Where The Action Is: Playlist 10 October 2010

This week on Where the Action Is we have the second of two shows celebrating the Ember record label, one of the biggest independent labels in the UK from the late 50s through to the 70s. It was famous for releasing records that the big labels wouldn’t touch. These shows are inspired by more fabulous compilations from Fantastic Voyage who recently released volumes 1 to 4 of “Ember Sixties Pop” as well as last year’s “Ember Pop 1969-1974” and the three-part “Ember Beat” series. We’ll also try to squeeze in one or two non-Ember tracks on Kirkcaldy VRN 1287AM.

As usual we’ll have two games of Connect 3, where you can guess the link between three tracks, a birthday track for Severine and a Foreign Language song, translated into English, from Ember’s Dale Sisters. There’s also the Half-Time Instrumental, a Trojan Mod Reggae track, Two of a Kind from Michael Cox, as well as Chesterfield Kings in the Under the Influence feature.

The Washington DCs – Have You Seen My Baby? (Ember 1965)
Floyd Cramer – On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)
Lita Roza – Mama (He Treats Your Daughter Mean) (Ember 1962)
Anita Hume and The Essex – Girl You Better Go For Yourself (Unreleased)
The Fifth Dimension – Another Day, Another Heartache (Soul City 1967)
Steve Cassidy – I’m A-Worryin’ (Ember 1963)
Sandra Gale – Hello Heartbreak (Ember 1962)
Chris Farlowe – Mr Pitiful (Immediate 1965)
Gene Vincent – Born To Be A Rolling Stone (Challenge 1967) (Connect 3)
Count Downe & The Zeros – Rolling Stone (Ember 1964) (Connect 3)
Cher – Like a Rolling Stone (Liberty 1966) (Connect 3)
Chad & Jeremy – Early In The Morning (Ember 1964)
The Turtles – Can I Get To Know You Better (White Whale 1966)
Severine – Un Arbre, Un Banc, Une Rue (Philips 1971) (Birthday: 10/10/48)
Grant Tracy – The Great Matchmaker (Ember 1962)
Sheila & Jenny – But Please Don’t Break Her Heart (Ember 1964)
The Dale Sisters – My Sunday Baby (Un Telegrama) (Ember 1961) (Foreign Language)
Timi Yuro – Could This Be Magic (Mercury 1965)
Tommy Sanderson & The Sandmen – Deadline (Ember 1961) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Ray Singer – I’m The Richest Man Alive (Ember 1965)
Marcus Tro – What’s The Matter Little Girl (Ember 1964)
The Crystalites – Stranger In Town (Trojan 1970) (Trojan Mod Reggae)
The Searchers – Take Me For What I’m Worth (Pye 1965)
Carter-Lewis & The Southerners – Will It Happen To Me (Pye 1965)
Lynn Holland – And The Angels Sing (Ember 1964)
Chesterfield Kings – She Told Me Lies (Mirror 1984) (Under the Influence)
Mark Wirtz, His Orchestra & Chorus – Yeh, Yeh (Ember 1966)
Mark Douglas – It Matters Not (Ember 1962)
The Grass Roots – Where Were You When I Needed You (Dunhill 1966)
Johnny Carson – Teenage Bachelor (Ember 1962) (Connect 3)
Caroline Day – Teenage Prayer (Dimension 1964) (Connect 3)
Tracey Dey – Teenage Cleopatra (Liberty 1963) (Connect 3)
Cuddly Dudley & The Redcaps – One That I Like (Ember 1961)
Ray Ellington – Rhythm of the World (Ember 1964)
Michael Cox – Angela Jones (Triumph/Ember 1960) (Two of a Kind)
Michael Cox – Stand Up (HMV 1962) (Two of a Kind)
Round Robin – Kick That Little Foot Sally Ann (Domain 1964)
Twiggy – When I Think of You (Ember 1967)
Floyd Cramer – On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)

In the run up to Christmas there will be a number of other themed shows including next week’s Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil special (Oct 17), the spooky Hallowe’en show (Oct 31), the St. Andrew’s Day/Jocknroll special (Nov 28) and a special show in December, “Gone But Not Forgotten”, celebrating all those from the world of music who have passed away this year, including the legendary soul singer Solomon Burke who passed away this week. Feel free to suggest any tracks for these forthcoming shows.

