IN MEMORIAM RICHARD SHIRMAN
(26 April 1949 - 26 July 2017)
 

INTRO

Richard Shirman, front-man of sixties mod-psych group The Attack and ten-piece blues and soul outfit that became Hershey And The 12 Bars, died after a long illness on 26 July 2017. 

 

PART ONE: THE ATTACK 

FORMATION

The Attack was formed in early 1966 by Richard Shirman (vocals), David John aka Davy O’List (trumpet, guitar), Gerry Henderson (bass), Alan Whitehead (drums) and Bob Hodges (organ).

In fact, this line-up was the ultimate metamorphosis of R&B-based outfit The Soul System. Singer Richard Shirman convinced his new friend Davy O’List to join him, but soon afterwards the two opted for a different sound with a new group. They teamed up with O’List’s work-mate Gerry Henderson and recruited Bob Hodges and Alan Whitehead through the Musicians Wanted column in the Melody Maker. Later that year, manager Don Arden saw potential and got them a deal with Decca. It is said he changed the group’s name to The Attack, but Davy O’List claims that was his idea. 

R&B ROOTS

 Usually identified with a certain mix of Mod and psychedelic sounds – think The Creation or The Birds - The Attack was nevertheless firmly rooted in rhythm and blues and its derivative raw, powerful approach that characterized post-Mersey beat; later to be labelled garage. Shirman himself could not be clearer about his roots: “I was inspired by The Rolling Stones and The Yardbirds. I saw both when I was fourteen, over the objections of my parents, and was hooked.” [1]. In an interview with Ugly Things, he stated that “with The Soul System there were no such things as soul covers; it was R&B.” [2].

DECCA SINGLES

The Attack released four singles on Decca between 21 January 1967 and 12 January 1968, without troubling the record-buying public. The recognition that followed more than three decades later, via compilations [3], is to the credit of flipsides, rejected material and unreleased latter-day sessions rather than the four supposedly commercial A-sides.

Things did start promisingly though with “Try It” from the catalogue of American hit-writer Joey Levine, soon to be leading the Bubblegum Burst. With its straight riff, simple repetition (“Try It, Yeah”) and underlying organ boosts, their R&B and driving beat influences were obvious. Released on 21 January 1967, its impact was nil. The song is better remembered in the tougher version by American group The Standells, though success escaped them as well due to a radio ban because of so-called sexually suggestive lyrics. A powerful cover by The Ohio Express in early 1968 fared no better, stalling at a meagre 83 in the US charts, but revenge was just around the corner as follow-up ‘Yummy, Yummy, Yummy’ (co-written by Levine) became a world-wide hit.

B-side “We Don’t Know” confirms Shirman’s roots, with long organ parts clearly borrowed from the Mod soul book and a hard-driving vocal finale reminiscent of darker-eyed soul à la Otis Redding. Written by band members Shirman, O’List and Henderson, Shirman’s lyrics reveal the often overlooked thread that runs through his entire career: humour, irony and a most relativist look on all things human. Entirely out of joint with the revolutionary times claiming power to the younger people, in “We Don’t Know” Shirman readily admits that his generation has no clue about sex, marriage and drugs - or the H-Bomb for that matter. The first organ notes echo the Batman Theme, adding extra pastiche.

POPPY A-SIDES

They stuck to pure, slightly decorated pop for their next three A-sides, as dictated by management.
Releasing “Hi Ho Silver Lining” a mere two months later, The Attack’s interpretation stood no chance when Jeff Beck released the same song shortly afterwards. Shirman’s delivery adding an extra layer of irony to lyrics that ridicule the groovy people, sits uncomfortably with the image of a pop group and Gerry Henderson’s clarinet is no match for Beck’s crystal clear solo.

Drummer Whitehead had left after the first flop and now O’List, Henderson and Hodges departed. Front-man Shirman stuck to his guns; close to camp, third single “Created by Clive” (June 1967) mocks fashion trendsetters and the dedicated followers who depend on them for their psychological survival – a daring, but unrewarded move with the Summer of Love approaching! “Neville Thumbcatch” from January 1968, was to be their last official effort to crack it. An orchestrated narration about a weird character in a weird place (think Keith West’s “Grocer Jack” and The Who’s “Happy Jack”), this half-song lacks the hook that a hit tune can’t do without, no matter how proficient the production.

With four consecutive misses to their name, the group disappeared from sight and it is no wonder The Attack is absent in encyclopaedia such as Terry Hounsome’s New Rock Record (3rd edition, 1987) and Who’s Who in Rock (1979), whereas their entry in The Encyclopedia of British Beat Groups of the Sixties (1980) is most trivial. 

