‘THE DEFINITIVE MOD-POP
COLLECTION’: THE ATTACK

Singles:

27th January 1967 – “Try It” (Joey Levine and Bellack) c/w “We Don’t Know” (Davy O’List and Richard Shirman) (Decca F12550) Original Attack line-up, Richard Shirman (vocals), Davy O’List (guitar and back-up vocals), Bob Hodges (organ), Gerry Henderson (bass), Alan ‘Noddy’ Whitehead (drums)

3rd March 1967 – “Hi Ho Silver Lining” (Scott English, Larry Weiss) c/w “Any More Than I Do” (O’List melody and Shirman lyrics) (Decca F12578) Produced by Mark Wildey for Withit Records. Second Attack line-up, with Barney Barnfield replacing Alan Whitehead (drums)

23rd June 1967 – “Created By Clive” (Hubert Pattison) c/w “Colour Of My Mind” (Geoff Richardon and Richard Shirman) (Decca F12631) with Geoff Richardson (guitar), Kenny Harold (bass), Plug Davies (drums)

late 1967 – “Magic In The Air” (aka ‘Watch With Mother’) (John DuCann) – unissued single with Richard Shirman (vocals), John DuCann (guitar), Geoff Richardson (guitar), Chris Allen (drums) and George Watt (organ)

12th January 1968 – “Lady Orange Peel” (Shirman) c/w “Neville Thumbcatch” (Vic Smith and Bain) (Decca F12575) Features Attack’s final line-up with Richard Shirman, John DuCann, Roger ‘Pincott’ Deane (bass) and Keith Hodge (drums)

March 1968 – “Freedom For You” (John DuCann) c/w “Feel Like Flying” (aka “Making It”) (John DuCann) – unissued single

Other Sessions:

June 1967 – Collectors Beware, a single “Washington Square” c/w “Please Phil Spector” (Philips BF 1585) issued as by the Attack USA was an American same-name group with no connection to the UK Attack

1st July 1967 ‘Saturday Club’ BBC Radio Session broadcast “Come On Up” (Felix Cavaliere) and “Created By Clive”

1969 – “Sympathy For The Devil” (Jagger and Richard) c/w “Anything” (Shirman) (acetate only recorded at RG Jones studio in Wimbledon, financed by Elektra) Len Tuckey plays guitar. He later joins the Suzie Quatro group, and marries her

21st November 2005 – “Created By Clive” c/w “Colour Of My Mind” (Acme ACF1019)

previously unreleased sessions January-March 1968: includes “Too Old” (John Du Cann), “Mr Pinnodmy’s Dilemma” (John DuCann), “Go Your Way” (John DuCann), “Strange House” (John DuCann)

Compilation Albums:

1990 ‘Magic In The Air’ (Reflection MM08, reissued in January 1993 as Aftermath AFT1001) with “Magic In The Air”, “Colour Of My Mind”, “Mr Pinnodmy’s Dilemma”, “Hi Ho Silver Lining”, “Freedom For You”, “Any More Than I Do”, “Strange House”, “Neville Thumbcatch”, “Feel Like Flying”, “Lady Orange Peel”, “Too Old”, “Go Your Way”, “Try It” (reviewed in ‘New Musical Express’ as ‘pure Carnaby Street Popadelic on a grand scale’)

1999 ‘Attack: Complete Recordings 1967-68’ (Acme ADLP1026, reissued 2005, Acme ACLN1005CD) with “Magic In The Air”, “Try It”, “Colour Of My Mind”, “Feel Like Flying”, “Lady Orange Peel”, “Freedom For You”, “Mr Pinnodmy’s Dilemma”, “Strange House”, “Any More Than I Do”, “Created By Clive”. “We Don’t Know”, “Hi Ho Silver Lining”, “Neville Thumbcatch”, “Too Old”, “Go Your Way”

2001 ‘Final Daze’ (Angel Air SJPCD080, and Get Back GET602 in Italy) with “Magic In The Air”, “Mr Pinnodmy’s Dilemma”, “Freedom For You”, “Strange House”, “Feel Like Flying”, “Too Old”, “Go Your Way”, plus previously unissued titled drawn from John DuCann’s personal collection of acetates, “You Know He Did” (sparse Beat-group sound), “The Rock Door” (‘Lucile’-based Rocker), “Now The Sun Shines” (slow Folky-style, ‘I was lower than the ground, feeling lonely, now I’ve found…’), “Sleep Like A Child” (tempo-change, ‘close your eyes, tomorrow when you rise…’), “Roll On” (catchy fast-harmony), “My Letters” (Beat-Boom style harmonies), “Earth Tremor” and “Spaced Out” (Heavy Rock instrumentals) plus “Magic In The Air” (unplugged), “Go Your Way” (Demo)

