A rather unique "British Invasion": The Searchers, Status Quo, Bonnie Tyler, Gary Glitter...
Written: Oct 26 '03 (Updated Jun 28 '05)
Product Rating:
Pros: 10 Top 10 hits by The Searchers, Bonnie Tyler, Chad & Jeremy and others.
Cons: Four-page CD booklet. Two tracks are reproduced from mono recordings.
The Bottom Line: 10 Top 10 hits by nine acts: Edison Lighthouse, Gary Glitter, The Foundations, The Searchers, Petula Clark, Chad & Jeremy, Bonnie Tyler, The Flying Machine and Status Quo.
Don_Krider's Full Review: The British Invasion (LaserLight)
According to Billboard magazine, only two British artists hit # 1 on the U. S. pop charts prior to January, 1964: Mr. Acker Bilk (that really was the act's name) with "Stranger On The Shore" and The Tornadoes with "Telstar," both of which topped the charts stateside in 1962.
Neither act scored another U. S. Top 40 hit and both acts are just footnotes in pop music history, as is that forgotten "British Invasion" of 1962.
It's "The British Invasion" that began in 1964 with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks, Herman's Hermits, Manfred Mann, Chad & Jeremy, Peter & Gordon, The Animals, The Zombies, Petula Clark and so many others that everyone remembers. That 1964 invasion changed music history forever and British acts have enjoyed U. S. chart success ever since.
For Laserlight Records, on their "The British Invasion" CD, the 1964 invasion spans more than a decade through the course of 10 songs released between 1964 and 1978, which is stretching the criteria a bit, I think.
The artists range from true British invaders of 1964 like The Searchers (singing a pair of hits, including one written by Sonny Bono of Sonny & Cher fame) through acts more identified with glam rock like Gary Glitter to more recent mainstream pop acts like Bonnie Tyler.
It's a mixed bag of musical treasures, of course, but the great thing is that it's an album usually found for under $10 at retailers with tunes that were all U. S. Top 10 hits.
The CD:
Thankfully all 10 tracks are the original recordings by the original acts (unlike so many compilations these days which have a disclaimer saying "re-recordings of the original songs" by newer versions (sometimes with only one member from the original group) of the groups involved).
These original recordings, by the original acts, have been reproduced from the original master recordings, another blessing. The resulting sound is crystal clear on this effort. However, two of the tracks are reproduced from the original mono recordings, "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" by Edison Lighthouse and "Pictures Of Matchstick Men" by Status Quo (the remaining 8 tracks are stereo recordings).
The CD booklet is only four pages long, with a few tiny photos of some of the acts on the CD. A plus is that the liner notes are by Fred Bronson of Billboard magazine, who offers knowledgeable, if brief, commentary on the various acts.
The tracks:
"Downtown" by Petula Clark, "Needles And Pins" by The Searchers, "Love Potion Number Nine" by The Searchers, "Build Me Up, Buttercup" by The Foundations, "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" by Edison Lighhouse, "Smile A Little Smile For Me" by The Flying Machine, "A Summer Song" by Chad & Jeremy, "Pictures Of Matchstick Man" by Status Quo, "It's A Heartache" by Bonnie Tyler and "Rock And Roll Part 2" by Gary Glitter.
Recommendation:
It's a fun CD to listen to while driving around or working on the computer, kind of like listening to your favorite classic rock station. Amazon.Com currently lists it under "The British Invasion (Laserlight)" for less than $8 (as of October, 2003), so the price is right (I have seen it cheaper in some retail outlets). A good collection of classic pop.
The better tunes:
"Downtown" by Petula Clark:
The Queen of British Pop, Pet Clark sold more than a million copies of "Downtown," which first charted the week before Christmas in 1964, rising to # 1 for two weeks by early 1965, the first of 15 consecutive Top 40 hits for her by July 1968 (she had 22 Hot 100 hits in the U. S. by 1982).
A bit of Broadway stage show production-styled sound mixed with Beatle-ish merseybeat rhythms, the uptempo, impossible-to-resist melody features a wonderful lead vocal by the sweet-voiced Petula Clark singing:
"When you're alone and life is making you lonely / you can always go, downtown / when you've got worries, all the noise and the hurry / seems to help, I know, downtown / just listen to the music of the traffic in the city / linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty / how can you lose? the lights are much brighter there / you can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares / so go, downtown / no finer place for sure, downtown / everything's waiting for you..."
