Twink's real name was John Alder. In 1963 he drummed for a Colchester band, Dane Stephens and The Deep Beats, who later changed their name to The Fairies in 1964, when they signed to Decca. By 1967, Alder assumed the name Twink and resurfaced in Tomorrow. He was then involved in The Pretty Things, playing on their S.F. Sorrow album in 1968, but by 1969 he'd left them too to form an early Pink Fairies line-up with Mick Farren and Steve Peregrin Took (from Tyrannosaurus Rex). He'd also recorded the above solo album with assistance from several musicians, including Took and various members of The Deviants. Twink sings as well as drums on the album, which is a mixture of his own songs (including some instrumentals) and poems. It is a very significant disc in the wilderness of British psychedelia. Its highlights included the opening cut, The Coming Of The Other One, with its Eastern-sounding gongs, bongos, sitars, backward tapes and sighs and screams; The Sparrow Is The Sign and Thousand Words In A Cardboard Box. It wasn't actually released until 1970, though. It is now very collectable but some copies were pressed on red vinyl and these are now ultra-rare. In 1970, Twink also formed Pink Fairies as a more stable unit with Mick Farren, but by mid-1971 Twink had left the group and shortly afterwards left the country too. In 1972, he formed an outfit called Stars with Syd Barrett and bassist Jack Monk (ex-Delivery). They only lasted for half a gig before Barrett wandered off the stage - indeed, they must be a contender for one of the shortest-lived bands in history. Having married in 1974, Twink returned to the music scene in the late seventies but that is beyond the time span of this book.
Aquarian Age
Personnel: CLEM CATTINI drms NICKY HOPKINS piano TWINK (JOHN ALDER) multi-instrumental JOHN 'JUNIOR' WOOD bs
45: 1 10,000 Words In A Cardboard Box/Good Wizard Meets Naughty Wizard (Parlophone R 5700) 1968
Twink, who later achieved some fame with The Pretty Things and Pink Fairies, was the brainchild behind this studio project, which was produced by Mark Wirtz. Indeed Wirtz later re-recorded it under another title Love And Occasional Rain on his Come Back And Shake Me album and Twink later re-recorded it for his Think Pink album. The 'A' side, 10,000 Words... is a superb slice of orchestrated free-form psychedelia, the flip, a novelty thow-away effort.
Re: Неизвестные 60-е. Часть 42. Группа Tomorrow Автор:kosheiДата: 16.05.05 17:14:23
Having returned to Sweden, Tages recorded their next and last LP, "Studio". Probably the finest LP ever made in Sweden, it is heavily influenced by Swedish folk music. Rock songs featured unusual instrument, such as accordions and flutes, while the softer songs had even stranger instruments. But never did the band lose touch with their rock background, and the LP stands today as testimony to the talent of this Swedish band, who was never to make it big.
Tages soldiered on for a year or so, releasing three more singles, before Tommy Blom decided to leave the band. The band changed its name to Blond, but it was to no avail, and soon the rest of the boys decided to call it quits. A sad ending to one of the (if not THE) greatest bands outside the UK and the US.
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Re: Неизвестные 60-е. Часть 47. Группа The Tages Автор:kosheiДата: 16.05.05 10:22:00
The next single, She’s having a baby now, relating the story of an unwanted teen pregnancy, was maybe too critical for the public to accept it, and suddenly, the band lost many of its followers, in spite of the great music they made. A final attempt to break into England was made with the single Treat her like a lady, a cover of a Crewe/Knight song. The promo movie was made by Peter Goldmann, more famous for his work with the Beatles, but the song did not become a hit (allegedly because the wrong people were paid).
The England tour was not a total flop, however, since the band was allowed to record a few songs in the legendary studio, Abbey Road. Also, many celebrities, such as Cat Stevens and Roger Daltrey from the Who, really liked Tages music, and the Kinks’ Ray Davies said that Tages’ stage show was wonderful, and that the band really should have a future in Britain. But, unfortunately it was not to be.
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Неизвестные 60-е. Часть 47. Группа The Tages Автор:kosheiДата: 16.05.05 10:21:59
In the early 60s, skiffle was not only a big craze in England, it hit Sweden pretty hard too. In a small town outside of Gothenburg, a 16-year old lad named Tommy Blom had just received a guitar from his parents. One day he met an old school chum, Anders Töpel, who also had a guitar, and who in turn knew a third guitar player, Danne Larsson. These three young boys started playing together, and soon a fourth member was added, Göran Lagerberg. On purpose they chose the "geeky" name Tages (from Danne's middle name) to make fun of all guitar based pop bands with their slick attitude and suits.
