Utrecht Record Fair April 2016 .( A Pre-Fair Affair)

I left the house at 5am to catch the early  flight to Amsterdam in order visit the small outdoor fair in the morning. I usually arrive late pm as the fair is winding down. It was a bright and sunny Spring day, but there wasn't much to be found, so I could have stayed in bed a few hours longer. 
Thursdays used to be special visiting Michel at Da Capo, Plato Records is a fine store for choice  new releases, but nothing compares.to the old Beatcave

Tomorrow it all really begins at 7

 A modest smattering of goodies...so far

Fancy –Who Would Be The Loser – Unreleased Acetate (Nigel Benjamin pre-Mott 1973)

Fancy –Star Lord/Who Would Be The Loser – Emidisc -Unreleased Acetate (1973 UK)

Fancy were a Hard Glam foursome formed in Southend. Prior to being kidnapped as a direct replacement for Ian Hunter, Nigel Benjamin was their lead singer. The line-up also included Bob Banasiak on guitar, Phil Mitchell on bass, and Chris Holibon on drums.  Banasiak would join Angel (Good Time Fanny) soon after releasing their sole single Star Lord on Sticky. Who Would Be The Loser is the unreleased B side to Star Lord on this emidisc acetate and is by far the best performance out of the three tracks the band recorded. Written by Phil Mitchell, it’s a tough fast-paced rocker with a beefy guitar not dissimilar to the type of sound Streak were producing at the time.

Hear a full version of Who Would Be The Loser

 

24 rare and obscure singles for sale on ebay

I have just listed 24 singles. 21 being the usual mix of rare Glam, Proto Punk , Psych and Bonehead Hard Rock. 3 of them are special ones, so they have reserves on them. I have never listed with reserves before, but the reserve amount is usually around 50% or less of their potential value. All have sound clips. I didn’t have the time to list all I wanted, so expect a part 2 in a month’s time

Happy hunting

Follow the link: EBAY LISTINGS HERE

Full Listings March 2016

Paul Cass - Mini Marianne/ Medecine and Wine - Killer GLAM Proto Punk 1974 Hear!

Bacchus –Teen Queen -UK Junkshop Glam 1975 Hear!

Red Fox -Walking Through The Blue Grass - Psych/ Glam Stomper -1972 Hear!

Messengers - In The Jungle/Way a Woman is PSYCH Dancer picture sleeve 1971 Hear!

The Ash Band -Let's Go -Aussie Bonehead Cruncher RARE Pic sleeve Hear!

Finch -Out of Control- Aussie Grilffat Bonehead Cruncher Picture disc 1973 Hear!

Hobnail -She's Just a Friend of Mine -Pic sleeve - Glam Stomper -1972 Hear!

Panther -One Man Band - Killer GLAM The 3rd Pantherman single! 1975 Hear!

Whistle -The Party Must Be Over -Obscure UK Glam Cruncher - Demo 1973 Hear!

Rats - Don’t Let Go/ Dragon Child -Glam Stomper - Pic sleeve Hear!

Rockstar (Ace Kefford -The Move) -Over The Hill/Mummy Demo -1976 Hear!

Castle Farm -Hot Rod Queen -UK Junkshop Glam/ Bonehead Cruncher 1972 Hear!

Hector -Wired Up - Original UK issue –Proto Punk FUZZ Mayhem 1973 Hear!

Heatwave -9-9-9 /One Eyed Man Welsh PROTO PUNK 1975 Hear!

Boppers -Cleveland Dolls/ Rocket City -Wild obscure US Proto Punk -1972? -Hear!

At Last The 1958 Rock n Roll Show -I Can't Drive- Mott The Hoople Demo1968 Hear!

Bullet (Hard Stuff) -Hobo -John Du Cann 1971 Hard Rock/Proto Punk ACETATE Hear!

Hamlett -Vampire Man -UK Freakbeat Proto Glam Monster -Demo 1972 Hear!

Little Big Horn -Just a Game - Killer Heavy Psych Dancer -1970 Hear!

Abacus - Indian Dancer -Crunching Glam classic -Pic sleeve - 1974 Hear!

Bear Brothers –Red Shoe Trucken/Bondiago –Fuzz Afro Glam Stompers 1972 –Hear!

