Man!.... It's the Daisy Clan!

Now....Back to some Bubblegum! And this week's delight is none other than part-Belgian, part-German combo The Daisy Clan! Even though I may say that with a certain degree of conviction, I sadly in fact do not know much about this wonderful group. But I can let the music speak for itself! Well...the record covers tells some of the story anyhow! Included in the package are 10 of their tracks, which is almost all of their recorded output - I think so anyhow! Highlights include the brilliant Billy Vanilly (no relation to Milli Vanilli) and an English language cover of Du Hast Mich by Howard Carpendale. Hope you like them as much as I do!

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A chap called Edouard

Here's a cool find! First a bit of back story.. Firstly in France, a guy called Antoine scored a hit with a record called Les Elucubrations D'Antoine back in 1966. The record upon release stirred up a bit of controversy, in part due to his free flowing locks and a fondness for flowered shirts, but also due to the record's forward comments on social issues such as the pill and imported rock'n'roll ala Johnny Halliday. While artists in his succession tried to emulate his Dylan-esque vibes, he did have his fair share of detractors. In fact he inspired a slew of parody, ....I guess tributes!, that mocked Antoine's forwardness and style. One of these was a guy called Edouard, who responded to Antoine in his song My Name is Edouard, while sporting a knee-length wig and a natty pair of bermuda shorts! All in good sport of course!...maybe! Anyhow here's a vid of said song and le mp3s to match! Also included is a direct parody of Les Elucubrations D'Antoine called coincidently Les Hallucinations d'Edouard.

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Act III, A lost Shadow Morton Girl Group

Here's a 45 by mystery girl group, Act III, from 1966 and released on Bell subsidiary, Mala records. What makes this an interesting stand out are the people behind it. The A-side, Sweet Anticipation, is produced and arranged by the legendary George "Shadow" Morton. Production credits also go to fellow Shangri-La writer Tony Michaels, who was also their manager before the girls signed to Red Bird and once owned radio station WBAB. Tony and George were also in a group together in Long Island called The Marquees. The two writers are also quite interesting as well! One of them, Erik Darling, was an important player in the folk revival period in the early 60's. The flipside, "I'm Gonna Try and Be Better", is also produced by Morton alongside a Warren Mills and Elliot Sachs. Regrettably I cannot find a single thing about the girls themselves. I was almost excited when I saw the name as there is an all girl band from the late 60's called Act IV, so logically it could have been them sans one member, however the dates don't match up! The record itself is not too spectacular, and slight departure from what you would expect from a "Shadow" Morton girl group ala The Shangri-Las/Nu-Luvs/Pussycats, but it has its charm! The B-side is a bit more rockin', and could sound like it was from an all girl band - ^___^ - Anyhow it is a very interesting piece of history nonetheless! Enjoy!

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Les Lutins, The Imps of Quebec!

One of the finest garage acts that came out of the province of Quecbec in the 1960's were a group of guys who called themselves Les Lutins. Forming in 1963 in the town St-Hyacinthe (The Liverpool of Quebec!), the band began performing at various dance venues locally but due to their ages (11-12 at the time) they were unable to break into the industry. However the first grains of success were laid when the band appeared on the radio station CHRS as part as a radiothon along with other groups from the region in December 1964. The following summer the band made more headway, winning a large battle bands contest, in which 36 groups from across Quebec took part. Out of this came the chance to release a record with Laval Records, who sponsored the event. The release went no where and it was just under two years before fate took a positive step.

During this time the band developed their style into one that was influenced by the influx of British mod groups, such as The Who and The Kinks. As a result another release was put out (Je Cherche/Elle n'a rein compris), this time on the newly formed Carrousel records, owned by Roger Valley. Under the wing of Alain Blanchard's sister, Nicole, the group took on a plan to release a single around every three months. The increasing popularity and the constant releases of the group meant that a number of singles remained in high chart positions at the same time. These included Dany, dedicated to singer Dany Aube, and Laissez-nous vivrez.

A collaboration with artist Jacques Michel provided the group with their greatest hit, Monsieur le robot, while their self-titled first album proved a hit also. After a tour, and more singles, their second album Les Lutins en orbite was released with praise given to new guitarist Richard Guillemette, previously of Les Intendents, work on cuts Girl and Les yeux fermes. As 1968 came to a close Simon Brouillard, the singer of the group, left the band in pursuit of a solo career. The group continued on as a four piece, but by the end of the decade the band had parted company.

And there you go!

Band Members:

• Alain Blanchard: bass (1964-1969)
  
• Simon Brouillard: vocals
  
• Normand Brouillard: drums
  
• Serge Lambert: guitar
  
• Richard Guillemette: guitar (1968-1969)
  

Additional Members:

• Luc Dozois: drums (1963-1964)
  
• André Richard: guitar (1963-1965)
  
• Yvan Saint-Onge: guitar (1965-1968)

And!!! Here's an absolutely amazing clip from Youtube of the guys performing my favourite track Je suis du bois!!! C'est très merveilleux!! I really dig the dance moves!, (mental note to incorporate them into my own....)





As for the download I have uploaded some of my favourite tracks from these guys. Please do take a listen, you wont be disappointed!

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The Honey LTD & Eve Collection

It is with great pleasure and happiness that I present to you....., the Honey Ltd and Eve collection! This special package combines the works of the group primarily known as Honey Ltd, while also covering their foundation as the Mama Cats and their later incarnation as Eve.

