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Congratulations

West Five

HMV POP 1396

There is a great deal of conflicting information to be discovered on the internet about West Five. Some confusion has been caused by a collection of unreleased tracks produced by Joe Meek, which appear to have been recorded by an earlier (skiffle) outfit of the same name. (CD: Joe Meek: Work in Progress – The Triumph Sessions). Fortunately for Radio London, two of the band members who recorded Congratulations, Michael Snow (aka Liston) and Colin Charles, have been in touch to set the record straight.

Colin Charles's nephew, Jonathan kindly sent these photos. (For a closer look at the 'memorabilia montage', click on the righthand pic) Jonathan says: I actually found the link to the Radio London site from Google when searching for my uncle's old group. I emailed you because Colin sent me a specially made "The Four - West Five" CD with the released tracks and some other unreleased ones. I thought you'd also like to know who was in the band. They are listed on the CD as: Don Regan, Colin Charles, Jerry Wood, Barry Summerfield, and Mike Liston.

Originally called 'The 4', the band became West Five when they acquired a fifth musician, Mike Liston, for Congratulations (a Jagger/Richards composition, not connected to the 1968 Eurovision entry by Cliff Richard) and is named by various sources as Colin Charles, Mike Liston, Don Regan, Barry Summerfield and Jerry Wood. Brian Long, writing in The London Sound, comments that the band contained two ex-New Musical Express office boys, Don Broughton and Colin Charles. Congratulations was produced by John Burgess at Abbey Road.

Mike Liston was the name used at the time by multitalented singer, musician and songwriter, Michael Snow, who wrote the 1971 hit for Georgie Fame and Alan Price, Rosetta.

After the breakup of West Five, Michael Snow and Gerry Wood first worked with She Trinity which featured Carol McDonald and Margo Crocitto (ex-Goldie & The Gingerbreads).

Snow and Wood, along with Mick Fitzpatrick, were later hired to back Diane Ferraz and Nicky Scott. This particular association was short-lived, but Ferraz and Scott clocked-up one Radio London climber and two Fab 40 entries between April 66 and July 67.

Gerry Wood then retired and Snow joined The Checkmates, Emile Ford's backing band. The band's name was changed to Ferris Wheel when Diane Ferraz was brought in as front singer.

Ferris Wheel - Phase 1 - was: Diane Ferraz-vocals; Michael Snow-keyboards; George Ford-bass/vocals; Keith Field-guitar/vocals; Dave Ford-sax/flute/vocals; Barry Reeves-drums. This line-up made an album - "Can't Break the Habit" - and several singles for Pye, produced by John Schroeder. These were reissued in 2005 on Sequel/Sanctuary.

Phase 2 - Keith Field was replaced by Terry Edmunds.

Phase 3 - Diane Ferraz was briefly replaced by Marsha Hunt, then Linda Lewis. Barry Reeves was replaced by Dennis Elliott (later with Foreigner). This line-up recorded an eponymous album and a single for Polydor, both produced by Ian Samwell. Terry Edmunds was sidelined by ill-health towards the end of Ferris Wheel's run, and the guitar spot was filled by Bernie Holland and finally by Jim Cregan.

Many thanks to Michael Snow and Colin Charles, and Jonathan for setting the record straight.

Fab 40 Connections:
She Trinity hit the Big L Fab 40 twice, pacing the Bobby Fuller Four up the chart in April '66, with their version of I Fought the Law – She Fought the Law, and again in July '66, when Will the Man Who Took the Valise off the Floor at Grand Central Station at Noon reached #13. Liverpool's Beryl Marsden joined the group in its 1967 line-up, after leaving Shotgun Express, and another a one-time member was saxophonist Barbara Thompson.

Diane Ferraz, partnered with Nicky Scot, found Fab 40 success in March (Me and You), and April (You've Got to Learn) of 66, and again in July '67 with their best remembered release, Sh-Boom Sh-Boom.

The short-lived Shotgun Express released only two singles, but both appeared in the Big L chart, first in November '66, with I Could Feel The Whole World Turn Round and six months later, in May '67 with Funny, Cos Neither Could I.