Genre: rock
Rating: 1 stars *
Title: Snoopy vs.The Red Baron / Winchester Cathedral
Company: Vogue / Pop Schallplatten
Catalog: LDVS
17125
Year: 1967
Country/State: UK
Grade (cover/record): not available
Comments: not available
Available: not available
Catalog ID: not available
Price: not available
The mid-1960s were an interesting time to have been a British musician. No matter what your musical skill level, if you had a certain look and that British accent, you could apparently make a living as a rock and roller playing on the Continent. That seems to have pretty much covered John Smith and the New Sound.
So first off there was actually a John Smith, though his tenure with the band was rather brief; lasting through a couple of singles and 1 1967 album.
As a teenager Smith became infatuated with American blues, forming the skiffle band Jubilee in the mid-1950s. By the early 1960s he'd struck out on his own, signing a solo deal with Parlophone which released a couple of obscure singles under the name Bobby Dean.
- 1965's 'More And More' b/w 'St. James Infirmary' (Parlophone catalog number R 5254)
- 1965's 'He's the One' b/w 'Why Did You Go Away' (Parlophone catalog number R 5299)
With support from manager Bill Wellings, Smith was subsequently signed to EMI's discount Top Six label. Like the US K-Tell label would do in the 1970s, Top Six gathered together an array of British sessions players (known collectively as "The Ghost Squad") who would then power their way through lists of popular hits which were then released as cheapy 'hits' packages.
In one of those weird marketing moves that nobody seems to understand, in 1966 the Vogue label saw fit to release a couple of John Smith singles in West Germany and other parts of Europe. Both were rote covers of 'hits' by other bands; The New Vaudeville Band having scored a fluke hit with 'Winchester Cathedral' (coincidently produced by Welling), while the Florida-based The Royal Guardsmen enjoyed a US hit with 'Snoopy vs.The Red Baron'.
-
1966's 'Winchester Cathedral' b/w 'Got To Get You Into My Life' (Vogue
catalog number DV 14 573)
- 1966's 'Snoopy vs.The Red Baron' b/w 'Send Her Home' (Vogue catalog number
DV 14 606)
YouTube has a black and white German television performances of the song - funny watching Smith sing the song holding his nose to get the nasal sound:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xPFVFm8NpA&feature=related
"Winchester Cathedral"
Supported by extensive touring and television appearances, the singles sold well in West Germany and as was standard marketing procedure, in the wake of Smith's unexpected successes Vogue rushed out a supporting album. - 1967's "Snoopy Vs.The Red Baron / Winchester Cathedral". I've never heard it, let alone tried to track down a copy, but for anyone curious, here's the track listing:
"Snoopy Vs.The Red Baron / Winchester Cathedral" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) High
Time
2.) Send Her Home
3.) Got To Get You Into My Life
4.) No-One Knows
5.) Wrapping Paper
6.) Stop Stop Stop
7.) Snoopy vs. The Red Baron
(side
2)
1.) I'm On Top
2.) Big Time Operator
3.) Here's A Heart
4.) When I Come Home
5.) All Or Nothing
6.) Wait For Me Baby
7.) Winchester Cathedral
Up next were a couple of non-LP 45s:
- 1966's 'Make It Me' b/w 'Don't Break It Up' (Vogue catalog number DV 14 618)
- 1966's 'Out and About' b/w 'Don't Back the Loser' (Vogue catalog number DV 14 653)
Apparently unhappy with the resulting monetary compensation (my guess is there was little or none), at the ripe old age of 28 Smith quit the band and left for Australia where he eventually signed up for what was to be a four month gig playing on a cruise liner. He ended up staying until 1993 and wrote a book about his experiences "A Laugh On the Ocean Wave" (I've looked for a copy of the book without success).
Smith also has a small MySpace page at:
http://www.myspace.com/johnsmithsound
