7th September 2016 / No Comments Yet
Disc and Music Echo /
23 November 1968
Crikey, this is really a bumper crop of single reviews, and all pleasingly short, too. Getting the feel of a single in that small space takes skill, so well done to Caroline Boucher, who I assume has written this, as there’s no other credit on this page.
This is packed with notables of the time, such as Sandy Denny, Fleetwood Mac, Danny La Rue, Marion Ryan, Kenny Lynch and Roger Whittaker, but also shows the age in which its written with the psychedelic band Tuesday’s Children, and the unusual John D. Loudermilk. One big advantage of ’60s pop from my point of view is the variety of acts that got in the charts, which I think gave the music landscape back then a certain vivacity. I suspect the eventual drive towards a celebrity, rather than music-driven, industry took the fun out of pop music a bit.
But what of Caroline Boucher? I’m pleased to see that she appears to still be active in journalism, having edited the Observer Food Monthly as recently as 2013, and had what must have been a very entertaining stint in the 1970s as Elton John’s PR representative, replacing her ex-Disc colleague Penny Valentine.
Tags: 1960s, pop
17th August 2016 / 1 Comment
Disc and Music Echo /
23 November 1968
Well, what a useful guide to British blues bands this is, along with some recommended clubs. It’s not immune to the usual factionalism that comes along with much music fandom, however!
Tags: 1960s, aynsley dunbar retaliation, blues, chicken shack, cream, fleetwood mac, jethro tull, john mayall, love sculpture, savoy brown, ten years after, tramline
8th August 2016 / No Comments Yet
Disc and Music Echo /
23 November 1968
This is a telling article. The Marbles were essentially a one-hit wonder, and as this interview suggests, didn’t quite enjoy the success they were hoping for. I suspect the only reason they’re in this magazine is because they released their one hit in November 1968. They split the following year, but didn’t release an album until 1970. Graham Bonnet found success as a solo artist and Trevor Gordon became a music teacher, sadly passing away in 2013.
Tags: 1960s, pop, social history, the marbles
1st August 2016 / No Comments Yet
Disc and Music Echo /
23 November 1968
Well, I have to remark that this is an ironically benign promotion for The Iveys (later, more famously, Badfinger), considering the sad fate of two of the band members. The band had a difficult history, but they’re probably best known for their hit “Come and Get It” from 1970, written and produced by Paul McCartney. Joey Molland, who joined the band in 1969 when they changed their name, still tours under ‘The Original Badfinger‘ today.
Tags: 1960s, badfinger, pop, the iveys