Penfro Sounds

Jack White Sixteen Saltines / Love Is Blindness Third Man Records TMR 135 (2012) This 45, released 2012, was the second single taken from the "Blunderbuss" album. The lyrics to the song seem cryptic but shows themes of frustration, rebellion and inner conflict. The track is a mix of Jack's signature sounds, basically a combination of garage, rock, blues and punk. Along with the 7" version a limited 12" version was issued as a liquid filled record. A standard black vinyl 12" was also released. The 7" cover featured below is the cartoon sleeve that was only available for purchase at concert venues during the 2012 Blunderbuss tour. FLAC

The Spotnicks The Rocket Man / Walking Back To Happiness Polydor 52 940 (1968) The Spotnicks were a Swedish band formed in 1961.  Known for their inventive guitar style they were also known for wearing spacesuits on stage. The band evolved from a duo called The Rebels, formed in 1956 by Bo Starander (1942-202) and Björn Thelin (1942-2017).  Over the years the band had around 40 different members releasing over 40 albums. The Spotnicks played their very last concert on 30 March 2019, at Musikens Hus, Gothenburg, Sweden. FLAC

Andy Ross Theme From The Godfather / Theme From The French Connection CBS CBS S 8235 (1972) Andy Ross formed his orchestra in 1962.  Andy was a classically trained pianist who first played with the Scottish band The Kimbos before becoming the leader of the resident band at The Raith Ballroom in Kirkaldy where they played three nights a week and supported the visiting headline acts.   They also played at The Carlton in Kirkaldy 1963 as support to The Beatles at a gig that had been originally scheduled for The Raith Ballroom, but The Beatles manager Brian Epstein had just made a ruling that the group should only appear in theatres so the show was moved to the bigger venue. Over 1,500 kids packaged out the venue for each of the two shows.  By 1967 Andy had moved south, along with most of the thirteen strong members of the band, to take up a residency at The Locarno in Birmingham. There he developed the James Last-style of medleys which was so popular he was soon mo...

Little Bob Story Little Bob Story EP Chiswick SW7 (1976) Roberto Piazza aka Little Bob was a French rocker, born in Italy, who formed the band around 1974 in his home town of Le Harve. At the time of this release punk/new wave was kicking off in the UK although there was very little recorded output of the genres.  In early '76 many artists were given the punk/new wave label including at the time Bruce Springsteen, Graham Parker and Nils Lofgren. So it was with Little Bob Story, sounding now more along the lines of a pub rock band like Dr. Feelgood, they too were classed as punk and even appeared on the famous "New Wave" sampler put out by Sire Records.  With tracks on the sampler by the Ramones, The Damned and Patti Smith they were in good company. Whilst not making a big impact on the UK charts they were known for their exciting live shows.  They opened for Motorhead and Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols) and Brian James (The Damned) were said to be fans of their live shows. Aft...

Chas & Dave In Sickness & In Health / Encore Medley BBC Records RESL 176 (1985) Chas & Dave (Chas Hodges & Dave Peacock) began performing as a duo in 1972 and continued until Chas' death in 2018. The pair first met in 1963 whilst playing in different bands.  Chas was a member of The Outlaws and also played with Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers. Dave played with The Tumbleweeds and at one time played in a band called The Rolling Stones (but not the famous one!) Both also did numerous session work including in 1975 playing guitar and bass on Labi Siffre's "I Got The..."  which was later sampled on Eminem's "My Name Is". In Sickness & In Health was a UK comedy TV show that run between 1985 & 1992.  It was the follow up to the show Till Death Do Us Part, both shows featuring Warren Mitchell as the curmudgeon Alfred "Alf" Garnet.  In this age the shows would never be produced as they both featured what can be called contro...

McGuinness Flint When I'm Dead And Gone / Lazy Afternoon Capitol CL 15662 (1970) McGuinness Flint was a band formed in 1970 (by Tom McGuinness [ex Manfred Mann]) and featured amongst its original members Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle who wrote this song. The single reached #2 in the UK Charts and was quickly followed by another top 5 single however the band floundered under the pressure of producing another hit following such instant success.  They also had issues reproducing their sound live and following a run of serious illness most of the concerts on their first  tour in 1971 were cancelled. In late 1971, following the release of the 2nd album, Gallagher and Lyle left the band to pursue a career as a duo releasing several albums and singles, most notably their 1976 album " Breakaway ". FLAC

