TOP SIX, No.18, 1965
Posted: September 9, 2010 Filed under: 60s, Beat records, England, World 3 Comments »
Last week I also purchased this British cheapo/department store EP at the charity shop. When I bought it, it didn´t have a sleeve. Luckily, later when we played our new acquisitions, the missing Top Six company sleeve was on one of the 45´s that my friend had bought at the same place. Generously he let me have.
There are six cover-versions of 1965 British hit songs played by unnamed bands on this EP: “The Price Of Love” by the Everly Brothers, “I´s Just A Little Bit Too Late” by Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders, “Colours” by Donovan, “I`m Alive” by The Hollies, “She´s About A Mover” by The Sir Douglas Quintet and “Crying In The Chapel”, that Elvis took to number one on the British charts in 1965 where it stayed for two weeks.
I´s Just A Little Bit Too Late
About me:
My name is Andreas Michalke. I´m a cartoonist from Berlin, Germany and I like collecting records. Most of the records I find in thrift stores or at flea markets here in Berlin. I like a lot of music but I thought I`d focus on odd German records. Preferably with cartoon covers.
All my scans are high-resolution. If you double-click on them they will get much bigger.
Looking at these titles… a tiny bell rang in the attic of my twisted brain, and yo, bingo. I’ve got a cheapo V. A. 4-track UK-EP from ’65 on the Embassy-label from a series called The Big Four. (These things were pressed to be sold at Woolworth’s, I’ve been told.) 3 of the 6 song are on this as well, and the versions are identical. “Price Of Love” is by Terry Brandon with The Beatmen, “Colours” by Les Carle with The Beatmen and “I’m Alive” by The Typhoons. I wonder why they omitted the best track from this record, a killer version of the Kinks’ “Set Me Free” done by Alvin Lee’s first recording band The Jaybirds.
Great info. Somebody should write a book about all the European cheapo labels of the 60´s and the material they traded with each other. I would buy it!
There is a chapter on the cheapo Top Six label in my forthcoming book, The Beatle Who Vanished. This is the story of Jimmy Nicol the drummer who subbed for Ringo Starr. Before Starr, he played drums on all the Top Six cover songs in early 1964. The book also includes a Top Six discography FYI. To get an email when the book comes out, please see my book site at: http://www.thebeatlewhovanished.com Jim B.