for Sunday 22nd May 1966

A good week for guys called Barry, with Paul & Barry Ryan at #13,
Barry Benson, #19, Barry Fantoni, #27 and Barry Mason #28.

Last
This
Presented by Ed Stewart
Week
Week
18
1
Paint It Black Rolling Stones
5
2
Hey Girl Small Faces
13
3
Monday Monday Mamas & Papas
20
4
Rainy Day Women Nos 12 & 35 Bob Dylan
7
5
When A Man Loves A Woman Percy Sledge
11
6
Come See Me Pretty Things
21
7
Promises Ken Dodd
1
8
Wild Thing Troggs
19
9
Strangers In The Night Frank Sinatra
3
10
Sorrow Merseys
24
11
Nothing Comes Easy Sandie Shaw
26
12
Twinkie-Lee Gary Walker
9
13
I Love Her Paul & Barry Ryan
25
14
Not Responsible Tom Jones
4
15
Come On Home Wayne Fontana
28
16
I'm Gonna Put Some Hurt On You Philip Goodhand-Tait & the Stormsville Shakers
10
17
Sloop John B Beach Boys
29
18
Whatcha Gonna Do Now Chris Andrews
40
19
Stay A Little While Barry Benson
8
20
Shotgun Wedding Roy C
33
21
Gotta Find Another Baby Force West
38
22
You Can Go Valerie Mitchell
35
23
Look Before You Leap Dave Clark Five
39
24
Wander Boy Bruno
25
Baby (You're My Everything) Hedgehoppers Anonymous
26
Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'Bout Me) Four Seasons
27
Little Man In A Little Box Barry Fantoni
28
Misty Morning Eyes Barry Mason
29
Lady Jane David Garrick/Tony Merrick
36
30
I've Got So Used To Loving You Marty Wilde
31
Stop Her On Sight (SOS) Edwin Starr
32
Remember The Rain/Truly Julie's Blues Bob Lind
33
Listen People Sarah Jane
34
To Make A Big Man Cry P J Proby
35
You Can't Buy Love Ernestine Anderson
36
While I Live Kenny Damon
37
For A Moment Unit 4 + 2
38
Sweet Talkin' Guy Chiffons
31
39
Mother's Little Helper Gene Latter
40
I Can't Rest Fontella Bass



39
24
Wander Boy Bruno Parlophone R5450

This was to be Bruno's highest placing with Wander Boy. Confusion reigned when the title on demo copies was accidentally turned into WONDER Boy. Attempts at spelling of Bruno's surname seem to vary between Kretschmar, Kretzschmar and Kretchmar, which is probably why he decided to release singles under his first name. Bruno reappeared in the Fab Forty in October with The English Girl.

40
19
Stay A Little While Barry Benson Parlophone R 5446

Barry Benson's major claim to fame appears to be that he was once P J Proby's hairdresser (see FF 260267). Stay A Little While, a Peter Lee Stirling composition, was his first release. Although it failed to dent the Nationals, the song later became popular as a Northern Soul track and was released on CD GSCD79 British Soul Volume 2. Peter Lee Stirling co-wrote Kenny and Cash's song Knees, with David Cummings.

18
1
Paint It Black Rolling Stones

For the almighty Stones, a great week for raking in the royalties. Paint it Black was at the top, two versions of Lady Jane sat at joint #29 and Mother's Little Helper held #39. They also penned two of the DJ climbers. Chris Denning's (member #211): Sittin' On a Fence by Twice As Much, (Knees Club members who are profiled in the Fab for 26th June 1966) and John 'Purpleknees' Edward's (#17): Stupid Girl by The Attraction.

Meanwhile on shore

On May 21st, Knees Club Official Lynn, received a letter from footballer, George Best. I'm still wondering how she failed to use her powers of persuasion to sign up the most famous and regularly-oggled pair of knees in England at the time for our club!

Besides climbers that were played at the time of the broadcast of the Sunday Fab Forty, Alan kept a note of others he heard later in the week and incorporated them into his list.

DJ Climbers    
Sittin' On A Fence Twice As Much Chris Denning
Over Under Sideways Down Yardbirds Dave Dennis
Stupid Girl Attraction John Edward
Don't Take The Lovers From The World Shirley Bassey Duncan Johnson
A Well Remembered, Highly Thought Of Love Affair Pat Boone Paul Kaye
Please Don't Sell My Daddy No More Wine Greenwoods Mike Lennox
Younger Girl Critters Mark Roman
The Teaser Bob Kuban & the In-Men Keith Skues
Early Morning Rain Settlers Ed Stewart
Tomorrow's Calling Marianne Faithfull Tony Windsor
Shake Hands With The Devil Patterson's People Graham Gill

Graham Gill had only joined Big L on 9th May 1966, but two weeks later, on the 24th, he was off to pastures new at Radio England / Britain Radio. Roy Taylor has noted the climber Shake Hands With The Devil by Patterson's People as being assigned to Graham Gill for the week commencing 22nd May 1966. This is plausible enough, as Graham was still part of the on-air team when the chart was unveiled on the Sunday, however the tag would certainly have been removed when Graham left the ship on Tuesday's tender.

