Happy Valley - I'm A Bum/ Amazon Lady

Happy-go-lucky Mungo Jerry-esque happy slappy 70s pop

Label: Young Blood

Year of Release: 1971

If you stumble on the Young Blood label in the boxes in charity shops and car boot sales, chances are it will either be scuffed copies of Python Lee Jackson's "In A Broken Dream" or Don Fardon's "Indian Reservation", usually with "Marko" or "Carol" biroed on to the label by a teen who was in the habit of taking his or her records to parties and wanted them back at the end. 

The rest of their catalogue is a weird ragbag of further Don Fardon flops, supper club soul, one-off studio bands and novelty pop. If you were being unkind, or perhaps just plain honest, the latter category is probably where you'd most easily place "I'm A Bum", a jaunty jugband styled number which seemingly cashes in on the summer feelgood frolics of those jolly hairies Mungo Jerry. The kazoos buzz and razz away against the noise of the group's bonhomie, as they sing proudly about how broke and fancy-free they are. It'll be fine for a year or so, lads, but trust me, after that you'll be dying for a nice hot bath. 

The B-side "Amazon Lady" takes a different tack altogether, being a mellow contemplation about the fate of short men with statuesque women. Despite starting in a rather unpromising way, it eventually gives way to a moody, stoned, atmospheric jam for the last minute or so, which is actually pretty good. 

Who were they? Search me. They were almost certainly a studio group put together by Miki Dallon, and I doubt anyone involved remembers a great deal about this project. It was released in Sweden and Germany as well to an equally muted public reception, and presumably everyone involved then had a shave and moved on to the next thing. 

Sorry about some of the pops and crackles on this single, especially on the B-side.