"Needles And Pins":
Sonny Bono should be remembered as more than half of Sonny & Cher --- he was producer Phil Spector's public relations guy and a studio assistant at Goldstar Studios before hitting singing stardom as part of Sonny & Cher..
Sonny also was an amazing songwriter. One of Sonny's best tunes, pre-Sonny & Cher fame, was written with Jack Nitzsche (Spector's recording engineer/arranger, Nitzsche later wrote the Oscar-winning "Up Where We Belong" from the film "An Officer And A Gentleman, co-written with Buffy Sainte-Marie; Nitzsche also played keyboards on some early Rolling Stones' recordings). The song was called "Needles And Pins."
The tune had hit # 84 in 1963 for Jackie DeShannon (who later hit the Top 10 with "What The World Needs Now" and "Put A Little Love In Your Heart"), but The Searchers covered "Needles And Pins" for a # 13 hit in 1964. It has since been covered by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and by The Ramones, among others.
The Searchers, from The Beatles' stomping grounds of Liverpool, eventually scored 14 U. S. Hot 100 hits by 1971 (their # 35 hit from 1964, "When You Walk In A Room," has been covered by Bruce Springsteen and Paul Carrack, among others).
With guitarist Mike Pender singing lead (Pender left the band in 1985, now touring as Mike Pender's Searchers while the rest of the group now tours as simply The Searchers; confusing, isn't it?), "Needles And Pins" was one of The Searchers seven Top 40 hits in the 1960s. Opening with a quick drum roll, twangy guitar and a gently rollicking beat, the tune is impossible to get out of your head once you've heard it:
"I saw her today, I saw her face / it was a face I loved and I knew / I had to run away and get down on my knees and pray / that they go away / but still they begin, needles and pins / because of all my pride, the tears I gotta hide / hey, I thought I was smart, I wanted her / didn't think I'd do, but now I see / she's worse to him than me / let her go ahead, take his love instead / and one day she will see / ... / yeah, that's how it begins / she'll feel those needles and pins..."
Trivia buffs: Searchers' drummer Chris Curtis quit the group in 1966. In 1968, while trying to form a band with guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, Curtis dropped out of this new band, which eventually became Deep Purple, according to VH1.com and The Searchers' official website. Current Searchers' guitarist Spencer James, who joined the band in the mid-1980s, previously played on recordings by White Plains ("My Baby Loves Lovin'") and First Class ("Beach Baby").
"Love Potion Number Nine":
The Searchers only U. S. Top 10 Billboard chart hit, "Love Potion Number Nine" went to # 3 (reaching # 1 on Billboard's competitor Record World's charts) in 1964-65 (written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller) and featured bassist Tony Jackson on lead vocals (Jackson passed away in 2003).
Jackson quit The Searchers in August of 1964, but this song charted after his departure. The group has continued on, with several personnel changes, since all four of the band's members were fine lead singers and Jackson's replacement, Frank Allen (author of the recent book, "Travelling Man: On The Road With The Searchers", which includes forwards written by Cliff Richard and Mark Knopfler), was equally good (in fact, he remains with The Searchers to this day).
"Love Potion Number Nine" is one of those quirky little ditties --- at once a novelty, bubblegummy, mid-tempo rocker with a strange story about a guy who needs a magic love potion to win the girl of his dreams. Problem is, the potion has unwanted side effects:
"...I held my nose, I closed my eyes, I took a drink / I didn't know if it was day or night / I started kissin' everything in sight / but when I kissed a cop down on 34th and Vine / he broke my little bottle of Love Potion Number Nine..."
"Build Me Up, Buttercup":
Tony Macaulay wrote "Baby, Now That I've Found You" for The Foundations in 1967, a single which peaked at # 11 in 1968 in the U. S. (featuring lead vocals by Clem Curtis).
Macaulay went on to co-write (with Mike D'Abo of Manfred Mann) "Build Me Up, Buttercup," which became The Foundations biggest U. S. hit, peaking at # 3 in 1969.
The Foundations went on to score five Hot 100 hits in the U. S. with their diverse, international, multi-racial lineup: three white members from London joined by members from Trinidad, Jamaica, the Domican Republic and Ceylon.
