were issued under the Paul Dean name in 1965 and '66. The first, You Don't Own Me, a cover of the Lesley Gore's 1964 hit from a male perspective, was credited to Paul Dean and the Thoughts. The two musicians who mainly backed Dean using various band names were Pete Phillipps and Stuart Taylor.

The following year, She Can Build a Mountain was a Fab Forty entry which climbed to #26 in the Fab for 24th April. In The London Sound, the information that Brian Long has obtained for this week's Fab 40 credits the single to Paul Dean and the Thoughts, as per the earlier release. (Elsewhere, the single has been credited to Paul Dean and the Soul Savages.) However, it appears that Reaction gave Radio London a demo copy and then at its release date, changed the credit to simply 'Paul Dean'. This probably happened on a number of occasions, as Big L was always ahead of the crowd and the record companies clamoured to get their latest demos out to the Galaxy. Both the A - She Can Build a Mountain and B-side – A Day Gone By - were written by Dean, under his real name of Paul Oscar Beuselinck (he co-wrote the B-side with Ronnie Harwood), both were published by Radio London's Pall Mall Music and produced by Robert Stigwood.

Paul Beuselinck also penned the Pall Mall-published flip of Club of Lights, Waking Up. Oscar was Beuselinck's second name, but he chose his new stage persona to honour his father, Oscar Beuselinck, a music business lawyer whose clients included The Who. (The follow-up Oscar single was a Pete Townshend composition, Join My Gang.) A promotional device used by the record company was a cartoon Oscar 'statuette' (presumably a likeness of the singer), which allowed Reaction to publish advertisements alluding to the Hollywood Oscars: 'Reaction now award you... Oscar – Club of Light'. A shame nobody noticed the missing 's' from both 'award' and 'Light'! A personal appearance on 'Ready Steady Go!' on June 3rd also failed to set the charts alight. However, in recent years, copies of the single have commanded £50 or more .

It was novelty disc, Over The Wall We Go, that brought notoriety to Oscar in 1967 (see Fab Forty for 12th February 1967). The single has a Knees Club connection, with member #127, David Bowie, having written, produced and even sung on it. Bowie's tongue-in-cheek lyrics concerning escaped prisoners, camp warders and incompetent cops, were considered controversial and naturally attracted publicity. This was aided and abetted by Radio City's Ian MacRae. A spate of news stories concerning prison escapes prompted Ian to start a spoof spot he called 'Breakaway Club'.

Ian says:

At the time, there were almost daily breakouts from the jails. So, just for a stunt, I played appropriate records for the escapees, along with personal (made up) messages for them. Plus I'd give the results of the escapes from the various prisons as if it were a competition.

So we'd have such stuff as Keep on Running, Catch Us if You Can, My Boyfriend's Back, Jailhouse Rock, Day Tripper, Nowhere Man etc, and there'd be songs for the coppers such as Keep Searching. The theme must have been Getaway and I think we also would have played Runaway/Come on Let's Go*.

Oscar's 'prison escape' disc was also chosen as a Kenny Everett climber in January '67, and would have very likely have appealed to his sense of humour. It entered the Fab 40 the following month, peaking at #30 on February 19th. (See 'Dartmoor's Twelve Days of Christmas' - a promo issued with copies of the single by manager Robert Stigwood posted on 45cat.com)

Over The Wall We Go was reissued in 1978, with a different B-side, and credited to 'Ivor Bird'.

Oscar eventually settled on the stage name Paul Nicholas in the late-Sixties, when he appeared in West End musicals, including Hair and took the lead in Jesus Christ Superstar. In the Seventies, Paul appeared in films, renewing his Who connection with appearances in Tommy and Lisztomania. Chart success eluded him until 1976, when a return to releasing novelty songs brought four UK chart entries over two years.

Paul's best-remembered TV role is probably in John Sullivan's sitcom, Just Good Friends. He played Vince Pinner, a man who had jilted his fiancée, Penny (played by Jan Francis) at the altar, then reappeared five years later to disrupt her life.

* Currently #17 in this week's Fab Forty.

Paul Nicholas Biography.

According to the Record Collector Rare Record Price Guide, the single She Can Build a Mountain/A Day Gone By, credited to Paul Dean and the Soul Savages, first appeared on Polydor (NH 59102) in 1964, and is thought to have remained unreleased. The sharp-eyed will notice that this matrix number 591002 is almost identical to that of the later Reaction release. The connection between Sutch's Savages and the Soul Savages, is covered in detail on Forgotten Bands of the 50s and 60s. . (Click on the picture for an Amazon link to more information about the Record Collector Rare Record Price Guide)

Dave Bower, rthm, John Kirby Wollard, vcls and Terry Stokes, ld gtr, Mike Sweeney, bs, and Jim Green, drms came from Yorkshire and were formerly called the Cherokees. Like the Knack, they are not to be confused with the US group of the same name. The UK Cherokees, formed in 1961, had hit #33 in the Nationals of 1964 and also entered the Caroline charts, with Seven Daffodils. Mickey Most renamed the group New York Public Library when he produced this, their first single, as the band were from York.

