1960s Vinyl 80 Items

“‘Please Stay’, by The Cryin’ Shames, was the last song by producer Joe Meek to enter the UK Top 40, peaking at No. 26. Released on 18 February 1966, the song should have reached the top, but its progress was held back by the fact that the Decca record label had not pressed enough copies to meet demand. The collaboration should have been long and successful for both of them, but the Cryin’ Shames story is cursed with bad luck and, sadly, within a year of the success of ‘Please Stay’ the band broke up and Joe Meek died. This compilation brings together a first part of the material collected by Cherry Red on the double CD ‘The Tea Chest Tapes’ . The group began as The Bumblies, formed in Liverpool in 1963 by bassist George Robinson and singer Joey Kneen who had previously been in a band called The Calderstones, that included Tom Evans, who later went on to form the group Badfinger. The Bumblies’ name was taken from a television series of the same name featuring Michael Bentine. The rest of the line-up included Charlie Crane (vocals, harmonica), John Bennett (guitar), Phil Roberts (keyboards) and Charlie Gallagher (drums). Charlie Crane would be known in addition as ‘Carl’ or ‘Paul’ to avoid confusion with the other Charlie in the group. Joe Meek didn’t like the band’s choice of name so they changed it to The Cryin’ Shames. Ritchie Routledge replaced Bennett (guitar) after the recording of their debut single ‘Please Stay’. Derek Cleary (bass/guitar) replaced Robinson in time to play on their second single ‘Nobody Waved Goodbye’. After the original Cryin’ Shames fell apart, Routledge and Crane formed a group known as Paul And Ritchie And The Crying Shames with new members Brian Norris (bass), Mike Espie (guitar), Pete Byrne (organ) and Paul Commerford (drums). They released one single, ‘September In The Rain’. The group (as The Bumblies) auditioned for Joe Meek in late October or early November 1965 - the exact date cannot be ascertained because Meek’s tapes contain very little information, and only one or two of the more than seven hundred tapes actually bear a recording date...” (liner notes extracted from the Cherry Red’s booklet made by Mr. Craig Newton)

The archetype for the '60s-era girl group was etched indelibly into stone, like a commandment: three pretty girls with matching outfits and bouffant hairdos would sing, with musical backing supplied by a bunch of guys standing in the shadows. The Quatro sisters shattered that archetype forever with the Pleasure Seekers, an all-girl teenage rock & roll group who played all the instruments themselves and were fully capable of wiping the stage with any male band that crossed their path. Pressed on violet vinyl!

Record Store Day 2021 Edition.
Still shrink wrapped but opened.
Record is slightly warped but still enjoyable.

Vinyl with a couple of light scuffs

Yellow vinyl!

close to NM

Toploader Gatefold. No 570961

Japanese pressing. Red vinyl and cover are close to NM. With booklet.

German reissue. Stained gatefold cover with price tag.

Heavenly, crystalline psychedelic sounds, in our favored stereo mix! Jazzy, acoustic guitars and stacked Association-like harmonies showcase Tiffany Shade’s gorgeous originals and a rendition of Love’s “Softly To Me.” Pressed on lavender vinyl!

After a chance meeting in a record store, this Cleveland band got their start on Upbeat!, a local teen dance show similar to American Bandstand. Though their album was cut in two days over the course of 2 eight hour sessions, their arrangements shine through what was a scattered recording session. “We really worked hard in the studio even though we didn’t have enough time to do all the things we wanted to do with music,” bassist Robb Murphy remembers.

“We were pretty excited. We just had no experience with that sort of thing. We had heard things but never had any experience. We were really babes in the woods. It was a terrific experience looking back on it. It was really a hell of a lot of fun, we loved the idea of being able to overdub even though we didn’t get to do too much of that, it was still fun. That was pretty high tech in those days, being able to lay down a couple of tracks with your voice.” guitarist Mike Barnes recalls.

Similar to the Bosstown sound (Orpheus, Ultimate Spinach), Tiffany Shade lean towards harmony-driven vocals that combine their clever pop sensibilities with a versatile showcase of keys, organ, and scintillescent guitars. After their album’s release in ‘68, they had the opportunity to open for Big Brother & Holding Co., but because of poor sales (and like many Mainstream artists) the band didn’t last and went their separate ways in ‘69.

180gr vinyl. 2008 reissue.

Japanese pressing with OBI! Red vinyl!

Japanese pressing without obi | Faint foxing inside gatefold otherwise VG+, no seam splits, tears ...

Japanese pressing. Still in shrink but opened with OBI

Cover is missing.

Vinyl with many scuffs and marks

Taped spine. Santa Maria Pressing.

cover variation

Drill hole. Mono pressing.

Japanese pressing. Gatefold cover has some foxing on the inside.

Japanese pressing.

Still shrink wrapped but opened.
Record has some hairlines and a few superficial scratches.

Record with some scuffs and slight scratches! Cover has a minimal stuffed corner!

Violet vinyl Limited edition. 2022 reissue.

Violet vinyl edition. Still sealed with hype sticker and OBI.

Japanese pressing with obi.

Cover close to VG+

Red vinyl. Japanese pressing.

Record has some hairlines and a few superficial scratches.

Clear white vinyl. Side 2 is NM. 2019 reissue.

Still shrink wrapped but opened.
Record is slightly warped but still enjoyable.

Japanese pressing without OBI!

Japanese pressing. taped spine

Still sealed with hype sticker. 2012 reissue.

OBI not included.

Cover with tear on the opening

close to NM. 2020 reissue.

Includes OBI.
Writing on back cover.

Cover is missing. Close to VG+

Original US Mono Hollywood pressing.

Vinyl is close to NM. Sticker on cover. UK reissue.

Vinyl with many scuffs and hairlines. Generic label cover

Japanese pressing without OBI!

Japanese pressing. Discoloured cover.

Cover is missing. Bridgeport Pressing.