Soon, however, the four youths decided to change their style, after having been introduced to the new "Mersey" sound. A drummer, Freddie Skantze, was added, and within a short time a reshuffle of the instruments followed. Lagerberg took up the bass, while Danne and Anders were to play rhythm and lead guitar respectively. This left Tommy as lead singer and tambourine player.
Their first gig was held on 23 December 1963. Their name was becoming locally known and in August 1964, a Swedish newspaper held a contest called "The Beatles of the West Coast". Many different groups applied, but finally Tages were the victors, earning the right to make a record for the new company Platina. This first recording session took place on 20 September 1964. While the studio was pretty basic, Tages did bring two good songs to the sessions, Sleep little girl and Tell me you’re mine, which were released as a single about a month later. One day, not knowing that the single was going to be tested for the Swedish Top Ten, the boys heard themselves on the radio, and just one week later, the single had reached no. 1, replacing none other than the Beatles.
A couple of months later, the next single followed: I should be glad b/w I cry. This was not only a commercial success, but the critics liked it too, and now Tages were accepted by the large crowd. On 31 March 1965, Tages got to open for the Rolling Stones on their performance in Gothenburg. New singles followed, and the first eponymous LP was released in November. At about the same time, Göran and Freddie were allowed to play together with Chuck Berry in Stockholm.
The first single after the LP was a change of direction. Their music had previously been rather similar to that of the Beatles and other beat groups, but just like the Beatles, Tages felt the need for change. So for the next single, So many girls, a new instrument was added, the recorder. A more soft sound was the result, and the single was a great success. Therefore, Tages and their management decided that it was time to break the English market. Very thorough preparations followed, new clothes, new equipment, etc. Unfortunately, what the management had forgotten was that work permits would be necessary for Tages to be allowed to play in Britain. The boys had to turn back to Sweden, beginning work on their second LP, simply to be called "2".
Another setback was the resignation of original drummer, Freddie Skantze. A replacement was soon found in Tommy Tausis, who had been playing with another important Swedish pop group, the Strangers, until their break-up. Tausis is also present on some tracks on the second LP, which was released in July 1966.
Musical experiments became increasingly important to the boys, who were very eclectic in their choice of music, playing many original songs, as well as some carefully chosen covers. The next LP, "Extra Extra", was released towards the end of 1966, and, like its predecessor, consisted of 6 original songs and 6 covers. Covers were taken from many different styles of music: soul, pop, and Motown. On "Extra Extra", there were a number of interesting original songs, showing the band’s willingness to experiment. One song, Extra, featured a theremin, just like Good vibrations by the Beach Boys. Other songs had controversial lyrics, like Secret room. This was also their last release at Platina, since they had signed a contract with the Swedish branch of Parlophone.
Tommy Tausis had never really settled in the group and after the release of the third LP, he resigned. The next drummer in Tages was Lasse Svensson, and the first release he was featured on was a revelation: the single Every raindrop means a lot. Finally, psychedelia had reached Sweden. Nonsensical lyrics were combined with a strange musical arrangement, and hey presto, a new change in direction had been made. Together with their producer, Anders Henriksson, Tages now began producing incredibly clever and interesting music, as can be heard on the two 1967 LPs, "Contrast" and "Studio". Contrast only has four covers (plus one especially written for them by producer Henriksson and Thorstein Bergman). Criticism of society, love songs, psychedelia, everything can be found on this LP.
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Re: Неизвестные 60-е. Часть 42. Группа Tomorrow Автор:kosheiДата: 16.05.05 10:19:58
In the beginning of 1969 the Hep Stars toured with a successful floor show. It was in Malmö, during this tour, that Benny met Anni-Frid Lyngstad for the first time. That year their album 'Hep Stars på Svenska' was released. In February guitarist Janne Frisk left the Hep Stars. Benny, Svenne and Charlotte preferred to continue working with the floor show type of music. As the other members Christer Petersson and Lennart Hegland wanted to return to the rock 'n roll style of their early days, the Hep Stars decided to split up. Benny, Svenne and Charlotte left the group in August 1969.
