Glenn Williams
MUSIC WRITER IN JAPAN
BOX SET
GERRY AND THE PACEMAKERS
I LIKE IT!
ANTHOLOGY 1963 - 1966
Cherry Red
Go to Liverpool today and you’ll meet lots of taxi drivers, shopkeepers, people on the street, people in bars and clubs and each has their own story to tell about John, Paul, George or Ringo. Go to Anfield to watch a home game of Liverpool Football Club though and there is only one musician and his group who are represented. Prior to kick-off, in support of their idols on the pitch, 60,000 fans will sing Gerry & The Pacemakers version of You’ll Never Walk Alone; hearing it raises the hairs on your arms, being in amongst it is like nothing else on earth. When Gerry Marsden died in 2021, he couldn’t have a large funeral due to covid restrictions but eleven football stadiums around the world combined through the internet to sing You’ll Never Walk Alone as a tribute; hundreds of thousands more joined in online. On hearing about his death, Paul McCartney said that “Gerry was a mate from our early days in Liverpool. He and his group were our biggest rivals on the local scene.”
Gerry & The Pacemakers early discography is somewhat complicated. In the UK, his first two single were not released on his debut album but they were split between the first two US albums, both of which had omissions to their UK counterparts. Other tracks were released in the USA and Canada but not the UK. Suffice to say, it is now all here in one place including the complete Oakland Auditorium concert from 1964 which spawned the ‘Gerry In California’ EP released the following year. This era, three short years, is filled with fun, laughter, cheekiness and joy, it’s an era of innocence, a time when Liverpool was the greatest city in the world and Gerry & The Pacemakers ran with The Beatles, not below them. Their delivery of a self-penned song is on a par with the Fab Four’s first two albums. Their covers of show tunes, Rock ‘n’ Roll classics and standards are delightfully arranged and the concert included in this, is arguably better than any of the official Beatles live releases.
Gerry has a smile on his face in every photo you can find and that’s because by all accounts, he was one the happiest musicians of that era. This comes through in his music as does his love of Liverpool, the city he lived in all his life. The same can be said of The Pacemakers, a band that continues to this day with Gerry’s blessing even though all of the original Pacemakers, Gerry’s brother, Freddie (d), Les McQuire (piano) and Les Chadwick (b) are sadly, no longer with us. For a snapshot of 1960’s Merseybeat, along with the camaraderie that went with it in all the musicians, you can do no better than to listen to this set from one of Liverpool’s most revered sons and his band.
Track List
Disc One
How Do You Do It?
Away From You
I Like It
It’s Happened To Me
A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues
Jambalaya
Where Have You Been All My Life?
Here’s Hoping
Pretend
Maybelline
You’ll Never Walk Alone
The Wrong Yo Yo
You’re The Reason
Chills
You Can’t Fool Me
Don’t You Ever
Summertime
Slow Down
It’s All Right
I’ll Be There (First Version)
Don’t Ever Stray
Hello Little Girl
I’m The One
You’ve Got What I Like
Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying
Show Me That You Care
I’ll Be There (Second Version – No Strings)
Give Me All Your Love (No Strings)
Come Back To Me (No Strings)
Dizzy Miss Lizzy (Live)
My Babe (Live)
Away From You (Live)
What’d I Say (Live)
Disc Two
Ferry Cross The Mersey
It’s Gonna Be All Right
Why Oh Why
Fall In Love
Think About Love
This Thing Called Love
Baby You’re So Good To Me
I’ll Wait For You
She’s The Only Girl For Me
You You You
It’s Just Because
My Love Forever
I’ll Be There (Second (Single) Version With Strings)
What’d I Say (Studio Version)
Reelin’ And Rockin’
Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On
Rip It Up
You Win Again
Now I’m Alone
My Babe (Studio Version)
I Count The Tears
It’ll Be Me
Skinny Minnie
When Oh When
Hallelujah I Love Her So
Tomorrow
I’ll Make It All Up To You
Give Me All Your Love (With Strings)
Come Back To Me (With Strings)
Walk Hand In Hand
Dreams
Disc Three
Today I’m In Love
La La La
Without You
Girl On A Swing
Fool To Myself
The Way You Look Tonight
The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine
On A Wonderful Day Like Today
Tonight
Strangers In The Night
Who Can I Turn To
See You In September
Pretty Flamingo
The End Of The Rainbow
Guantanamera
Looking For My Life
Anyone At All
Introduction *
Dizzy Miss Lizzy *
I Like It *
My Babe *
Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying *
Slow Down *
I’m The One *
Away From You *
A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues *
How Do You Do It *
What’d I Say *
Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying †
Ferry Cross The Mersey †
It’s Gonna Be All Right †
I’ll Be There (Second Version With Strings) †
Walk Hand In Hand †
Looking For My Life †
* Live from the Oakland Auditorium, 24 October 1964 (Stereo)
† Stereo
BOX SET
JOHN LEYTON
LONE RIDER
HOLLOWAY RD SESSIONS 1962-64
Cherry Red
Seventy-five previously unreleased recordings, a huge selection of demos and rehearsals that are so well restored they give you the feeling of actually being there and a 4,500-word essay about it all in a twenty-page booklet. ‘In depth’ the press release says – no kidding!
It’s important note that these are only the recordings that John made that involved Joe Meek. After the last of these sessions, his management was taken over by Robert Stigwood, who also took over producing John’s records. Between 1960 and 1962, through Joe, John Leyton released just one album and a dozen singles. That may seem like a small output but in that time, he also made his television acting debut, hit the No.1 spot with Johnny Remember Me, got banned by the BBC and performed at both the NME Big Stars of 1961 and the NME Poll Winners contest in 1962. Not bad for a kid from Frinton-on-Sea, a town that back when John was born, had a population of about 2,500.
