BEATFOR73 - March Singles Weekender IV

Legendary band, The Scruffs, originally hailed from Memphis, Tennessee (Big Star, Van Duren, Tommy Hoehn) and became Southern pioneers of the “power pop” musical movement.
Founded by lead songwriter, singer and guitarist Stephen Burns, The Scruffs recorded the great classic cult album “Wanna Meet The Scruffs?” at Ardent Studios in Memphis in 1977. This is their third and last single released in the New Jersey’s new wave label Sounds Interesting in 1980.
The Scruffs - When Donna Romances [7" Sounds Interesting 1980]

The Boys was a band from Lincoln-Nebraska, playing during 1974 – 1980. Formed by Phil Shoemaker - drums (originally Steven Light 74-75), Alan Havlicek (Guitar, Voice), Danny Shonerd (Guitar, Voice), and Terry Pieper (Bass), from the ashes of bands like Grundy Gilpin and The Garden Wall. Released two singles in Outrage Records : (She's My Girl) She's All Mine b/w I'm Not Satisfied (1975) , You Make Me Shake b/w We're Too Young (1978) and the cult classic (Baby)It's You b/w Bad Little Girl (1979) in Titan Records. This “I’m Not Satisfied” is a piece of anglo glam pop stance, a tireless plucking guitar, and endless auhhh..., wonderful.
During the time The Boys were together, they briefly changed their name to Londen, The Yanks, and Cocky Monroe before changing back to The Boys.

The Boys - I'm Not Satisfied [7" Outrage Records 1975]



Blend Greg Kihn's looks and melodic base with a tough Rubinoos and some outrageously borrowed Beatles harmonies and you'll find “Giving It All”, 20/20’s first single (Beatfor72). Still can buy it directly from http://www.bompstore.com.

20/20 -Giving It All [7" Bomp Records 1978]

The Low Numbers were an ad hoc studio invention attempting a conceptual exercise in Brit-pop nostalgia in Claremont (California). The band included Rhino Records co-founder Harold Bronson (Vocals), Louie Maxfield (Guitar), Dave Dennard (Bass), and David Schneider (Drums). They named themselves The Low Numbers probably paying homage to the first incanation of The Who.
Shock Treetments is killer Gizmos-style early LA garage punk, the flip side is "Try It", originally by The Standells.

The Low Numbers - Shok Treetments [7" Big Seven Inch Records 1976]

The Numbers were one of Australia's iconic pop-rock outfits to emerge in the very early 80's. The bands line-up comprised of Chris Morrow on guitars and vocals, his sister Annalisse Morrow on bass and lead vocals and Simon Vidale on drums. The band came under the watchful eye of Michael Browning and were signed to Deluxe Records (Sydney). They produced 3 albums and in 1980 they had a top 40 hit with " Five letter word / Alone ". The band were prolific on the live scene with some solid industry support and a few appearances on "Countdown" Australia's No 1 rated music show in the day. Both Annalisse and Chris continued on with their music careers when the numbers disbanded after their third album. They went on to drive a band called the Maybe Dolls.

The Numbers - Alone [7" RCA 1980]

BEATFOR72 - 20/20

20/20 was formed in Tulsa, OK, by high school friends Steve Allen (guitar, vocals) and Ron Flynt (bass, vocals). They relocated to Los Angeles in 1977, adding Mike Gallo on drums, and began playing local clubs. Greg Shaw, the head of Bomp! Records, was impressed with their highly charged power pop and signed them to his label in 1978. The resulting single, "Giving It All / Under the Freeway," created enough interest in the band to secure a deal with Portrait Records. They added keyboardist Chris Silagyi and recorded their first LP, 20/20. This LP stands proudly as one of the power pop genre's best and most unique sounding, thanks to Earle Mankey's imaginative production trickery, creating one of the best debut albums to emerge from the new wave era. British influences (and slight traces of accents) infiltrated and mixed with their L.A. attitudes and Tulsa roots, never sounding less than sincere.

20/20 – 20/20 [LP Portrait 1979]

BEATFOR71 - March Singles Weekender III

Really 3rds – Everyday, Everyday [7” single The Really 3rds Record Label 1981]

Little known about Really 3rds, an english trio formed by Neil Lawrence, Paul Pember and Philip, released this only one fantastic single without picture sleeve in is own label The Really 3rds Record Label in 1981. The song is full of hooky snaps, powerpop lost wonder, an instantly lovable gem.