Re: Неизвестные 60-е. Часть 44. Группа The Hep Stars Автор:kosheiДата: 16.05.05 09:47:16
The Swedish Inland Revenue also thought it was nice to have them back. For two years the Hep Stars had failed to pay income tax. In December of 1967 Inland Revenue caught up with them. This, together with the Hep Stars' reckless spending, made the group virtually bankrupt. That same month an album called 'Jul med Hep Stars' (meaning 'Christmas with Hep Stars') was released. Their Christmas could have been jollier though...
In 1968 they continued working, trying to pay off their debts. Their repertoire contained more and more songs in Swedish and increasingly leaned towards middle-of-the-road. Svenne Hedlund's American girlfriend Charlotte Walker was added as a lead singer. Two albums were released: 'Songs we sang' and 'It's been a long time'.
Re: Неизвестные 60-е. Часть 44. Группа The Hep Stars Автор:kosheiДата: 16.05.05 09:46:59
Like all successful bands at the time the Hep Stars were touring a lot in 1966. On one occasion they were invited to a party by another famous group called the Hootenanny Singers. One of its members was Björn Ulvaeus. It was at this party, in the beginning of June 1966, when Benny would meet Björn for the first time. At the end of the year a very successful album 'Hep Stars' was released which contained 'Isn't it easy to say', the first song co-written by Benny and Björn. Also at the end of the 1960s Björn would be asked to fill in on a Hep Stars tour to Finland when their guitarist Janne Frisk had failed to return from a holiday to Spain.
Sweden's Beatles
In the meantime the popularity of the Hep Stars in Sweden equalled that of the Beatles. Selling records in such large quantities could have made millionaires outof the Hep Stars members, were it not for several disastrous business dealings that their production company, Hep House, became involved in. One these was a very costly film 'Habari Safari', which was filmed in Africa in February of 1967. Together with their production manager and a crew, they spent two weeks in Kenya followed by ten days in Denmark for some additional footage. But as the film hadn't been scripted yet, very little footage turned out to be useable. A huge sum of money went down the drain.The only noticable result of their trip to Africa was the recording of the traditional African song 'Malaika'. It was released as a single and became a number one hit in May of that year. The B-side of the single was a song written by Benny with the appropriate name 'It's nice to be back'.
Re: Неизвестные 60-е. Часть 44. Группа The Hep Stars Автор:kosheiДата: 16.05.05 09:46:34
Also in 1965, Benny wrote his first original material for the group and his early songs like 'No Response', 'Wedding', and 'Sunny Girl' became hits. From now on Benny would regularly write material for the Hep Stars. 'No Response' became a number two hit. Both 'Sunny Girl' and 'Wedding' became number one hits in Sweden in 1966. 'Sunny Girl' even topped the chart list in the Netherlands. Several years later Benny would play his self-written song 'Wedding' on the church orchan while Björn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Fältskog were walking to the altar to be married.
Re: Неизвестные 60-е. Часть 44. Группа The Hep Stars Автор:kosheiДата: 16.05.05 09:45:48
In 1964 the Hep Stars was an up and coming rock 'n roll group in Sweden. Their lead singer, Svenne Hedlund, had seen Benny playing at a gig with his group Elverkets Spelmanslag. Svenne was quite impressed and when the Hep Stars' organist left the group because of an argument, Benny was asked to become their keyboard player.
Benny joined them in October and at the end of that year the Hep Stars went into the recording studio. Amongst the songs recorded were 'Tribute To Buddy Holly', 'Farmer John' and 'Cadillac'. The Beatles were taking the world by storm. Not surprisingly the Hep Stars' recordings where in line with the then popular British beat.
In the beginning of 1965 the Hep Stars got the opportunity to perform Cadillac on TV. Their performance was that of a true rock 'n roll band, they were raving on the stage and climbing onto their amplifiers. It made them famous almost overnight. Three of their singles reached the top four of the Swedish chart. Two albums were released that year: 'We and our Cadillac' and 'Hep Stars on stage'.
