Penfro Sounds

Middle Of The Road Soley Soley / To Remind Me RCA Victor RCA 25 (1971) Before ABBA the sound of Europop was this band from Scotland. The band originally began in 1967 playing under the name Part Four before changing their name to Las Caracus.  Under the later name they won the UK TV show Opportunity Knocks. In 1970 they moved to Italy where the producer Giacomo Tosti assisted them to international success under their new name, Middle Of The Road.  They debuted with "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" which reached #1 in the UK charts as well as being very popular in Germany.  The follow-up single "Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum" reached #2 and this, their third 45 release, reached #5 as well as hitting the top of the charts in 6 European countries. "Soley Soley" was written by Spanish musician Fernando Arbex and the band recorded a demo whilst they were in Spain. The demo was sent to RCA in Rome to be finalised. It was first released in the Netherlands in August 1971 an...

Wigan's Ovation Super Love / Stand In Line Spark SRL 1133 (1975) In order to cash in on the Northern Soul scene of the 1970's, Russ Stanley (the DJ who is credited with championing Northern Soul music at the Wigan Casino) met up with a Wigan band called Sparkle and renamed them Wigan's Ovation. They hit the charts in 1975 with three 45s which led to over a dozen appearances on Top Of The Pops.  The band from the start were written off as being uncool, laughable and an imitation of the bands the soul fans idolised (and danced too). Although all three 45s charted the band were never a hit with the purists, however credit should be given to the band as their TV appearances on TOTP was the way many UK teenagers, me included, got their first experience of the Northern Soul subculture which had till then been a limited underground scene. This 45 released in October 1975 was their third and last 45 on the Spark label. It reached #41 in the UK charts. FLAC

The Arthur Lyman Group Taboo / Dahil Sayo Vogue Pop V 9153 (1959) Arthur Lyman (born 1932) was a Hawaiian jazz musician that popularized a style of faux-Polynesian music during the 1950s and 1960s which later became known as exotica.   He began his musical career in 1954 when he was offered a place in the Martin Denny band playing in Hawaiian hotels.  He stayed with Martin Denny up until 1957 when he was then persuaded to leave and form his own band. During the peak of his popularity Lyman recorded more than 30 albums and almost 400 singles, earning three gold albums. His album "Taboo" peaked at number 6 on Billboard's album chart and stayed on the chart for over a year, eventually selling more than two million copies.  This 45 reached #55 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1959.  Into the 1960s and the Polynesian trend had faded somewhat but he continued to record. He also played regularly at New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel in Honolulu well into the 1990s both...

The Ramsey Lewis Trio Hang On Sloopy / Movin' Easy Chess CRS 8024 (1965) Ramsey Lewis (1935-2022) was an American jazz pianist and composer.  During the 1960s he became very popular with the Mod scene in the UK and had several hit 45s. This 45 was originally released with the title " (Hang On Sloopy) My Girl Sloopy " but later releases reduced it to " Hang On Sloopy ".  The song was written in 1964 by Wes Farrell and Bert Berns and the first version recorded was by the R&B group the Vibrations. Their version was released in the US on Atlantic records. The song quickly became a favourite with garage bands with The Strangeloves considering it as a follow up to their hit 45 " I Want Candy ".  They were at the time touring with The Dave Clark Five who let it be know they were going to record a version of the song copying The Strangeloves' arrangement. Along came a band called Rick And The Raiders who supported The Strangeloves on a few dates and th...

Queen Radio Ga Ga (Extended Version) EMI 12QUEEN1 (1984) Taken from the 1984 12" single, this is the extended version of the UK #2 hit single Radio Ga Ga. The single, the band's 24th 7" release, topped the charts in several countries and reached #11 on the US Billboard charts. Written by the band's drummer Roger Taylor, the track appeared on "The Works" album.  This was the first time that a song written by him had been chosen as an A side for a single. The song which was a tribute to radio and how it was overtaken by TV name checks two important radio events, namely Orson Well's War Of The Worlds ( "through wars of worlds/invaded by Mars") and a Winston Churchill speech ( "You've yet to have your finest hour" ). This was recorded at the Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles in August 1983 – the only time that they recorded in North America.   It also featured on the recording Fred Mandel who arranged, programmed and played the syn...

Ferrante And Teicher Theme From "Exodus" / Twilight London HLT 9298 (1960) An American piano duo known for their arrangements of popular songs, classical music, soundtracks and musical pieces the two artists were Arthur Ferrante (1921-2009) & Louis Teicher (1924-2008).  In their career the duo recorded over 150 albums, won 22 Gold and Platinum records, and sold over 90 million records.  They also performed over 5,000 concerts before finally retiring in 1989. "Exodus" was a 1960 movie regarding the founding of Israel. It starred Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint and Peter Lawford amongst its cast.   The music score written by Ernest Gold won the Academy Award for Best Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture at the 33rd Academy Awards, and this, the main theme has also been widely recorded by other artists. This version reached #6 in the UK charts. FLAC

The Locomotive Rudi's In Love / Never Set Me Free Parlophone R 5718 (1968) The Locomotive originated from Birmingham and featured Traffic's Chris Wood in its early line-up. Well known on the Brum Beat scene the band were initially signed with the Direction label but moved after one release to the Parlophone label.   This first Parlophone 45 copied the bluebeat/ska/rocksteady style that was prominent in the UK at the time and it gave them a Top 30 hit (peaking at #25) however Norman Haines, who had joined in 1967 and became the band's leader, followed up this pop tune with the single "Mr Armageddon" which was a gothic themed slice of psychedelic rock. The band had been pushing a heavier sound prior to being signed by Parlophone but the prog rock crowd now thought that the band was too poppy whilst the pop crowd did not appreciate their heavier sound.  A few 45s followed this release but by time of their debut album in 1970 the band was being wrapped up. A good bio...

José Feliciano Marley Purt Drive / Old Turkey Buzzard RCA 47-9739 (1969) Born José Montserrate Feliciano García in 1945, José is a Puerto Rican musician know for his many international hits such as his cover of The Doors' " Light My Fire ".  He is also known for the many styles of music he has recorded, from Latin to soul, jazz to rock & blues to pop. This 45 features his rendition of the Bee Gees song that appeared on their 1969 " Odessa"  album. The flip side is taken from the soundtrack to the movie " Mckenna's Gold ", a 1969 western that starred Gregory Peck, Omar Sharif and Telly Savalas in the lead roles. The song (like the remaining soundtrack) was written by Quincy Jones with lyrics by Freddie Douglas. This 45 in my collection is the Australian release. FLAC

Billy Bland Let The Little Girl Dance / Sweet thing London HL 9096 (1960) Billy Bland was a US R&B singer, born in North Carolina in 1932.  By 1947 he was living in New York City where he began his professional career as a singer.  In 1950 he joined and recorded with a group called The Bees. The group moved south to New Orleans where they recorded "Toy Bell"  an early version of the song " My Ding_A-Ling", later recorded by Chuck Berry. Billy left the group and started a solo career releasing a handful of 45s in the late 50s.  In 1960 he happened to hear Titus Turner recording his version of this 45. Billy demonstrated to Titus how best to sing the song and the moment was recorded by the producer Henry Glover who pushed to have Billy's version released as a 45.  It became a hit in the US reaching #11 on the billboard R&B chart and here in the UK it was released on the London label. Billy released further 45s but quit the music industry in 1963.  In ...