Tennis Shoes – (Do The ) Medium Wave [7” single Bonaparte Records 1978]
A nine people band, formed in South London in 1976 by John Bayley, Ken Dampier and Colin Minchin.
As all of them played the guitar, they needed a bassist and a drummer, so they asked an old friend, Peter Hornsby, to join them on keyboards. These four looked no further than their local pub before finding their fifth guitarist, Howard Edgar, though he agreed to play bass as long as his glass was constantly refilled. When Fiona Imlah and Beverley Glick foolishly decided to sing with the five guitarists the die was cast.
Because they had no drummer "The Five Guitars" would sit in The Three Tuns in Beckenham trying to think of better names, and when Stewart T. Booth, who had never played the guitar in his life, suggested that the band was called Tennis Shoes he was immediately offered the embarrassing task of singing one of the group's compositions entitled "Black Leather".
This was it. Vic, the borrowed drummer, came back and the band started rehearsing frantically when there was nothing better to do.
As the great day set for Tennis Shoes' Penge debut approached, Vic was reclaimed by a more serious outfit and Derek Thomas joined the band in time to mess up his solo on the opening night.
Strangely, everybody laughed at Tennis Shoes, and they continued to play in Penge, occasionally venturing further afield to perform in venues like the notorious Rat Club (really) in London's exotic King's Cross.
But something was wrong, and in a series of devious manoeuvres involving women, bribery and threats. Tennis Shoes second drummer left.
Luckily Glen Morris, (who may have played the guitar occasionally), left a lucrative pop group and neglected his studies to join Tennis Shoes. He felt immediately at home, largely because the band only played once every six weeks.
But fate took a hand, and a series of coincidences found the complete 9 piece band back in Penge, where a devoted crowd of people with no taste flocked to their every performance.
This support encouraged a new enthusiasm, which led to offers of gigs in Colleges, London pubs and village halls. Success followed success, and now as the Summer of '78 draws upon us. Tennis Shoes are expanding their operations by negotiating with obscure record companies, playing bigger and better venues and moving into sportswear, restaurant chains and nicer residential areas.Always proud of their suburban origins and true to the timeless British philosophy of "Gentlemen, rather than players" Tennis Shoes are forging into the latter part of the atomic age with all the style, wit and excitement of rose patterned wallpaper. Press Release 1978.

The Vipers – I’ve Got You [7” single Mulligan 1978]
The Vipers were one of the leading Irish new wave groups of the late 1970s. An incendiary live act fronted by Paul Boyle and virtuoso guitarist George Sweeney, they built up a loyal following in their home country and gigged with the likes of The Clash and The Jam.

A well received debut single "I've Got You" hit the streets in late 1978. This was heard and liked by the BBC's John Peel who invited the band across the Irish Sea to do a session for his famous radio program, the Peel Sessions. A permanent move to London led to extensive UK tours with the Boomtown Rats and Thin Lizzy as well as regular gigs on the circuit including the Marquee, Music Machine and Fulham Greyhound. A further single "Take Me" was released in early 1980. Although press was always positive a failure to secure long term record company support led to the band splitting up in London in late 1980.

The best known and most enduring line up was Boyle (lead vocals /gtr) Sweeney (lead guitar) Dolan Foley (bass) and Dave Moloney (drums). Hastings legend Bernie Smirnoff (ex Hollywood Killers) took over the drum stool from Moloney in late 1979. After the Vipers, Boyle ultimately switched to acting whilst his erstwhile colleagues stuck with music, Foley going on to Dublin legends the Blades, Moloney to the Cajun Kings and Sweeney the Fat Lady Sings.

The Freshies – I’m In Love With The Girl On The Manchester Megastore Check-Out Desk [7” single Razz/MCA 1980]
The Freshies is the name of a band from Manchester, England formed in the mid 1970's. Their first single, The Freshies EP, was released in 1978 on the RAZZ record label. Their biggest selling and best known song is 1980's "I'm In Love With The Girl On The Manchester Virgin Megastore Checkout Desk" renamed as "I'm In Love With The Girl On A Certain Manchester Megastore Checkout Desk" on request from Virgin Records, which reached number 54 in the UK charts in 1981.

The Freshies were led by Chris Sievey, whose alter-ego Frank Sidebottom was also their biggest fan. Others who played with Sievey inluded Martin Jackson (later with Magazine) and Billy Duffy (later with The Cult). The usual line-up, however, was Barry Spencer (guitar), Rick Sarko (bass, ex-The Nosebleeds) and Mike Doherty (drums, ex-The Smirks).

Sievey pre-dated the self-financing ethic of punk when he created his own record label "Razz" in 1974. "Razz" went on to release over 60 titles, including much of The Freshies material. They also produced possibly the first multi-media single by including The Biz, a Sinclair ZX81 game, on the tape version of one of their singles, something which Sievey later did himself as a solo artist with his single "Camouflage".