Pristine copies of I Ain't Gonna Eat My Heart Out Anymore are quite collectable, changing hands at around £20. The Young Rascals had achieved both a minor US hit (#52) and a minor Fab Forty entry with this song penned by Pam Sawyer and Lori Burton. Both versions made their Fab Forty debut at #34, but the New York Public Library version climbed a little higher than the Young Rascals, to #29.

The Knack's Topper Clay joined New York Public Library in 1967, followed by ex-Knack-colleague Brian Morris, in 1968. In response to my email, Topper wrote (in 2002) :

I didn't know that anybody out there would still remember us. My daughter was impressed that someone on the web was interested in bands that I've been in. When I talk about the 60s and gigs I've done I'm afraid I come under the heading of 'boring old fart'!

Today NYPL are still together playing small gigs in the south around the Farnham area. It's now a six-piece line-up with emphasis on vocals, as ever. We currently have two CDs out and are working on a third. The line-up includes the original NYPL singer John Kirby Woollard, and 1970 lead singer Peter Morrison.

The 2012 line-up for NYPL was: Topper Clay, drums; Peter Morrison, guitar, vocals; Karl Rylander, acoustic guitar, vocals; Dave "Lofty" Reng, pedal steel; Bob Doughty, Bass; Sam Clark, lead. Topper was kind enough to send the Webmasters copies of the NYPL CDs Take Some Music and Keep a Clear Head and this is a really great-sounding band. Vocalist on these recordings was John Kirby Woollard, who sadly, died in May 2007. Take Some Music includes terrific covers of the Showmen's It Will Stand and Curtis Mayfield's Monkey Time. The 17-track CD Keep A Clear Head has original compositions by band members alongside the likes of Goffin and King's Goin' Back and Bob Dylan's Chimes of Freedom. The CD sleeve-notes were written by a musician who recorded some drop-ins for the Big L 2001 RSL, long-term admirer of the band, Jackie Lynton. (click here to purchase Keep A Clear Head – although note that the sleeve depicted is for what appears to be an unrelated CD called Out of Our Heads)

For a photo of Topper taken in 2000 see our Knack Story feature.

Original band member Terry 'Tez' Stokes and his wife Mo have their own website with a section about the band.

Scottish band Red Hawkes member Manny Charlton went on to become a member of Nazareth in 1969.

Our friend and 242 expert in Glasgow Tony Currie, explains about the ALP record label. "ALP was a joint venture between Scottish record producer Andy Lothian and Polydor – A.L. + P. Also released on the ALP label was the Radio Scotland Polka . The B-side was Bella Fiore which was Jack McLaughlin's theme for his Ceilidh. Alp sank without even leaving bubbles."

Nazareth's third album, Razamanaz (1973), containing two hit singles, Broken Down Angel and Bad Bad Boy, was produced by Deep Purple bassist and Knees Club member, #305, Roger Glover. Glover also produced Nazareth's Loud And Proud album in the same year, which brought them success in European and US charts.

The producer on the next two Nazareth albums Rampant and Hair Of The Dog, was Manny himself. A cover of My White Bicycle taken from Rampant, became the band's fifth UK chart entry in 1975. The original, by Tomorrow, was co-written by Keith Hopkins, better known on Big L as Keith West, who enjoyed a massive hit in August '67, with Excerpt From A Teenage Opera.

Two photos of Manny during his Nazareth days, courtesy of Pincy's World of Manny Charlton. (Click on the small images to view a larger version.)

We were able to contact Manny via the (now-defunct) website Pincy's World of Manny Charlton to ask him to fill in the gaps about Red Hawkes, which he has very kindly done. Manny says:

"Ah yes, now we go back a few years talkin' bout the Red Hawkes! I joined them around 65/66. At that point they were the resident house band at the Kinema ballroom doing covers of Top 40 songs. The original line up at that point was Alan Jordan, vocals, Tommy Wallace, drums Ian Burns, bass Alex Smith, sax, Billy Hunter, trumpet, myself on guitar. I was with them until they folded around 66/67 and they reformed as Marshmallow 400 adding Brian Sheridan on vocals and Gerry MacPherson on bass We recorded one single (Friday Night ) They were basically a soul band and in 1967 I wanted to be in a power trio so in 1968 I joined the Shadettes and the rest is history.
Manny Charlton"

The Manny Charlton Band

Manny's information leads me to an entirely different notion. Could the drummer Tommy Wallace possibly be the man who had toured with the Beatles in 1963 as one half of the novelty act, Tommy Wallis and Beryl? This was in the days when the Fabs took top billing in what was called 'The Beatles Show' a strange cocktail of current pop mixed, not terribly successfully, with elements of the old-fashioned touring variety show. Wallis (that's the spelling in the tour programme) was indeed a drummer. His act also featured "xylophone, tap dancing and a charleston spot", which the audience was promised would "make a lasting impression" on us – not to mentiion Beryl in her spangled costume! While Tommy Wallis and Beryl is not the act listed as appearing directly before the Beatles, the line-up in the programme was, it says, 'subject to change'.

