The Early Radio London Fab Forties
Sunday 25th July 1965

The title song from the Fab Four's second film is at #1, with a European pic sleeve looking very different from the album sleeves associated with the film.

Compare the Fab Forty with the WMCA Good Guys' Fabulous 57, below.

Last
This
  
Week
Week
6
1
 Help! Beatles
23
2
 You've Got Your Troubles Fortunes
18
3
 We've Gotta Get Out Of This Place Animals
8
4
 There But For Fortune Joan Baez
5
5
 With These Hands Tom Jones
10
6
 He's Got No Love Searchers
7
7
 In Thoughts Of You Billy Fury
4
8
 Tossing And Turning Ivy League
2
9
 Mr Tambourine Man Byrds
29
10
 Catch Us If You Can Dave Clark Five
1
11
 Heart Full Of Soul Yardbirds
3
12
 In The Middle Of Nowhere Dusty Springfield
9
13
 Let The Water Run Down P J Proby
22
14
 Everyone's Gone To The Moon Jonathan King
17
15
 I Can't Help Myself Four Tops
–
16
 Cry To Me Pretty Things
31
17
 (Say) You're My Girl Roy Orbison
35
18
 Sunshine Lollipops And Rainbows Lesley Gore
26
19
 I Want Candy Brian Poole & the Tremeloes
33
20
 Summer Nights Marianne Faithfull
13
21
 Woolly Bully Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs
37
22
 Seventh Son Johnny Rivers
27
23
 Too Many Rivers Brenda Lee
–
24
 That's The Way Honeycombs
11
25
 The One In The Middle (EP) Manfred Mann
20
26
 Leave A Little Love Lulu
–
27
 Yes, I'm Ready Barbara Mason
21
28
 She's About A Mover Sir Douglas Quintet
–
29
 Show Me Around Mike Hurst
39
30
 Shakin' All Over Guess Who
12
31
 Voodoo Woman Bobby Goldsboro
–
32
 Unchained Melody Righteous Brothers
19
33
 A Walk In The Black Forest Horst Jankowski
38
34
 If You've Got A Heart Christine Quaite
40
35
 Everything In The Garden Fourmost
–
36
 Baby Never Say Goodbye Bo Street Runners
–
37
 My Cherie Al Martino
15
38
 To Know You Is To Love You Peter & Gordon
–
39
 Zorba's Dance Marcello Minerbi
–
40
 Like We Used To Be Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames

–
32
 Unchained Melody Righteous Brothers London HL 9975

Alan Field makes sense of some song lyrics:

We've heard the song that begins, "Oh my love, my darling..." so often. From the Righteous Brothers (a hit for them twice), Jimmy Young, during his crooner career (UK #1, 1955) Robson & Jerome and, most recently, Gareth Gates. There's even a brilliant doo-wop version of it by Vito & The Salutations (similar in style to the Marcels' Blue Moon). But do any of them sing "Unchained"? Do they sing "Melody"? Not once. So where DOES that title come from? Well, as most people know, the song began life in 1955, when there were many different versions in the charts. Fewer people know that, long before it was featured in Ghost, it was originally the theme from a 1955 movie, set in an 'honor farm' open prison. Reflecting the less rigorous regime in which the convicts were held, the film was called Unchained and the song was – quite literally – the "Unchained" melody!

–
36
 Baby Never Say Goodbye Bo Street Runners Columbia DB7640

(Left) EMI released this publicity shot depicting a somewhat literal translation of the song title. (Above) John Dominic in 2011.

Not to be confused with two other bands called the 'Bow St Runners' and the 'Bo St. Runners' (Still with me? It's all in the spelling!) the Bo Street Runners were an R 'n' B outfit from Wembley. The 'Bo' part of the name came from the many Bo Diddley songs that featured in their sets and the 'runner' from Road Runner. In an earlier incarnation, the band had been christened The Roadrunners. According to a fascinating feature written by band member Gary Thomas for the (now defunct) Tapestry of Delights website, the Runners even recorded a Diddley-inspired advertising jingle for a Radio Luxembourg vodka commercial!

The band appears to have evolved from early line-ups, before making recordings in 1964, 5 and 6 with varying sets of musicians. This Fab Forty hit features John Dominic (aka Jenkinson) on lead vocals, with Gary Thomas (aka Lewis) on guitar, Dave Cameron bass, Tim Hinkley, keyboards and Mick Fleetwood on drums. This was the band's only recording to include Fleetwood.

In 1964, the band won the prestigious Ready Steady Go-associated Ready Steady Win TV talent contest. The judging panel was Brian Epstein, musicians Bill Haley and Georgia Brown and Brian Matthew, the frontman of another popular teen show, ABC TV's Thank Your Lucky Stars. The prize was £1000's worth of equipment plus a Decca recording contract – although the sole Runners single released on that label was Bo Street Runner. This song (penned by vocalist John Dominic) was the one that the band had performed to impress the RSW judges.

