Penfro Sounds

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...

David Bowie Sorrow / Amsterdam RCA Victor 2424 (1973) "Pinups" was David Bowie's seventh studio album released in October 1973.  Released as a filler to meet his contract with RCA, it was a covers album of 1960s bands who were an influence on his younger self. The album features some great covers, including songs by The Pretty Things, The Who and The Yardbirds to name three.  This 45 lifted from the album is credited as a cover of The Mersey's version of "Sorrow" . The song was written by Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein and Richard Gottehrer & was originally recorded in 1965 by The McCoys, being released as the flip side of their single " Fever ".  The Merseys' 1966 version was recorded with a more uptempo feel compared to the folksy sound of The McCoys' version. The Merseys' took the song to the #4 slot on the UK charts. Bowie's as the lead single from the album peaked in the #3 slot (spending a total of 15 weeks in the UK charts...

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince Summertime / Girl's Ain't Nothing But Trouble Jive JIVE 279 (1991) As I randomly pull music from my collection I come across a lot of 80s/90s hip hop of which a lot have not aged well.  One example is the flip side of this 45 which, although fun, shows it's age.  The title track however is to me a timeless gem. DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince are Jeff Townes (DJ Jazzy Jeff) and the "A" list actor Will Smith (aka The Fresh Prince). The duo first met in 1985 at a house party and soon decided to join forces.  Having been signed by a Philadelphia label Word Records in 1986 they released their debut single (the flip side of this 45) which featured a sample of "I Dream OF Jeannie" The duo picked up considerable airtime on MTV during the late 80s early 90s and off the back of this Will Smith stared in the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air which ran from 1990-96.  The duo also achieved much success including 4 Grammy aw...