The 3 with reserves

MC5 - Looking At You/ Borderline ORIGINAL issue Near Mint -1968 Hear! "PREMIUM"

T Boones -I Want You -HEAVY Swedish Freakbeat Mod Mayhem-1967 Hear! "PREMIUM"

Phil Spector UNRELEASED Acetate Gold Star –I Love Lucy Demo 1966 Hear "PREMIUM"

Kevin Coughlin – I Gotta Be Me

 

 

Kevin Coughlin – The Gay Deceivers/I Gotta Be Me – Happy Tiger HT 509 (1969 US)

Fun Fuzzy Romp featuring a cool overloaded guitar sound with actor Kevin Coughlin sounding like a dead- ringer for Sky Saxon. I Gotta Be Me is the B side to the theme song of the twist-in-the-tail film of the same name about some likely guys who “go gay” to avoid the draft. On this single Kevin is backed by the great Heavy Psych band Stack who released the Above All in minute quantities in 1969

Hear a full version of I Gotta Be Me

 

 

 

Arlan Green –Moonbrite EP

Arlan Green –Moonbrite EP –Test pressing- Bell 1000 (UK 1974?)

I don’t honestly know who Arlan is/was, his only near-official release appears to be a demo version of Rock Hotel on Mooncrest in 1975…as well as this strange test pressing EP. The EP plays at 33.1/3 and has the immortal words “not for sale or broadcast” on the sleeve, so was  it that Bell Records were considering signing Arlan, but then desisted when there was a severe lack of positive feedback? Regardless of its strange lack of release, it’s a mighty weird yet compelling EP. Moonbrite starts off with analog space beeps, then Arlan declares his desire to be the first dentist on the moon…it’s all bit like Jobriath channeling Gilbert o’Sullivan delivering a futuristic toothpaste commercial.  The 2^nd track I Do is pure McCartney Pop (with a Lennon middle bit) and could have been an outtake off the first Jellyfish LP with some quite extensive and adventurist orchestration.  Rock Hotel kicks off side 2 with novelty voice weirdness before settling down into something resembling the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band with Bowie at the helm auditioning for the Rocky Horror Show. The last track The Next Time starts off kinda like a normal heart felt piano ballad, but then our Arlan can’t contain himself and SHREEKS with the song then taking several unexpected twists and turns (note something weird happens near the end, it might be an on-purpose stick, or just a bit of dirt on the record…who knows, but I hope it was on purpose. Arlan who the hell are you? I hope you’re still around and can tell us all about it…

Hear the full side 1

Hear the full side 2

Phafner –Overdrive (Single version)

Phafner –Overdrive/Plea From The Soul –Dragon Records 45-1001 (1971 US)

A bit of a change of focus this time… I am pleased to have made the acquaintance of “The Digger”, a long standing legend in the record collecting world. The last few months have been filled by a mass of back and forth emails with tips, recommendations (records and film) and the odd transatlantic swap-shop session. I am now in serious debt and full of gratitude to him for sending me his copy of this highly rare and heavy single which got the ball rolling and led to the “discovery” and original reissue of their sole album.  The copy is rough, and although the crackles add authenticity, I am very open to someone finding me a pristine copy one day!

Overdrive is a Killer Hard Rock/Heavy Psych performance and initially reminded me of a long lost 4^th Seompi single

You can find the story of Phafner elsewhere, so what follows, in his own words, is a tale of tracking an act down in a time before the Internet and social media. I am pleased to say that the Digger is still active digging stuff up , often relying on his pre-Internet sleuthing skills for his searches to reach their goal. Over to you Digger…

For private hard rock LP fanatics/collectors, Phafner's original 1971 miniscule pressing of their self-released 'Overdrive' album has been the definition of 'holy grail' since Rockadelic's reissue back in 1989. Although it was 17 years after the fact, the story of how the band was even located has never been revealed - until now, that is:

I am a hard core/long time midwest 45 vinyl digger, and I was flipping thru piles of 7" discs at a flea market in Tulsa, Oklahoma, circa 1987-1988. Amongst the thousands of dusty records I handled that day, one that caught my attention was a pounded copy of, what was, to me, a total unknown: Overdrive b/w Plea From The Soul, on the Dragon label, by a band named Phafner.  Though I  had a no idea what a Phafner was, I decided it was worth spending 50 cents to find out what this mystery single sounded like. I was particularly intrigued by the caption underneath the "Overdrive" song title - (taken from the 'Overdrive' LP).

