for Sunday 2nd July 1967

Here come the Five Americans again! (see Fab 4th June). Over a month earlier, Sympathy, the B-side of Sound of Love, had appeared for one week as a climber. Someone, somewhere had decided to flip the single and concentrate on the A-side, which had reached #36 in the US Hot Hundred. Unfortunately, success in the UK Nationals did not follow.

Moanin' by Chris Farlowe can be found on the Sequel compilation Jimmy Page – Hip Young Guitar Slinger, comprising 65 tracks on 2 CDs. Although Jimmy played on so many sessions that it's impossible for him to recall them all, all tracks on these CDs are believed to have been enhanced by his musical talents. Click on the picture to see track list.

Aboard the Galaxy this week:

July 8th

Paul de Haan has a recording of the Keith Skues Show broadcast between 9.30am and 11.30am. As this is one of Paul's favourites he often listens to it while driving, and is very familiar with the show's content. This means that Paul is able to give comprehensive information about what was broadcast on that Saturday morning in 1967. These are a few of the features of the show, which are comprehensively catalogued on Paul's website.

Paul notes that 27 records were played, plus 22 jingles. Meanwhile, advertisers were making the most of commercial radio while it was still there. The commercials outnumbered the records by 3 – ten of them being live reads. One was for the Sabonna Copper Bracelet, a product still sold to alleviate the symptoms of arthritis. However, in July '67, the bracelet was being promoted for a different use. Skues read:

"Did you know that once you connected this Sabonna Copper Bracelet to a transistor radio, reception of Radio London on 266 improved dramatically! After all, that's what copper is all about!"

Did anyone try this? We all had our trannies permanently attached to our arms, so would wearing a copper bracelet on the same arm really have brought in Big L more clearly? (No, it wouldn't! Chris Payne, Chief Engineer, Radio London.) An innovative promotions idea, whatever the case.

Cardboard Shoes also welcomed a new steward called Jack aboard the Galaxy, and played a request for a certain Dick Palmer of Orpington, Kent!

Ashore

July 6th
Artists from this week's playlist Lulu, Sandie Shaw and Pink Floyd, appeared on 'Top of the Pops', hosted by Alan Freeman, while the Monkees and the Beatles were seen on film. The Fab Four were shown in the famous 'Our World' clip, performing All You Need Is Love and during Alternate Title, the Monkees were shown arriving in London and participating in a press conference. Sandie Shaw's Tonight In Tokyo, was a repeat from a previous TOTP appearance.

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.

Geoff Posner wrote: "How much of an anorak am I? I have recorded an unallocated climber in this week's Fab 40 as Alfie by Dionne Warwick."

Alfie was included in last week's Radio London playlist, but in the Ballad Box, rather than as a climber. Surprisingly, Dionne's version of Alfie was released in the UK over a year after Cilla Black had made it a Top Ten Fab Forty and national hit. Cilla, on the other hand made only a minor impression on the US Hot Hundred with the song in 1966, while Dionne took it to #15 in '67.

In one Youtube posting of the original version, someone says the title should be spelt 'Phenix', but the poster didn't explain why.

Alan Hardy says:

On investigation I see I have Phoenix City on a John Schroeder 2CD compilation called Soul Coaxing: The Many Moods Of John Schroeder.  (Selling on Amazon for large sums of money – Webmaster) It's not a bad effort at a cover version although the vocal shout sounds a little limp. I see the B side was called Dat Tavern In De Town, so the single must have been an attempt to get in on the ska/blue beat boom at the time.

John was very much into soul etc., having signed the first UK Motown releases via Oriole in the early days. He had previously issued an album of soul covers called Working In The Soul Mine and had singles including a version of Agent Double O Soul in 1965 and Hungry For Love in 66.

John Schroeder also created and produced Sounds Orchestral (See FF 070265)

Under My Thumb was elevated to Disc of the Week, when the Who recorded and rush-released the two Stones' songs as a protest against the impending imprisonment of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, following the infamous drugs bust at Richards' home. The single originally intended to be the Disc of the Week was Herman's Hermits' Museum, written by Donovan.