PSYCH LEGACY

The innovating psychedelic sound that would eventually lead to their status as a pivotal Mod-psych band, is to be found on B-sides, a rejected single and material that never saw the light of day back then. Flip “Hi Ho Silver Lining” to discover “Anymore Than I Do” by Shirman, O’List and Henderson, with a splendid guitar solo by Davy O’List, his last effort for the band before joining The Nice to back emerging star P.P. Arnold. Shirman’s “Colour of My Mind” captures the spirit of the era much more significantly than “Created by Clive”, both musically and lyrically; credit must go to the sitar-like intro and the driving organ.
The same is true for their fourth single release, with “Lady Orange Peel” (Smith, Shirman) featuring rhythm changes, modulated vocals and a short but effective shrill guitar intervention. Now with John Du Cann steering the wheel, they sound heavier and tend towards rock with the rhythm section clearly to the fore.
Ironically, it is the unreleased singles that sound the heaviest and more psychedelic of all. John Du Cann was now delivering most of the goods and projected fourth release “Magic in the Air” could have secured them with a chart position. Sustained by a repetitive line akin to The Spencer Davis Group’s “Gimme Some Lovin”, the phrasing sounds a lot like The Move, with heavy riffs and trumpets rounding it off.
In the spring of 1968, “Freedom for You” c/w “Feel like Flying” (both Du Cann) was to follow-up “Neville Thumbcatch”, but remained in the drawer. The A-side amazingly mixes Merseybeat harmonies, sound effects and a throbbing rhythm, while still circling in the orbit of The Move. Again, it is the flipside that explains their legacy. Light-years away from soulish Mod, “Feel like Flying” is a thick slice of heavy guitar with bass and drums as the driving force that easily keeps pace with The Move or The Who.
More 1968 recordings that eventually gained them a spot in the pantheon, lingered for decades, only to be discovered through compilations that brought about a larger fan base than in the sixties. Despite Shirman’s dedication and singing talents, John Du Cann had by now practically taken over, including Shirman’s former domain – the lyrics. Du Cann stamped his compositions with leaden guitar work and ditto rhythm section, covering a field from guitar-driven psych, “Mr. Pinnodmy’s Dilemma”, to early heavy rock, with songs like “Strange House” announcing the sound he would later create in Atomic Rooster. The Angel Air compilation Final Daze features Du Cann compositions only!

TALENT

The Attack’s lack of success contrasts heavily, so to speak, with all the talented musicians that were part of one line-up or another. Davy O’List and Brian Davison joined The Nice, Alan Whitehead found fame with The Marmalade, John Du Cann formed Andromeda before scoring with Atomic Rooster, and Jim Avery opted for Third World War.

Richard Shirman’s stint with Andromeda was short-lived and according to the man himself he blew up a deal with Elektra Records as a solo act. Shirman left the music business only to put a new version of The Attack together in 1979.

 

PART TWO: WELCOME TO HERSHEY 
 

When The Attack Mk. II failed to ensure any success, Richard Shirman returned in 1981 with a ten-piece outfit playing blues. The line-up changed frequently but, just as with The Attack, Shirman had a knack for finding good players. Such was his standing among fellow musicians, that he could effortlessly count on the very best to join him on stage or in the studio.

The band had a Monday night residency at The Prince of Orange, in Rotherhithe, and the pub landlord said he would like the line-up to have more horns. Richard said he could have more horn players, if he would pay for them, and thus The Hershey Horns evolved. As the band was going on stage, the publican asked Richard the name of the band. Richard blurted out, “Hershey and the Twelve Bars”, after which he was often referred to as Hershey. In between gigging or recording with the likes of Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, Gary Moore, Albert Lee or Georgie Fame, saxophonists Frank Mead and Nick Payn would join the Hershey Horns whenever feasible; when he heard the band was recording, the latter himself suggested adding some horns. [4]

Hershey & The 12 Bars eventually put out a CD in 2000, its title mirroring Shirman’s indestructible tongue-in-cheek attitude and his curious take on the laws of relativity: Greatest Hits – Vol. 2, a mix of covers (Hendrix, Bill Withers) and brand-new songs by Shirman himself. [5] While keeping the blues template in mind, the band equally ventured into soul and funk.
It is little known that the band released a second album Welcome To Hershey, in 2002 [7], containing nine studio tracks from 1986 and five live tracks from a 1989 gig at The Prince Of Orange,. Shirman contributed just one new song. The sounds is coloured by the Hershey Horns and again features such famous friends as Nick Payn, Frank Mead and Rod De’ath.

OUTRO

Music was Shirman’s heart and soul. Afflicted by multiple sclerosis in mid-life, it was music making and the camaraderie that goes with it that kept him going. The sleeve notes to Welcome to Hershey are explicit: “Hershey and The 12 Bars was more than a band, it developed into a gigantic social club, attracting great musicians whose undoubted skill, married to tremendous humour and joie de vivre, are reflected on this album”.
Richard Shirman should be remembered as a good singer with an ear for talent, his humour and his unremitting perseverance to produce music and the joy and fun that is part of it.
 

© Eddy Bonte with Fran Leslie 
(first published on this site 2 August 2018)

References
[1] http://www.folklinks.com/folk_wisdom.html
[2] Ugly Things, issue 25, Summer 2007
[3] The Complete Recordings 1967-1968, ACME, 1999; Final Daze, Angel Air, 2001; About Time, RPM, 2006.
[4,5] More famous names include Mike Summerland (ex-Mick Abraham’s Bloodwyn Pig), Rod Demick (Paul Lamb & The Kingsnakes), Ian Gomm, David Essex (ex Paul Lamb & The Kingsnakes), Ricky Buckley (tenor sax with Van Morrison and others), Alan Wakeman (tenor sax, played with David Essex and was part of the 70s avant-garde jazz scene, with Mike Westbrook and others), Sam Kelly (drums), Brendan O’Neill (ex-Rory Gallagher) Steve Waller (formerly of Manfred Mann's Earth Band), Ian Ellis (ex-Savoy Brown).
[6] Hershey & The 12 Bars: ‘Greatest Hits – Vol. 2’, A New Day Records, AND CD43, 2000.
[7] Hershey & The 12 Bars: ‘Welcome to Hershey’, Abacabe Records, ABACABCD 009, 2002.