for Sunday 11th September 1966

Pristine copies of Beg Borrow And Steal change hands for around £20. Confusion abounds about Rare Breed, as it is frequently stated (Record Collector Rare Record Price Guide and Vernon Joyston's Tapestry of Delights) that this recording is by an earlier version of the group that entered the Fab on 12th February '67, under the name of Pussyfoot. Beg Borrow And Steal is, however,by an American group called Rare Breed, discovered by producers Jeffrey Katz and Jerry Kasenetz, who released this single in the US on Attack AR-140.

Paul Coates confirms this, adding:

The American Rare Breed had two releases on Attack records Beg Borrow And Steal on Attack 1401, and on 1403 Come And Take A Ride In My Boat (no apparent UK release). Beg Borrow And Steal was produced by Kasenetz Katz. The band came from the New York/New Jersey area but were presented as an Ohio group since it was believed at the time easier to break a record out in the Midwest! However the band fell out with Kasenetz Katz and they parted company. A few months later Kasenetz Katz found a true Ohio group, Sir Timothy and The Royals, and rereleased Beg Borrow And Steal under the group's new name, The Ohio Express. This came out on Cameo 483 and reached #29 in the Billboard charts on 2nd December 1967.

It seems there must have been a band called Rare Breed on either side of the pond, causing the London band to change its name to avoid confusion.