The song is rich in organ and brass instruments, propelled by a solid backbeat and some funky bass, and 1940's-vintage "call-and-response" vocals on the chorus. Colin Young sings lead here on one of my favorite '60s tunes:
"...why do you build me up (build me up), Buttercup, baby / just to let me down (let me down) and mess me around / and worst of all (worst of all) you never call, baby / when you say you will (say you will) but I love you still / I need you (I need you) more than anyone, darlin' / you know that I have from the start / so build me up (build me up) Buttercup, don't break my heart..."
Trivia buffs: "Build Me Up, Buttercup" was also the closing song of the film "There's Something About Mary" in 1998, with the cast dancing and lip-synching to The Foundations' original recording. It was again used in the film "Shallow Hal" in 2001.
"Love Goes (Where My Rosemary Goes)":
Featuring singer Tony Burrows (the lead vocalist behind such 1970's hits as "My Baby Loves Lovin'" by White Plains, "Beach Baby" by First Class, "United We Stand" by The Brotherhood Of Man and "Gimme Dat Ding" by The Pipkins), Edison Lighthouse was a "studio group," something created in the studio that was never a real band.
All of Burrows' groups were studio creations and he is the only artist I'm aware of to score Top 20 hits under five different names (but never having a Top 40 hit under his own name) in the U. S. (See my review of Burrows' compilation CD, "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)," at http://www.epinions.com/musc-review-2172-357266E-38D1257B-prod2 ; the album contains all of Burrows' original recordings of these hits.) Burrows only solo hit under his own name, "Melanie Makes Me Smile" in 1970, peaked at # 87.
"Love Grows..." sold a million copies after hitting # 5 in 1970, spending 13 weeks on the Billboard charts. Sweet, romantic lyrics about a guy in love sung with lush orchestration, horns and a throbbing bass line, "Love Grows..." remains catchy-as-anything:
"She ain't got no money / her clothes are kind of funny / her hair is kinda wild and free / oh, but love grows where my Rosemary goes / and nobody knows like me / she talks kinda lazy / and people say she's crazy / and her life's a mystery / oh, but love grows where my Rosemary goes / and nobody knows like me..."
Another trivia note: The tune was written by Tony Macaulay (co-writer of The Foundations' "Build Me Up Buttercup" and The Flying Machine's "Smile A Little Smile") with co-writer Barry Mason. Macaulay also wrote songs recorded by David Essex, Tom Jones, Marmalade, Long John Baldry, Andy Williams, The Hollies, Sonny and Cher, Cliff Richard, The Drifters, Peter Noone, Petula Clark, Cameo and many others.
"Smile A Little Smile":
Songwriter Tony Macaulay teamed with Geoff Stephens to write "Smile A Little Smile," a tune recorded by the British "studio group" The Flying Machine (not to be confused with an earlier American band of the same name led by singer James Taylor and guitarist Danny Kortchmar).
Sweetly strummed acoustic guitar, some light percussion and understated orchestration move "Smile A Little Smile" along:
"You really should accept this time he's gone for good / he'll never come back now even though he said he would / so, darling, dry your eyes / so many other guys would give the world, I'm sure, to wear the shoes he wore / oh, come on, smile a little smile for me, Rose Marie / where's the use in cryin' / in a little while you'll see, Rose Marie / you must keep on tryin'..."
"A Summer Song":
Between 1964 and 1966, Chad & Jeremy (Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde) scored 11 Hot 100 singles in the U. S. (they only had one hit in their native England, surprisingly), including six that hit the Top 40 charts.
The act was something of a British Everly Brothers, two guys with English accents singing sweet vocal harmonies and strumming acoustic guitars (they even appeared on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "The Patty Duke Show" in 1965 in inspired casting that saw them playing a British singing duo on both shows).
Written by Clive Metcalfe, Keith Noble and David Stuart, "A Summer Song" became the act's biggest hit when it peaked at # 7 in 1964 (their second of four consecutive Top 40 hits in 1964-65).
The vocals are sugary-sweet, with tasty acoustic guitar and light orchestration, sounding positively Everly here:
"...and when the rain / beats against my window pane / I think of summer days again / and dream of you..."
The act is currently celebrating 40 years together, recording and touring even now.
