Meal Ticket were a country rock band that played the London pub circuit in the 1970s. Rick Jones, a Canadian ex-patriot and known for television appearances on Play School

Play School

Play School is an educational television programme for pre-school aged children that is produced in many countries, including:*Play School – the original BBC production...

 and Fingerbobs

Fingerbobs

Fingerbobs was a British children's television programme made by the BBC in 1972. The first episode was broadcast on 14 February 1972 on BBC1 as part of Watch with Mother. The show was created by Joanne and Michael Cole, who also created Bod...

, wrote many of their songs. The band performed the theme to the British Broadcasting Corporation's Play For Today

Play for Today

Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted...

 play, The Flipside of Dominick Hide

The Flipside of Dominick Hide

The Flipside of Dominick Hide is a British television play first transmitted by the BBC on 9 December 1980 as part of the Play for Today series....

and Another Flip for Dominick, called You'd Better Believe It Babe. The band released three albums; Code Of The Road (1977), Three Times A Day (1977) and Take Away in 1978.

Discography


Code of the Road (1977)


Side One

1. Out of the Blue (4.42) (R Jones / D Pierce / S Hammond) Vocal: Willie Finlayson

2. Keepin’ the Faith (6.26) (R Jones / D Pierce / S Hammond) Vocal: Rick Jones

3. OK Bar (Same Old Story) (3.47) (R Jones / D Pierce / S Hammond) Vocal Willie Finlayson

4. Last One to Know (4.31) (S Hammond / R Jones / D Pierce) Vocal: Willie Finlayson

5. Day Job (4.23) (R Jones / D Pierce / S Hammond) Vocal: Rick Jones


Side Two

1. The Man from Mexico (6.47) (R Jones / M Ross) Vocal: Willie Finlayson

2. Snow (3.17) (R Jones / D Pierce) Vocal: Rick Jones

3. Golden Girl (4.21) (R Jones / D Pierce / S Hammond) Vocal: Rick Jones; Willy Finlayson; Steve Simpson

4. Standing on the Wrong Corner (3.24) (R Jones / D Pierce) Vocal: Willie Finlayson

5. Georgia Syncopator (2.57) (R Jones / D Pierce) Vocal: Rick Jones

6. The Code of the Road (Travellers Bible) (1.08) (R Jones / D Pierce) Vocal: Rick Jones


Meal Ticket are:

Steve Simpson: Guitar, Harmonica, Keyboards, Fiddle, Mandolin, Vocals

Willy Finlayson: Guitar, Lead Vocals, Electric Keyboard on The Man from Mexico

Rick Jones: Keyboards, Lead Vocals, Guitar on The Code of the Road

Ray Flacke: Guitar, Vocals

Jack Brand: Bass, Vocals

Chris Hunt: Drums and Percussion

Alby Greenhalgh plays saxophone on Day Job


Produced by Alan O’Duffy with Willy Finlayson

Engineered by Alan O’Duffy

Recorded January 1977 at The Point, London with assists from M Dunn and B Gaylor

Mixed at Advision, London with assists from Declan O’Doherty

Mastered at the Master Room, London

'Out of the Blue' recorded at Pebble Beach Studios, Worthing, August 1976, Produced by Meal Ticket and Tony Platt, engineered by Tony Platt


A Logo Records Production


Three Times A Day (1977)


Side One

1. This could be the Town (2.36) (B Richardson) Lead Vocal: Willy Finlayson; Guitar solo: Ray Flacke

2. Oh Sister (3.32) (S Simpson / R Jones) Lead Vocal: Steve Simpson Slide guitar Solo: Ray Flacke

3. Last Port of Call (5.54) (R Jones / D Pierce) Lead Vocal: Rick Jones Mandolin: Steve Simpson

4. Comes the Dawn (3.09) (R Jones / D Pierce) Lead Vocal: Willy Finlayson Tenor Saxophone: Don Weller

5. River Man (5.41) (S Simpson) Lead Vocal: Steve Simpson Dobro: Ray Flacke


Side Two


1. Yesterday’s Music (3.28) (Clayton-Thomas / W Smith) Lead Vocal: Willy Finlayson Guitar Solo: Steve Simpson

2. Rural Routes (3.18) (D Pierce / R Jones / S Hammond) Lead Vocal: Rick Jones Guitar Solo: Ray Flacke

3. I Wish, I Wish (3.05) (R Jones / D Pierce) Lead Vocal: Rick Jones and Steve Simpson Guitar Solo: Ray Flacke Banjo: Keith Nelson

4. Laughing Daughter (4.00) (R Jones / D Pierce) Lead Vocal: Rick Jones

5. This Dream I Have of You (4.00) (R Jones / D Pierce) Lead Vocal: Willy Finlayson Guitar Solo: Ray Flacke String Arrangement: Ann O’Dell


Meal Ticket are:

Steve Simpson: Lead Vocals, Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Mandolin, Accordian

Willy Finlayson: Lead Vocals, Guitar

Rick Jones: Lead Vocals, Keyboards

Ray Flacke: Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, DobroVocals

Jack Brand: Bass, Vocals

Chris Hunt: Drums and Percussion


Produced by Ritchie Gold / Handle Artists

Recorded and Mixed at Threshold / Decca Studio 1

Engineer Derek Varnals

Assisted by Paul Cooper and Craig Thompson

‘This could be the Town’ Recorded at Marquee Studio, Engineer Phil Harding, Mixed at Threshold

‘Yesterday’s Music’ Recorded and Mixed at Marquee Studio, Engineer John Eden

July and August 1977

Mastered at EMI Abbey Road by Chris Blair


A Logo Records Production