Various Artists: Having A Rave-Up! The British R&B Sounds of 1964, 3CD Box Set

•    Four-hour, 3CD anthology of hard-edged British R&B from the genre's pivotal year.

•    Featuring hit singles, key album tracks, cult classics and some fabulous previously unreleased recordings.

While 1963 belonged to the Merseyside-led beat boom, the following year saw the emergence of homegrown R&B as market leaders The Rolling Stones were joined on the Thames Delta by a host of equally young, raw and enthusiastic British blues-hounds.

The Pretty Things, The Yardbirds and Manfred Mann would all come to national prominence, but many other putative king bees - The Artwoods, Downliners Sect, early Ronnie Wood outfit The Birds - would have to settle for a more localised audience.

Other hard-up heroes trying to pay the rent included The Who (as The High Numbers), Steve Marriott (as leader of The Moments) and Rod 'The Mod' Stewart (with The Hoochie Coochie Men), who all gave early notice of their developing talent to an indifferent world.

As a new wave of acne-scarred teenage degenerates clambered out of the primordial R&B soup, the R&B revolution spread throughout the land: Newcastle likely lads The Animals topped the charts, Birmingham outfit The Spencer Davis Group also made early commercial progress, while The Betterdays were initially banned from Plymouth dancehalls for playing what the local Mecca ballroom manager described as “n***** music”. Although more musically sophisticated Flamingo Club regulars like Georgie Fame and Zoot Money are also represented, the emphasis on ‘Having A Rave-Up! - The British R&B Sounds of 1964’ is on what would subsequently be labelled as garage R&B/punk, with the bigger names joined by such equally artless hopefuls as The Fairies, The Cops 'n' Robbers, The Authentics and The Primitives.

In addition to the various hits and misses, our overview includes tracks from ultra-rare private pressings and numerous previously unissued tracks, including a pulverising six-minute rave-up from The Tridents, featuring Jeff Beck just before he jumped ship to join The Yardbirds.

With 91 great tracks, three great chords and a 48-page booklet that's overflowing with rare photos and memorabilia, the most blueswailing ‘Having A Rave-Up!’ is a thrilling reminder of a time when rock music was young, loud and dangerous.

TRACK LISTING

DISC ONE

1  ROSALYN – The Pretty Things

2  BABY WHAT'S WRONG – Downliners Sect

3  SWEET MARY – The Art Woods

4 AW SHUCKS HUSH YOUR MOUTH – The Betterdays

5  CLIMBING THROUGH – The Authentics

6  HELP ME – The Primitives

7  I'M YOUR KINGPIN – Manfred Mann

8  LEAVE MY KITTEN ALONE – The First Gear

9  I GOT LOVE IF YOU WANT IT – The Athenians

10  HONEY IN YOUR HIPS – The Yardbirds

11  BO STREET RUNNER (Oak version) - Bo Street Runners

12 THE UNCLE WILLIE – Zoot Money

13  CASTIN' MY SPELL – The Pirates

14  DON'T GIMME NO LIP CHILD – Dave Berry

15  OH YEAH! - The Others

16  THAT'S ALRIGHT – Jimmy Powell & The Five Dimensions

17  CRAWLING UP A HILL – John Mayall & The Blues Breakers

18 LONG LEGGED BABY – The Graham Bond Organisation

19  ZULU STOMP – The Brand

20  LOOKING FOR MY BABY – The Second Thoughts

21  I'LL BE GOOD TO YOU – The Talismen

22 A SHOT OF RHYTHM 'N' BLUES – The Sundowners

23  CHICAGO CALLING – The Iveys

24  I'M A LOVER NOT A FIGHTER – The Bo-Weevils

25  BETTY JEAN – The Cops 'n' Robbers

26  WALKING THE DOG – The Dennisons

27  BABY I GO FOR YOU – The Blue Rondos

28  ONE FINE DAY – Shel Naylor

29  I WANT TO BE LOVED* - The Stylos

30  WHAT'S THAT? - Group 5

31  GOT MY MOJO WORKING – The Sheffields

DISC TWO

1  BEAUTIFUL DELILAH – The Kinks

2  PRETTY THING – David John & The Mood

3  REELIN' AND A ROCKIN' – Mickey Finn & The Blue Men

4  I WISH YOU WOULD – The Yardbirds

5  YOU'RE ON MY MIND – The Birds

6 ANYTIME AT ALL – The Fairies

7  TIGER IN YOUR TANK* - The Tridents

8  DRAGGIN' AROUND – The Saxons

9  LET'S MAKE IT PRETTY BABY – The Soul Agents

10  DON'T START ME TALKIN' – The Sorrows

11  SHAME SHAME SHAME – The Merseybeats

12  BOOM BOOM – Blues By Five

13  I'M THE FACE – The High Numbers

14  DIMPLES – Spencer Davis Group

15  GONNA SEND YOU BACK TO GEORGIA – The Searchers

16  COME BACK BABY – Screaming Lord Sutch

17  BABE I'M GONNA LEAVE YOU – The Plebs

18 YOU'LL BE MINE – Long John Baldry & The Hoochie Coochie Men

19  PARCHMAN FARM – Georgie Fame

20 A CERTAIN GIRL – The Paramounts

21  I'M GONNA JUMP – The Toggery Five

22  MEMPHIS – The Hollies

23  FORGET IT – Mal Ryder & The Spirits

24  PETER GUNN – The Remo Four

25  VOODOO BLUES* (DEMO VERSION) – Shades Of Blue

26  HOOCHIE COOCHIE MAN – The Art Wood Combo

27  24 MANHATTAN PLACE – The Excerts

28 YOU'RE GONNA RUIN ME BABY* - The Original For-Tunes

29  DO THE DOG – Lester Square & The G. T.'s

30  DOWN THE ROAD APIECE – The Cops 'n' Robbers 

DISC THREE

1  SECT APPEAL – Downliners Sect

2  I AIN'T GOT YOU – The Yardbirds

3  BALD HEADED WOMAN – The Sneekers

4  DON'T BRING ME DOWN – The Pretty Things

5  CRACKING UP – The Betterdays

6  HIDE 'N' SEEK (Oak version) – The Thyrds

7  SHE SAID YEAH – The Animals

8  WOMAN – The Zombies

9  BABY WHAT YOU WANT ME TO DO* - The Stylos

10  I DON'T CARE – Duffy Power

11  SEE THAT MY GRAVE IS KEPT CLEAN – The Clique

12  MONEY MONEY – The Moments

13  HOW MANY MORE TIMES – The T- Bones

14  T.N.T. - The Nashville Teens

15  THAT'S WHAT I'LL DO – The Bad Boys

16  YOU CAN'T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER – The Wild Oats 17 HONEY HUSH – Christian's Crusaders

18  RIGHT THROUGHLY – The Saxons

19  DON'T YOU MIX IT WITH MONEY – The Talismen

20  MY LUCK NEVER SHOWED* - Shades Of Blue

21  PRETTY THING – The Mike Cotton Sound

22  TO CATCH THAT MAN – David John & The Mood

23  BILLIE JEAN* - The Fuzz

24  BRIGHT LIGHTS BIG CITY – The Hoochie Coochie Men featuring Rod Stewart

25  MIDNIGHT SPECIAL – The Iveys

26  BO DIDDLEY – The SW4

27  EVERY NIGHT – The Excerts

28  EVIL* - The Original For-Tunes

29  STICKS AND STONES – Four Just Men

30  LONG TALL SHORTY* - The End

*previously unreleased