Honey Ltd are perhaps one of the last great female vocal groups of the sixties, encompassing dream-like harmonies and song writing to fantastic production and arrangement. ... Of course there's much more to the story!


The full history, including interviews. of these groovy girls is provided by Perfect Sound Forever

While the full picture is provided by Spectropop

However the brief version goes something like this...
Four girls (Laura, Marsha Jo, Alex and Joan) meet through university. Finding a common passion for singing, they form a band. Next they meet an influential manager from Detroit, christening them the Mama Cats. Much touring ensues and with one single down an eventual move to LA became their next move. One phone call later, and one meeting with a certain Mr. Hazelwood they hit a recording studio. A publicity campaign is launched and singles follow. Unknown to the band, however, a self-titled LP is released on LHI. Eventually Alex leaves the band and Eve is formed. An LP of theirs is released mid 1970. The band moves on but leaves behind a beautiful legacy...

However that is only a very brief brief - so please do read on at Perfect Sound Forever!

It is however, fair to say that the Honey Ltd LP, is very much a rarity - and can fetch up to prices of $2000 - worth it? You betcha! Included in the collection are 23 songs, including the Mama Cats A-side, the Honey Ltd LP, a non LP single, an alternate version of Louie Louie, the Eve LP and a song scored for the Vanishing Point film soundtrack. This won't be available for too long....so grab it while you can!

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This post is dedicated to the great man behind all of this, Lee Hazelwood.

A double dose of Café con Leche!

Time to get another fix of bubblegum..., and this time its a total sugar high.... with added fuzz!


Café con Leche were two young American kids who released at least two records in Spain in '72/'73. For what reasons and the amount
of success the record acheived are unknown, but its great that they did! The Spanish speaking world during the 70's and early 80's seemed to have a thing for groups featuring young members, with artists such as La Pandilla, Los Chicos and Parchis garnering massive success in Spain and Latin America, so I guess this is somehow related to the craze!


The first single the band released was The Bubble Gum Song (nana-nana) which absoultely blistering, just like digging into a big knickerblocker glory - makes you very hungry after listening tho'! The next, Land of Light, manages to do one better and becomes a total fuzz fest. This thing is epic!

Anyhow here's the two said tracks!

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Make way for the Moppets!!

East Coast Girls who Strummed with Style!

(The Moppets in '66)

Back in 1965, four girls came together at Mount Holyoake College, MA to form a band; organised by lead member, Beverly Rodgers. These girls became The Moppets, a name coined originally as a joke by Beverly's father and went on to some limited success, touring colleges extensively on the east coast, releasing a single and featuring in a number of publications before separating at some point in the late 60's. The original line up consisted of band members Phyllis Hess (organ), Beverley Rodgers (lead guitar), Alisa Damon (bass guitar) and Kathie Ross (drums); most of the girls provided the essential vocals!The girls were in constant demand, especially at men's college's!, and toured in a 1957 Cadillac hearse!, which went under the pet name of 'Giraffe,' because, according to Ailsa "it has such a long neck." As you can see from the pictures they really loved the guy! Sometimes the girls would drive hundreds of miles from one gig to the next, and were also renowned for their choice of attire! Here's a quote from the New York Times, which wrote a feature on them:

"At first the girls performed in black turtleneck shirts and stocking and brief, hip-riding gold skirts. "Somehow, I feel they look like Providence townies than Holyoke honeys," a Brown man is alleged to have said while a chaperone on the premise gaped and gasped, "I don't believe it...I don't believe it." But for whatever the reason they have since switched to "more feminine attire," soft, black crepe dressed with sheer blacks stockings and high heels. At Cornell, the boys thought they were great. "They're groovy; everybody's having a groovy time," said John S. McLaughlin, social chairman for Psi Upsilon, who had dropped by with his date."

They earnt around $150 for each performance, playing in colleges such as Cornell, Brown, Wesleyan and Amherst, and performed numbers such as the Boston Monkey and the Philly to great appreciation from audiences! Often stunned that a band of girls could play so good!

(The Moppets with the beloved 'Giraffe')

At some point the band went through a change of lineup, with Phyllis leaving the group and two new members joining the band! These two were Pamela Brandt and another girl called Gretchen Pfeifer.

Sometime in 1967 the band went their separate ways, however the desire to perform had not left some of the members. They, including Pamela and Gretchen, formed the outfit Ariel alongside two women (Anne Bowen and Helen Hooke) and again received press attention and were a popular touring group on the east coast. By 1970, though, the band came to a conclusion and again separated. However Anne reformed and reunited with her former bandmates, Pamela and Helen, to play at a women's festival, this time under the name of The Deadly Nightshade. Due to changing attitude to females in rock, the band managed to secure one of the first deals as an all girl band to a major label, RCA, and went on to release two albums to mixed reviews,... and also managed to fit in an appearance on Sesame Street! The band finally broke up in 1977 after 5 years. Pamela has subsequently become an acclaimed feminist writer.

(Deadly Nightshade in 1974)

In 1997, The Moppets reunited, together with another New England band called The Wombats, for a one off gig at their former university, Mt Holyoke.

(Moppets at Columbia University)

And after all that! Here is the sole Moppets release I know of and own, on Spirit Records...! The A side is a cover of The Supremes "Come See About Me", while the reverse is a cover of The Beau Brummels, "Cry Just a Little". Both are groovy with a great garage edge! Also included are all the pictures below and the article from the New York Times! Hope you enjoy both this and the whack of pictures of the lovely and pinoneering ladies!

I Am A Download!

The Moppets!