Charlie Gillett - Yazoo

I have a feeling I tried to upload this radio show some years ago without much success- the cassette it is stored on is over 30 years old after all!   Around 1982 or thereabouts. This recording seems plagued with misfortune as only 15mins. of side one would play for some reason - the tape seemed to stick like a jumpy record which I always thought was impossible! Don't complain about the sound quality - this is as loud as it gets!  This Capital Radio show features Charlie talking to Vince and Alf  ( Alison Moyet ) about there latest single  "Don't Go"  and playing some pertinent records. Always a treat to hear a real DJ working - he is much missed.


Charlie Gillett  -  Yazoo   Side One

Charlie Gillett   -   Yazoo  Side Two

The Monarchs

A wonderful catchy ska single that reminds me of another by Desmond Dekker called "Get Up Edina" .  On the Blue Beat label from 1964. Nothing about them on the internet - not that I could discover anyway.

Wikipedia says of the Blue Beat label  - "Blue Beat Records was founded in 1960 in London, England, as a sub-label of Emile E. Shalit's Melodisc Records. Melodisc, which was founded in London in in 1947, specialised incalypso and mento music. It focused on American-influenced Jamaican blues and R&B, which later evolved into ska following the positive response in the United Kingdom to Laurel Aitken's Melodisc release of "Lonesome Lover". Shalit put Sigimund "Siggy" Jackson in charge of the label, and Jackson subsequently chose the name Blue Beat, which he said was an adaptation of "It sounds like blues and it's got a great beat" or "Blues Beat", which apparently was a generic term for Jamaican blues music at the time.

The first Blue Beat release was Aitken's "Boogie Rock", which was licenced from Clement "Coxsone" Dodd's Downbeat label. The label's distinctive blue covers and silver logo first appeared with Blue Beat's third release, "Manny Oh" by Higgs & Wilson. The label reached licencing agreements with the majority of major Jamaican producers and released many home-produced recordings by Jackson featuring English-based artists such as The Marvels. Even some Prince Buster hits, including "Wash-Wash", were recorded in London, and included well-known UK musicians such as Georgie Fame. Blue Beat released around 400 singles and over a dozen albums between 1960 and 1967. Prince Buster became the label's biggest star, with songs such as "Al Capone".

Jackson established a Blue Beat night at the Marquee Club in London, and fashion accessories featuring the label's logo became popular. Many Blue Beat recordings were played alongside soul music in dance clubs such as the Twisted Wheel in Manchester. In addition to appealing greatly to the West Indian community in the UK, the music became associated with the British mods of the early to mid-1960s, as well as the skinheads of the late 1960s. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Blue Beat records became highly collectible amongst those who regarded records like Prince Buster's "Al Capone" as classics.

When the ska rhythm slowed to rocksteady around 1966, Melodisc started a new sub-label, FAB, and Blue Beat stopped issuing new releases after 1967 (although the back catalogue continued to sell for several years). Jackson left to work for EMI, where he founded the Columbia Blue Beat label.The original Blue Beat label was revived in 1972 for a short run of obscure releases including John Holt's "Ok Fred" and "Sad News" singles."


The Monarchs  -  Sauce and Tea

The Monarchs  -  Fay Is Gone

Roland Alphonso

More ska from the 60's. This time it's the wonderful saxamaphone of Roland Al accompanied by the Soul Bros.

Wikipedia says  -   Alphonso came to Jamaica at the age of two with his Jamaican mother, and started to learn saxophone at the Stony Hill Industrial School.^[2]

"In 1948 he left school to join Eric Deans' orchestra^[3] and soon passed through other bands in the hotel circuit and first recorded as a member of Stanley Motta's group in 1952, going on to record frequently as a session musician. In 1956 he first recorded for Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, although these early recordings were lost before they were mastered. In 1959 he joined the band of Cluett Johnson named Clue J & His Blues Blasters and backed many of Dodd's recording sessions in a typical Jamaican R&B style. He also acted as arranger at many of Dodd's recording sessions. By 1960, he was recording for many other producers such as Duke Reid, Lloyd "The Matador" Daley and King Edwards, as well as continuing to work for Dodd, contributing alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones, and flute to recordings. During this period he played in many different bands, such as The Alley Cats, The City Slickers, andAubrey Adams & The Dew Droppers. In 1963, after few months spent in Nassau, Bahamas, he took part in the creation of The Studio One Orchestra, the first session band at Dodd's newly-opened recording studio. This band soon adopted the name of The Skatalites.

