But rather than let those singles gather dust on a lonely shelf in my living room, or remain ripped to mp3 with nobody listening to them, I thought I'd treat you the readers to their delights.
This time round, there's Moogs, film soundtracks, Disco and popular but largely forgotten seventies child stars.
Artist: Patricia Abigway/ Solid Gold Orchestra
Title: "The Moon and I" b/w "The Moon and the Moog"
Label: Survival
Year of Release: 1975
First up, the a moog-riddled 1975 single on the independent Survival Records. This one is an ambitious Gilbert and Sullivan cover consisting of buzzing guitars, analogue synths and soulful musings. It didn't break through, however. I've no idea who Patricia Abigway was, but that's surely a pseudonym.
Artist: Johnny Spence Orchestra/ Bob Britton
Title: "The Limbo Line" b/w "Here I Go Again"
Label: Spark
Year of Release: 1969
The 1968 film "The Limbo Line" seems to have evaporated from the collective memory banks of the Great British public, but was a Cold War thriller involving the ongoing battles against a series of defectors.
Spark clearly thought it was a popular enough film to bother to issue this soundtrack single, however, which sold nish and isn't chanced upon all that often these days. It sounds exactly as you'd expect a 1968 Cold War spy thriller theme to sound, and comes with the easy listening ballad "Here I Go Again" on the flip (without seeing the film, I couldn't tell you how or where that fitted into the plot).
Artist: Toby
Title: "Lester Klaw"/ "We Just Wanna Dance"
Label: RAK
Year of Release: 1976
A RAK Disco single! Well, there's something you find every day. "Lester Klaw" has a strange and interesting title which suggests a dark and sinister groove, but in fact it's fairly run-of-the-mill.
Artist: Glyn Poole
Title: "Sally Sunshine"/ "Sing A Happy Song"
Label: York
Year of Release: 1974
Glyn Poole was a seventies child star who regularly appeared on shows such as "Stars on Sunday" and "Junior Showtime", treating the public to his precocious talents. He apparently still performs to this day.
"Sally Sunshine" is a well-meaning racially aware song about a young girl who stays cheerful despite the attitude of those in her bigoted neighbourhood. Quite a socially rich topic for a small child to take on as a song, then, though it possibly doesn't have the required effect as her life doesn't sound like a very bad thing after all. Racial abuse and reduced life opportunities? Ptfh! Accept your lot with a skip and a grin, kids, and don't grumble.
