(05) Late 1962: first single, new TV series and first international tour

 

Alan Faith’s third movie ‘Mix Me A Person’ is released in August 1962 and  that same month he scores yet another top ten hit with ‘Don’t That Beat All’ c/w the title track. For anyone still wanting to claim that Faith was aware of new sounds: it’s business as usual, with the accompaniment  by The Johnny Keating Orchestra. Faith also stuck to his benchmark for a good song, as both tunes were by Van Dyke aka Johnny Worth. ‘Don’t That Beat All’ is a most civilised, country-tinged song.  

Faith biographers Geoff Leonard and Peter Walker see it like this: ‘With the John Barry / Johnny Worth period coming to an end, Faith tended to follow the prevailing musical trend rather than set new ones. The 'Adam Faith Sound' clearly belonged to a different era. Nevertheless, Faith saw this as a means of moving with the times and although each release did reflect current tastes, he still succeeded in releasing a succession of fine records. Johnny Keating was the arranger selected to follow in Barry's illustrious footsteps. Their first session produced 'Don't That Beat All', arranged in the style of the black American 'Hully Gully' sound, dubbed 'Country Gully' by Johnny Worth, who had previously written successfully in this style for Eden Kane’.

Still, the Autumn of 1962 proved to be most fruitful and exciting for the group.

A SINGLE ON PYE

Faith’s manager Eve Taylor may have seen The Roulettes as a ‘middle men’ as Russ Ballard put it during the Shindig! Interview, ‘the lads’ were nevertheless allowed to carve out a recording career of their own. Just like their boss’s output, their first single, released in October 1962, showed more attention to trends than concern for change. ‘Hully Gully Slip ’n’ Slide’, again by the omnipresent Worthing, ties in with a dance craze that was reaching its expiry date. The flip-side is a non-distinct cover version of ‘La Bamba’, originally a Mexican trad tune that gave birth to ‘Twist and Shout’ – two songs that seemed to be on everybody’s set-list, The Beatles included! In fact, The Roulettes didn’t look far for inspiration, since  Adam Faith sings it in ‘Mix Me A Person’!
Not all The Roulettes can be heard on that fist release. Bob Henrit: ‘La Bamba features ‘only Thorpy, Rogers and me, with a famous jazz guitarist called Ike Isaacs who was evidently brought in to show us the ropes in the recording  studio. He probably was in his fifties, but a proper jazz guitarist. He does the solo’. Peter Thorp, who handled the lead guitar then: ‘On a Fender six-string bass. And he was ideal for that bit, to be honest’.
It was their first and only single for Pye. The experience didn’t really prove inspiring and they wouldn’t enter a recording studio for another year.

OLD AND NEW

But why worry? On 19th September 1962, the BBC broadcast a new series titled ’Adam Faith sings Songs Old and New’, six half-hour shows in all and marking this line-up’s first TV appearance. And on 21st October, Faith and The Roulettes embarked on a tour of New Zealand, Australia and Hong Kong – together with another actor-teen idol Johnny Leyton. The music world was still running in Adam Faith mode. Yet, Faith and Leyton earmarked an era that was nearing its end, although no-one could have been predicted the sheer force of what was lying ahead. As Faith and The Roulettes multiplied success on stage, in the studio and on the TV screen, The Beatles released their first single ‘Love Me Do’ on 5 October 1962 and The Rollin’ Stones (do mind the spelling) would enter London’s EMI studios to record their first demos on the 26th.     

Faith had full confidence in his new arranger and orchestra leader Johnny Keating and chose  another Worth tune for the A-side, but ‘Baby Take A Bow’  (released November 1962, no. 22) was Faith’s worst entry since his career took off in November 1959.
Bob Henrit: ‘After this short tour abroad, we headed back to the UK for more gigs, a package tour and eventually a pantomime in Bournemouth where we starred in Aladdin!’.
The writing was on the wall when Faith’s first 1963 release, ‘What Now’, stalled at a most deceiving no. 31 (January).

Faith would be unable to turn the tide, but there was plenty of work ahead anyway, like a week  at The Princess Theatre in Torquay, another week in Sunderland in May.

Little did anyone know that by May half of the band would be replaced by then.

EXTRA EXTRA IKE ISAACS SIDE-STORY

Not all The Roulettes can be heard on their first release. In fact, the B-side of their first single for Pye  ['Hully Gully Slip'n'Slide' c/w ‘La Bamba’, late 1962] was recorded with a little help from a session-player called Ike Isaacs. Bob Henrit: ‘La Bamba’ features only Thorpy (Peter Thorp), Rogers and me, with a famous jazz guitarist called Ike Isaacs who was evidently brought in to show us the ropes in the recording studio. He probably was in his fifties, but a proper jazz guitarist. He does the solo’. Says Peter Thorp, who handled the lead guitar then: ‘On a Fender six-string bass. And he was ideal for that bit, to be honest’.

I searched the net, found a facebook page on Ike Isaacs. On 28 December 2018 I sent a message referring to Henrit’s and Thorp’s appreciation of Isaacs’ contribution, asking if more light could be shed on that session or his work for Pye.

Replies dated 29 and 30 December 2018
“Thanks for being in touch, Eddy. I am Ike Isaacs's nephew Mark Isaacs and run this tribute Facebook page. I'm sorry; though it is well -known that Ike was an active session player in that period, I don't have any more information about this recording or his work for Pye. That's really nice to know that such a tribute is there. Thank you”.
(signed) Mark Isaacs.  

Ike Isaac (1919-1996), https://www.facebook.com/ikeisaacs/

© Eddy Bonte (site 9Feb2019)

© Eddy Bonte, based on research and my group interview with Roulettes Peter Thorp, Bob Henrit, Russ Ballard and John ‘Mod’ Rogan conducted at Russ Ballard’s home on Thursday 15th December 2016. My article on The Roulettes appeared in Shindig! Magazine no. 84 of October 2018 (as edited by Andy Morten) ** VERSION OF 3 APRIL 2017, adapted for website  07 Feb 1062