Sunday Supplement, 17th October 1965
The
Pack
Lead singer Rustic Rod Goodway has very kindly sent us the story of the band |
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"We looked prettier after we had been kitted out at Carnaby Street with suitable Lord John 'Magic Shirts', but this is the genuine 'Do You Believe In Magic' line-up of The PACK from 1965." l-r : Andy Rickell (Lead guitar); Rod Goodway (Vocals); Brian Gregg (Bass); Roger Hartley (Rhythm guitar); Bob Duke (Drums) Photo: Peter H Wilcock |
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Do You Believe In Magic? | Pack | Columbia DB7702 |
"What an incredible time we had, taken from our tiny Wiltshire town of Calne and hurled into the wonderful world of Radio London and offshore radio."
I
was perusing the Mini Memories web page in a fit of rampant nostalgia and
I came across a mention of my old group The PACK, who good old Radio London
played and plugged merrily back in 1965 with our debut 45 'Do You Believe
In Magic'. John Peel and I (in much more recent times) spoke regularly on
the telephone, and his memories of The Pack's version of 'Do You Believe
In Magic' were (unsurprisingly) not favourable, but he never had a bad word
to say about Radio London.
It's true, The Pack were 'one hit wonders' but what an incredible time we
had, taken from our tiny Wiltshire town of Calne and hurled into the wonderful
world of Radio London and offshore radio. We presented our disc to Radio
Caroline from the luxury of our Recording Manager Mickie Most's yacht! We
were playing alongside all the big stars of the day. I recall Dusty Springfield
as so tiny, but so majestic. Our Business Manager was Peter Grant, who went
on to manage Led Zeppelin.
I remember us doing a Radio Luxemburg programme with Shaw Taylor and Muriel
Young. I think it was called 'Swoon Club'. Boards were held up with the
immortal words 'scream' and 'swoon' on them, for the live audience to do
their thing, just in case there weren't any Beatles or other 'scream-worthy'
people in the studio. I remember Jeff Beck was there, and we were mighty
impressed when he came over to say 'hello' to our famous bass player (and
personal manager) Brian Gregg. Brian had previously played with Johnnie
Kidd and the Pirates, Terry Dene, the Tornados, Billy Fury and many others
in the Larry Parnes stable of 'artists with silly names'. Brian was famed
for writing the immortal bass line to Johnny Kidd and The Pirates' 'Shakin'
All Over'!
Right: "This photo includes our 'mascot' (and real
'leader of The Pack') Sabre the Alsation dog."
The Lovin' Spoonful's version of 'Do You Believe In Magic' was indeed the
best - well, they wrote it after all - but Mickie Most insisted that we
cover it. I had the flu when I sang it, but studio time was so limited,
etc... excuses, excuses! We enjoyed a resurgence of sales a while after
the single's release, due to radio and TV appearances. I remember a TV show
produced in Bristol by TWW (Television Wales and the West), called 'Discs
A'Go-Go' where we supported Bo Diddley. Wow, I'd love to see THAT footage
again, but it was probably all wiped. (Tho' I do have a photo of me actually
onscreen, taken for posterity.
See clipping below.) A very young Tony Prince co-hosted the show with Kent
Walton.
There was life after The Pack too, for me and for lead guitarist Andy Rickell.
The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown, Linda Lewis, The Third Ear Band, and loads
more groups, up to the present day.
I cannot help but chuckle when I read (at the bottom of the same page as the 24th October charts) about Ron Wood and brother Art Wood band The Artbirds, as the first band I joined when leaving The Pack in 1967/68 was The Artwoods, who had just changed their name to The St Valentine's Day Massacre. Art Wood actually left the band and I took his place as the band's lead singer in order to perform the outstanding live dates booked for The St.Valentines Day Massacre and to promote the final single "Buddy Can You Spare A Dime". Many years later, in 1988, the drummer of The Artbirds, Twink became the drummer of my band Magic Muscle when we reformed for a tour and to record an album. (Twink had been a member of The Fairies, Tomorrow, and The Pretty Things. See notes for Fab 40 14/03/65, where the Fairies appeared with a climber.)
All the Sixties stuff is represented with many photos of those
times in the Rock Family Tree at my website (see below).
I must admit, I have never dwelt much on my 'fab' days in The Pack before,
even tho' I've got loads of memorabilia here. My website doesn't even scratch
the surface! (Perhaps I should go all the way and upload everything?) On
October 21st of 2006, I will be 60. Too old to be acting coy and 'cool'
over my 'shock horror 1960's chart entry'! No matter that it wasn't a massive
hit, being there was a privilege. But I've stayed in the music biz
all along. I still play, release occasional albums and make my living selling
music that is very much today, but also, to me anyway, in the true 'spirit
of the 60's'. Brian Gregg is also still playing professionally.
In the summer of 2005, I did a festival gig with Barry Melton,
the lead guitarist (way back when) with Country Joe and the Fish. We were
jamming at one stage, and I could literally sing anything I liked. For the
first time in forty years, I sang 'Do You Believe In Magic'. It was exactly
40 years since the 'hit', and I really enjoyed it. What a pity I didn't
find your site then, and get in touch. But better late than never.
I hope some of your readers can find their way to my site to relive some
of those special 1965-1967 moments and, indeed, listen to The Pack's inferior
(tho' very 'punk rock') version of 'Do You Believe In Magic' in my Garden
of Sound.
Many thanks for 'being there', Mary. It's a wonderful job you are doing.
Radio London meant so much to us, before and during the crazy whirl of life
on the road in the 1960's. The Pirate Ships did so much for good music and
certainly helped make this young rustic's dreams come true. I'm still checking-out
new offshoots from the Radio London site every day.
Thanks for a wonderful website.
Peace, Love & Music,
'Rustic' ROD GOODWAY
(Calne, Wiltshire)
Visit Rod's website: www.achingceller.co.uk to listen to Do You Believe In Magic, B-side Things That Bring Me Down, see the amazing Family Tree of bands and read Rod's personal tribute to John Peel.
Webmaster's notes Fab 40 Positions
Discs A'Go-Go 'Discs A'Go-Go' was not networked throughout the UK, but according to Terry Humphries, was also shown in the Tyne-Tees region and possibly other areas. Terry is a television cameraman who worked for Granada, TWW and HTV before turning freelance in 1989. Trevor Bailey wrote a short item about the programme, which is included in our Kent Walton obituary It was Trevor writing in Mini-Memories about his school
in Wiltshire where "Everyone... knew somebody, who knew somebody
who knew the Pack", that drew Rod's attention to the Radio London
website. |