Don’t forget, if you’re in the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy you can hear Where The Action Is on Channel 3 on your bedside headphones or on 1287AM on the Medium Wave between 1702 and 1900 every Sunday.

That’s it for this week. Until next time, it’s good day and good health.

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Where The Action Is: Playlist Sunday 3 October 2010

This week on Where the Action Is we have the first of two shows celebrating the Ember record label, one of the biggest independent labels in the UK from the late 50s through to the 70s. It was famous for releasing records that the big labels wouldn’t touch. These shows are inspired by more fabulous compilations from Fantastic Voyage who recently released volumes 1 to 4 of “Ember Sixties Pop” as well as last year’s “Ember Pop 1969-1974” and the three-part “Ember Beat” series. We’ll also try to squeeze in one or two non-Ember tracks on Kirkcaldy VRN 1287AM.

As usual we’ll have two games of Connect 3, where you can guess the link between three tracks, a birthday track for Eddie Cochran and a Foreign Language song, translated into English, from Ember’s Roy Young. There’s also the Half-Time Instrumental, a Trojan Mod Reggae track, Two of a Kind from the Ember label’s Count Downe and the Zeros, as well as Julian Cope in the Under the Influence feature.

Steve Cassidy – Ecstasy (Ember 1963)
Floyd Cramer – On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)
Carter-Lewis & The Southerners – Two Timing Baby (Ember 1961)
The Mamas and the Papas – You Baby (Dunhill 1966)
Cuddly Dudley & the Redcaps – Sitting On a Train (Ember 1961)
The Righteous Brothers – (You’re My) Soul and Inspiration (Verve 1967)
The Washington DCs – Kisses Sweeter Than Wine (Ember 1964)
Mark Douglas – Upside Down (Ember 1962)
Russ Hamilton – We Will Make Love (Ember 1964) (Connect 3)
The Dale Sisters – Road To Love (Ember 1962) (Connect 3)
Ray Merrell – Teenage Love (Ember 1960) (Connect 3)
Ramona King – You Say Pretty Words (Warner Bros 1964)
Sheila & Jenny – When The Boy’s Happy (Ember 1964)
Eddie Cochran – Sweetie Pie (London 1960) (Birthday: 3/10/38)
Johnny Carson – One Track Mind (Ember 1962)
A Band of Angels – Me (United Artists/Ember 1962)
Roy Young – Four An’ Twenty Thousand Kisses (24 Mila Baci) (Ember 1961) (Foreign Language)
Jan and Dean – (Here They Come) From All Over The World (Liberty 1965)
Larry Lawrence and The Beatniks – Jug-A-Roo (Ember 1960) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Chris Farlowe – Looking for You (Immediate 1966)
Lynn Holland – I Can’t Read Your Writing (For My Tears) (Ember 1964)
Lester Stirling – Wiser Than Solomon (Trojan 1968) (Trojan Mod Reggae)
Ray Ellington – The Madison (Ember 1960)
Ray Singer – Tell Me Now (Ember 1964)
Davey Payne & The Medium Wave – A Walk In The Sunshine (Ember 1969)
Julian Cope – Sunspots (Mercury 1985) (Under the Influence)
The Turtles – Let Me  Be (White Whale 1965)
Twiggy – I Need Your Hand In Mine (Ember 1967)
Bruce and Terry – Summer Means Fun (Columbia 1964)
The Belles – Don’t Pretend (Mirwood 1966) (Connect 3)
Grant Tracy & The Sunsets – Pretend (Ember 1961) (Connect 3)
The Raspberries – Let’s Pretend (Capitol 1972) (Connect 3)
Polly Niles – Sunshine In My Rainy Day Mind (Ember 1970)
Philip & Stephan – Meet Me Tonight Little Girl (Interphon 1964)
Count Downe & The Zeros – Always On My Mind (Ember 1964) (Two of a Kind)
Count Downe & The Zeros – Don’t Shed A Tear (Ember 1964) (Two of a Kind)
Alan Lake – Good Times (Ember 1970)
Fadin’ Colours – (Just Like) Romeo and Juliet (Ember 1966)
The Count Five – Psychotic Reaction (Pye International 1966)
Floyd Cramer – On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)

In the run up to Christmas there will also be a number of other themed shows including another Ember Records show (next week), Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil (Oct 17), Hallowe’en (Oct 31), St. Andrew’s Day/Jocknroll (Nov 28) and a special show in December, “Gone But Not Forgotten”, celebrating all those from the world of music who have passed away this year. Feel free to suggest any tracks for these forthcoming shows.

