Can it be put down to mere coincidence that the two artists covering the Stones' song had confusingly similar names? Radio London took the bizarre step (even for the Fab Forty) of allowing the two versions of Lady Jane to climb the chart joined like Siamese twins, neck-and-neck till they reached the

number eight position. Then the following week, (05/06) Garrick had climbed again, but Merrick had vanished without trace! Another week on, and Garrick was gone for good too.

In the nationals, Merrick only managed to squeeze in at #49, while Garrick, perhaps reaping the benefit of a superior publicity campaign, climbed to #28.

The Stones songs were as much in demand as their autographs. (Right, from the Mary Payne collection).

The following year, Tony Merrick joined Radio Scotland as Steve (or Stevie) Merike, just before the station's enforced closure. After the Marine Offences Bill became law in August 67, Steve swelled the ranks of the 'Caroline outlaws' aboard the Mi Amigo. The photo (left) was taken after Steve's guest DJ appearance on Pirate BBC Essex 2009. See a photo of Steve aboard Caroline in the Pirate Radio Hall of Fame. (He's changed a bit!)

In December 1965, while still serving in the Royal Air Force, Steve had been the first singer to record a single with a Stones 'A' side, As Tears Go By, and a Beatles 'B' side, Girl. This first outing, funded by his mother at a cost of £50.00, was never released. "Immediate didn't like it!" Steve says, but he obviously thought he was on to a winner with a Stones/Beatles combination, and repeated the exercise with Lady Jane/Michelle. A shame that he didn't choose a different Jagger/Richards composition avoiding the situation of a simultaneous release from another singer.

David Garrick trained as an opera singer and clearly retained a flair for the flamboyant and theatrical. Two decades before Saturday Night Fever, Garrick was given to wearing frilly shirts slashed to the waist, revealing a medallion the size of an LP. Well-promoted by Big L, he made a number of guest appearances at Radio London shows including the Coronation ballroom at Pleasurama in Ramsgate. The May 13th Pleasurama show was hosted by Mark Roman, resplendent in toga; at David's June 10th appearance, Keith Skues was the man in charge. David also guested at the Radio London Trophy meeting at Brands Hatch on June 19th.

David's follow-up single, Dear Mrs Applebee, was marginally more successful in the nationals (#22) and a huge hit in Germany. David eventually returned to opera singing. He made a brief on-stage appearance at the 1999 Brighton Festival of the Sixties - sans medallion!

This was the third single from Jonathan King protégés, Hedgehoppers Anonymous. Like Steve Merike, the band members were all ex-RAF personnel. Baby (You're My Everything) was a cover of a 1965 release by Little Jerry Williams. It failed to succeed, but Little Jerry's soulful rendition went on to become a Northern Soul standard.

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.

Notice that, in addition to the Disc and Albums of the Week, we have a new category – 'Chartbuster'. This was one way of stopping a mutiny by the DJs over who got the Beatles as their personal climber – and what else could they call a new single by the Fab Four but a 'Chartbuster'?

Walking Away Karlins Parlophone L5457 The photo is from Teenbeat Annual 1967, which explains that the Karlins consist of 'the only set of girl triplets in show business' plus two unrelated boys. Although the book makes much of the fact that the band is Scottish (the big thistles, the tartan kilts and the flag are a bit of a giveaway) and that their records have sold well north of the border, curiously, it fails to name any of its five members. We have since established that the girls' names were Evelyn, Elaine and Linda. The girls played the part of... judo-triplets (no, really) in the1968 comedy film, Diamonds for Breakfast, starring Rita Tushingham. But they still don't get credits under their individual names. The Karlins' success in Scotland was probably in no small way due to the country's own offshore station and the triplets were cover stars on 242 Showbeat Monthly for January 1967, minus two of the unnamed male musicians in the Teenbeat photo. The Record Collector Rare Record Price Guide lists Walking Away as the b-side of a single called You Mean Nothing to Me, one of four released by the Karlins between 1966 and 68. In December 1966, they were in the Christmas Big L Family 40 with It's Good to Be Around.