BEATFOR70 - The Dentists

Some People Are on the Pitch (They Think It's All Over It Is Now). Those words adorn the first few seconds, Kenneth Wolstenhome’s stirring commentary on the England Word Cup victory in 1966, uttered as Geoff Hurst whacked his third and England’s fourth goal. Then The Dentists take over....

The Dentists formed in their native Medway, a small town in rural Kent, in 1983; the original lineup comprised Michael Murphy singing, Robert Collins guitars, bassist Mark Matthews, and drummer Ian Smith. A smart and friendly band that embodies the best aspects of the Anglo-jangle-pop genre, while maintaining a jittery-sometimes downright loud-rock edge that keeps their playful tunes from straying too far into the land of the twee.

The album sounding like they time-traveled in from 1966 or so, picked up a couple of tips from the Smiths, and were let loose in the studio with Joe Meek behind the board. It is an assured and exciting record informed by the sounds of the '60s garage, folk, and psychedelic scenes (the raw sound and pounding beats, jangling 12- and six-string guitars, whimsical lyrics, and fuzzy edges, respectively), but thoroughly modern too (the Medway-inspired raw guitar sound -The Buff Medways, The Milkshakes, The Prisoners-, the at times fey and melancholic vocal stylings of Michael Murphy, the almost punk attack that the whole record has). I’m Not The Devil, epic stuff with Mamas And papas-style melodyand impeccable harmonies. The up-tempo songs ("Flowers Around Me," " "I Had an Excellent Dream," "Tangerine," "Tony Bastable v John Noakes") sound like the Byrds if they had formed in the wake of the punk explosion of the '70s, hooky and exciting with the rough edges left on and the guitars bubbling and slashing all around.

Indeed, place Some People up against the debuts of any '80s guitar pop band and the match would end up knotted at least, the opponents trounced in most cases. Against the best album of any '80s guitar pop band even, because this is the best album the Dentists made. The blend of inspired songcraft performance and sound (and the fact that not too many people heard it) make the record a lost guitar pop classic.

Now, Rev-Ola presents the album and their first single -Strawberries Are Growing In My Garden (And It's Wintertime) - on CD, remastered and expanded.

Some People Are on the Pitch (They Think It's All Over It Is Now) [lp Spruck Records 1985]

Prod..: Allan Crockford & The Dentists


http://thedentistsweb.com/Some%20People%20Reissue.html

BEATFOR69 - March Singles Weekender II

Jack Lee – Hanging On The Telephone [7" single Disclexia Records 1982]
Song originally performed by The Nerves, but popularized by Blondie, who put it as the lead-off track on their 1978 breakthrough album, Parallel Lines. The original is so obscure that many are unaware that Blondie is not the original artist, but it was written by Jack Lee and first performed by Lee's short-lived West Coast power pop trio The Nerves, who also placed it as the lead-off track on their 1976 EP, the band's only release.
...”A few years later, in the hopes of parlaying that big score into a solid songwriting career, Lee released a musical résumé of his best work, including four Nerves-era numbers. (Those early tunes are, for the most part, better than the later efforts showcased here.) Case, Collins, the Rubber City Rebels (who had recorded a great cover of his "Paper Dolls") and others provide rocking instrumental and vocal support, but Lee never again reached the bigtime. (Although Paul Young did throw Lee a few dollars in publishing money two years later by turning "Come Back and Stay" into an international hit.) But don't wait up for Vol. 2.” Ira Robbins –Trouser Press -

Brian Copsey & The Commotions - Love's Made A Fool Of You [7" single Chrysalis 1981]
Another lost gemm. Brian released two singles for Chrysalis, the timeless “Boys In Love” (will be posted), and this “Love’s Made A Fool Of You”, with a Rockpile style mixing driving guitars, traditional rock and roll, pop and country licks fitted easily into the post-punk new wave at the beginnig of the eighties.
As you can read in his site : ...” Pretty soon after that a guy called Dave Courts who makes most of Keith Richards jewellery, introduced me to Marianne Faithfull, and I played guitar with her for a while. I must have developed a taste for working with women, because when the punk thing took off, I let Hazel O Connor cut off all my hair, and I backed her for a year or so. This was all great fun, but eventually I felt it was time to do something with my own songs,so I managed to blag a month in a residential studio in France with what was basically Sniff and the Tears backing me , and a great engineer called Steve Lipson. The resulting album’s worth of material brought me a recording contract with Chrysalis. It was at this point that things went astray for a while. In my naivity, I thought that I had earned the right to have fun making records, but the label I had signed to was a serious, no prisoners taken, commercial outlet who were used to releasing hit records with career minded people.... Anyway we spent a year or so at cross purposes, releasing a couple of singles that were well received in Europe, and got good reviews in the British music press, but on top of an unofficial BBC ban on any future recordings, I refused to go touring in America, and from that point on it’s not so much that
I was dropped, as we just stopped talking to each other ..permanently “ www.briancopsey.com