Don’t forget, if you’re in the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy you can hear Where The Action Is on Channel 3 on your bedside headphones or on 1287AM on the Medium Wave between 1702 and 1900 every Sunday.

That’s it for this week. Until next time, it’s good day and good health.

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Where The Action Is: Playlist 1 August 2010

After a week of fairly frantic entertaining of a five year old, it’s back to two hours of music and a well-earned break. Thankfully there have been no last minute deaths in the world of rock and pop so the show goes ahead as originally planned.

There’s no featured album as such although over the next few weeks I’ll be playing many tracks from Fantastic Voyage’s very wonderful Instroville: Hits and Rarities from the Golden Age of Pop Instrumentals compilation which hit the doormat this week. There will be the usual mixed bag on Where The Action Is of mod, soul, girl groups, Motown and alternative pop from the late 50s through to the early 70s.

We’ll be playing two games of Connect 3, where you can guess the link between three records, a birthday track for Rick Coonce of The Grass Roots and a Foreign Language track from Jacqueline Taïeb. There’s also the Half-Time Instrumental, the Trojan Mod Reggae track, Two of a Kind from Chris Farlowe, as well as One Thousand Violins in this week’s Under the Influence feature.

One Thousand Violins - Locked Out of the Love-In (Dreamworld 1987)

Bobby Womack and Peace – Across 110th Street (United Artists 1973)
Floyd Cramer – On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)
Joey Vine – The Out of Towner (Immediate 1965)
Les Girls – Stop, Look and Listen (Laurie 1966)
World of Oz – Peter’s Birthday (Black and White Rainbows) (Deram 1968)
The Originals – I’m Someone Who Cares (Motown 1972)
Sandie Shaw – You Won’t Forget Me (Pye 1965)
Regina and the Redheads – Nothing Went Wrong (Demo 1962)
Neil Christian – The Big Beat Drum (Columbia 1962) (Connect 3)
The Percells – Hully Gully Guitar (ABC Paramount 1964) (Connect 3)
Episode Six – I Hear Trumpets Blow (Pye 1966) (Connect 3)
The Marvelettes – I’ll Keep Holding On (Tamla 1965)
Bulldog Breed – Portcullis Gate (Deram 1969)
The Grass Roots – Midnight Confessions (Dunhill 1968) (Birthday: 1/8/46 Rick Coonce)
Candy and the Kisses – Mr Creator (Scepter 1965)
The 23rd Turnoff – Michael Angelo (Deram 1967)
Jacqueline Taïeb – 7 Heures du Matin (Impact 1967) (Foreign Language)
The Monkees – Auntie’s Municipal Court (Colgems 1968)
Duane Eddy – Rebel-Rouser (Jamie 1958) (Half-Time Instrumental)
The Popsicles – Baby I Miss You (GNP Crescendo 1965)
Kim Weston – Looking For The Right Guy (Tamla 1964)
The Vagabonds – Lindska (Trojan 1964) (Trojan Mod Reggae)
The Bystanders – Make Up Your Mind (Piccadilly 1967)
The Human Instinct – A Day in My Mind’s Mind (Deram 1967)
The Sandpebbles – Love Power (Calla 1967)
One Thousand Violins – Locked Out of the Love-In (Dreamworld 1987) (Under the Influence)
Les Variations – She’ll Know I’m Sorry (Immediate 1965)
Denny Laine – Catherine’s Wheel (Deram 1968)
The Girls – My Baby (Capitol 1965)
Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels – Break-Out (New Voice 1966) (Connect 3)
The Colorados – Lips Were Redder On You (Unreleased 1964) (Connect 3)
Houston Wells & The Marksmen – North Wind (Parlophone 1962) (Connect 3)
Frankie and the Classicals – What Shall I Do? (Calla 1967)
The Chosen Few – So Much To Look Forward To (Pye 1965)
Chris Farlowe – Treat Her Good (Immediate 1965) (Two of a Kind)
Chris Farlowe – Yesterday’s Papers (Immediate 1967) (Two of a Kind)
Timi Yuro – Thirteenth Hour (Liberty 1962)
Ella Washington – Too Weak To Fight (Sound Stage 7)
The Creation – Try and Stop Me (Planet 1962)
Floyd Cramer – On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)

If you’re in the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy you can hear Where The Action Is on Channel 3 on your bedside headphones or on 1287AM on the Medium Wave.

