Gene-r

"Harvest of Love" - a Top 20 hit for Benny Hill in 1963.

errrrm...................(sorry!)........... "Cinderella Rockefella" - Esther & Abi Ofarim (Philips) but my first Northern record (unknowingly at the time) was: "Goodbye Nothin' To Say" - The Javells with No Smoking (Pye Disco Demand)

FROM THE INDEPENDENT: 2 March 2005. Edward Patten, singer: born Atlanta, Georgia 2 August 1939; married Renee Ivory (four sons, three daughters); died Livonia, Michigan 25 February 2005. With over 25 hit singles on both sides of the Atlantic, Gladys Knight and the Pips were arguably the most successful family-based soul vocal group of the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties. Best known for their version of Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", recorded in 1967, a year before Marvin Gaye's, as well as "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)", the Grammy-winning torch song written by Jim Weatherly, and "Midnight Train to Georgia", which topped the US charts in 1973, the quartet recorded for several companies including Tamla Motown, and only split up in 1989. They had formed in 1952 when Gladys Knight was just eight years old. By the time they released their dbut single, "Every Beat of My Heart", in 1961, the group were a quintet comprising Gladys on lead vocals, her brother Merald "Bubba" Knight and their cousins Edward Patten and William Guest, and a friend, Langston George, who left in 1962. Thereafter the group remained a quartet. Patten had an incredible range and could sing high tenor as well as bass. His voice became the perfect foil for Knight's emotive performances on "Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me" (1974) and standards such as "The Way We Were - Try to Remember" (1975). In her 1997 autobiography, Between Each Line of Pain and Glory, Knight recalls Patten as the most responsible member of the group, so much so that we took to calling him Daddy Patten. He was the one who was always watching the clock, trying to keep us on time and in line. He was a snappy dresser, and probably the biggest trash talker on the chit'lin' circuit. Born in Atlanta in 1939, Edward Patten was the son of a bandleader and joined the Pips when Gladys and "Bubba" Knight's sister Brenda and William Guest's sister Eleanor left the vocal group to get married in 1959. Two years later, their first single, "Every Beat of My Heart", became a smash hit on Vee-Jay and also on Fury Records, who signed the Pips and issued a re-recorded version and another three singles, including "Letter Full of Tears" which also made the US Top Twenty. While their lead vocalist got married and had two children in 1962-63, the Pips struggled along as a trio but Gladys Knight was soon back in the fold. The quartet got a make-over from the tapdancer turned freelance choreographer Cholly Atkins, who helped them hone a stage act which became worthy of their new motto, "Perfection in Performance". Patten especially delighted in learning the pirouettes, slides, freeze-frames and synchronised routines that became the Pips' trademark and were often copied by Motown acts. Ironically, after releasing five singles on the Maxx label, the group were signed by Berry Gordy Jnr to Motown's Soul subsidiary but never quite became A-listers there despite a memorable run of singles including "Take Me in Your Arms and Love Me" - their first British hit in 1967. In 1972, Gladys Knight and the Pips moved to Buddah Records and became superstars. They released the album Imagination (1973) and earned Grammies for "Neither One of Us" and "Midnight Train to Georgia" in 1974. They worked with Curtis Mayfield on the ebullient "Make Yours a Happy Home" and were regulars on Top of the Pops, their train-like choreography helping "Georgia" into the British Top Ten in 1976. Contractual problems forced the group to record two albums without Gladys, At Last . . . the Pips (1977) and Callin' (1978), but, by 1980, the quartet was back in the charts with the disco-flavoured "Taste of Bitter Love" and "Bourgie Bourgie". After 30 years together and another Grammy for the single "Love Overboard", Gladys Knight decided to go solo in 1989. Edward Patten and William Guest went into the ice-cream business before launching Crew Records together. Pierre Perrone

Have to say Pete, very passable!! Actually, I was expecting vocals a la Pinky and Perky before I heard it, and reading the description!! Sounds like you've slowed down the backing track - am I right?

LOL Tim!! But at least now, Elaine's complaints about there being no bog roll are completely justified! As for cleaners, she makes sure I buy my own!! Now now, sweet.....JOKE, JOKE! Put that frying pan down now, please.....OUCH!!

No, the bleach dust doesn't damage the stylus, as long as you brush any residue off the stylus after each play. Also ensure that you "wash" the record thoroughly with water before a first play, cleaning off any visible white residue. However, if you're still unsure, then it's probably best to keep an old stylus for this purpose, though the dust will not damage the stylus in any way.

Sharon McMahon was covered up at Stafford as "Make It Last" by Florence Miller.

Having read the previous thread on cleaning records, it reminded me of a method I've been using with 100% success for the past six years. If you've cleaned a record the best you can, and it still makes a noise when playing (even though it looks clean), this method will cleanse a record of the dirt still trapped in the grooves, which cause the annoying noise. This method works with all type of vinyl, even acetates!! INGREDIENTS: 1 record which sounds like a chip pan, but looks as smooth as silk. 1 roll of toilet tissue (or kitchen roll). 1 bottle of Domestos. METHOD: Cover the vinyl with an even smearing of Domestos, taking care not to get any on the label (if you're uncomfortable about this, try placing a cup or mug over the label to avoid any contact). Stand for about 30 mins. Place the record under a running cold tap, again avoiding contact with the label. Set the record down on a flat surface, and proceed to dry with toilet tissue, in a circular action. Once the vinyl looks clean and dry, repeat the bleaching process for the other side. Then, dry off ALL bleach/water on both sides of the record, and play. On the first play, you will notice white residue playing out of the grooves. Nothing to worry about, it's just dried bleach. But you will notice that if the noise was caused by dirt trapped in the grooves, it will now sound crystal clear!! Finally, after playing the record once, clean the surface with water to get rid of any surface residue. If, by now, the record still plays with a noise, it's either caused by deep scratches, or it's the way the record was pressed in the first place. PS - First attemtps are advisable on junk records before you really get stuck in to your rarities!! Gene

Pity I didn't realise you were after it - sorry mate!! I'll keep my eyes open for you should another one turn up, if you're keen. Gene