Joe Meek spent a lot of time recording and not a lot of time writing things down, so, one cannot possibly imagine what a trawl it has been to compile all this into three discs from the 1,900 labelled, mislabelled and not labelled tapes Joe left behind. The team at Cherry Red started on all this some three years ago, digitizing the tapes at the rate of a hundred a month and then trying to figure out what they all were. They have done a grand job in not only identifying but also selecting what is needed for each box set, this John Leyton one being a prime example of the care and attention they have given to Joe’s legacy.
The first disc focuses on John’s singles, both A and B-sides with a variety of alternate mixes and work-in-progress recordings. On the second disc, we have two versions of The Two Sides Of John Leyton album – mono and the unreleased stereo version – supplemented by a few of the basic tracks/different vocals. The third disc is a potpourri that is wonderful to listen to and will have you swapping discs to compare versions and takes – hours of fun, trust me.
At one point, you will be struck just how great John Leyton’s voice is. Play alternate takes and you can hear slight changes in his phrasing that eventually leads to the finished master. Whether those little changes where his own ideas or he was guided by Joe doesn’t matter, the fact is, they make a difference. Mr. Leyton my well be remembered by the majority for Johnny Remember Me but as this box set shows, he was one of the finest singers of that era and now, hopefully, he will start getting the recognition he deserves.
Track List
Disc 1 – The Singles
Tell Laura I Love Her (Master) *†
Goodbye To Teenage Love (Master) *†
The Girl On The Floor Above
Terry Brown's In Love With Mary Dee
Johnny Remember Me (Original Lyrics)*
There Must Be
Wild Wind
You Took My Love For Granted
Son This Is She
Six White Horses
Lone Rider
Heart Of Stone
Lonely City
It Would Be Easy *†
Down The River Nile (Alternative Version)
Tell Laura I Love Her (Rehearsal) *†
The Girl On The Floor Above (Unprocessed) *†
Terry Brown's In Love With Mary Dee (Vocal Take 2) *†
Johnny Remember Me (Rehearsal Take 2) *†
There Must Be (Take 1) *†
Wild Wind (Session Version) *†
You Took My Love For Granted (Session Version) *†
Son This Is She (Overdubs Take 1) *†
Son This Is She (Overdubs Only Take 3) *†
Six White Horses (Master) *†
Lone Rider (Master) *†
Lone Rider (Vocal Rehearsal) *
Heart Of Stone (Master) *†
Heart Of Stone (Vocal Take 3/ No Overdubs) *
Lonely City (Take 1) *†
It Would Be Easy (Tracking Take 3) *†
Down The River Nile (Vocal Take 5) *
Disc 2 – The Two Sides Of John Leyton
Voodoo Woman *†
Can't You Hear The Beat *†
Fabulous* *†
Thunder And Lightning *†
Oh Lover *†
I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine *†
(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons *†
That's A Woman *†
Walk With Me My Angel *†
That's How To Make Love *†
The Magic Of True Love *†
It's Goodbye Then *†
Voodoo Woman
Can't You Hear The Beat
Fabulous
Thunder And Lightning
Oh Lover
I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine
(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons
That's A Woman
Walk With Me My Angel
That's How To Make Love
The Magic Of True Love
It's Goodbye Then
Voodoo Woman (Alternate Vocal/No Overdubs)*
Can't You Hear The Beat (No Overdubs) *†
Fabulous (No Overdubs) *†
Thunder And Lightning (Overdubs Only) *
Oh Lover (Alternate Vocal/No Overdubs) *
Walk With Me My Angel (Backing + Vocal Take 1) *†
That's How To Make Love (No Overdubs) *†
It's Goodbye Then (Alternate Vocal/No Overdubs) *
Disc 3 – Demos, Versions and Unreleased
Johnny Remember Me (Piano Rehearsal) *
There Must Be (Geoff Goddard Demo) *
Wild Wind (Geoff Goddard Demo) *
Son This Is She (Geoff Goddard Demo) *
Lone Rider (Geoff Goddard Demo) *
Voodoo Woman (Geoff Goddard Demo) *
Can't You Hear The Beat (Joe Meek Demo) *
Fabulous (Piano Demo) *
Oh Lover (Geoff Goddard Demo) *
Walk With Me My Angel (Geoff Goddard Demo) *
It's Goodbye then (Geoff Goddard Demo) *
Heart And Soul (Piano Rehearsal Take 5) *
The Girl On The Floor Above (Italian Version) *
Terry Brown's In Love With Mary Dee (Italian Version) *
Johnny Remember Me (Instrumental) *
John, C'Est L'Amour (Overdubs Take 2) *†
Wann Bist Du Bei Mir? (Overdubs Take 2) *†
There Must Be (Early Version) *
Lone Rider (Instrumental) *
Three Cute Chicks *
How Will It End *
Heart And Soul *
Now And Always (Vocal Take 2) *
I'm Thankful (No Overdubs)*†
Who Wants Johnny (Overdubs Take 14) *
Held For Questioning (Vocal Take 2) *
Johnny My Johnny (No Overdubs)*†
Alladin's Lamp *
A Girl To Love *
Three Cute Chicks (Alternate Version) *
Heart And Soul (Take 6 + Vocal Rehearsal) *
Who Wants Johnny (Vocal Take 3/ No Overdubs) *
Johnny My Johnny (Alternate Version) *†
Alladin's Lamp (Backing Take 1) *†
* Previously Unreleased
† Stereo