That’s it for this week. Until next time, it’s good day and good health.

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Where The Action Is: Playlist 27 June 2010

It’s our fourth and final look at the small but perfectly formed Ember record label as we celebrate its 50th anniversary with the help of the recent releases by the Fantastic Voyage label.

We’ll also have our usual features, with a bias towards Ember artistes. We’ll have two more games of Connect 3, where you can guess the link between three records, a birthday track for songwriter Jerome Pomus and a Foreign Language track from Jacqueline Taieb. There’s also the Half-Time Instrumental, the Trojan Mod Reggae track, Two of a Kind from Irish band The People, as well as The Dukes of Stratosphear in this week’s Under the Influence feature.

Miss X - S-E-X/Christine (Ember EMBS 175, 1963)

Jimmy Dean – Big Bad John (Philips 1961) RIP Jimmy Dean
Floyd Cramer – On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)
The Boston Dexters – I’ve Got Something To Tell You (Columbia 1965) RIP Tam White
Paul’s Troubles – You’ll Find Out (Ember 1966)
Lita Roza – Mama (He Treats Your Daughter Mean) (Ember 1962)
Ray Singer – Won’t It Be Fine (Ember 1966)
The Midnights – Since I Lost You (Ember 1965)
The Washington DCs – Where Did You Go? (Ember 1964)
The Fadin’ Colours – (Just Like) Romeo and Juliet (Ember 1966) (Connect 3)
David MacBeth – Mr Blues (Pye 1959) (Connect 3)
Tracey Day – Teenage Cleopatra (Liberty 1963) (Connect 3)
Joy Marshall – Till The End of Time (Ember 1962)
Blue Beard – Baby I Need You (Unreleased/Ember 1971)
Jean Martin – Save the Last Dance for Me (Decca 1964) (Birthday: 27/6/25 Jerome Pomus)
Grant Tracy – Never Let It Be Said (Ember 1965)
The Alleycatz – Chicago Calling (Ember 1966)
Jacqueline Taieb – La Premiere a Gauche (Impact 1967) (Foreign Language)
Rusty Harness – Come Into My Heart (Ember 1971)
The Couriers – Take Away (Ember 1965) (Half-Time Instrumental)
A Band of Angels – She’ll Never Be You (United Artists 1964)
Black Swan – Echoes and Rainbows (Ember 1971)
The Zodiacs – Renegade (Trojan 1965) (Trojan Mod Reggae)
Miss X – S-E-X (Ember 1963)
The Clockwork Oranges – After Tonight (Ember 1966)
Mandy Rice-Davies – You Got What I Takes (Ember 1964)
The Dukes of Stratosphear – Vanishing Girl (Virgin 1987) (Under the Influence)
Chad and Jeremy – What Do You Want With Me? (Ember 1965)
Linda Thorson – You Will Want Me (Ember 1968)
Bobby Johnson and The Atoms – Do It Again A Little Bit Slower (Ember 1967)
Herman’s Hermits – No Milk Today (Columbia 1966) (Connect 3)
The Kinks – Milk Cow Blues (Pye 1965) (Connect 3) RIP Pete Quaife
Polly Niles – The Milk of the Tree (Unreleased/Ember 1971)) (Connect 3)
The Luvin’ Kind – Answers Please (Ember 1966)
The Cookies – Don’t Say Nothing Bad (About My Baby) (Dimension 1963)
The People – Well…All Right (Ember 1966) (Two of a Kind)
The People – I’m With You (Ember 1966) (Two of a Kind)
Julie Rogers – Once More With Feeling (Ember 1970)
The Brothers Grimm – A Man Needs Love (Ember 1965)
The Buzz – I Gotta Buzz (Decca 1969) RIP Tam White
Floyd Cramer – On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)

That’s the end of our homage to the great Ember record label – I hope you enjoyed it.

If any of the Ember CDs interest you, you can get them direct from Fantastic Voyage, part of the Future Noise Music group. They’re only £4.99, which is a lot cheaper than Amazon! I’m not being paid to say this – I bought the CDs myself – I just think they’re great value and contain some crackin’ and rare tracks from the 60s and early 70s. They come in great little slip case covers, with informative booklets on the acts featured.

If you’re in the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy you can hear Where The Action Is on Channel 3 on your bedside headphones or on 1287AM on the Medium Wave.

