Great Obscure U.K. 60's R&B Sides: The Alan Bown Set

THE ALAN BOWN SET-Headline News/Mr. Pleasure U.K. Pye 7N.17148 1967

The Swinging Summer of '66 (July to be exact) saw The Alan Bown Set, a 7 piece London lot of r&b musos release their third imprint on Pye records. The Alan Bown Set were known as one of those many acts like The Action and The Graham Bond Organization who were a "band's band" with a heavy club reputation and absolutely zero chart presence despite a continuous string of singles.  The band at the time of this release were: Jess Roden (lead vocals),  Alan Bown (trumpet), Jeff Bannister (keyboards), John Heliwell (saxophone and later in Supertramp!), Pete Burgess (bass) and Vic Sweeny (drums).

Edwin Starr's "Headline News" ( U.S. release April 1966 on Ric-Tic RT-114) was their latest stab.  Despite being a cover, "Headline News" works thanks in no small part to Jess Roden's powerful voice and the solid as gold brass section sticking pretty much to the arrangement of the original.

"Mr. Pleasure"sees keyboard player Jeff Bannister taking the lead vocals.  It's a soulful affair punctuated by the band's horns and reminds me of one of the poppier soul tunes that The Foundations would be doing for the label a few months later.

Both sides were compiled on the Castle Alan Bown Pye anthology "Emergency 999" and "Headline News" was also featured on the final volume of their "Doin' The Mod" CD compilation series "That Driving Beat Volume 5".

Hear "Headline News":

https://youtu.be/ileR25MKhp8

Hear "Mr. Pleasure":

https://youtu.be/xooSYod_dEA

More U.K. Obscurities On U.S. Labels: The Shame

THE SHAME-Too Old To Go 'Way Little Girl/Dreams Don't Bother Me U.S. Poppy POP 501 1967

Today's topic is a mega obscure Bournemouth, U.K. group on an equally obscure U.S. label Poppy. Originally issued in the U.K. on MGM 1349 in September 1967 as "Don't Go 'Way Little Girl" this pressing reached America in November.

Regardless of the title the A-side is a Janis Ian composition from her debut LP (there was also a U.S. cover of it by Danny Warner on the Smash label S-2110 in September 1967). The Shame rock it up substantially more than the original retaining the cynical lyrics but wrapping it up in some cool '66-'67 harmonies with some cool hooks (fuzzy raga guitar licks)  with some sitars creeping in half way through.

"Dreams Don't Bother Me" starts out with some churchy organ and progresses into a mid tempo pop number that reminds me of Marmalade or The Tremeloes in one of their more upbeat moments. Not nearly as good as the topside but worth it just the same.

Greg Lake handled the lead vocals and after the Shame went their separate ways he found employment in The Gods before decamping to form The Shy Limbs with former Shame keyboard player John Dickenson (who wrote the flip side of this 45).  If anyone else can tell me who the other members were I'd be quite appreciative.

The A-side was issued on "New Rubble Volume Six: Painting The Time" and on the highly recommended 3 CD box "Love Poetry And Revolution" but the flip has yet to surface anywhere that I am aware of.

Hear "Too Old To Go 'Way Little Girl":

https://youtu.be/AvH66K2dyh8

Hear "Dreams Don't Bother Me":

https://youtu.be/gH9S-3AvvWY