Tag Archives: Johnny Kidd & The Pirates

RADIO RPB #016 • June 22, 2018

RADIO RPB #016 • June 22, 2018

Set List
Pretenders – Watcha Gonna Do About It
The Records – Girl In Golden Disc
The Marvelettes – Locking Up My Heart
The Revillos – Hungry For Love
Johnny Kidd & The Pirates – Please Don’t Touch (1964 version)
Smokey Robinson And The Miracles – From Head To Toe
The Wildweeds – I Had A Girl
Aquarian Age10,000 Words In A Cardboard Box
George HarrisonI’d Have You Any Time
The UndertonesIt’s Going To Happen!
Mose Allison – Everybody Cryin’ Mercy

I loved Flexipop Magazine because each issue came with a free record. Better sounding than the records that came on the back of cereal boxes but the same kind of thrill. The feli in Flexipop issue No. 6 was especially good, two previously unreleased tracks by the then, very hot Pretenders. One track was a demo of Stop Your Sobbing, very similar in approach to the original Kinks version. The other track, a strong cover version of The Small Faces’ Watcha Gonna Do About It. My crowd loved the Pretenders – unapologetic punk look and pop songs performed with power by a superior band.

This version of Johnny Kidd & The Pirates’ Please Don’t Touch is a 1964 remake of their 1959 hit.  It’s one of the few times I think a re-recording surpasses the original. They fiddled with the chord progression , dropped a bridge and took great advantage of Mick Green’s presence on guitar.

The Wildweeds I Had A Girl was recorded in 1968 but remained unreleased until the the early 70s  when it was issued under Ray Zeiner’s name on the Poison Ring record label.

More next time!

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