That’s it for this week. Until next time, it’s good day and good health.

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Where The Action Is: Playlist Sunday 20 June 2010

Welcome to week three of my celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Ember record label and the fabulous Ember releases by the Fantastic Voyage label.

We’ll have the usual features, albeit with an Ember theme. We’ll have two more games of Connect 3, where you can guess the link between three records, a birthday track for Beach Boy Brian Wilson and an appropriate Father’s Day Foreign Language track from Liz Brady. There’s also the Half-Time Instrumental, the Trojan Mod Reggae track, Two of a Kind from The Bats, as well as The Wondermints in this week’s Under the Influence feature.

Rainy Day Mind: Ember Pop 1969-1974 (Fantastic Voyage)

We begin the show with two more musical marvels who sadly passed away recently…

Crispian St. Peters – The Pied Piper (Decca 1966) RIP
Floyd Cramer – On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)
Anita Humes and The Essex – Girl You Better Go For Yourself (Demo 1963) RIP
The Sweethearts – Sorry, Daddy (Ray Starr 1961)
Chad and Jeremy – No Other Baby (Ember 1965)
Twiggy – Over and Over (Ember 1966)
Bobby Johnson and The Atoms – Tramp (Ember 1967)
Mandy Rice-Davies – Close Your Eyes (Ember 1964)
Gene Vincent – Born To Be A Rolling Stone (Challenge 1967) (Connect 3)
Earl Preston’s Realms – Daddy Rolling Stone (Ember 1965) (Connect 3)
The Creation – Like a Rolling Stone (Hit-ton 1967) (Connect 3)
The Dale Sisters – Secrets (Ember 1962)
Marcus Tro – Tell Me (Ember 1964)
Brian Wilson – Dream Angel (Giant 1998) (Birthday: 20/6/42)
The Clockwork Orange – Ready Steady (Ember 1966)
Mother Trucker – Propeller Love (Ember 1974)
Liz Brady – Hey O Daddy O (Pathé 1965) (Foreign Language)
Ray Singer – What’s Done Has Been Done (Ember 1966)
The Checkmates – Night Train (Pye 1961) (Half-Time Instrumental)
A Band of Angels – Not True As Yet (United Artists 1964)
Paul’s Troubles – You’ve Got Something (Ember 1966)
The Enforcers – Musical Fever (Trojan 1968) (Trojan Mod Reggae)
The Shondells – Don’t Cry My Soldier Boy (Ember 1964)
The Fadin’ Colours – Billy Christian (Ember 1966)
The Midnights – Show Me Around (Ember 1965)
The Wondermints – Proto-Pretty (Pop Psyche 1993) (Under the Influence)
Linda Thorson – Wishful Thinking (Ember 1968)
The Washington DCs – Little One (Ember 1965)
Lynn Holland – And The Angels Sing (Ember 1964)
The Good Vibrations – Call Me Lightning (Ember 1969) (Connect 3)
John Leyton – Thunder and Lightning (HMV 1961) (Connect 3)
Little Johnny Taylor – Zig Zag Lightning (Galaxy 1966) (Connect 3)
Jan and Dean – Drag City (Liberty 1963)
Glen Campbell – Wichita Lineman (Capitol/Ember 1968)
The Bats – On The Waterfront (Ember 1966) (Two of a Kind)
The Bats – People Like You (Ember 1966) (Two of a Kind)
Carol Woods – Why You Wanna (Ember 1971)
PJ Proby – Sunday Goodbye (Ember 1973)
The Birds – Daddy Daddy (Reaction 1966)
Floyd Cramer – On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)

Jimmy Dean, famous for Big Bad John, also passed away recently and I shall open next week’s show with his big hit. It’ll also be the  fourth and final part of our look at the eclectic Ember record label.

If any of the Ember CDs interest you, you can get them direct from Fantastic Voyage, part of the Future Noise Music group. They’re only £4.99, which is a lot cheaper than Amazon! I’m not being paid to say this – I bought the CDs myself – I just think they’re great value and contain some crackin’ and rare tracks from the 60s and early 70s. They come in great little slip case covers, with informative booklets on the acts featured.

If you’re in the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy you can hear Where The Action Is on Channel 3 on your bedside headphones or on 1287AM on the Medium Wave.

That’s it for this week. Until next time, it’s good day and good health.

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