When the Skatalites disbanded by August 1965, Alphonso formed the Soul Brothers (with Johnny "Dizzy" Moore, and Jackie Mittoo) to become The Soul Vendors in 1967. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Alphonso led the Ruinaires, the resident band at the Ruins restaurant/nightclub, this coming to an end when he suffered a stroke at the age of 41. He recovered quickly from this setback, and relocated to the United States in late 1972, soon returning to performing and recording. He released the first album under his name in 1973 on the Studio One record label.

During the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, he kept on playing on numerous records coming out from Jamaican studios, especially for Bunny Lee, and he toured with many bands. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he played with the band Jah Malla, performing regularly on the live circuit around New York.

He was awarded Officer of the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican government in 1977, and started to tour more often in the U.S. He took part in the reformation of the Skatalites in 1983, with whom he toured and recorded constantly until he suffered a burst blood vessel in his head during a show at the Key Club in Hollywood on 2 November 1998. He died on 20 November 1998 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, after suffering a second burst blood vessel, and spending four days in a coma."


Roland Al & The Soul Brothers  -  Ska With Ringo

Peter Touch & The wailers  -  Rasta Put It On

Tommy McCook

Another from the prodigious Doctor Bird label from 1968.  Wonderfully jazzy ska instrumental with cover of Louis Armstrong's "Wonderful World" on the other side.

Wikipedia says  - " McCook was born in Havana, Cuba, and moved to Jamaica in 1933. He took up the tenor saxophone at the age of eleven, when he was a pupil at the Alpha School, and eventually joined Eric Dean’s Orchestra.

In 1954 he left for an engagement in Nassau, Bahamas, after which he ended up in Miami, Florida, and it was here that McCook first heard John Coltrane and fell in love with jazz. McCook returned to Jamaica in early 1962, where he was approached by a few local producers to do some recordings. Eventually he consented to record a jazz session for Clement "Coxson" Dodd, which was issued on the album as "Jazz Jamaica". His first ska recording was an adaptation of Ernest Gold’s "Exodus", recorded in November 1963 with musicians who would soon make up the Skatalites.

During the 1960s and 1970s McCook recorded with the majority of prominent reggae artists of the era, working particularly with producer Bunny Lee and his house band, The Aggrovators, as well as being featured prominently in the recordings of Yabby You and the Prophets (most notably on version sides and extended disco mixes), all while still performing and recording with the variety of line ups under the Skatalites name.

McCook died of pneumonia and heart failure, aged 71, on 5 May 1998."


Tommy McCook  -  Mad Mad Mad

Lloyd Williams & Tommy McCook

The Door And The Window

An odd EP with no info except for track listings stuck on with stickers.  A bit of Googling discovered it was made by an obscure punk/experimental group called The Door and The Window in 1979.

"Originally inspired by both the DIY ethic of the punk movement and the likes of Throbbing Gristle and File Under Pop, two friends Nag and Bendle decided to form The Door And The Window in March '79. Lacking any musical experience, the first thing they did was to book a gig, then set off to a rehearsal studio to record their first single on a cassette recorder. "Initially we had little interest in making "music"; we were interested in sound and noise. I had a cheap guitar and a collection of 2nd hand tape recorders, and Nag had a cheap synth. It was an advantage that we couldn't play anything. When the guy running the rehearsal studio proclaimed that we were the "worst band he had ever heard" we took it as a complement and drunkenly carolled his sentiment back to him. And recorded that, too." - Bendle
The first single 'Don't Kill Colin EP' came from the pressing plant in plain white labels and sleeves. The band pain stakingly hand-made the labels and sleeves and managed to self-distribute all 1000 copies.
The success led to a distribution deal with Rough Trade. Their next single 'Production Line EP' was joint NME 'Single Of The Week' with Ian Dury's '(Hit Me With Your) Rhythm Stick'. Inspired by Crass, the Pay No More Than 55p on the sleeve caused problems for the distributors, but the single still sold an impressive 2000 copies.
As true exponents of the DIY ethic the band produced a fanzine called 'Common Knowledge' devoted to the politics of record reproduction and included the likes of the Desperate Bicycles.
The Door And The Window were becoming more popular and highly respected. They played with the Pop Group, Scritti Politti, Delta Five, Swell Maps and Raincoats. They even had one of the earliest versions of The The support them.
The line-up of the band was always fluid and sometime members included Fritz (23 Skidoo), Dennis Burns (ATV/Good Missionaries), Grant Showbiz (The Fall) and Giblet (49 Americans). In late 1979, Mark Perry, disillusioned by the constraints and expectations of Alternative TV joined the band as drummer and co-songwriter.
As more bands formed with the same attitude the band toured as part of the 'Weird Noise Tour' with The Instant Automatons and 012 - a band fronted by Kif Kif and made up of members of that nights audience.
1980 saw the release of the album 'Detailed Twang' which sold 2000 copies at the ridiculously cheap price of £3.00, before the band split up in the summer of '81, although they've reformed on an occasional basis to experiment with new ideas. "The punk movement had showed that to make music you didn't need to have first acquired some musical understanding and/or instrumental dexterity.
Understanding that music has no unbreakable rules, and then proving this by breaking them, is a fine thing. But Nag and Bendle went further - they refused to learn what the rules were in the first place. This lack of musical pretension is what still separates them from the all-too-knowing purveyors of what's called "experimental music". The Door And The Window were the true experimenters. They had the courage to skip all the theory and just pick up the instruments, to see what would happen." - Igor
This CD complies for the first time on CD their album, singles and compilation appearances and contains sleeve notes from Nag, Bendle and Mark Perry."

