for Sunday 2nd April 1967

Following the previous week's introduction of the Ballad Box, this week saw the arrival of of its companion, the Soul Set.
These two new listings increased this week's Radio London playlist by fourteen tracks.

Ebony Keyes, whose real name was Kenrick Des-Etages, had been involved in music throughout his life. He played percussion in steel bands as a teenager in Trinidad before emigrating to the United Kingdom in the Fifties. While working as a welder, he began performing in London pubs and clubs where his strong voice and powerful performances of the rock 'n' roll hits of the day won him numerous talent contests.

(Photo, left, courtesy of Simon Des-Etages)

1964 was when he first took the stage name Ebony Keyes and recorded two singles for Parlophone, but without commercial success. A switch to Pye produced a number of singles and the first of these to feature in the Fab Forty was the ska-influenced Sitting in a Ring, in December 1966. A German show called Beat Beat Beat mistitled the song Sitting in the Rain. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a video clip of Ebony performing Cupid's House.

In 1969, Ebony Keyes signed to United Artists and changed identity to Lee Vanderbilt. He and his friend Biddu, who had arrived in the UK from India in 1967, played major roles in the British disco scene of the Seventies. Lee (who was also an accomplished songwriter) signed to Biddu's production company where he put his many musical skills to good use.

One of the numerous collaborations between Lee and Biddu was when they sang backing vocals on Carl Douglas's hit Kung Fu Fighting - and there is a clip of them doing it on a rather bizarre Dutch comedy show. (Love the hairy chests and medallions, guys! I swear Lee was the model for the Simpson's Disco Stu!)

Carl Douglas (and the Big Stampede) had already been in the Big L Top Twenty at the end of 1966 with Crazy Feeling. He was back again, on April 16th '67, this time in the Soul Set, with Let the Birds Sing.

Many thanks to Kenrick's son Simon who has provided us with the information for this potted history of a life-long musical career. There is a lot more to learn about Kenrick Des-Etages! Simon writes:

I would often surf the web looking for information on my father and was struck at the limited amount of accurate information.  I decided to clear up the record by creating a web page for him in my site. He loved the process and we both went on an amazing emotional journey! Very cathartic for me. Although I may be biased, I really believe that my father was one of the UK's best singers and songwriters and was unfortunate not to have seen greater commercial success.  I am pleased that he is in the Radio London Fab Forty. I called him when I found out, to let him know. #17 isn't bad for the old man!!

Sadly, Kenrick died in February 2015. Simon's website appears now to be only accessible via a login.

Tiger was released between the break-up of Steampacket and the formation of Brian Auger, Julie Driscoll and the Trinity, the Trinity being Roger Sutton, Gary Boyle and Clive Thacker. The single was unusual in that both its A and B sides (B-side, Oh Baby Won't You Come Back Home to Croydon Where Everybody Beedle and Bo's) were published by the Big L-associated Pall Mall Music. Both compositions are credited to Brian Auger and bassist Roger J Sutton.

Brian Auger had played piano since he was three, but he was ten when his brother gave him his old Superheterodyne Ferguson radio. Listening to the American Forces Network in Germany, Brian was introduced to jazz. In 1964, he won the Melody Maker Jazz Piano Poll and was voted the Best New Jazz Artist.

Brian played the harpsichord on the Yardbirds' hit For Your Love (one of the few appearances for this classical instrument on a pop record), and alongside Jimmy Page, backed Sonny Boy Williamson on his album Don't Send Me No Flowers.

In 1965, Brian took up the Hammond organ. Answering the question, 'Who was your main influence and why?' Brian says on his website:

In two words, Jimmy Smith. When I first heard the Back at the Chicken Shack album in 1962, I rushed into the record store to ask them, "What the hell is that instrument he's playing?" They showed me the record cover and I ended up buying a Hammond Organ. Up to that time I played jazz piano in London. Playing the organ changed my life around completely. Thank you, Jimmy Smith! And I must also add that ALL modern organ players owe a debt of gratitude to Jimmy. He was really the Daddy of us all!

Brian's site contains many great photos from the Sixties, the most impressive of all being from 1969. It depicts a stack of pianos, the bottom one played by Fats Domino, the one above, by Little Richard and above him is Jerry Lee Lewis. Perched right on top with his keyboard, is Brian Auger.

Brian now lives in America and is involved with many musical projects, often collaborating with his talented offspring, son Karma and daughters Ali and Savannah.

