The Endevers - Sunny And Me/ I Really Hope You Do

Bouyant, optimistic, orchestrated pop song from the 60s beat merchants

Label: Decca

Year of Release: 1969

The irritatingly named Endevers have had their meatier, beatier moments slipped on to a couple of sixties rarity compilations lately, with their debut single "Taking Care of Myself" popping up on "Beatfreak" and "She's My Girl" being the opening track on volume 4 of "New Rubble". This, their final single, has yet to be given another outing.

That's possibly because unlike the two stormers that preceded it, "Sunny and Me" is a fluffy piece of sunshine pop, filled to the brim with feelgood arrangements and hopeful lyrics. It's actually a version of a Farrell and Romeo penned track which originally landed (equally unsuccessfully) in the laps of country poppers Douglas Good and Ginny Plenty the year before, and the arrangement doesn't take any radical steps away from that flop record. The vocals here are much more confident and punchy, though, and so for my money it's the better version.

The flip, "I Really Hope You Do", is yet more orchestrated pop which veers strangely close to some of the smoother ballads on the soul scene. It's smooth and polished and filled to the brim with vocal harmonies, and is a more ambitious track than you'd usually expect to find buried on a B-side.

The identity of The Endevers, meanwhile, is a bit of a mystery. They were apparently regular performers in Blackpool which might suggest they were from that area or close by, but given Blackpool's reputation as one of the premier gigging opportunities for bands from around the country in the sixties, that's possibly an assumption too far. If anyone knows more, please do leave a comment.