"Pictures Of Matchstick Men":
If a tune every captured the end of 1960s, Status Quo's "Pictures Of Matchstick Men" did so. With its quirky, dirge-like melody and psychedlic guitar sounds, "Pictures Of Matchstick Men" peaked at # 12 in the U. S. in 1968 (one of only two U. S. hits for the band; the other, "Ice In The Sun," peaked at # 70 that same year).
In England, the act continues to enjoy huge popularity (they have appeared on England's "Top Of The Pops" more than 100 times, more than any other English act in the show's long history, and are the only British act to chart in England with 55 singles). Their worldwide sales are greater than 112 million copies! They've placed 31 albums on the British charts, more than any other British act except for The Rolling Stones.
In November, 2003, the act releases its new album in the United Kingdom, "Riffs," which features 15 tracks that are covers of tunes by that were originally hits for Steppenwolf, John Fogerty, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, ELO, Elvis Costello, The Kinks and others, mixed with a few new songs written by the band.
In the U. S., they are known to most people for one tune, "Pictures Of Matchstick Men," if you've even heard of them at all. The tune was written by Francis Rossi of Status Quo (it has been covered by Ozzy Osbourne and Camper Van Beethoven, among others):
"...pictures of matchstick men and you / images of matchstick men and you / all I ever see is them and you..."
"It's A Heartache":
Currently on tour of Europe in support of her new album, "Heart Strings," Bonnie Tyler's Rod Stewart-ish sounding vocal on "It's A Heartche" gave her a million-selling, # 3 Hot 100 pop chart hit during a 22-week chart run in 1978 (it even charted on the U. S. country charts).
Tyler (whose real name is Gaynor Hopkins) later scored a bigger hit, hitting # 1 on both sides of the Atlantic, with "Total Eclipse Of The Heart," but "It's A Heartache" was her breakthrough single (selling six million copies worldwide), written by Ronnie Scott and Stephen Wolfe:
"It's a heartache, nothing but a heartache / hits you when it's too late, hits you when you're down / it's a fools game, nothing but a fool's game / standing in the cold rain, feeling like a clown / it's a heartache..."
Trivia buffs alert: The drummer is Mike Gibbins, famed for his work with Badfinger in the 1970s (see my review of "The Very Best Of Badfinger" at http://www.epinions.com/content_106012380804).
"Rock And Roll, Part 2":
British glitter/glam rock star superstar Gary Glitter (whose tunes have been covered by Joan Jett, Brownsville Station and Ian Lloyd, among others, stateside) only had two U. S. hits, both of which went Top 40 in 1972 (his backup group, The Glitter Band, had a minor hit in 1976 with "Makes You Blind," which hit # 91).
The biggest of those hits was "Rock & Roll, Part 2," which peaked at # 7 (the other hit, "I Didn't Know I Loved You ('Til I Saw You Rock And Roll)," hit # 35).
"Never heard of it," you say! If you've attended a game or watched virtually any sport in the USA since 1972, you've probably heard "Rock And Roll, Part 2," with its incessant Indian drum beat and a group of guys singing "ba na na na, H-E-Y!" over-and-over again (really, that's all the lyrics that are in that Top 10 hit; now that you know how really simple it is to become a hit songwriter, what are you waiting for?).
On the web:
Official Searchers website: http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/thesearchers/
Official Chad & Jeremy website: http://www.chadandjeremy.net/cj/front.htm
Official Status Quo website: http://www.statusquo.co.uk/
Official Bonnie Tyler website: http://www.bonnietyler.dk/biography.asp
Official Gary Glitter website: http://www.garyglitter.tk/
An interview with Tony Burrows (Edison Lighthouse): http://www.popentertainment.com/burrows.htm
Songwriter file on Tony Macaulay: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/salaryman/asada/macaulay.htm
The songs of Jack Nitzsche: http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/1123485/08282000/nitzsche_jack.jhtml
Encyclopedia Britanica's multi-media site on "The British Invasion" (parts still under construction, but still interesting): http://search.eb.com/britishinvasion/
Lyrics to "Build Me Up, Buttercup": http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~harel/cgi/page/htmlit?Buttercup.html
The correct album cover shot (the one on Epinions isn't it, but the UPC code and details are correct): http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000001V63.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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