Make Mine Mondo! Label: Ace Records. Nowadays, with a record number of albums being released and each and every week, independent and major labels spend a considerable part of their budget promoting their latest releases. However, it wasn’t always that way, and Lew Bedell the owner of Doré Records was reluctant to spend money promoting a new single.  In fact, Lew Bedell only ever commissioned photographs of his artists unless their single had charted, and very rarely advertised in the trade press. By then, Doré Records had already enjoyed a million-selling single with The Teddy Bears ..read more

Jon Savage’s 1977-1979-Symbols Clashing Everywhere. Label: Ace Records. Format: 2CD Set.  Jon Savage’s 1977-1979-Symbols Clashing Everywhere is the seventh instalment in the compliant series he has curated for Ace Records. This long-running series has been released to critical acclaim, and like previous volumes features a truly eclectic collection of tracks. They reflect just what music journalist Jon Savage was listening to during what was an important period in his burgeoning career.  He had been writing small live reviews but in April 1978, while work ..read more

Lonnie Mack-Sa-Ba Hola! Two Sides Of Lonnie Mack. Label: Ace Records. Format: LP. On the ‘8th’ of June 1963 Lonnie Mack’s instrumental version of Chuck Berry’s Memphis entered the US Billboard 100 and eventually reached number five and four on the US R&B chart during the thirteen weeks it spent on the charts. This was the twenty-two year old guitarist’s first hit single. By then, he was already an experienced musician and had been making a living as a musician since he was thirteen. That was when Lonnie Macintosh quit school after getting involved in an argument with a teacher. However, th ..read more

Carl Perkins-Whole Lotta Shakin’, King Of Rock, Greatest Hits and On Top. Label: BGO Records. By the time Carl Perkins signed to Sam Phillips’ Sun Records in 1954, he had already been a professional musician for eight years. His career began in 1946, when Carl Perkins was fourteen, and still living in Tiptonville, Tennessee, where his parents worked as sharecroppers. Life was tough for Buck and Louise Perkins, who spent twelve to fourteen hours each day toiling in the fields. Despite working such long days, the Perkins family lived in poverty. To try to make life easier for his family, six-yea ..read more

Cult Classic: Carl Perkins-On Top. By the time Carl Perkins signed to Sam Phillips’ Sun Records in 1954, he had already been a professional musician for eight years. His career began in 1946, when he was fourteen and still living in Tiptonville, Tennessee, where his parents worked as sharecroppers. Life was tough for Buck and Louise Perkins, who spent twelve to fourteen hours each day toiling in the fields. Despite working such long days, the Perkins family lived in poverty. To try to make life easier for his family, six-year-old Carl Perkins joined his parents in the cotton fields during the ..read more

Cult Classic: The Deadbeats-On Tar Beach. There aren’t many teenagers who dream of leaving the Florida sunshine to head to London, and form a band. That’s what Suzie May did in 1979. She left her home in the Florida suburbs, and arrived in Camden Town, London. Already Suzie May was halfway towards fulfilling her dream. That was to form a band whose music was a combination of sixtes girl groups like The Ronettes, Motown and Merseybeat sound  Just over a year later, she achieved her dream. The story began after Suzie May placed an advert in Melody Maker saying singe ..read more

Boppin’ By The Bayou-Flip, Flop and Fly. Label: Ace Records. Nowadays, the compilation market is without doubt, one of the most competitive in the music industry. Every week hundreds of compilations are released by labels in America, Europe and Britain. Some are released by major labels, while others are lovingly curated and released by smaller independent labels. However, what many of these compilations concentrate on one type of music.  This can be anything from progressive rock and psychedelia, to funk or fusion, throughout to blues, country, R&B, reggae and soul. Some record compa ..read more

Sounds Of The Unexpected. Label: Ace Records. Ever since she was teenager growing up in Southend-on-Sea, on the Thames Delta, Vicki Fox loved music and was an enthusiastic and knowledgeable  collector of vinyl. It was no surprise that when Vicki Fox moved to London, she would embark upon a career in the music industry. One of Vicki Fox’s first jobs was working on Ted Carroll’s market stall in Goldborne Road. At first, Vicki Fox sorted through the burgeoning selection of records on the stall, and even kept Ted Carroll supplied with bacon sandwiches. It may not have been the most glamorous ..read more

Red Hot Boppers-HMV Vinyl Exclusive. Label: Sun. Over the last few years, the resurgence of interest in vinyl has taken many within the music industry by surprise. Some went as far as say that the resurgence of interest in vinyl would be short-lived and was no more than a passing fad. How wrong they were. Especially one particular label manager who back in late-2014 was particularly scathing about vinyl’s newfound popularity.  He believed that the vinyl bubble was about to burst, and there was no way ‘his’ company he managed would ever release their vinyl. This musical Nostradamus’ other ..read more

Swamp Pop By The Bayou-Let’s Get Together Tonight. Recently, one of Ace Records’ longest running and most successful compilation series made a welcome return when Swamp Pop By The Bayou-Let’s Get Together Tonight was released. It’s the seventeenth instalment in the By The Bayou series, and the third compilation of swamp pop. Just like the previous instalments in the By The Bayou series, it has been compiled and curated by Ian Saddler. He’s dug deep and discovered twenty-eight: “buckle-polishers and skirt-swirlers” for Swamp Pop By The Bayou-Let’s Get Together Tonight. They’re a mixture hi ..read more