My mother took myself and my brother to The Beatles Show while we were on holiday in Bournemouth. I distinctly recall the foolhardy drummer from whichever act had drawn the short straw in the thankless task of preceding the Fab Four. I suppose a certain amount of admiration is due for the man having the audacity to persist in performing a lengthy solo, while the teen screamers, desperate for the arrival of their idols, did their utmost to boo him off. He failed to take the hint and drummed on, enraging Beatle fans into an even greater frenzy than normal, pelting the stage with any handy missiles! Whatever the identity of that sticksman, he certainly made a 'lasting impression' on me!

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.

The Roman Emperor picked a huge hit for his 25th birthday week climber – Chris Farlowe's Jagger and Richards-penned release was destined for #1. In fact, Mark had a very memorable birthday week altogether. On shore on June 19th, he appeared, complete with toga, alongside Chris, Tom Jones, The Walker Brothers, The Small Faces (with their eponymous LP chosen as the current Big L Album of the Week), David Garrick, Paul and Barry Ryan, David Garrick, The Pretty Things and Susan Maughan at the first Radio London Trophy Meeting held at the Brands Hatch motor racing track. The Walkers were there to present the winner's trophy, which went to Peter Gethin. Peter (who died in 2011) went on to great success in the world of motor racing. According to his biography, he "first came to notice in British Formula 3 in 1968 and in 1969 he moved to British Formula 5000 with Church Farm Racing". He continued to be involved with motorsport for most of his life and in 2003, "was linked to a bid to buy Brands Hatch".

Also in attendance at the circuit were Keith Skues, Duncan Johnson and Mike Lennox. Stewpot, who arrived by helicopter accompanied by the Walker Brothers, was on DJ duty, while live acts were David Bowie and the Buzz, Episode Six and John McCoy's Crawdaddies. Not surprisingly, pop personalities and motorsport proved to be strange bedfellows and racing had to be suspended twice, when fans of both the pop stars and the star DJs invaded the track!

Mike Barraclough came across a couple of references to the event, one on Facebook and one on Twitter, both featuring the same photo of David Bowie.

***********

Aboard the Galaxy this week:

Ashore

Date uncertain
Around this week, The Yardbirds appeared at France's Provins festival, where they performed their Fab Forty #1, 'Shapes of Things' and follow-up success, this week at #13, 'Over Under, Sideways, Down'.

June 19th
While Tony Blackburn was hosting his first Fab Forty, a mega-event was taking place at Brands Hatch – the Radio London Trophy Meeting, where the Walker Brothers caused havoc! Our full feature on the two major Big L 'music and race' meetings in 1966 and 1967 is here.

Midnight Mary Rockin' Berries Piccadilly 7N 35327 The Rockin' Berries, a harmony group from Birmingham, evolved, like so many Sixties bands, from an r 'n' b outfit. After achieving six national chart successes, including two Top Ten hits, between 1964 and early '66, the band failed to make the Nationals again. Midnight Mary had already been a #10 hit in the States for Joey Powers in December '63. The Berries joined the Knees Club on September 7th. I met them, not at midnight, but during the afternoon, in a park in Blackpool, having seen them appearing in a Summer Season variety show the previous evening (probably on the pier). The Berries played a game of table tennis against my 58-year-old Dad (who won!), and then experienced the privilege of having their photos taken with a copy of the famous Knees Monthly. (Left) the defeated ping-pong players:"We have in our hands the piece of paper!" In September '66 the Berries' line-up was Bobby Thomson (#345), Chuck Botfield (#346), Clive Lea (#347), Terry Bond (#348) and Geoff Turton (#349), who later in the decade pursued a solo career as Jefferson.

The 57-track double CD, They're in Town, contains pre-Radio London chart success, He's in Town (1964), plus Fab Forty hits What in the World's Come over You (Jan/Feb 65) Poor Man's Son (#1 May '65), You're My Girl (Aug '65) Water is Over My Head (Dec 65), I Could Make You Fall in Love (May 66) and Sometimes (April 67). Click on the sleeve to see full track listing and purchase information from Amazon.

The Small Faces: Steve Marriott, Ronald Frederick Lane, Kenneth Jones and James Langwith, to give them their formal names, were rechristened 'The Minuscule Mooshes' by Kenny Everett. Confusingly, the group released two identically self-titled albums - this June 1966 one on Decca and the second, a year later on Immediate. Both were designated Fab Forty Album of the Week, with the second of the two receiving the same accolade on 4th June 1967. The band had been promoted via the Radio London film 'Dateline Diamonds', released in April '66, (see our 2-page feature about the film) where they performed the songs I've Got Mine, It's Too Late, Come on Children and Don't Stop What You're Doing. The Dateline Diamonds tracks are available on 'The Ultimate Collection'. Click photo for more information.)

** Willie Walker, sitting in for Kenny Everett, 6pm Sat 25th June '66, announced This Door Swings Both Ways as a climber. Last week it was DOTW.
Info courtesy of Wolfgang Buchholz

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

Tune in next week for another Field's Fab Forty!