Re: Неизвестные 60-е. Часть 44. Группа The Hep Stars Автор:kosheiДата: 16.05.05 09:44:26
The Hep Stars decided to make a film like the Beatles had done with "A hard day's night" They decided to film it in Africa and call it "Habari Safari." Their plan was to start the cameras rolling, and let the witty things flow out of their mouths, just like the Beatles did in "A hard days night". What the Hep Stars did not realise was that that movie was carefully scripted and rehearsed. The Hep Stars had no script, no shooting schedule and no concept of the money they were wasting. The shoot was a disaster, the film never released. This, and other acts like ill advised trips to the USA and England to record music that wasn't even written yet quickly drained their coffers. They also started their own record label and production company called "Hep house." While the label had a couple of hits, it too went the way of the Beatle's ill managed Apple records, finally loosing the Hep Stars incredible amounts of money. Indeed, finally the Revenue caught up to them for non-payment of royalty taxes, and Benny, in particular, had to work for many years to pay off this debt.
In 1968, Svenne had gone to see a show by an American "girl group" called The Sherrys. They were known for dance hits, and had appeared on American Bandstand singing their biggest hit, "Pop pop pop-eye." Svenne was smitten by one of the girls, Charlotte "Lotta" Butler Walker. She was also taken by Svenne, and decided to stay in Sweden. Soon after, the two married. The wedding portrait is on the cover of "The Hep Stars pa Svenska". Lotta joined the group ala Yoko Ono did the Beatles. Several songs were written for Svenne and Lotta by Benny with Bjцrn and Lars "Lasse" Berghagen like "A flower in my garden," "Songs we sang" and "Speleman." They recorded an LP in Swedish featuring several lovely covers like Cliff Richard's "Visions," "Last night I had the strangest dream," which in addition to English and Swedish they recorded in Dutch, and "Four strong winds," another American folk tune. Just as Yoko had influenses (good or bad) on the Beatles, so had Lotta on the "Swedish Beatles." After Jan missed some dates, Bjцrn was temporarily filling in for him. Their last recording together, "Speedy Gonzales" was a smash hit, but the group was divided. Svenne and Lotta wanted to continue the easy listening hits and persue the Supper club/Cabaret scene, while Jan, Lennart and Christer wanted to return to the rock and roll of the earlier days. Benny choose the side of Svenne and Lotta.
Benny, Bjцrn, Svenne and Lotta had several months of engagements on the Supper club curcuit. By this time, Benny had met a jazz vocalist named Anni-Frid Lyngstad, and Bjцrn had married a pop singer named Agnetha Fдltskog. Bjцrn and Benny decided to form a group together and to feature their women. The resulting group soon faded into rock obscurity and no one knows whatever became of them...
Svenne and Lotta continued as a duet and were signed by Bjцrn and Benny's label, Polar. Their first LP was a collection of oldies, produced by B & B. The second LP, "S & L II," featured their Eurovision entry, "Bang a boomerang," plus the flip side, a wonderful B & B song called "Roly poly girl." (This song reminds me of Honey honey). The third LP, "Letters," featured a B & B song called "Funky Feet," which was rejected by ABBA as sounding too much like "Dancing Queen." It does, and also reminds me of "If it wasn't for the nights." (Baby, I got funky feet...If it wasn't for the nights) . Another rare B & B song, "If we only had the time" was also on this LP. The fourth Polar LP was their "Disco" LP, "Bring it on home." They also released a Greatest Hits package on Polar, "20 Golden Hits." They started their own label, Romance, and also recorded several LPs for Sonet. They continue to perform to this day.
The Hep Stars regularly reunite to play the still lucrative Folk Park tours, and still sell out! They recorded a reunion CD, with long time Benny fan Benneth Fagerlund on the keyboards called "Act II." This CD also features ABBA's guitar ace, Lasse Wellander. Long time fans hope that Benny and Bjцrn will produce again for their old pals. For Svenne's 50th birthday, Svenne and Olga/EMI released his rare solo LP, recorded at the height of The Hep Stars' fame, Svenne Hedlund sings Elvis on CD.
Re: Неизвестные 60-е. Часть 44. Группа The Hep Stars Автор:kosheiДата: 16.05.05 09:44:20
THe Hep Stars were Sweden's biggest selling rock act in the 60's, even outselling The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. The name "Hep Stars" means "Stars in the know".