The Door and The Window  -  He Feels Like A Doris/ I Like Sound/ Innocent

Guy Lombardo

Taking a break from the ska singles now for this slice of MOR from the late 50's I would guess.  Reminds me of the Billy Cotton Band, Black & White Minstrels kinda thing from on the radio of my youth.  I was rather taken by the jolly sleeve of Guy pretending to be at a New Years party!  It's the sort of thing I usually shy away from but somebody out there might enjoy this.

"(born June 19, 1902, London, Ont., Can.died Nov. 5, 1977, Houston, Texas, U.S.) Canadian-born U.S. bandleader. He trained as a violinist and in 1917 formed his band, the Royal Canadians. They began broadcasting nationally from Chicago in 1927, and from 1929 he was the winter attraction at New York City's Roosevelt Grill, a booking repeated for more than 30 years. He later moved to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, continuing the famous New Year's Eve broadcasts, begun in 1954, that climaxed with Auld Lang Syne. Though derided by critics as the king of corn, Lombardo gained long-lasting popularity by conducting what was billed as the sweetest music this side of heaven."

Tracks are as follows -    1.  Happy days Are here Again  2. When You're Smiling  3. Medley: I'lll Get By/ It's Been A Long Long Time/ That Old Gang Of Mine  4. Bill bailey Wont You Come Home  5. I Want A Girl  6. Medley: Lift Your Glass/ Sing Until The Cows Come Home/ Hail Hail The Gangs All Here/ Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight   7. Show Me The Way To Go Home.

Guy Lombardo  -  Side Two

Millie

Another ska single from the archive.  On the Island label from 1966.  More of an R&B  cover than a ska song.

Wikipedia says  -  "Born Millicent Small in Clarendon, she was the daughter of an overseer on a sugar plantation and she was one of the very few female singers in the early Ska era in Clarendon. She was already recording in her teens for Sir Coxone Dodd's Studio One label with Roy Panton (as the duo Roy & Millie), together they produced the hit "We'll Meet." She was brought her to England in late 1963 by Chris Blackwell who would later discover Bob Marley. Her fourth recording, "My Boy Lollipop," cut in London by a group of session musicians including guitarist Ernest Ranglin and featured Smalls childlike, extremely high-pitched vocals became of the few international ska hits reaching number two in the U.S. and number one in the U.K. in 1964. It remains one of the biggest-selling reggae or ska discs of all time with more than seven million sales.

She was perceived as a one-hit wonder novelty artist and she only made the Top 40 one more time, with the "My Boy Lollipop" sound-alike "Sweet William." She released an entire album with these two hits. In a trivial piece of information legend has it that popular British singer Rod Stewart played the Harmonica on "lollipop", more significantly the earnings from the sales of "lollipop", Chris Blackwell's first hit helped him to secure a strong firm hold in the music industry to later cultivate the likes of Reggae legend Bob Marley and Rock groups such as U2."