Jo Allen & The Shapes - Cryin' Over You [7" single 415 Records 1980]
Alan Powell is a drummer from Manchester, England who was mainly active during the 1970s. His first notable appearances were with Chicken Shack, appearing on the 1974 live album Goodbye, and Vinegar Joe. Following his friendship with Robert Palmer from Vinegar Joe co-writing Gotta Get a Grip on You, Part 2 (from 1976's Some People Can Do What They Like), The Silver Gun (from 1983's Pride) and Life in Detail (from the soundtrack to 1990's Pretty Woman).
During 1974 he joined Hawkwind as a second drummer, recording two albums; in 1977 he formed the short lived touring band Kicks; also in 1978 he formed Tanz Der Youth with The Damned leader Brian James, released the great single "I'm Sorry, I'm Sorry"/"Delay", recorded a Peel Session, toured with Black Sabbath and appeared at Turner's Bohemian Love-In event. A really musician globe-trotter.
At the end of the 1970's he emigrated to San Francisco and fronted his own new wave Jo Allen and the Shapes band, releasing the 1980 single "Cryin' Over You"/"Lowlife".

Richard X Heyman - Vacation [7" single Flying Records 1980]
Multi-talented, and sadly overlooked craftsmen of the '90s, New York power pop genius Heyman does it all — vocals, Rickenbacker guitars, keyboards, drums (his initial instrument), etc. This is his first sparkling single, with two great songs.
“Richard X. Heyman recorded his very first release at the House of Music Studio in New Jersey in the winter of 1980. Richard played guitar, and sang all the vocals, along with one of his heroes, Dino Dannelli (of Rascals fame) on drums, and there was a bass player, whose name eludes memory. The song was produced by Eric Thorngren, who had been in the band Bulldog with Dino and fellow ex-Rascal Gene Cornish.
The two songs were part of a group of demos Richard did with Dino. They recorded five songs together, and Richard and his manager Richard Velinsky pressed up the single of "Vacation" and "Takin' My Chances" just "for the hell of it". These demos were songs from the repertoire of Richard's group The Rage, based in Washington, D.C. in the late '70s.
The single was reviewed in Billboard as a "Pick Hit" and received airplay on WNEW in New York City, along with other rock stations around the country.” www.richardxheyman.com

Re-Uploads

BEATFOR67 - Yorks
BEATFOR59 - New Toys
BEATFOR42 - Stumblebunny

BEATFOR68 - Bob

Bob were formed in London in 1986 by Richard Blackborow –b. 21 March 1966- (Guitar, Synthesizers, Vocals), Simom Armstrong – b. 12 February 1966 - (Guitar, Vocals), Jem Morris (bass) and a drum machine. Bob were always destined to become an archetypal "indie" pop band. Gary Connors replaced the drum machine only to make way for Dean Leggett, ex Jamie Wednesday (soon to become Carter USM ). With solid support from influential BBC disc jockey John Peel and a healthy selection of earnest, old-fashioned guitar-based tunes, Bob ploughed an individualistic furrow around the outskirts of the music business, surviving another line-up alteration when Morris was replaced by the bassist from the Caretaker Race , Stephen Hersom. When Bob finally came round to making an album after five years, the record's commercial potential was undermined by the collapse of the Rough Trade Records distribution system, so Swag Sack is a compilation of previously released tracks released as eps for Hot Records and Sombrero Records.

Peel Sessions: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/artists/b/bob/

Swag Sack [lp Somrero Records uk 1987] : -

BEATFOR67 - March Singles Weekender I

The Yorks – Figure And A Face [7” Little Hero Records 1980] Three from New York . Guitars a la The Records, great pop song. All powerpop ingredients : James Colbert (voice, guitars), Bob Wire (drums, voice), Kevin Joy (Bass).


The Bozos – Weekend Girl [7” Other Records 1978]. This tune is quite pleasant, the harmonies are superb, and also in the instrumental break, contrasting moods of light and melancholic shade between the verses and the bridges. An excellent song released privately in Other Records in 1978. The Bozos : Ted Lemming (guitars, voice), Stan (guitars, voice), Roger Brod (acoustic guitars, voice), Glen Lamberton (bass, voice), Chris Mcauley (drums).