Penfro Sounds

Flaming Emeralds Have Some Everybody  Grapevine GRP 104 (1978) The Flaming Emeralds were an underground 1970s and early 1980s soul/funk group based out of Detroit, Michigan. Though they never achieved mainstream national fame like Motown acts, they hold a revered place among Northern Soul and Modern Soul record collectors. The group's line-up featured vocalists and musicians including Gerald Ervin, Kenny Goodman, Al Martin, Glynis Martin, Rory Johnson, and Chris Knight. Members of the band routinely served as backing singers, touring band members, and studio musicians for both The Detroit Emeralds and their sibling group The Floaters. When The Detroit Emeralds began splintering in the mid-1970s, group member James Mitchell and writer/arranger Marvin Willis began working with and producing outside Detroit talent. Mitchell helped younger local talent grow, intentionally channelling the "Emeralds" name and signature Detroit soul sound into the next generation.  Mitchell and ...

Dublin Corporation Melting Pot / Rollin' Common Franklin QC 643 (1970) The Dublin Corporation started life as a popular Irish showband called The Pacific Showband.  During the mid 60s they released 45s under their original name however in 1969 they undertook the first of several tours of Canada.  In the early 70s they moved to Canada permanently and changed the band's name to the Dublin Corporation. Under their new name they released a few 45s and an album that had Canadian chart success. This 45 is a cover of the Roger Cook/Roger Greenaway track that was first recorded by the British band Blue Mink.  Whilst the song was a UK Top 5 hit for Blue Mink (and a Canadian hit for Dublin Corporation) the song has not weathered the changes in time, today it is banned by many UK radio stations due to its offensive/racist language such as the phrases "curly Latin kinkies", "mixed with yellow Chinkies" and "little bitty bit of Red Indian boy".  Under the direc...

Medicine Head (And The) Pictures In The Sky / Natural Sight Dandelion DAN 7003 (1971) Medicine Head were a British blues rock band basically consisting of John Fidler and Peter Hope-Evans.  At various times the band involved other musicians but for most of their career they were a duo. Having met whilst at school the pair began performing on an occasional basis around the Birmingham area.  They were seen by the DJ John Peel at the Lafayette Club in Wolverhampton in 1969 and he was impressed enough to share their music with John Lennon, Eric Clapton & Pete Townshend. At Lennon's insistence, Peel signed the band to his own label "Dandelion Records" releasing their first 45 in November 1969.  Having recorded their debut album in a two hour session the band began touring with John Peel and gathered a cult following. Their second album was recorded and released in 1971.  Titled "Heavy On The Drum" , the album was produced by former Yardbirds vocalist Keith Relf. ...

Jack White III Live At Ford Field (12" EP) Third Man Records TMR 1163 (2026) On a quarterly basis Third Man Records, the label owned by Jack White, releases a Vault package which consists of recordings normally not available commercially.  The July 2026 drop consisted of a triple album featuring a 2006 The White Stripes concert recorded in Tasmania.  In addition to the album this 12" one sided EP was included. On the 27th November 2025 Jack played the halftime show for the NFL Detroit Lions 2025 Thanksgiving game.  The opening number was " That's How I'm Feeling " followed by biggest surprise of the show when Jack was joined by fellow Detroit star Eminem to perform a mash up of the songs " Hello Operator / 'Till I Collapse ".  The final rousing number was " Seven Nation Army " complete with dancing cheerleaders. FLAC

Focus Sylvia / House Of The King Polydor 2001 422 (1973) Focus were formed in Amsterdam, Netherlands during 1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flautist Thijs van Leer, drummer Hans Cleuver, bassist Martijn Dresden, and guitarist Jan Akkerman.  This 45 features on the A side the van Leer composition " Sylvia " an instrumental, with a short section of falsetto from van Leer, that was first released in the Netherlands in April 1972 and then was included on their third album, imaginatively titled " Focus 3 " that November.  This 45 was not released in the UK until January 1973. The flip side, "House Of The King",  had been the band's first 45 release being issued in the Netherlands in 1970 however as a single it was never released in the UK. The band appeared on BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test during Christmas 1972 and along with numerous UK gigs around the same time it helped push this 45 to the #4 slot on the UK charts. The video below is from that OGWT ...

David Bowie Rebel Rebel / Queen Bitch RCA Victor LPB05009 (1974) This 45 was recorded by Bowie just after the Christmas period 1973 along with other songs that would appear on the Diamond Dogs album.  The sessions started at the Trident studios in London and were completed at Ludolph studios in the Netherlands.  These recordings were the first since 1969 that did not feature Mick Ronson on lead guitar; that role being undertaken by Bowie himself. What is unusual about this 45 is that this UK purchased single is in-fact a USA export copy.  There are a few stories in the record collecting world that there was at this time a shortage of vinyl available in the UK due to an oil crisis however the more plausible reason is that around the time of its release the major UK pressing plants were totally booked due to high demand for vinyl records and so to beat the backlog RCA Victor had their pressing done in the USA and shipped them to the UK.  Note that the actual US releas...