The Early Radio London Fab Forties
Sunday 18th July 1965

Tossing and Turning is up from #5 to #4, while an Ivy League protege, Val McKenna joins the climber list. Meanwhile, the two 'flocks of birds' swap places at the top

Last
This
 
Week
Week
2
1
Heart Full Of Soul Yardbirds
1
2
Mr Tambourine Man Byrds
4
3
In The Middle Of Nowhere Dusty Springfield
5
4
Tossing And Turning Ivy League
20
5
With These Hands Tom Jones
6
Help! Beatles
21
7
In Thoughts Of You Billy Fury
8
There But For Fortune Joan Baez
3
9
Let The Water Run Down P J Proby
14
10
He's Got No Love Searchers
9
11
The One In The Middle (EP) Manfred Mann
7
12
Voodoo Woman Bobby Goldsboro
8
13
Woolly Bully Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs
19
14
Down In Mexico Boston Crabs
10
15
To Know You Is To Love You Peter & Gordon
13
16
Looking Thru The Eyes Of Love Gene Pitney
36
17
I Can't Help Myself Four Tops
18
We've Gotta Get Out Of This Place Animals
6
19
A Walk In The Black Forest Horst Jankowski
11
20
Leave A Little Love Lulu
17
21
She's About A Mover Sir Douglas Quintet
23
22
Everyone's Gone To The Moon Jonathan King
25
23
You've Got Your Troubles Fortunes
30
24
Just Call And I'll Be There Francoise Hardy
28
25
This Strange Effect Dave Berry
37
26
I Want Candy Brian Poole & the Tremeloes
33
27
Too Many Rivers Brenda Lee
29
28
Under The Boardwalk Marionettes
34
29
Catch Us If You Can Dave Clark Five
30
Tickle Me (EP) Elvis Presley
31
(Say) You're My Girl Roy Orbison
12
32
Help Me Rhonda Beach Boys
33
Summer Nights Marianne Faithfull
40
34
Don't Go Away Mad Bobby Vinton
27
35
Sunshine Lollipops And Rainbows Lesley Gore
36
(Here I Go Again) Looking With My Eyes Dionne Warwick
37
Seventh Son Johnny Rivers
38
If You've Got A Heart Christine Quaite
39
Shakin' All Over Guess Who
39
40
Everything In The Garden Fourmost

 

30
Tickle Me (EP) Elvis Presley RCA Victor RCX 7173

Alan Field's Fab 40 notes:
From the summer when the EP was king, an EP from the King himself. In at #30 this week, Elvis with 5 songs from his film, Tickle Me: I Feel That I've Known You Forever, Slowly But Surely, Night Rider, Put The Blame On Me, and Dirty Dirty Feeling. Elvis plays a singing rodeo cowboy with a second job as a handyman at a health ranch, whose clientele includes a bevy of beautiful girls all competing for his attention. The latter part of the film contains some wonderful slapstick comedy, with Elvis and his girl searching for treasure in a haunted house. (Writers Elwood Ullman and Edward Bernds had previously worked with The Three Stooges) It's rumoured that film-makers Allied Artists were in financial difficulties when they signed Elvis to star in Tickle Me, and saved on production costs by agreeing with Colonel Tom Parker to have Elvis mime to old songs instead of recording new ones. The 9 tracks in the film all date from 1960 - 62, and all had been previously released on albums. In the UK there was a 'Volume 2' EP featuring the remaining songs from the film: (Such An) Easy Question, It Feels So Right, I'm Yours and (It's A) Long Lonely Highway. In the States these were issued, respectively, as the A and B sides of two singles, which both peaked at #11 on Billboard during the summer of 1965.

Mary's Fab 40 notes:
Tickle Me, the movie, is available on DVD and Blu-Ray import and appropriately, the soundtrack was issued in the UK on the Follow That Dream label, on July 18th 2005 – exactly 40 years to the day that the EP entered the Big L Fab 40!

The Colonel promoted the film by having a million feathers handed-out to cinema-goers. As to the current value of one of those feathers, and how it could be proven that the item was a genuine Tickle Me quill and not one plucked from a passing pigeon, we can't speculate.

The remastered film soundtrack CD, was released 18/07/05. The soundtrack was also released as a twenty-track vinyl collector's item including alternate takes and even some radio trailers for the film.

Fans of things extremely silly, will enjoy clicking here to visit Mr Smarty Pants' website, where you can tickle Elvis and make him quiver and giggle! Mr Smarty Pants also reviewed the film thus:

'Apparently, being tied up by women with ropes is a "ticklish" subject for Elvis Presley in his 1965 movie, "Tickle Me" released by United Artists. Elvis stars as "Lonnie," a singer rodeo rider who is hired by Julie Adams to work at her all-girl health spa/dude ranch. He leads young beauties in aerobic classes, finds gold in a ghost town filled with villains disguised as monsters, and marries phys-ed teacher Jocelyn Lane. The film also stars Merry Anders and Allison Hayes.'


Climbers:
The Secret Of My Success Chantelles
Mixed-Up Shook-Up Girl Val McKenna
Baby Never Say Goodbye Bo Street Runners
Disc of the Week:  
Like We Used To Be Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames

The Chantelles, as they appeared in 'Dateline Diamonds'

The Secret Of My Success Chantelles Parlophone R 5303

The Secret Of My Success was something of a sleeper, a climber (with a Pall Mall B-side, Sticks and Stones) on 4/7/65, that failed to enter the chart until four weeks later on 1/8/65.
We now discover it as a climber midway through its snooze(!), but records often came and went in the Fab Forty for no discernible reason.

Mixed-Up Shook-Up Girl Val McKenna PYE 7N35256

Previously unknown in the Big L playlist, Mixed-Up Shook-Up Girl (released 30/7/65) was discovered in 2020 to have spent two consecutive weeks as a climber without entering the Fab Forty.
It was a cover of a 1964 US hit by Patty and the Emblems, penned by Billy Carlucci and Leon Huff. Val McKenna was only 16 when she was signed by Ivy League's John Carter and Ken Lewis.

Val McKenna version on YouTube; Patty and the Emblems version


Climber information courtesy of Wim van Genderen

Tune in next week for another Big L Fab 40!


Back to 'Lil's 60s Scrapbook'
Fab Forty Index
Home