After returning home &slapping the 45 on my turntable, I realized the sound wasn't really my bag (being an anal, narrow minded 1960s garage rock purist). But I did know it was right up the alley of his pals in Texas, Rich & Mark, of the Rockadelic label. A phone call to Rich revealed that this band/record was unknown to them. At the time, these 2, along with Paul Major on the east coast, were the undisputed kings of private indie U.S. rock & psych albums from 1968 onward. So for them to not be familiar with this, it meant this had probably not circulated at all in record circles, so knowledgeable & connected these guys were. Rich suggested I try to search out the band members.

With little information to be found on the record's labels (no address, city or state), I  wasn't sure where to begin. Since the record turned up in Tulsa, my immediate speculation was that they were of Oklahoma origin. The publishing info on the label: had Buckskin Music (BMI). Now from experience, I knew that the majority of the time that music publishing companies listed on private labels were either: a.) long defunct, having existed only for a short period of time while the artist was active, or: b.) never even existed at all, they were simply printed on the labels to give the impression the artist/label was 'professional.'

Lo & behold; a call to BMI revealed that Buckskin Music was still an active affiliate &, even more amazing, the contact information (name/address/phone #) was up-to-date. For whatever reason, the Shultz brothers had kept current w/ BMI & as it turned out, they resided nowhere near Oklahoma - as Marshalltown, Iowa was the former group's stomping grounds.

After a couple of phone conversations with ex-members, I purchased an original copy of the LP from one of them, which turned out to be the first copy in the vinyl collecting world. Passing it on to the Rockadelic pair, who were immediate fans upon hearing it, they set about putting out a legal reissue (minus 1 track from the original & adding 2 others, including the non-LP 45 flip, "Plea From The Soul") which hit the streets in 1989. This limited, tiny pressing of 300 sold out immediately.

At some point in time I purchased a 2nd copy of the album, from another ex-member - and this copy was STILL SEALED. That's right, folks, there was indeed one flawless, never been played copy that traded hands in the record collecting world, approx 25 years back. Where is that copy today & is it still in sealed condition? That's the 21st century Phafner mystery, so modern day sleuths, get to work & try to find it.

Incidentally, it's unknown how many copies of the 45 were pressed & how many are in the possession of collectors. I am only aware of 2 being known in collections; odds are it too was pressed in very tiny quantities, 25-50 would probably be a reasonable estimation. (One  now proudly resides here in the UK!)



Hear a full version of this “Crackly” copy of Overdrive (Note –you can easily  find Plea From The Soul elsewhere on Youtube)

An update to the Phafner story - in late 2015, the band was nominated to be considered for the Iowa Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame (IRRMA - Iowa Rock& ;Roll Music Association), which has been in existence since 1997, and includes hundreds of small name/no name home state nominees that never even recorded, probably never wrote original material & were barely popular only within a 100 mile radius of their hometowns. Needless to say, Phafner did NOT make the cut & are not in the 2016 inductees class. Pretty incredible for a band that wrote & recorded originals, are now known & revered by collectors worldwide, whose album has been reissued several times & the original is now one of the most valuable vinyl artefacts of that era. What does that tell you about the IRRMA??

Pelican Peace Band –Take it off

Pelican Peace Band –Take it off/ Glory Road -Heads Up Production ‎– WS-101 (1973 US)

Power trio featuring Steve Dykmann, Danny Silvester and Kent Huss. Take it off is a hot hot example of killer US  Proto Punk supremely loud and heavy, oozing attitude and featuring some ripping blistering lead breaks. From Des Moines (Iowa) the band later evolved into Sky Dancer over time following different line up changes. The Chicken House credit may provide a direct link to those other Iowa legends Westminst'r. Brutal, Rockin’ and Totally Essential!