The late Jimmy Smith was the man who incredibly allowed his precious Hammond to be winched aboard the Mi Amigo in May 1965. Because the instrument proved too large to move any further, Jimmy played for Caroline's audience from the deck. (See our special feature and interview)

– 29 Going Home Normie Rowe Polydor 56159 Brian Godding, Julie Driscoll's brother-in-law, who penned her climber I Know You Love Me Not (see below) already had a song in the Fab Forty. He wrote I Don't Care (Just Take Me There) the b-side of Going Home by Australian Normie Rowe, who had made the connection with Godding when he'd toured with Brian Auger, Julie Driscoll and the Trinity. The A-side was a Graham Gouldman composition. Normie Rowe was Australia’s biggest Sixties pop star and his farewell concert in Melbourne before leaving for the UK caused fan 'Normania'. Unfortunately he proved to be one of many artists who were hugely popular in their home countries, but failed to find success elsewhere. Normie's personal website reveals that he still tours with another Australian legend, Johnny Young. (See Normie's 'Artist Pages' for contemporary photos of Johnny.) There is a comprehensive biography on Wikipedia.

 

Ashore this week April 8th The Walker Brothers, Cat Stevens, Jimi Hendrix and Engelbert Humperdinck appeared at the ABC Chesterfield. Such a line-up might be described as eclectic! Cat Stevenswas the only artist on the bill who was currently riding high in the Fab Forty, but the Big L playlist iself was pretty eclectic mix. It encompassed Europop at #1, Frank and Nancy at #4, the Monkees, psychedelia, novelty, folk and soul, with a liberal sprinkling of Motown.

DJ Climbers:
You're The Love	Sixpence	Tony Blackburn
They've All Got Their Eyes On You/I'll Walk To You	Chris Andrews	Chuck Blair
Don't You Care	Buckinghams	Pete Drummond
It's Wonderful (To Be In Love)	Cash McCall	Paul Kaye
You Ain't As Hip As All That, Baby	Jay & the Americans	Lorne King
The Loser (With A Broken Heart)	Gary Lewis & the Playboys	John Peel
The Boat That I Row	Lulu	Mark Roman
What A Woman In Love Won't Do	Sandy Posey	Keith Skues
Come Back Girl	Jackie Edwards	Ed Stewart

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.

Lazy Fat People is a Pete Townshend composition, which according to The Who Info site, was unreleased by Pete, except for a Real Audio version that he made available from his Eel Pie website.

'The Face' reported in Record Mirror, 15th April '67, that Brian Auger had bought Julie Driscoll a four-foot-long tiger cub. In 2002, the Radio London website asked Brian if this story was true, and in passing, mentioned that unlike Jimmy Smith, Brian had never taken his Hammond aboard any of the offshore stations. He replied:

Dear Mary, Thank you for your email. No I would never buy a tiger cub or keep any wild animal caged and away from its natural environment. Maybe I'll get a chance one day to sail the Hammond B3 offshore for a broadcast!

Best wishes, Brian Auger

I Know You Love Me Not is available to stream as a single track, but also appears on a 22-track RPM compilation, Dream Babes Vol. 3 - Backcomb 'n' Beat (RPM233) alongside releases by Fab 40 acts the Chantelles, McKinleys, Samantha Juste and Mary 'Perpetual' Langley. (Full track listing here)

One reviewer describes the CD as, "like hearing a radio broadcast from a long lost world". The RPM website states that, "Many of these tracks are highly collectable and 75% of the compilation has never been reissued. Plus bonus: Radio London ad spots by Perpetual Langley."

Unfortunately, in the clip the company has used as an example, Perpetual is giving her thanks to Dave Lee Travis and Radio Caroline, so exactly what 'Radio London ad spots' appear on the CD, is unclear.

Many Big L listeners, now in their teens, had as infants joined in to sing-a-long-a Max Bygraves, when his version of Gilly Gilly Ossenfeffer was played on Uncle Mac's Children's Favourites. David and Jonathan (aka Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway) may have been trying to cash in on the recent 'novelty disc' success of their own composition, 'Kaiser Bill's Batman'.

Fab Notes (by Alan Field and Mary Payne)
The Soul Set was introduced into Radio London's programming for the first time this week. As noted previously, the Ballad Box and the Soul Set were intended to provide additional material that could be played on the station, generally independent of the Fab 40 and official Climber listings, and largely without reference to success (or chance of success) in the national charts. Soul Set tracks were included between 0530 and 0900 and 1500 to midnight.

Exceptionally, Dee Dee Warwick had been Paul Kaye's climber last week and Harry Secombe was currently #2 in the nationals. Interestingly, Arthur Conley's Sweet Soul Music was being aired on Radio London no less than 11 weeks before it would peak at #7 in the national charts. The record had a significant run in the Soul Set, but never made the Fab 40. Five of the seven Soul Set titles were by artists on the current Stax/Volt tour, which had been retitled 'The Otis Redding Show'.

Tony Hall, in his 'My Scene' column in Record Mirror (April 2nd) wrote, "Don't know whether the RM can claim any credit, but since our column on Top 40 radio a few weeks ago, I noticed two significant new sections to Big L's playlist. Apart from the Fab 40 and climbers, there's now a 'Ballad Box' – additional records aimed especially at the housewives and aired between 9.00am and 3.00pm. Plus – of great interest to RM readers – a 'Soul Set', aired during the late afternoon and evening... Personally, I feel this is all a step in the right direction, and I congratulate whoever made the bold decision."