The Spartas I'm Crying / Have I The Right Hit 154 (1964) Could find next to nothing regarding this US garage rock group so if you have any info please let me know via the comments. The song is a cover of the 45 first released by Eric Burdon & The Animals in September 1964. Written by Burdon and Alan Price the song has also been recorded by many including The Mops, Paul Revere & The Raiders, Iggy Pop and The Pretty Things.   The flip is a cover of  The Honeycombs hit.  Although not credited on the label the flip song was written by Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley under their joint pseudonym Howard Blaikley. FLAC

Cozy Powell Na Na Na / Minstral RAK 1980 (1974) Cozy Powell was a renowned British drummer, famous for his powerful and precise style. He played for several high-profile rock bands, including Rainbow, Whitesnake, Jeff Beck Group, Bedlam, Black Sabbath and Emerson, Lake & Powell. He also had a successful solo career releasing several 45s. This single, produced by Mickie Most, reached #10 on the UK charts. A respected figure in rock music, he tragically died in a car accident in 1998 at the age of 50. FLAC

 Paul McCartney All My Trials Parlophone CDRX 6278 (1990) The first CD Single from my collection to appear on this blogpage. This was a live single taken from the single disc album " Tripping The Light Fantastic - Highlights " but did not appear on the double album version of the album.  It was issued as a 7" vinyl single as well as CD Single.  As was common at the time the CD was issued in 2 variations, a marketing tool to ensure extra sales hence cart success (in this case it reached #35 in the UK charts).  This CD is version #2. The song itself is based on a folk song popular during the social protest movements of the 1950s and 1960s.  The song was a Bahamian lullaby that tells the story of a mother on her death bed, comforting her children, “ Hush little baby, don’t you cry./You know your mama’s bound to die ,” because, as she explains, “ All my trials, Lord,/Soon be over .” The message that no matter how bleak the situation seemed, the struggle wo...

The Salvadores Stick By Me, Baby / I Wanna Dance Wise World 301 (1976) A very rare (and expensive) 45 is you have the original 1967 release.  This one in my collection however is a 1976 bootleg copy repressed to meet the demand on the Northern Soul scene here in the UK. Most probably released with help from Simon Soussan a very controversial character on the scene as he arranged the repressing of many rare 45s, most unofficial, with none of the profits going to the artists. This one is a good uptempo dance number ticking all the Northern Soul requirements. FLAC

A Certain Ratio Waterline / Funaezeka Factory FAC 52 (1981) Originating from Manchester, A Certain Ratio (Also known as ACR) were formed in 1977. Their music has been described as avant-funk, dance-punk & dance-rock.  The band draw heavy influences from funk and disco whilst maintaining a link with the indies scene resulting in a bass heavy industrial sound. The band were first associated with Factory Records.  The label's first release in 1979 was the ACR single " All Night Party ".  In later years they released material on A&M, Creation & Rob's Records. The band's name come from a line in a Brian Eno song " The True Wheel " which appeared on the 1974 album " Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)". This single was the first produced by the band and was a top 10 indie chart hit.  Prior to this release ACR had been produced by Factory's Martin Hannett but the band wanted a different sound as they thought he was making the band soun...

Kingston Four Combo You Can't Get / Show Case Big Shot BI 627 (1974) Another 45 that I can find very little information about.  Released in the UK late 1974, this single failed to make any impact of the UK charts.  There is very little available on the internet as to who was in the band and where and when the song was recorded. The instrumental flip was written by R.L. (Dandy) Livingston and I believe that Shady Tree Productions was the name used by Dandy Livingston when in the producers role. FLAC

The Secret Show Lovers / Old Blacktop (Demo Version) Atlantic ATUK054 (2007) Not much information exists about this band other than it was a side project of Matthew Davies who is better known for his involvement with the Welsh emo band Funeral For A Friend.  Matthew was the lead singer with Funeral For A Friend 2001-2017 & 2020-2024.   Whilst this is a good indie rock track, the band doesn't appear to have gone much further than the one album they released in 2006 titled "Impressionist Road Map Of The West", this 45 in 2007 and a cassette EP in 2015. FLAC

Ken Boothe Crying Over You / Now You Can See Me Again (When Will I See You Again) Trojan TR 7944 (1974) Ken Booth has been a member of the Jamaican music scene since the early 1960s and has earned an international reputation as one of the island's finest vocalists through a series of crossover hits that appealed to both reggae fans and mainstream audiences. From his early hits in the partnership with Stranger Cole, through his solo work on the legendary Studio One label and continuing well into the 2010s, he has achieved great success including being awarded the Order of Distinction for his contribution to Jamaican music by the Jamaican government in 2003. This 45 on the UK trojan Records label from 1974 reached #11 in the UK charts.  The video used is an element of the South Bank Show, The Story of Reggae broadcast in 1999. FLAC