Stupid Girl Attraction Columbia DB7936

A mint copy of Columbia DB7936 – if you can find one – could set you back £45. John 'Purpleknees' Edward's pick remained on the Radio London playlist as a climber the following week, but despite the prestige of having recorded a Stones song, the Attraction failed to enter the Fab Forty. According to psychedelicized.com, the line-up for the band, from Romford, Essex, was Dean Maverick, (aka Pete Harper) vocals, Geoff Warren, lead, Keith Wastell, rhythm, Brian Young bass and Fez Harris, drums.

The Teaser Bob Kuban & the In-Men Stateside SS514

May had seen Bob Kuban & the In-Men (lead singer, Walter Scott) score two chart entries in the US Hot 100. The Teaser was the group's less-successful (#70) follow-up to their #12-placed The Cheater.* Neither single charted in the UK, not even in the Fab Forty. The Teaser received just one week's airplay as Keith Skues's climber, then vanished without trace. (*An entirely different song from this week's climber by Lord Sutch, The Cheat.)

Climbers  
Don't Let A Little Pride (Stand In Your Way) Billy Fury
You'll Never Put Shackles On Me Tony Hazzard
River Deep Mountain High Ike & Tina Turner
Surrender Your Love Carrolls
Sam, You Made The Pants Too Long Barbra Streisand
Solitary Man Neil Diamond
Club Of Lights Oscar
It's A Sad Thing Ray Pollard
Don't Bring Me Down Animals
Playboy Freddie & the Dreamers
Hang On Stupid Cliff Dwellers
Baby's Gone Graham Bonney
The Cheat Lord Sutch
Nobody Needs Your Love Gene Pitney*
*(Note: This record is shown as a climber. It was a DJ pick the following week, so may have been a late addition to the current week's climber list, or perhaps it was aired prematurely.
Disc of the Week  
Don't Answer Me Cilla Black
Album of the Week  
Shadow Music Shadows

Shake Hands With The Devil Patterson's People Mercury MF 913

Patterson's People was a five-piece outfit based in Aylesbury, down the road apiece (by about a mile) from Stoke Mandeville.

Guitarist Dave Wendon formed the band when aged only sixteen, choosing Patterson's People because Patterson had been his mother's maiden name. Jim Alabaster played bass,Trevor Stott from the nearby town of Thame, was on drums, with brothers Arthur 'Boy' Archer and Patrick 'Patsy' Archer completing the line-up.

Sadly, founder Dave Wendon died in Zambia at the early age of 37.

Lorri Seymour got in touch in 2003. She was searching for a copy of the single, as Arthur Samuel Archer was her late stepfather. Lorri told us that he was known as 'Boy' in the band and as 'Sam' by all of the family. He lived in Aylesbury for most of his life, working for the Alco/International Alloy company, which closed around 1981. Lorri mentioned that Arthur and Patsy Archer also had a sister Carol.

Later that year, Robert Collin contacted us to say that his fiancée's father was the band's bass player - James (Jim) Alabaster. Neither Lorri nor Robert has been in touch in recent years, but at least they both assisted us in finding out a little more about the band members.

Lyricist Peter Black, who co-wrote both sides of the band's only single, emigrated to Australia and found success as an actor. He appeared in a number of TV series, often taking the role of a police officer. He played Sgt Mooney in the popular soap Neighbours, appeared in The Flying Doctor and Prisoner, Cell Block H and several feature films.

Shake Hands With the Devil's B-side, Deadly Nightshade, was published by Radio London's associated company, Pall Mall and was song #80 in the Pall Mall catalogue

The Record Mirror reviewed the band's only record as 'Rather well performed'. It was released by Mercury on May 27th and made #32 in the Disc and Music Echo chart.

Shake Hands With the Devil, was also the title of a 1921 film.

(With thanks to Brian Long for additional information)

It's A Sad Thing Ray Pollard United Artists UP1133

Born 1930, Ray Pollard became lead vocalist with New York doo-woppers the Wanderers, (formerly the Barons) following his discharge from the army in 1953. The quartet released a number of recordings in the Fifties and early Sixties and in 1961 and 62, placed two entries in the bottom twenty of the Hot Hundred.

The Wanderers disbanded in 1964 and Ray pursued a solo career, releasing several singles. In 1970, he joined the cast of the Broadway musical Purlie, later becoming a member of the Joe Cuba Sextet, then the Ink Spots. Ray died in Las Vegas in 2005.

It's A Sad Thing and earlier solo release The Drifter (1965) are highly-sought-after by Northern Soul collectors, with mint-condition copies changing hands for around £200.

Wanderers information from Marv Goldberg's R & B Notebook; 'In Dangerous Rhythm' info here.

+

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 information coloured PURPLE was
kindly provided by Roy Taylor.


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

This week's Radio City 'City Sixty' on the Pirate Radio Hall of Fame is here

Tune in next week for another Field's Fab Forty!

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