Sixties instro-pop with - on the flip - a distinct Joe Meek feel
Label: Decca
Year of Release: 1963
What could be better than a sixties guitar instrumental about everyone's favourite footwear - then and now - Chelsea Boots? The boots with an elasticated removal strap at the back which always gets used with rushed relief at the end of the day when you need to remove an agonising new pair of the things (I still think some kind of minor medal should be awarded to anyone who has endured a month of discomfort trying to wear a new pair "in").
As you'd expect, the A-side here has a typical, merry Carnaby Street skip about it, perfect for swinging your shopping bag along to having bought such shoes. It sounds perfect as incidental backing music, but perhaps lacked a strong enough melody or hook to become a charting single.
The flipside generally tends to be more discussed online. "Samantha" apes Joe Meek's production style so much that I only hope he never heard it. If he had, I'm sure the familiar scream of "Rotten pigs!" would have been heard, closely followed by some objects being thrown around the room. Clearly, it's not as precise or as clean a style as Meek managed, but it's a neat imitation.
