Force West - Like The Tide Like The Ocean/ I'll Be Moving On

Bristol beat stalwarts with another neat 45

Label: CBS

Year of Release: 1968

Force West have appeared on this blog twice before now, in relatively short order - back in February 2020 we took a look at their final single "Sherry/ Mr Blue", and in September their third single "When The Sun Comes Out". 

Readers wanting the full line-up details of the band and all the relevant Who, What, When, Where and Why facts should head right over to the "Sherry" entry where they will find everything they need, and also get to hear the agreeably Jeff Lynne-esque flipside "Mr Blue". 

This single really does sound like the one that got away, though. "Like The Tide, Like The Ocean" is generally commercially available these days thanks to a compilation of Mike Hurst productions, but perhaps what's most surprising is the fact it made such little impression to begin with; it's filled with the kind of breezy, sweeping harmonies which were cutting through all the time by 1968, and far later than that, in fact. Its November release date may have doomed it somewhat; surely this should have been booming from car stereos on the seafront in July? Nonetheless, this just screams hit single and in a just world would have been a breakthrough 45 for the band.

Its commercial availability puts it off-limits for this blog, but its on YouTube and naturally available to buy on mp3 all over the place as well.

Force West - When The Sun Comes Out/ Gotta Tell Somebody

Second blog appearance for sixties Bristol pop group

Label: Columbia

Year of Release: 1966

Back in February, when we were mostly only dimly aware of something called a Coronavirus occurring in another country which felt too far away to be of any real significance - do you remember those days, readers? And do you wish you had done more with the time you had available then? - I uploaded Force West's final single to this blog and gave a detailed history of their lengthy activities. Changing their name more frequently than Spinal Tap (from Force West to the Oscar Bicycle to Shakane) and having a lengthy local gig history, they are the kind of group the slightly disagreeable and ugly word "stalwarts" was invented for.

"When The Sun Comes Out" was their third single, issued in July 1966 presumably in the hopes of a summer smash. The song does everything right to secure this - those close vocal harmonies, parping horns, and airy strings accompany lyrics filled with the kind of seasonal hope the British are bizarrely obsessed with every year. Obviously, it failed to change the group's fortunes or you wouldn't be reading about them on here.

The flip, on the other hand, is a bit of a beat groover, filled with thundering piano sounds and impossibly chirpy vocals. This feels like the sound of British Pirate Radio in 1966 to my ears. Apologies for the slightly scratchy sound quality, though.

Force West - Sherry/ Mr. Blue

Bristol wonders - also known as the Oscar Bicycle and Shakane - with their final shot at success

Label: CBS

Year of Release: 1969

Nobody could ever accuse Bristolians Force West of not trying their hardest to break through to a larger audience. They had three record contracts and seven singles out across four years, opening with "I Can't Give What I Haven't Got" on Decca in 1965, and closing with this effort. 

The group were initially formed from the remains of the groups The Jaguars and The Diatones. While they issued one vaguely psychedelic record under the pseudonym Oscar Bicycle in 1968, Force West tended to specialise in carefully arranged, commercially sound beat and harmony pop, and as such their output hasn't had many appearances on sixties obscurities compilations. Nonetheless, their records were generally neat, likeable affairs with an excess of warmth in their grooves; their hearts and souls were clearly somewhere on the American West Coast rather than the western edge of the UK. A quick listen to the beautiful 45 "A Walk In The Rain" gives you a firm impression of their sun-kissed pop.  

Their cover of that old chestnut "Sherry" was their last attempt for a single on CBS, and in common with a lot of last-ditch cover versions foisted on groups who have previously failed to chart, it's... OK.  The group handle the track with care and even give it a slightly tropical feel in an attempt to bring out different tones and colours. Ultimately though, I've never been enough of a fan of the song itself to appreciate any particular interpretation of it, so it's probably wasted on my ears.

Better is the B-side "Mr. Blue" which sounds uncannily like an early Jeff Lynne ballad - a huge coincidence given that the song's title being only one word short of ELO's most famous moment - filled with tremulous vocals and a weary, Sally Army styled brass arrangement in the background. It will doubtless have seemed a bit dated for 1969, but it's a lovely moment and appropriately downbeat enough to act as the band's final bow.