2002 ‘Five Day Week Straw People’ (Akarma AK218/2) 2-Disc set, first disc ‘Five Day Week Straw People’ (Saga FID2123 from 1968, Angel Air SJPCD059 in 2000) with “Does It Rain”, “Gold Digger”, “Sunday Morning” etc coordinated by Guy Mascalo and David Montague, with Mick Hawksworth (bass, vocals), Jack ‘McCulloch’ Collins (drums), John DuCann (guitar, vocals). The second disc is made up of Attack tracks “Magic In The Air”, “Mr Pinnodmy’s Dilemma”, “Freedom For You”, “Strange House”, “Feel Like Flying”, “Too Old”, “Go Your Way”, “Now The Sun Shines”, “Sleep Like A Child”

2006 ‘About Time’ (RPM BC317) also Bam Caruso KIRI121, with “Any More Than I Do”, “Feel Like Flying” aka “Making It’, “Created By Clive”, “Try It”, “Go Your Way” (lyrics by John DuCann), “Too Old”, “Colour Of My Mind”, “Lade Orange Peel’, “Sympathy For The Devil”, “Neville Thumbcatch”, “Strange House” (John DuCann, with Roger Deane and Keith Hodge), “Mr Pinnodny’s Dilemma”, “Freedom For You”, “Hi Ho Silver Lining”, “Magic In The Air” aka “Watch With Mother”, “Anything” (Shirman), “We Don’t Know”, plus two tracks from BBC Light Programme’s ‘Saturday Club’ “Created By Clive” and a cover of the US Young Rascal’s “Come On Up”. The radio show also featured the Bee Gees and Swinging Blue Jeans, with Lulu headlining

The Attack are also featured on compilations ‘The Clouds Have Groovy Faces’ (FORLP2906) with “Created By Clive” and “Neville Thumcatch”: ‘The Great British Psychedelic Box Volume 4’ (Acme ACMEBOX4) with “Created By Clive” and “Colour Of My Mind”: ‘The British Psychedelic Trip 1966-1969’ (SEELP66, 1992) with “Created By Clive”: ‘British Psychedelic Trip Volume 3’ (SEE86) with “Neville Thumbcatch’

Brooklyn-born Scott English who wrote “Hi Ho Silver Lining” (with Larry Weiss) had a UK no.12 hit with his own song “Brandy” (October 1971), which – as “Mandy”, topped the US charts for Barry Manilow. Scott also wrote “Bend Me, Shape Me”, a US hit for American Breed which was a UK hit for Amen Corner, and “Help Me Girl” for Eric Burdon And The Animals, also done by the Outsiders

Hubert Pattison – who wrote “Created By Clive”, also wrote’ “Move It Baby” recorded by Cliff Richard-alike Simon Scott and was revived in 1999 by Roy Loney And The Longshots (ex-Flamin’ Groovies), while “Hand Don’t Fit The Glove” was recorded by Terry Reid (on the 2000 expanded CD edition of ‘Bang Bang, You’re Terry Reid’). He also wrote “Everybody Knows” for Billie Davis (1964). Hubert Pattison’s own singles include “Bare-Back Ride” c/w “The Baby” (Pye 7N17207, November 1966) and “My Home’s In My Pocket” c/w “Saturday Morning Bride” (Fontana TF859, August 1967)

Attack’s producer Vic Smith, who was Decca engineer for their version of “Hi Ho Silver Lining”, wrote “Neville Thumbcatch” – later recorded by actor Peter Wyngarde. He also worked on Jam’s first album
Posted by Andrew Darlington at 16:59
Labels: Cult Albums
6 comments:

Kevin Anthony said...

Looks like I've found my in house research department right under my nose!
15 April 2014 at 05:12
Anonymous said...

Strange they call this a definitive collection when it doesn't include all the tracks recorded (eg Final Daze has some stuff not on this!)

26 February 2016 at 02:13

The other comments were spam, so not included here.
Steve.

Apologies to Andy Darlington for not crediting him previously as the author of this brilliant review.

Although I didn't find the URL link I originally had [it must have been a 'mirror' of the article from his blogspot], as it's here, except for the comments at the end:

http://andrewdarlington.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=the+attack

His blog covers many other performers and bands and has a load of excellent articles -

http://andrewdarlington.blogspot.co.uk/

Enjoy!