ALBATROSS - Darlin' / The Band Played On (Mooncrest 1975) A good piece of glam boogie in a truly Status Quo vein. With both songs written by the singer John Jones and the guitarist Terry Keyworth, this is one of the four Albatross' singles. Produced by Clive Crawley. UK issue.
WATTS - Girl You Make It Easy / Betsy Ballou (Jam 1973) The strong guitar riff immediately reminds me another British band, the Streak ("Bang Bang Bullet" - "Gonna Have a Good Time"). Like the Willy Zango And The Mechanics' single released in 1973 and also on Jam, this record by Watts was written and produced by Kaplan Kaye. UK pressing.
LITTLE ACRE - Takin' Me Away / Gimme Your Love (Birds Nest 1979) A late hard glam rockin' number by Dudley' s Little Acre. Active from 1975 this self-described "high-energy funk band" released four singles and one LP that never saw the light of day before breaking up at the end of 1979. Produced at the Old Smithy for the Bird Nest Records. UK issue.
PROFESSOR MORRISON'S LOLLIPOP - Oo-Poo-Pah-Susie / You Take It (London 1969) Kasenet and Katz signed the Nebraska band Coachmen to White Whale records under a different name, Professor Morrison’s Lollipop, and released three singles between 1968 and 1969. The legendary Joey Levine wrote and did some production work for the band. Some members of the group also performed with the Kasenet-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus. "Oh-Poo-Pah-Susie" - written and performed by Lange Martine Jr. - is a perfect, classic bubblegum song with great harmonies and nasal singing too. German issue.
LIGHT FANTASTIC - We Are The Song / Raining (Blue Jean 1975) Maybe their best single, together with "Take Me, Shake Me", which was released in 1974 and featured the great "Don't Let Go" on the b side, a song written by Light Fantastic but previously released by another British band, the Rats. Wolverhamptom's Light Fantastic toured with Mud, Showaddywaddy and did shows with The Sweet before breaking up in 1978 and forming the horror-rock band Nightmare who released the single "Great Balls of Fire" at the end of 1979. "We Are The Song" was produced by Del spence while "Raining" by Bob Hopton. UK issue.
53rd + 3rd FEATURING THE SOUND OF SHAG - Chick-A-Boom / kingmaker (UK 1975) A good mix of glam and powerpop. "Kingmaker" was written and produced by Jonathan King and issued on his own record label as the b side of Chick-A-Boom. German pressing.
CRACKERS - Judy, Judy, Judy / instrumental version (Negram 1976) Produced and co-written by John Edward (who also produced and penned Heatwave's nice "Sister Simon" single) for Istant Sound Productions, "Judy, Judy, Judy" is an amazing glam rock dancer/stomper tune with great guitar, catchy chorus and, of course...handclaps! Dutch issue.
FIVE DOLLAR SHOES - Rain Train / Love Song (Neighborhood 1972) A great single from a band that never received a great consideration in the New York City glam rock scene. Five Dollar Shoes included Gregg Diamond (also member of Jobriath backing band, The Creatures), Mike Millius, Tom Graves, Jim Gregory and Scott Woody. In addition to this record they also released another single called "Your Rock'n'Roll Band" and one LP that was recorded at the legendary Electric Lady Studios in New York City´s Greenwich Village. Produced by Peter Schekeryk.
KASNAT & KATZ FIGHTER SQUADRON - Picken' Up Sticks / All Fall Down (Hansa 1971) The two greatest bubblegum producers, Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz together with Ritchie Cordell came out with another astonishing tune. The outstanding handclaps and the catchy guitar make "Picken' Up Sticks" sound a bit heavier than the usual Super K Productions' style. German press.
RED LINE EXPLOSION - Sweet Talking Mama / Evil Woman (Penny Farthing 1971) Italian and German issues of Red Line Explosion´s "Sweet Talking Mama". The song sounds very much like "Take Off" by Kentucky Freeway always on Penny Farthing (check Purepop blog). Actually, both tracks were written and maybe performed by members of the Stamford Bridge group (John Carter, Ken Lewis, Russ Alquist). A Sunny Records Production.