Note: Purepop may be changing. Blogs have to move with the times with many people now accessing the site through phones and tablets, so posting the sound clips on Youtube may be the way to go. So I have started my channel, let’s see how it works, feedback most welcome here or on Youtube itself

Hear a full version of Take it Off

Summit –The Darkness

Summit –The Darkness/Thank You Mister Jones –North Room Records (US 1969)

Monster proto Doom from Summit. Now it has been mentioned that it owes some to Factory’s Path Through The Forest and it certainly shares a similar monotone drone effect with machine-like drumming,if you ask me, you can also throw in a bit of Pere Ubu for good measure, but this one goes full downer without reprieve. It’s heavy dark pounding number with an amazing lead fuzz guitar break from the guitarist (who was only 15 or 16 at the time!). The lyrics allude to Amazon warriors, but remain pretty cryptic. The B side is tribute to Brian Jones and was sung and performed by the bass player. It’s a stripped down basic affair and a nice counterpoint to the A side.
Summit was never an actual band, just a bunch of kids who got together to jam, but still managed to record these 2 songs in September 1969 at Damon Studios in Kansas City. 3 members were from Clinton, while the guitarist had to commute from Sikeston, which was quite a trek and perhaps explains why they only played ever played one gig.
A self-release, North Room refers to their practice space, which was the north room of the basement in the bassist’s house… A bit thank you to Mark P for the thorough detective work!

Hear a full version of The Darkness



Hear a full version of Thank You Mister Jones

Blitzkreig –Kommen Heir Saugling (Come Here Baby)

Blitzkreig –Kommen Heir SaÜgling (Come Here Baby)/ Das Führer –Vier Reich Records SS 1047 (1976 US)

Nazi Proto Punk Boogie of the highest order with a heavy Bonehead twist (and a T shirt).What’s with all this German stuff? With a modest grasp of the German language (can’t spell Blitzkrieg) these Palm Spring bozos went all Nazi for this release, on Vier Reich records with Das FÜhrer on the B side no less. Kommen Heir Saugling (come here you cow!) was released in early 76 and is basic Hard Rock at its most caveman without an inkling of any Übermensch to be found. It sounds like the guitarist had access to the mixing desk for 6 seconds as the volume of the guitar  intro cuts and slashes across the mix in fine fashion. Blitzkreig’s tenuous grasp on reality didn’t last long under the introspection of all that healthy desert sun and this appears to be their only release

Hear a full version of Kommen Heir SaÜgling (Come Here Baby)



The miscreants...

Ballyhoo –Lovemaker

 

Ballyhoo –Lovemaker/Paperback Love –Gallo PD 1070 (1975 South Africa)

The link between the Netherlands and its Boer descendants continued well into the Glam 70s, with several Bonnie St Clair tracks getting the SA treatment including Maria’s Clap Your Hands And Stamp Your Feet and Jessica Jones’s Waikiki Man. Here it’s the turn of the storming Lovemaker by Heart (the NL one) to receive the South African treatment. The first difference is that we get male lead vocals replacing Patricia Paay’s vocals and that translates fine, the bum bum titty titty bum bum bum chant is still present and correct, however although the crunching and the stomping has been preserved, the performance here is not quite as wild and brash as the original This was the first single by Ballyhoo who then went on a more MOR trip including the hit Man in The Moon in the early 80s

Hear a full version of Lovemaker




Hear the original version here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdnQOXLYch4

Mammoth –Mammoth

Mammoth - Sensations (Head to Toe)/ Mammoth –United World Records UT-01970-001 (1970 US)
Mammoth came out of San Antonio (TX) and the fittingly titled Mammoth was to be found on the B side of a lightweight piece of Psych. Here the bands thump and grind in most HEAVY fashion over what sounds like a Stoner version of Mr. Soul and leave any musical pretensions safely at home. However this was not the case later, when the band morphed into “Der Tremoloids” who might as well been called the haemorrhoids as their awful progressive Jazz Rock leanings is bound to give you piles

Hear a full version of Mammoth

Diehard -Heartbreak

Diehard –Heartbreak/Lonetowers –Posae Records 208 (197? US)

Heartbreak is at the crossroad of crunching Hard Rock with a nice fat guitar riff and Prog due to to proggy leanings instilled in the vocal delivery and synth break. What really saves the day is the masterful unifying power of the mighty Cowbell that grounds the performance in fine fashion. God bless the Cowbell! I am assuming it is played by Dan Derda who  was the drummer the pre-David Marks Band Without a Name. The production is tight and Stan Ross is on engineering duties, but does that mean that it was recorded at Gold Star? It’s an LA affair in any case, with the Posae /Sea Seven labels having been around since the 60s.

