Various Artists: Bubblerock Is Here To Stay! The British Pop Explosion 1970-73, 3CD

At the dawn of the Seventies, British rock bands were either on the road, playing to the adoring masses or fooling around in hotel rooms with groupies and mud-sharks, or holed up for months on end recording their latest triple-album sets for stoned student hairies.

But while their older brothers were getting it off on that revolution stuff, young teens in the UK were glued to pop radio (which, prior to commercial stations opening in 1973, effectively meant Radio One and Luxembourg) as the backroom boys of the traditional pop industry assumed total control of the airwaves.

Shining a searchlight on the lost and often murky world of early Seventies British pop, the 3-CD set Bubblerock Is Here To Stay! crams 85 sub-three minute nuggets into four hours of innocent, hook-laden fun as we focus on the faceless studio creations, ubiquitous session musicians and carefully nurtured pop idols as they battled for the hearts, minds and pocket money of the nation’s pop kids.

The Chinnichap writing team collaborated with producer Phil Wainman on The Sweet’s early hits before hooking up with Mickie Most, who’d just started RAK Records. Machiavellian media maven Jonathan King launched the hit-or-bust UK Records, while Sixties stalwart John Carter adopted a different pseudonym every month in his search for continued single success.  Aliases also masked the identity of studio-bound production/songwriting teams, including the pre-10cc Strawberry gang and Teenage Opera auteur Mark Wirtz.

All are featured herein, together with numerous doe-eyed youths that were being groomed by the men in suits for teen pop pin-up status: some of them made it (David Essex, The Bay City Rollers), and some of them didn’t (Simon Turner, Gary Warren, Ricky Wilde).

More than a dozen major hits of the era (none of which you’ll hear on the many Classic Rock/Pop radio stations of 2020) are joined by a huge number of bizarre one-offs: Vivian Stanshall’s idiosyncratic remake of Elvis hit ‘Suspicion’ (promoted by Stanshall and producer Keith Moon dressing up as Nazi SS officers), The Sad’s terrace anthem chant of rampant bisexual promiscuity, ‘My Boy Lollipop’ star Millie giving Nick Drake a ska-pop pasting, Bill Fay making an unlikely stab at pop stardom (with the previously unissued ‘I Can’t Hide’) and Jon Pertwee eyeing a Dr. Who-related novelty hit single.

Boasting a 40-page booklet featuring track-by-track annotation, quotes, anecdotes and numerous rare illustrations, Bubblerock Is Here To Stay! celebrates the uncelebrated to provide another essential instalment in Grapefruit’s much-acclaimed series of genre boxes.  Oh, and we promise not to stick stickers on your paper knickers…

 

TRACK LISTING

DISC ONE
1. GROOVIN’ WITH MR. BLOE – Mr. Bloe
2. IT’S THE SAME OLD SONG – The Weathermen
3. THE BANNER MAN – Blue Mink
4. COME ON ROUND – Paintbox
5. 17 – Simon Turner
6. THAT SAME OLD FEELING – Pickettywitch
7. FRIEND OF MNE – Dr. Marigold’s
8. FEEDBACK – Majority One
9. POLLUTION - Gingerbread
10. NEANDERTHAL MAN – Hotlegs
11. I FOUGHT THE LAW – Posse
12. ALEXANDRA PARK (PALISADES PARK) – Fumble
13. EMMA LOUISE – Stud Leather
14. CIRCUS GIRL – Clifford T. Ward
15. MY LITTLE ONE – The Marmalade
16. GAY GIRL – Jonathan King
17. DIRTY OLD MAN – Lieutenant Pigeon
18. SUMMER FEELING – Paul Gabriel
19. TAWNY WOOD – The Answers
20. MY LITTLE GIRL – Autumn
21. HELLO, HELLO, HELLO – Stormy Petrel
22. TURN ME ON – The Matchmakers
23. SHE LA LEY – The Secrets
24. HELLO GOODBYE – Sparrow
25. TRAVELLIN’ MAN – Tristar Airbus
26. SUNDAY GIRL – Dunno
27. TOP TEN RECORD – Rick Price
28. LEAP UP AND DOWN – St. Cecelia

DISC TWO
1. JOHNNY REGGAE- The Piglets
2. DREAMS ARE TEN A PENNY – Kincade
3. WIG-WAM BAM – The Sweet
4. I LIKE IT THAT WAY – The Tremeloes
5. IT AIN’T EASY – The Sad
6. HAVE YOU SEEN YOUR MOTHER, BABY, STANDING IN THE SHADOW? – Tina Harvey
7. BABY WALK BACK – Gumm
8. POPSICLES AND ICICLES – The Angelettes
9. DA DOO RON RON – Grumble
10. BIG FAT ORANGUMAN – Jungle Jim
11. LOOP DI LOVE – Shag
12. DON’T STICK STICKERS ON MY PAPER KNICKERS – X Certificate
13. MAYFAIR – Millie
14. ON THE DOLE – Arthur’s Mother
15. WHEN YOU ARE A KING – White Plains
16. COWBOY CONVENTION – California Brakemen
17. LADY ROSE – Mungo Jerry
18. SWEET WATER – Jeff Astle
19. CECILIA – Harmony Grass
20. IT’S MY PARTY – Bubblerock
21. RUPERT – Jackie Lee
22. CRICKETS – Peter Cowap
23. RAG-A-BONE JOE – Pluto
24. ROUND AND ROUND – Ricky Wilde
25. COME INTO MY HEART – Rusty Harness
26. WARM ME – Festival
27. SHE LEFT I DIED – Terry Dactyl & The Dinosaurs featuring Jona Lewie
28. HANG ON SLOOPY - Sakkarin

DISC THREE
1. SUSPICION – Vivian Stanshall & Gargantuan Chums
2. GOLDEN OLDIE SHOW – Stardust
3. I CAN’T HIDE* – Bill Fay
4. HARRY THE EARWIG – Pete Dello & Friends
5. THE ROLLY POLE COASTER – Buggy
6. I WANT TO GO BACK THERE AGAIN – B. J. Arnau
7. THE JET SONG (WHEN THE WEEKEND’S OVER) – Design
8. LAMPLIGHT – David Essex
9. CALIFORNIA CALLING – Fickle Pickle
10. MY SWEET POTATO – Butterwick
11. YOU GOT A GOOD THING – Touchwood
12. JENNIFER PLEASE – Gary Warren
13. KEEP ON DANCING – Bay City Rollers
14. HELLO BLINKERS – Kev & Lol
15. OUR JACKIE’S GETTING MARRIED – Peter Skellern
16. NURSERY LANE – Christyan
17. TODAY – Rich Tea
18. SAMSON AND DELILAH – Middle Of The Road
19. YOU GOTTA HAVE IT SOMETIME – Sparky
20. WHO IS THE DOCTOR? – Jon Pertwee
21. TIMOTHY JONES – Rod Thomas
22. TODAY’S A TOMORROW – Crush
23. DON’T YOU KNOW (SHE SAID HELLO) – Butterscotch
24. HEART OF STONE – Kenny
25. LIVING RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO AN ANGEL – Summer Wine
26. BEEP BEEP – The Bumbles
27. DRIVIN’ DRIVIN’ – High Noon
28. YER BIG GIRL’S BLOUSE – Flanelcat
29. BUBBLEROCK IS HERE TO STAY – Bubblerock