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Cherry Red [Release date: 28.10.22]
The British Toytown Pop Sound of the late sixties was not a genre with staying power, but it was fun while it lasted. The very nature of its aesthetic – vaguely humorous songs describing mythical events and places, populated by often eccentric, make believe characters (‘Uncle Joe The Ice Cream Man’; ‘Phoebe’s Flower Shop’; ‘Auntie Mary’s Dress Shop’; ‘Mr Moody’s Garden’; ‘Mrs Murphy’s Budgerigar’) – suggested a melt in the mouth confectionary, one that would be gone in one swallow.
And yes, that was the reality in some cases. But in many others, the perfomances, and the songwriting – especially the songwriting – gave the material an appeal that saw many of these vinyl singles rack up significant sales.
One that didn’t, ‘The Skeleton And The Roundabout’ proved to be one of the most influential. The song, and the band, The Idle Race, kick started the careers of Jeff Lyne and Roy Wood, who would go on to form The Electric Light Orchestra.
And again, some of the better known names, Ambrose Slade (later just Slade), David Bowie, The Mindbenders (later 10cc), The Herd (where Peter Frampton began), The Spencer David Group, The Shadows, all dipped their toes into Toytown Pop, with varying degrees of success.
Many of the songs transcended their modest ambitions.
‘It’s The Best Seaside Town In The World’ came from the Frabjoy And Runcible Spoon. Earlier this year we described this track in a review of their resurrected album as full of ‘slick, oven ready wordplay and melodic artistry’. Ultimately, the duo became known as Godley & Creme.
Not many bands can claim to have toured with the legendary Captain Beefheart.
Brit band, Kaleidescope supported him and his band on their European tour in 1973. Their nod to Donovan’s ‘Jennifer Juniper’, titled ‘Jennifer Artichoke’ is here along with the perhaps less notable ‘Glorious House Of Arthur’ in the band’s Fairfield Parlour guise.
Clifford T Ward charted with several singles in the early seventies. His track here, ‘The Dubious Circus Company’ is a standout, along with other genuine trailblazers, like ‘Excerpt From A Teenage Opera’, from Keith West (Mark Wirtz), and ‘Ha Ha Said The Clown’, written and recorded by Tony Hazzard, and later a huge hit for Manfred Mann Band.
Climb Aboard My Roundabout proves to be yet another meticulously researched and expertly curated anthology from Cherry Red Records.
87 tracks and four hours later, you’ll be the world’s leading expert on Toytown Pop. ****
Review by Brian McGowan
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