for Sunday 29th May 1966
(this is the only Fab Forty on record as presented by John Edward)

Last
This
Presented by John Edward
Week
Week
3
1
Monday Monday Mamas & Papas
9
2
Strangers In The Night Frank Sinatra
5
3
When A Man Loves A Woman Percy Sledge
1
4
Paint It Black Rolling Stones
7
5
Promises Ken Dodd
11
6
Nothing Comes Easy Sandie Shaw
2
7
Hey Girl Small Faces
29
8
Lady Jane David Garrick/Tony Merrick
28
9
Misty Morning Eyes Barry Mason
12
10
Twinkie-Lee Gary Walker
14
11
Not Responsible Tom Jones
4
12
Rainy Day Women Nos 12 & 35 Bob Dylan
26
13
Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'Bout Me) Four Seasons
8
14
Wild Thing Troggs
18
15
Whatcha Gonna Do Now Chris Andrews
32
16
Remember The Rain/Truly Julie's Blues Bob Lind
25
17
Baby (You're My Everything) Hedgehoppers Anonymous
31
18
Stop Her On Sight (SOS) Edwin Starr
36
19
While I Live Kenny Damon
35
20
You Can't Buy Love Ernestine Anderson
37
21
For A Moment Unit 4 + 2
40
22
I Can't Rest Fontella Bass
19
23
Stay A Little While Barry Benson
24
Don't Take The Lovers From The World Shirley Bassey
21
25
Gotta Find Another Baby Force West
23
26
Look Before You Leap Dave Clark Five
38
27
Sweet Talkin' Guy Chiffons
28
Don't Answer Me Cilla Black
29
Don't Bring Me Down Animals
30
Over Under Sideways Down Yardbirds
31
Sam, You Made The Pants Too Long Barbra Streisand
30
32
I've Got So Used To Loving You Marty Wilde
33
River Deep Mountain High Ike & Tina Turner
34
Solitary Man Neil Diamond/Sandy
35
You'll Never Put Shackles On Me Tony Hazzard
27
36
Little Man In A Little Box Barry Fantoni
37
Water Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band
37
Shake Hands With The Devil Patterson's People
38
Club Of Lights Oscar
39
The Cheat Lord Sutch
40
Please Don't Sell My Daddy No More Wine Greenwoods

29
8
Lady Jane

David Garrick
Tony Merrick

(Piccadilly 7N35317)
(Columbia DB7913)

Can it be put down to mere coincidence that the two artists covering the Stones' song had confusingly similar names? Radio London took the bizarre step (even for the Fab Forty) of allowing the two versions of Lady Jane to climb the chart joined like Siamese twins, neck-and-neck till they reached the number eight position. Then the following week, (05/06) Garrick had climbed again, but Merrick had vanished without trace! Another week on, and Garrick was gone for good too.

In the nationals, Merrick only managed to squeeze in at #49, while Garrick, perhaps reaping the benefit of a superior publicity campaign, climbed to #28.

The Stones songs were as much in demand as their autographs. (Right, from the Mary Payne collection).

The following year, Tony Merrick joined Radio Scotland as Steve (or Stevi) Merike, just before the station's enforced closure. After the Marine Offences Bill became law in August 67, Steve swelled the ranks of the 'Caroline outlaws' aboard the Mi Amigo. The photo (left) was taken after Steve's guest DJ appearance on Pirate BBC Essex 2009. See a photo of Steve aboard Caroline in the Pirate Radio Hall of Fame. (He's changed a bit!)

In December 1965, while still serving in the Royal Air Force, Steve (Michael Willis) had been the first singer to record a single with a Stones 'A' side, As Tears Go By, and a Beatles 'B' side, Girl. This first outing, funded by his mother at a cost of £50.00, was never released. "Immediate didn't like it!" Steve said, but he obviously thought he was on to a winner with a Stones/Beatles combination, and repeated the exercise with Lady Jane/Michelle. A shame that he didn't choose a different Jagger/Richards composition avoiding the situation of a simultaneous release from another singer.

David Garrick trained as an opera singer and clearly retained a flair for the flamboyant and theatrical. Two decades before Saturday Night Fever, Garrick was given to wearing frilly shirts slashed to the waist, revealing a medallion the size of an LP. Well-promoted by Big L, he made a number of guest appearances at Radio London shows including the Coronation ballroom at Pleasurama in Ramsgate. The May 13th Pleasurama show was hosted by Mark Roman, resplendent in toga; at David's June 10th appearance, Keith Skues was the man in charge. David also guested at the Radio London Trophy meeting at Brands Hatch on June 19th.

David's follow-up single, Dear Mrs Applebee, was marginally more successful in the nationals (#22) and a huge hit in Germany. David eventually returned to opera singing. He made a brief on-stage appearance at the 1999 Brighton Festival of the Sixties - sans medallion! Sadly, he died in August 2013.