After the one Decca release, the Runners had three more singles issued by Columbia. All their records are highly collectable. An EP released in 1964, with a pressing of just 49 copies, which had been produced to sell to fans at gigs (presumably recorded by an earlier version of the band) can command £1,500! Baby Never Say Goodbye is valued at around £45.

Mike Patto became the band's lead vocalist for a while, but according to his tribute site, recorded with them only on their 1966 cover of Drive My Car. The site discography also reveals that Mike's solo single (see FF 111266) Can't Stop Talkin' About My Baby featured an earlier Runners' recording as its B-side.

Surprisingly described by band member Gary Thomas as 'an atrocious record', Baby Never Say Goodbye' has an organ riff and bossa nova rhythm reminiscent of Georgie Fame's Yeh Yeh – and indeed Like We Used To Be, which was a new Fab Forty entry five slots below it. The Runners' song was co-written by Knees Club member #207 Unit Four Plus Two's Tommy Moeller and ex-Unit Four member Brian Parker. It was offered to the Runners because both groups were then represented by Apollo Music. After Baby Never Say Goodbye failed to chart (apart from in the Fab Forty, and probably other offshore listings) Mick Fleetwood left to join Pete B's Looners and John Dominic returned to a job in advertising.

Baby Never Say Goodbye became one of the most popular discs with the Big L '97 audience, alongside Craise F(r)inton Kirk, Love Years Coming and Poor Side of Town. Not bad for an 'atrocious' record!

Unit Four's own version of the song (on Decca, with a £12 valuaton) became a minor hit (#49 for one week) in the UK nationals. Surprisingly, considering the Fab Forty frequently featured multiple versions of the same song, it never made the Radio London playlist. It may well have been plugged on Radio Caroline – especially should it have happened to be around the time that Unit Four were London flat-sharing with Caroline's Graham Webb!


Climbers:
Mixed-Up Shook-Up Girl Val McKenna
Day By Day Julie Rogers
That's All I Ever Want From You, Baby Mike Berry
Disc of the Week:  
All I Really Want To Do Byrds


From 'The London Sound', courtesy of Brian Long
That's All I Ever Want From You, Baby Mike Berry HMV POP 1449

Alan Field again:

The song was written by the Brill Building team of Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. According to reliable sources such as the Record Collector Rare Record Price Guide and lists of the HMV catalogue, the official title of this record is That's All I Ever Wanted From You – despite the different title published in the music press adverts (left).

The record label, however (as pointed out to us by Harm Koenders) confirms the title as That's All I Ever Want From You, Baby

Many thanks to Jerome for taking the trouble to send us the WMCA Good Guys survey.

Click on the Fabulous 57
to see an enlarged version

WMCA Fabulous 57

Jerome Peterson writes from California:

I've quite enjoyed seeing the Fab 40s you've got from Radio London. In fact, looking over the charts has helped introduce me to some songs that weren't even played here in the U.S.
I see that occasionally you compare the RL Fab Forty to a chart for the same week, at a different station. The one I noticed was CFUN in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
I thought you might like to compare a chart from the station I was listening to in 1965, when I lived in Connecticut, near New York. The top station in NYC during 1964-1967 was WMCA. I've attached the WMCA Good Guy Countdown survey for July 22, 1965. 
I now live in California, but I picked this up at my local record store, in Stamford, Connecticut, the week it was issued.

Mary Payne:

'Last week' positions are not shown, but 'Fab' Alan Field has discovered a collection of WMCA charts which run consecutively, making it possible to discover the previous week's positions.
Fab also reminds us that Jack Spector used to send taped shows for broadcasting on Caroline, and Gary Stevens did likewise for Radio City.
The Fab Forty and Fab 57 for this week in 1965 have only eight songs in common. Exclusives ("first heard in New York in WMCA") are asterisked and former Sure Shots are also marked. However, this does not indicate that this is the first week when the Sure Shots and 'station exclusives' charted.

1) Seventh Son (WMCA #8, up from #10), FF #22
2) Yes I'm Ready (WMCA #10, down from #7), FF #27
3) I Want Candy by the Strangeloves (WMCA #17, down from #11), FF #19 for Brian Poole and the Tremeloes
4) I Can't Help Myself (Former Sure Shot and WMCA #4), FF #15. (WMCA also has It's the Same Old Song new in at #21. The latter Four Tops release does not arrive in the Fab Forty till September.)
5) All I Really Want to Do (WMCA second week at #22) is picked as the Radio London Club Disc of the Week.
6) Unchained Melody (bw Hung on You) (double-sided WMCA #26 and former Sure Shot, down from #23). New in the FF at #32, with Big L playing only the A side.
7) Help/I'm Down is also a double-sider in New York (WMCA new at #36). Help currently holds the FF top slot, with Big L not listing the single as a FF double-sider till a month later.
8) We Gotta Get Out of This Place (WMCA new at #55, FF #3 up from #18).


Additional climber information courtesy of Wim van Genderen

Tune in next week for another Big L Fab 40!