Great Obscure U.K. 60's R&B Sides: Don Fardon

DON FARDON-Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'/Sunshine Woman German Vogue DV 14852 1969

Don Fardon has graced our page many times before so we'll dispense with any in depth history.  Don fronted the Coventry beat/r&b combo The Sorrows and after an LP and 6 singles (including their only hit, "Take A Heart") he parted ways with them in 1966 to go solo.  His solo career in Germany seemed quite prosperous as today's subject was his 5th single in just two years. Like many of his German releases this single was not issued in the U.K.

The A-side was a cover of the American act Crazy Elephant's sole hit "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'".  It's a pretty mundane track no matter who's doing it and though it's got some horns on it they sound like a pop record and the whole thing sounds sorta , well, lifeless despite Don's best efforts in the vocal department.

The real gold is on the flip side, "Sunshine Woman" .  Written by Fardon along with Tony Ritchie and Derek Spence (the former cut a US only version of "Coming On Strong" utilizing the back track from Fardon's version) it's one of his strongest tracks up there with "I'm Alive". Starting with some cool bass and bongos it weaves in subtle organ and horns that gradually build to include phlanged piano and then a groovy psychedelic wash on the bridge where horns and catchy guitar merge.  Above all Fardon's strong vocals carry the whole tune that's a perfectly danceable mix of soulful r&b and pop (with mild psychedelic trickery).

Both sides were compiled on  a Don Fardon Castle records double CD anthology called "Coventry Boy" and a CD by RPM called "I'm Alive: 68/69 Hip Pop And Swinging Beat" of Fardon's material from that era. "Sunshine Woman" came to my attention first via one of the short lived "New Rubble" series "Volume Six:Painting The Time" CD compilation.

Hear "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'":

https://youtu.be/Vg4koX8yaJk


Hear "Sunshine Woman":

https://youtu.be/sHjvmPiIVsY

Solid Floor Fillers: Don Fardon "I'm Alive"

DON FARDON-I'm Alive/Keep On Loving Me U.K. Young Blood 1969

God bless Rob Bailey's 2004 "Le Beat Bespoke" CD compilation which brought the world Don Fardon's cover of Tommy James and The Shondell's "I'm Alive" (flipside of their May 1969 single "Crystal Blue Persuasion", though in truth the first version was released in April of 1969 by Johnny Thunder).

Fardon's version is easily my favorite of the bunch due in no small part to the stellar arrangement and musical backing directed by Nicky Welsh.  From it's subtle bongos and fuzz guitar intro that gives way to some powerful horns and catchy little guitar licks while the ex-Sorrows front man soulfully croons above some angelic Flirtations style female backing vocals.  The whole thing is a dance floor tour de force!

"Keep On Loving Me" vaguely reminds me of a bubblegum version of "Keep On Running".  It starts out alright and has some great poppy hooks but the falsetto  backing vocals at times are too syrupy-sappy pop crappy for my liking, which is a shame because the backing is hard driving.

"I'm Alive" is available as mentioned above on the excellent "Le Beat Bespoke" CD and both sides are available on a Don Fardon Castle records double CD anthology called "Coventry Boy" and a CD by RPM called "I'm Alive: 68/69 Hip Pop And Swinging Beat" of Fardon's material from that era.

Tom Jones cut an amazing cover version of "I'm Alive" as a bonus cut on his 2008 CD "The Hours" which uses the Don Fardon version as it's note for note template which is well worth seeking out. No doubt inspired by this was a 2010 club dance mix of Don Fardon's version remixed and released with a music video (see below, with a cameo by Don Fardon as the gardener).

Hear "I'm Alive":

https://youtu.be/PgzRgLRuKt0

Hear "Keep On Loving Me":

https://youtu.be/uMZixaN7iCg

Ode To A Footballer

DON FARDON-Belfast Boy/Echoes Of Cheers U.S. Decca 32696 1970

Today's piece is perhaps the first rock n' roll record to ever mention a football player by name (that's soccer to the rest of my countrymen who are not as pretentiously Anglocentric as me). Of course we are discounting  Monkeypick's main man's QPR Supporters 45.  Cut by former Sorrows front man Don Fardon (responsible for the world's first airing of J.D. Loudermilk's "(The Lament Of The Cherokee) Indian Reservation" in April 1967) it was his 8th solo 45 being released in the U.K. on the Youngblood label in April 1970 (YB 1010). It featured, as the label indicates, in a B.B.C. documentary "The World of Georgie Best".

George Best 1966

Written by our "Anorak Thing" songwriting champions Tony Colton and Ray Smith (the men behind fave tunes here by The Shotgun Express, Danatlian's Chariot , The Merseybeats, Thane Russal and Zoot Money's Big Roll Band, to name but a few)with help from Johnny Harris. It's a decidedly 70's record with it's cheezy porn film Moog, which is luckily aided by some groovy phlanged piano and Fardon's soulful voice.  The lyrics themselves are prophetic about Best's meteoric rise (and fall, which of course no one had any way of knowing in 1970 when this song was released and he was still a "star"):

"just play the way the ball bounces and bounce the way the ball plays, cos you won't have long in the limelight, no you won't have many days..."

It's easy to see how this track became so popular because it's so infectious and certainly must have been a rousing anthem for his legion of fans. It's also a swan song of sorts as Best's career on the pitch was never again as big as it was in the 60's, or so my footie mad Man U. pals tell me.....don't ask me I don't know shit about football.

Messers. Best & Fardon (and friend) promote Georgie's boutique.

 

The B-side "Echoes Of Cheers" is not, as the title might suggest another stomping terrace anthem like the A-side. Written by the same composers of the a-side it's a moody ballad that's fairly devoid of any soul and is sort of indicative of a lot of the crooner type tunes Fardon would cut in the 70's. It's not painful, but you won't play it as many times as the A-side that's for sure!

Both tracks are available on the RPM Don Fardon retrospective CD "I'm Alive 68/69 Hip-Pop And Swinging Beat".

TRIVIA:
Back in the late 80's when I was Sorrows mad I found a sealed Canadian copy of Fardon's LP "Belfast Boy"  (which also contained his MONSTER version of Tommy James "I'm Alive").  I didn't dig it. Like a total tool I sold it on E-Bay in the late 90's.  D'oh!

Hear "Belfast Boy:"

http://youtu.be/VuLy45GD9v0