25
17
Baby (You're My Everything) Hedgehoppers Anonymous Decca 12400

This was the third single from Jonathan King protégés, Hedgehoppers Anonymous. Like Tony Merrick, the band members were all ex-RAF personnel. Baby (You're My Everything) was a cover of a 1965 release by Little Jerry Williams. The Hedgehoppers' version failed to succeed, but Little Jerry's soulful rendition went on to become a Northern Soul standard.

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.

Notice that, in addition to the Disc and Albums of the Week, we have a new category – 'Chartbuster'. This was one way of stopping a mutiny by the DJs over who got the Beatles as their personal climber – and what else could they call a new single by the Fab Four but a 'Chartbuster'?

DJ Climbers:    
A Street That Rhymes At 6am Norma Tanega Chris Denning
Lana Roy Orbison Dave Dennis
Gotta Get A Good Thing Goin' Soul Brothers John Edward
I Am A Rock Simon & Garfunkel Duncan Johnson
So Much Love Steve Alaimo Paul Kaye
Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind Lovin' Spoonful Mike Lennox
Beggars Parade Falling Leaves Mark Roman
Walking Away Karlins Keith Skues
Hideaway Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick & Tich Ed Stewart
Top Girl Cymbaline Willy Walker
Nobody Needs Your Love Gene Pitney Tony Windsor

Walking Away Karlins Parlophone L5457

The photo is from Teenbeat Annual 1967, which explains that the Karlins consist of 'the only set of girl triplets in show business' plus two unrelated boys. Although the book makes much of the fact that the band is Scottish (the big thistles, the tartan kilts and the flag are a bit of a giveaway) and that their records have sold well north of the border, curiously, it fails to name any of its five members. We have since established that the girls' names were Evelyn, Elaine and Linda.

The girls played the part of... judo-triplets (no, really) in the1968 comedy film, Diamonds for Breakfast, starring Rita Tushingham. But they still don't get credits under their individual names.

The Karlins' success in Scotland was probably in no small way due to the country's own offshore station and the triplets were cover stars on 242 Showbeat Monthly for January 1967, minus two of the unnamed male musicians in the Teenbeat photo.

The Record Collector Rare Record Price Guide lists Walking Away as the b-side of a single called You Mean Nothing to Me, one of four released by the Karlins between 1966 and 68. In December 1966, they were in the Christmas Big L Family 40 with It's Good to Be Around.


Climbers:  
Younger Girl Critters
Stupid Girl Attraction
Don't Let A Little Pride (Stand In Your Way) Billy Fury
I've Laid Some Down In My Time Tony Colton
Yum Yum Steve Darbishire
Come And Get Me Susan Maughan/Lisa Shane
Mame Bobby Darin/Louis Armstrong
Sorry She's Mine Jimmy Winston & his Reflections
You've Made Your Choice Rothchilds
Haywire Bean & Loopy's Lot
Elvira Dallas Frazier
Chartbuster (listed by Brian Long as 'The TW Chartbuster'):  
Paperback Writer Beatles
Disc of the Week:  
Sunny Afternoon Kinks
Album of the Week:  
Animalisms Animals

Ashore this week

In its edition from June 2nd 1966, the Rugby Advertiser reported that local group, Pinkerton's Assorted Colours was one of the early casualties of a war against the pirates by the Musicians' Union.

"The union, with 35,000 members, has forbidden its members to record any music which they know is to be played by the pirates." says the paper. "The ban hits particularly at the 1,000 or so 'pop' musicians who would normally be directly concerned with the offshore radio stations' normal music output. Manager of Pinkerton's Colours is Mr Reg Calvert of Rugby, who is also owner of the pirate radio station Radio City."

(Left) The band mimes to 'Mirror Mirror' on Blue Peter, 3rd January 66.

Was this a genuine MU ban, or merely a Reg Calvert publicity stunt? No sources are listed in the archive feature, but if a genuine story, Reg might have been expected to have been somewhat vocal about it.

Without a crystal ball, could offshore radio airplay be predicted at a song's recording stage, unless it was a session involving acts of the calibre of the Beatles or the Stones? Some managers had the right contacts, or more likely, the right budget to make such a prediction, but even singles with Radio London's publishing company's Pall Mall B-sides, were not automatically added to the Big L playlist.

How the MU intended to police this strange rule is anyone's guess, but it does not appear to have had a massive impact on either offshore radio, or the artists being heard on the pirated airwaves.

Whether or not the alleged MU ban affected the band, Pinkerton's Assorted Colours released no more singles until September 66. The name, strangely abbreviated to Pinkerton's Assort Colours, on the 'Mirror Mirror' follow-up, 'Don't Stop Lovin' Me Baby', had by then become simply Pinkerton's Colours. 'Magic Rocking Horse' was picked as Norm St John's climber for only one week, 180966 and never made the Fab Forty, but the single spent three weeks in October in the 'pay for play' section of the Caroline Countdown of Sound. Not surpringly, the record reached #15 on the City Sixty!


The red additions 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 them 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

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

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