Hear a full version of Heartbreak

Easybeats -Lovin' Machine/Easy Come Easy Go

Never a wrong time to feature the mighty Easybeats, but with Stevie's recent passing, here's a great reminder of what a bundle of joy and energy he was in his prime, seen here on German TV in 1966




The highlight DVD of 2015 was for me  the Easybeats movie Somewhere between Heaven and Woolworths gaining release nearly 50 years later as Easy Come, Easy Go. It includes these great scenes from Olympic Studios with Glyn Johns working on Heaven and Hell. Magic!





See you next year. Hard to believe it will soon be 10 years of Purepop...

Drift –Plastic People

Drift -Get Out Of My Life, Woman/Plastic People –AMCAN AM 1-72 (1972 US)

Remaining in the realm of Rock ‘n’ Roll Christians and this being the season of goodwill and special births, I bring you a revelation, Jesus was a BONEHEAD! Well at least the singer on this killer single proclaims (or screeches) that Jesus loves you, however that message did not seem to reach the dullards in the band who rock out in immensely heavy fashion. This is one of the most basic infernal fuzzed-faced backing tracks which isn’t in any way diluted by the XIAN fairy dust sprinkled atop, this one is leading straight to Hell. Simply amazing… Out of Ohio 1972

Hear a full version of Plastic People

Grunt Futtock – Rock ‘n’ Roll Christian

Grunt Futtock – Rock ‘n’ Roll Christian/Free Sole –Regal Zonophone RZ 3042 (1972 UK)

There’s surprisingly little in the way of information on this release. Surprising as this was a real supergroup made up of Roy Wood (on lead vocals), Steve Marriot, Peter Frampton and Alan Bown plus it was produced by Andrew Loog Oldham! Although released in 1972, I have the feeling the recording session would have taken place earlier at the transition point between the end of The Herd and the beginnings of Humble Pie. Another clue is that Roy was no longer on Regal Zonophone in 1972. Rock ‘n’ Roll Christian is in fact a rousing, near Crunching Glam, take on Jimmy Webb’s Dorothy Chandler Blues (released in 1970 on the Words and Music LP) a weird choice, but that’s Roy Wood for you! The B side is more experimental and soundtrack panoramic  and is probably Roy Wood having a bit of fun with orchestration (using the Edward G. Reed pseudonym?) I love the sound on the Be My Baby drums at the close...
So all in all, it’s a bit of a transparent mystery, I would love to have known how these sessions came about.

Hear a full version of Rock ‘n’ Roll Christian



Hear a full version of Free Sole

Utrecht Record Fair November 2015: Day 2

Saturday, normally all the good deals are made on the Friday, but this time I had not picked up stuff in the usual numbers.
However I am well pleased with the finds.

A new discovery for me was this Penny Wise single. I believe it is the 2nd of 3 singles the band released before they metamorphosed into Amsterdam
It's a lovely lush pop number, starting in a near Pet Sounds setting then crossing the Atlantic into a British 68 popsike sound...

https://youtu.be/ADf4tY5_0CE

Now a new feature these last few Utrechts are the Omega auctions taking place on the Saturday.
I had dreams of  living out my Storage Hunters fantasies

However there was a reason. I had my heart set of securing an original sleeved copy of the A2 Looking at You. A nice touch was meeting John Sinclair after the win. He asked if I wanted him to sign it and I reacted by a loud NOOOOOOOO!!!! Not too cool on my part, but I was well pleased that he signed the white paper sleeve. He confirmed that there were 500 sleeves.

 I lost out on I Can Only Give You Everything, but my flutter on my main object of desire paid out without going too crazy even with the 25% commission!

Of course there was another A&M God Save The Queen, but the prices are decreasing each time as the awareness spreads of the number of copies still available

Utrecht Record Fair November 2015: Day 1

So it really began in earnest...only this time it felt rather flat. I was there at 7:10am as the first dealers drove in, but by 9am, I had only found 3 singles! Normally I have upwards of 30 by that time.

