Paul Brett - Mr. Custer/ Goodtimes, Hardtimes

Bouncy, chirpy single with faint popsike leanings from Fulham guitar ace

Label: Bradleys
Year of Release: 1973

Well, I certainly wasn't expecting to find this one for £1 in Oxfam. Paul Brett was something of a shadowy, wandering figure throughout the sixties and seventies, adding his guitar riffage to all manner of cult groups. Among his more notable achievements are stints or session work with Fire, The Overlanders, The Strawbs, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, the undervalued Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera, and Tintern Abbey. If that weren't enough, he also sessioned for Al Stewart and Roy Harper.

Among heavy, deep digging aficionados of folk rock, he's probably best known for his work under the group name of Paul Brett's Sage who issued an eponymous debut LP on Pye in 1970 and follow ups "Jubilation Foundry" and "Schizophrenia" on their progressive imprint Dawn across the two following years.

After those three records were issued to only minor public interest, Brett disbanded his merry Sages and set off by himself, going on to become one of the first artists to be signed to ATV Music's newly launched Bradleys label in '73. The earliest singles released on this label are examples of corporate vanity at its absolute apex, with a special picture sleeve dedicated to the label and its "Mr Bradley" character rather than the artists in question. Who the moustachioed and bubbly Mr Bradley was based on, and why he ran a hotel on the picture sleeves, are questions whose answers have been lost to the mists of time. It's safe to bet that they also weren't very clear to ordinary punters who didn't read Music Week or internal record industry memos in 1973, who must have been confused by the appearance of identical picture sleeves housing completely different records by different artists.


Whether this marketing strategy worked against this record's chances is hard to say, but "Mr. Custer" doesn't really scream "hit single" anyway. It has shades of early seventies solo McCartney about its stylings, with a likeable bounce and some very intricate and pleasing guitar work. Still though, it sounds more like a strong album track than anything else.  A number of listeners have expressed a preference for the flip "Goodtimes, Hardtimes", which is a much more bluesy, soulful effort.

Brett's stint with Bradleys was comparatively short lived, involving two LPs ("Paul Brett" and "Clocks" in 1973) and two further singles before the plug was pulled on his contract. He moved on to release an array of progressive rock LPs and continued his session work with a dizzying number of respected artists, and remains active today.