They were formed in 1963 by Lennart "Lelle" Hegland and Christer "Krille" Petterson. The two met while serving together in the Swedish Air Force. At first their group played the supper clubs, but soon rock took over. Jan "Janne" Frisk joined the group, and they soon aquired an organist, Hans "Hasse" Цstlund. At first Jan was the lead singer, but they soon realised they wanted a seperate vocalist, so Sven "Svenne" Hedlund joind the group. They recorded one single which bombed, "Kana Kapila."
They were unsatisfied with Hans Цstlund's playing and soon were seeking a replacement. A friend of Svenne's named Gцran "Benny" Andersson called him up one day. Benny's band needed to get it's equipment to a gig and asked to borrow Svenne's van. Svenne drove them to the club and stayed to hear his friend. The band was terrible, but Benny's playing was excellent, indeed he had been talented on the keyboards ever since the age of 6, when an accordian was first placed in his chubby hands. Svenne asked Benny to join the Hep Stars, and Benny agreed. From the very first recording session with Benny the hits came.
On March 23, 1965 they appeared on the Swedish TV program "Drop in." They sang "Cadillac," while running all over the stage and doing other such wild antics. Indeed, at one concert, Svenne broke his ankle jumping off a speaker cabinet! This, and their rock star good looks assured their popularity, especially with the young girls. That week, their 45 of "A tribute to Buddy Holly" entered the Swedish Top 10, as did "Cadillac" and "Farmer John" 2 weeks later. "Bald headed woman" was the third single in a row to hit #1! A month later they appeared on Norwegian TV with "Farmer John" and "Cadillac" and those entered the Norwegian Top 10 as well. Hits followed in Denmark and Finland.
The Hep Stars were influenced by English and American rock and roll. Their early recordings were led and driven by Benny's wailing electric organ. It seems the Hep Stars were well known for partying, womanising and living the rock and roll lifestyle. The temptations of the road proved too much for Benny, and soon he asked his "wife" Christine Grцnvall for a divorce. The young couple had two small children. The Hep Stars 1965 Folkpark recording, "The Hep Stars on stage" reminds one of Beatlemania, with all the screaming and excitement. From the very first LP Benny was songwriting. He was strong musically, but often needed to reply on lyricists for the words. In 1966, to slow down the pace at the shows because of Svenne's hurt ankle, he wrote the classically inspired "Sunny girl." This #1 was a hit all over Europe. even in Germany and Holland. That year Benny and Svenne wrote "Wedding", another #1 and another big European hit, although it, like "Sunny girl" had "dictionary lyrics". With every song he wrote Benny became better and better. This 'soft' approach alienated early fans of the group, who wanted the more raucous rock and roll, but earned the group many new fans with their new sound.
In 1967 after a concert the group were relaxing at a pub when another band, who was playing the same city came in. They were The Hootenanny Singers, a folk act from Vдstervik. The group's lyricist and singer was Bjцrn Ulvaeus. Bjцrn and Benny clicked from the start. That very night they started writing songs. They proved to be an inspired team, Benny with his knack for beautiful melodies and Bjцrn, with his mastery of several languages. The very first time Bjцrn and Benny ever appeared together on a record was The Hootenanny Singer's version of an old folk tune, "Blomman." Benny played electric organ on this recording. They wrote a tune, "No time", which both bands recorded. The Hootenanny Singers recorded it as an accoustic folk song, while the Hep Stars gave it a snappy pop sound. The two men from this point on never separated or stopped working together.
Re: Неизвестные 60-е. Часть 33. Группа Strawberry Alarm Clock Автор:kosheiДата: 11.05.05 21:14:39
sunset- терки точно можно перетирать до бесконечности.кому поп,а кому дочка.но могу точно сказать,слово авангард произошел до муз.авангарда.да и сильных групп,к сожалению,не так уж и много. (царскую водку,насколько я знаю,не пьют)
Re: Неизвестные 60-е. Часть 33. Группа Strawberry Alarm Clock Автор:kosheiДата: 11.05.05 20:11:18
sunset- это конечно радует,что сливки Вами собраны.но совершенно не разделяю Вашего оптимизма по предложенному.не сомневюсь в многообразии Вашего списка,но на сколько он будет длин,на столько же, по большей части,он будет и скучен-это арьегард! типа столового уксуса. в авангарде остается около десятка групп-это и есть компонеты царской водки!
Re: Неизвестные 60-е. Часть 38. Группа The Ivy League Автор:kosheiДата: 11.05.05 16:57:10