For more about the history of ska music go HERE

Jackie & Millie  -  MY Desire

Millie  -  That's How Strong My Love Is

The Gaylads

More excellent mento tinged ska from the 60's. Not sure of the date.  I see now where Go-Feet got it's idea for a record label from! Some bohemian bongo playing by Count Ossie on Soul Drums with Leslie Butler. The flip has Lynn Tait and the Jets accompanying .

Wikipedia says  -  "The Gaylads are a Jamaican vocal group. They were one of the top rocksteady vocal groups active in Jamaica between 1963 and 1973. The group, formed in Kingston, originally consisted of singers Harris "B.B." Seaton, Winston Delano Stewart and Maurice Roberts; Seaton and Stewart had previously been successful as the duo Winston & Bibby.There would be several line-up changes throughout The Gaylads' ten year history, with Maurice Roberts remaining the only constant member.

Besides recording several hit records, The Gaylads also backed many influential musicians (including Ken Boothe) on recordings.

Roberts, the lone remaining original member, selected brothers Randell and Hopeton Thaxter to carry on the Gaylads name; the new lineup never matched the success of its predecessor, however, and after releasing the album, Love and Understanding, as the Gayladds, Roberts dropped any reference to the moniker and rechristened the trio the Psalms, landing as backing vocalists for Bunny Wailer. The founding duo of Seaton and Stewart reformed for the first time in over two decades for an appearance at the 1991 Studio One concert, and two years later Roberts joined them for a performance at the Rocksteady Reunion in Kingston. Seaton, who began his solo career in 1973 with the albumThin Line Between Love and Hate and enjoyed success throughout the years to follow—subsequently relocated to London to helm his revived Soul Beat imprint.

Some of their hits included one of the first singles encouraging repatriation - "Africa (We Want To Go)," "Joy In The Morning"; "Red Rose," (for Coxsone Dodd at Studio One), "It's Hard To Confess," "Over the Rainbow's End"(for Sonia Pottinger) and "My Jamaican Girl" (for Leslie Kong / Beverley's).

The current line-up of the Gaylads comprises Seaton, Roberts, and Randall Thaxter."


The Gaylads  -  Soul Drums

The Gaylads  -  ABC Rocksteady

The Charmers

Another bouncy ska single from Blue Beat label  circa  1964.
Wikipedia says   - " Lloyd Charmers was born in Kingston, Jamaica. His professional career began in 1962, when he performed as The Charmers with Roy Willis on Vere Johns' Talent Hour, starting arecording career soon after. When The Charmers split, he joined Slim Smith and Martin Jimmy Riley in The Uniques. Charmers subsequently moved on to a solo career, releasing twoalbums in 1970, and also recording x-rated tracks such as "Birth Control", and the album Censored, these more risqué outings appearing under his real name or as 'Lloydie & The Lowbites'.

He was also briefly a member of The Messengers, a short-lived supergroup also featuring Ken Boothe, B. B. Seaton and Busty Brown.

He set up his own 'Splash' record label in the early 1970s, and moved into production. Productions by him were notable for their sophisticated arrangements. With his session band, The Now Generation, he produced artists such as Ken Boothe (including some of Boothe's most successful solo releases of the period, including his cover of David Gates' "Everything I Own", B. B. Seaton, The Gaylads, and Lloyd Parks.

He later relocated to the UK where he continued to record and produce in a variety of styles, from Lovers Rock to Disco."

The Charmers  -  It's A Dream

The Charmers  -  I'm Back

Mystery White Label

A bit of a mystery record here for those of you with a detectives  brain.  CBW could be the artist or the initials of the person who owned the record - who knows?   Nice ska tune one side that sounds like "What a  Bom Bom" . Lots of similar titled ska songs out there with Bom Bom or Bam Bam in the mix.  The other side is more of a R&B tune, but the title escapes me. Maybe some of you will have better luck pinning it down.   Any ideas most appreciated.

Unknown Artist   -  What A Bom Bom

Unknown Artist  -  Hey hey hey?

The Codas/ Paul Sheldon

Cover versions on the Bell label from the 60's  I would imagine. Thank You Pretty Baby was originally recorded by Brook Benton and Sleepwalk was a  big hit for Santo & Johnny.  Pleasant enough alternatives that remind me of all those covers on the Woolworths   "Embassy" label that were popular in the 60's and 70's.

The Codas  -  Sleepwalk

Paul Sheldon  -  Thank You Pretty Baby