In July 2006, The Guardian published an article by Alexis Petridis in which he describes Do You Come Here Often? – the B-side of Is That A Ship I Hear? – as "the most astonishing record of 1966." The cause of the astonishment is that the otherwise instrumental B-side was boldly enhanced by Joe Meek with a conversation between two men who sound camper than Round the Horne's Julian and Sandy. The recording is regarded as the first indisputably gay single and is highly collectible, mint copies fetching around £40.

The Guardian feature covers the release of a 24-track CD compilation, From the Closet to the Charts: Queer Noises 1961-1978, which includes Meek's 1966 masterpiece alongside the Kinks' See My Friend. The Kinks released their single (apparently regarded as an oblique paean to homosexuality) in 1965. However, Do You Come Here Often? is regarded as the first release of something rather more blatant.

Do You Come Here Often? is published by Pall Mall, the company partly owned by Radio London. The Pall Mall catalogue contained eleven Joe Meek titles. Members of the Tornados are accredited as the ditty's composers, although as Alexis Petridis remarks: "Quite what the Tornados made of their pill-maddened producer's latest wheeze, let alone anyone who heard the song in 1966, is an intriguing question."

It's possible the Tornados laid down an instrumental and Meek mixed in the risque conversation later. Either that, or the Tornados were so used to the camp goings on chez Meek, that they regarded the recording as 'just another gig'. Whatever the case, Is That A Ship I Hear? and its controversial B-side was to be the band's final single. All the original Tornados who had enjoyed an international mega-hit with Telstar, had departed their ranks by this time.

The Radlon management who were later to take exception to the lyrics of Arnold Layne and ban it from the Big L playlist, presumably remained blissfully ignorant of the existence of the 'astonishing' Tornados B-side. Ironically, it would have been perfect for the Camp Coffee Break!

The red additions to the climbers indicate singles listed in Brian Long's book 'The London Sound' based on information typed in the Curzon Street offices or other sources.
Alan Field did not hear them played or announced as climbers.

The Caroline 'Countdown Sixty' chart (south ship) for this week is here

Tune in next week for another Field's Fab Forty