A brief history of the changing RCA Victor single sleeve.

Late 60s the old red 45 bag design with the black label was updated to the orange label colour and bold logo type. Early 1975 a new sleeve appeared, designed by my work colleague Dick Whitbread and artworked by yours truly. (Modestly, I still get a kick out of seeing this single sleeve in shops). 

RCA single sleeve evolution - (L-R) 1967, 1971 and 1975.

The last 45 pictured above is one of the first releases with this new sleeve: 'Fox On The Run' by Sweet came out on 7th March 1975. It was the first Sweet single written by the band, rather than producers Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman - gone was the make up of the glam rock look and the group finally had their own 'A' side record and hit of their making. 

Not that some of their previous hits hadn't been good, just that some had been a bit dodgy (see below for a Sweet reminder). 

By the end of March 'Fox On The Run' was a Top 10 hit, reaching No.2 in April. 

Here's a YouTube compiled Top 10 hits list > www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwOVua9IEd0

Some very poppy early numbers BUT their pick as No.1: 'Fox On The Run' !

Garry Blakeley is a virtuoso fiddle player and performed at the original Hayloft Folk Club with a number of house bands and in the group Brian Boru and Burgess & Blakeley.
Garry is also a full time member of the celebrated supergroup Feast of Fiddles.

Performing with his good friend Bear Lucas, on guitar and vocals, together they produce an eclectic range of songs and sounds.

Here's a taster with a couple of videos of Garry, firstly playing in Hastings at The Stag. And then below taking the lead with Feast of Fiddles from a couple of years ago (he is far right on the stage). 

The Hayloft Folk Club

Following the success of last year’s two shows that featured artists who’d performed at the Folk Club in the 1970s. This show provides another chapter in the fascinating history of The Cove.

View The COVE pub in Fairlight for additional information: thecovefairlight.co.uk/events/ 

  

Part Two: of Nico and Jackson Browne:-

Also featured on Nico's 1967 'Chelsea Girls' album was a version of 'These Days' (one of my all time favourites). A song written when Jackson Browne was only 16 years old, but not recorded by him until 1973, by which time thanks to a Gregg Allman version, the arrangement had changed. 

Another song also written by Jackson, shortly after he returned to California in 1967, was titled ‘The Birds of St. Marks’. Rediscovered in 1994 it was only properly recorded for the first time on his 2014 LP 'Standing in the Breach'.

It's apparently written about Nico, and has a very 60s Byrds feel to it (probably why I like it so much). The middle guitar break with Greg Leisz and Val McCallum (on 12 & 6 string guitars) is wonderful and they return for the instrumental ending. 

Another great track from a teenage Jackson Browne

> Article on Nico’s version of 'These Days' -  https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-story-behind-the-song-the-contrasting-origin-of-nicos-these-days/

   

Within the space of a few weeks I heard two tracks off the 1967 ‘Chelsea Girls’ album by Nico (she of The Velvet Underground & Nico fame) I'd not previously known. 

She was born Christa Päffgen in Cologne, Germany and after being introduced by The Stones Brian Jones, she began working in New York with Andy Warhol.

This is part one of a two part story involving her and a young Jackson Browne, who she had a brief romance with in 1967, and who wrote both songs in question.

The first track is ‘The Fairest of the Season’ from the album that apparently Nico didn’t approve of once producer Tom Wilson had filled it out with strings and flutes... (I rather like them) - the LP also contains contributions by Velvet Underground members. 

Part Two of this romance will be next Friday

   

We been down the Motorway and the Highway. Today "Wir fahr'n, fahr'n, fahr'n, auf der Autobahn" for the latest 'One For The Road' track.
Issued today to mark the 50th anniversary of Kraftwerk's iconic 'Autobahn' album, with releases on three different formats including a Picture disc. 

Funnily I always thought they sang 'Fun, Fun, Fun on the Autobahn'...

Band member Wolfgang Flür explains: 

No! Someone else told me that they [the misinterpreters] thought the way we speak in German "Fahren", which means driving, sounds like the English word "fun". "Fahren fahren fahren", "fun fun fun". That is wrong. But it works. Driving is fun. We had no speed limit on the autobahn, we could race through the highways, through the Alps, so yes, fahren fahren fahren, fun fun fun.

Even the video uses 'Fun, Fun, Fun' > beep, beep 

The original album version of the song lasts 22 minutes, but the track was edited down to 3 minutes for its single version, b/w ‘Morning Walk’ (Morganspariezgang), released Feb 1975.