Some of the regular German singles guys had less in the way of 60s/70s stuff, more 80s. Also I no longer have the urge (and patience) to go through 10.000 cheap singles in one swoop.

But as the day went on, I found some good stuff, main winners included the 32nd Turnoff Italian only single, but I will only spend one night with this tiger as it is destined to someone who has been looking for it for years.

The Thane Russall and Cape Kennedy Construction Company are the main personal finds.

Of interest is the self-released  Dutch Trash single a buzzing proto punk take on Johnny B Goode 1973)  and the Weird Swedish Don Curtis single (1969)


Let's see if the excitement levels  rise tomorrow...Well John Sinclair will be there, and there's the live Auction which includes some great MC5 stuff. Storage Wars, here we come...

Utrecht Record Fair: Day - 1

Here I am in a dark rainy Utrecht. I got in quite late and only caught the end of the pre main fair outdoor mini record fair.

Picked up a nice upgrade copy of the rare third PANTHERMAN single, where Frank goes for the Kiss unmasked look. You decide which is more scary....

Anyhow I will be there at the main event from 7am....who knows what tomorrow will bring

Kingdom – All I Need

Kingdom –All I Need/Nothing Could Be Better –United Artists UP 35145 (1970 UK)

Heavy Gritty Freakrock of the highest order. All I Need is a deep dirge that reeks of a Carnaby Street hangover waking up in the middle of Underground Explosion ’69. The cavernous drums are amazing as is the lead guitar played with wild abandonment.  The performance works even better as the chorus helps to keep things tight and compact. The B side is also good, but is more diffused and lacks the focus of the other side.

I couldn’t find much about these guys, but it appears this single was a one-off. Nice touch it being a “joint” production. Heavy man, heavy…

Hear a full version of All I Need



Hear a full version of Nothing Could Be Better

Choya –Let The Children Boogie

 

Choya –Let The Children Boogie Choya –Let The Children Boogie Part 1/Part 2 –Cue C502X (1973 Canada)

An interesting example of a Canadian Glam and Hard Rock crossover by Ex Magic Cycle/ TheCycle member Paul Clinch. Mid tempo, both sides sound like they were obviously inspired by T. Rex but the vocal delivery is closer to Heavy Cruiser or Thundermug. An extra dimension is added by the use of old synths and especially a Mellotron, which is somewhat unworldly and really takes off on part 2.
This was the first of three singles Choya released. An album also came out on Buddah in 1976.

Hear a full version of Let The Children Boogie Part 1



Hear a full version of Let The Children Boogie Part 2

41 singles and 4 LPs just listed on ebay

Hi I have just listed 41 singles and 4 LPs on ebay...

Here is the link

Purepop1uk records on ebay

Plenty of great stuff including the woefully obscure and great Boppers single

Boppers -Cleveland Dolls/ Rocket City -Wild obscure US Proto Punk -1972?

Cleveland Dolls

 Dancing in Rocket City

Here is the full list. More funds for the upcoming Utrecht welcome –Thanks!

Bilbo Baggins -Saturday Night -Dutch Pic Sleeve -Hard Glam Stomper-1974

Stud Leather -Cut Loose -Proto Punk Garage Madness-1973

Tiger -I Am an Animal- Wild Glam Cruncher -Demo 1975

Equals -Diversion -Crunching Stomper -German pic sleeve 1973

Easybeats -Easy Fever Vol 2 EP - Vanda and Young with All Gone Boy 1967

Grapefruit (Vanda & Young) -Sha Sha/Universal Party -German pic sleeve 1971

Blakbone -Louisiana Cockfight - Heavy Psych FREAK Bonehead -1974

Stepson -Rule in The Book -Hard Rock Bonehead JAPANESE sleeve RARE-1974

Mach II -Concorde - Quirky UK Lush Supersonic Pop -1976

Creation -Midway Down Freakbeat Killer German picture sleeve -1968

Roky Erickson -Red Temple Prayer (Two Headed Dog) -Mars 1975

Messengers - In The Jungle/Way a Woman is PSYCH Dancer picture sleeve 1971

Blue Cheer -All Night Long -German picture sleeve - Heavy Psych Rock -1969

Velvet Underground -White Light/White Heat Original US Promo 1967

Velvet Underground -Head Held High -French Picture sleeve 1972

Velvet Underground ‎– Have A Real Good Time-Limited ed.100 copies screen printed

Sleaz Band -Midnight Man -UK Bonehead Cruncher 1974 -Hear!

