Irish folk group goes somewhat popsike for UK release
Label: Major Minor
Year of Release: 1969
Here's a scarce record I've passed on a few times in my life before now, purely because its online reputation is somewhat weak. Rated 2 out of 10 on 45cat and 2 out of 5 on Discogs, and with sniffy comments piling up on collector's sites, it surely wasn't worth breaking a five pound note for, never mind a tenner or more?
But wait. Perhaps I'm getting old and soft, but when I first put the stylus down on this record a couple of weeks ago after picking it up for the cost of some loose shrapnel, I was instantly delighted. Anyone reading the somewhat childlike, groovy title and expecting phasing, backwards guitar solos or even unusual lyrics is going to be disappointed, but treat "Candy Floss Man" for what it is - a rich and lively piece of folky, paisley harmony pop akin to the Fifth Dimension - and you may find yourself perking up and twitching about the room with the joys of Spring. The flip side "Perry Square" is also a lovely period piece, bringing to mind bright technicolour trips to the local park full of beaming people who, in my neck of the woods at least, never truly existed. Still, their false memories are a delight to wallow in for awhile.
We 4 were, of course, not really a hip group at the time, which complicates things further and possibly also explains this record's reputation. Consisting of John Harrington, Larry Hogan, Suzanne Murphy and Dennis Mowatt, they were from Ireland and spent most of their time on the folk circuit there, singing in both Irish and English. In 1969 they spread their wings to go on a much more ambitious European tour for five months, which possibly explains why Major Minor got excited enough to release this as a single here. Try though they did, it sold in disappointing quantities.
