Share the post "Album review: WHAT A GROOVY DAY – The British Sunshine Pop Sound, 1967-72 (3 CD boxset)"
Cherry Red/ Grapefruit [Release date 27.02.23]
Sunshine Pop – a worldwide phenomenon, though most popular in the USA and the UK – predated the age of psychedelia only by a matter of months.
Legendary but hitless sixties UK band, Tony Rivers and The Castaways had discreetly changed their name to Harmony Grass in 1967, releasing ‘What A Groovy Day’, as their “debut” single, giving this 3 disc, 86 track boxset its name.
Its blissful sound makes for the perfect Sunshine Pop song, as good as anything coming out the USA at the time from artists like The Association, Mike Curb Congregation or The Fifth Dimension. The UK was now on the map.
The inimitable songwriting/ producing UK suspects, John Carter and Ken Lewis, whose ear for a commercial music opportunity was unsurpassed (see The First Class and Beach Baby), loomed large once again.
Carter’s solo hit ‘She Won’t Show Up Tonight’ sits right next to Sixties survivors, The Tremeloes and ‘Sunshine Games’.
Many other eminently durable UK pop artists began life somewhere across these 3 discs. Herman’s Hermits (Sleepy Joe, written by Carter), The Zombies (Friends Of Mine), The Hollies (Everything Is Sunshine), Cliff Richard (Mr Nice, penned by prolific UK hit writer, Terry Britten), Genesis (Try A Little Sadness, one of many songs rejected by Impresario, Jonathan King, when the band were starting out) and Petula Clark (Colour My World, written by another prolific UK hit writer, Tony Hatch).
All of these artists used the Sunshine Pop banner to gain a foothold on fame.
The oft quoted Freaky Trigger, the internet publication that focuses on popular culture, referred to the Top Ten song (and Paul Weller favourite) ‘Jesamine’ by The Casuals as “charming and sun kissed”. The perfect Sunshine Pop accolade. It went on to trouble the charts all over Europe. The song’s writer, Marty Wilde, needs no introduction. His fascinating demo version features in this collection.
There are many more artists and songs here, who for some reason, usually fate and/or bad timing, failed to score.
The Symbols’ 1967 cover of the Four Seasons’ ‘Bye Bye Baby’ closes Disc 1 in grand style. It was a surprising chart failure. Scotland’s own Bay City Rollers took it to the No.1 spot in the UK charts in 1975, where it stayed for 6 weeks.
David And Jonathan’s (Cook & Greenaway) version of their own song ‘Softly Whispering I Love You’ is here. It also stiffed, to be later resurrected by The Congregation and turned into a worldwide hit.
Pop Music’s cross fertilisation between (sub) genres, and indeed between continents, continued unabated through the late sixties and early seventies, almost like it was unaware of the advent of Progressive Rock. Punk was on the horizon but hadn’t yet arrived.
In the world of Pop Music, there was more good stuff to come. ****
Review by Brian McGowan
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.
Latest session: Sunday 14 April
Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio
David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 7 April 2024.
UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 2 April 2024.
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 15 April 2024
ENMY The Ledge (FiXT)
KAROBELA Get Hard (indie)
KATH & THE KICKS Neptune (indie)
THE BEE TELLERS River Poem (Black Sand Records)
LAUREN FREEBIRD Like A Bomb (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 15 April 2024
09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023
14:00-16:00 KATARINA PEJAK – Pearls On A String (Ruf Records)
To see our Tweets you need to be logged in to a Twitter account
Popular (last 10 days)
Share the post "Album review: WHAT A GROOVY DAY – The British Sunshine Pop Sound, 1967-72 (3 CD boxset)"
PDF - you can delete unwanted sections