Jets -YEAH! -Killer Glam Cruncher -French pic sleeve 1973

Stray -Move It -Hard n' Heavy Glam Cruncher – 1973

Rats -Don't Let Go/Dragon Child -Killer Glam Stomper - Demo 1974

Reparata -Your Life is Gone -Great 70s Girl Group Death Disc -1972

Jook-Oo Oo Rudi -Stomping Glam-John's Children 1973

Paul & Barry Ryan-Carry The Blues -French Picture Sleeve 1974

Blue Maxi -Here Comes Summer -Psych era Surf Powerpop -1970

Blue Planet -I'm Going Man- Great Dutch HEAVY Psych Hard Rock 1970

Glass Menagerie -Do My Thing Myself -Driving Hard Hitting Hard Rock -1969

Cobra –Midnight Walker - Heavy Psych FREAK Hard Rock 1971

Apocalypse -Neurotic Reaction -Wild German Heavy Psych 1970

Buster Jangles Flying Mattress - Love Taken Over My Brain FUZZ Psych-1971

Blue Goose -Loretta -Wild Glam/Hard Rock Cruncher -Demo 1975

Renegade -My Revolution -STOMPING Glam Crusher 1974

Paul Ryder and Time Machine - Are You Ready- GLAM STOMPER -1974

Marrakesh -The Prodigal Son Returns -Great UK Glam Rocker 1973

Suzi Quatro -Rolling Stone/Brain Confusion -Portugal pic sleeve 1972

Long Tall Ernie -Rockin' Rocket -Great NederGlam -1975

Dee Dee - Woman -South African Glam Stomper 1975

Yellow Bird -Attack Attack- Frenetic Junkshop Glam Killer -Demo 1974

Giggles -Reaching Out - Glam/Hard Rock -Demo 1977

Little Sammy Gaha -Rock n Roll is Back Again -ROUSING Glam Cruncher -1973

Punchin' Judy - Settle Down - Tough Girl Hard Glam Scorcher -1974

And 4 LPs

BONEHEAD CRUSHERS (Crunchers) VOL 2 14 Demented Fuzz-Faced Monsters from the USA

BONEHEAD CRUNCHERS VOL 4 Streelight Fight -Proto Punk/ Heavy Rock/Glam ltd 300

ULTIMATE BONEHEAD Volume 1- 14 Hard Rock/Heavy Psych/Proto Punk Nuggets ltd 300

ULTIMATE BONEHEAD Volume 2- 14 US Proto Punk/Hard Rock/Heavy Nuggets ltd 300

T.C. – Zoom City

T.C. –Zoom City/Long Way Home –Self released (1980 US)

Here is as truly wonderful unknown Powerpop gem out of Arizona. Although quite slick, the killer hooks and tough guitars make this a true classic. T.C.’S vocals are great with a strident edge that gab you on first hearing. It has been mentioned that it sounds like a tougher Rick Springfield playing with The Cars. T.C. was a big Cars fan, and that was the sound he was going for at the time, but this goes way beyond that!

Long Way Home is  less obviously a work of genius; sounding more like Supertramp covering Willie Nile! Surprisingly it was Long Way Home that became the plug side and garnered airplay in Phoenix, Springfield (MO), St. Louis and even in Bolivia!!! It appears that he performed there, receiving “star treatment”.

So who is T.C.? Well he is one Thomas Ben Chambers, he still has a Myspace page https://myspace.com/tcpoprok/music/songs with other stuff he has recorded. Not included on his site is the Morning Sunlight single he released in 1976; where the high pitch voice sounds like it was recorded when he was 13.

It’s folky and orchestrated and doesn’t gel at 45rpm, however when played at 33.3rpm Morning Sunlight could be a Forever Changes outtake with T.C. sounding like a dead ringer for Arthur Lee. These two records appear to be the only vinyl releases by T.C.

Thanks to Mark P. for turning me on to this wonder and for the background info

Hear a full version of Zoom City



Hear a full version of Long Way Home