Penny Farthing Records
Encyclopedia
Penny Farthing Records was established by UK
record producer
Larry Page
, as a progression from his mildly successful 1960s record label
, Page One Records
. It did not repeat the top 20 hits of his earlier venture, but signed some artists
of note.
These included Daniel Boone
, whose "Beautiful Sunday" song
, written
by the singer, was a staple of early 1970s disc jockey
s. Picked up by the Japan
ese TV
show Beautiful Sunday some ten years later, this song was popular all over again in Japan. Page also recorded
Daniel's wife
(Lesley) Lelly Boone, but with no success, despite an appearance on BBC TV's Top Of The Pops
.
The Dutch
group, Shocking Blue
, also had their big hit "Venus" with Penny Farthing Records.
In 1970, Penny Farthing Records released the single, "Sister Simon (Funny Man)" PEN 738, by the UK group Heatwave (later known as The Sensations). While the A-side received airplay, the funky B-side, "Rastus Ravel", was well-received in the clubs. Both songs were written and produced by John Edward for Instant Sound Productions. The band's members were: John Fellows (bass guitar & vocals), Terry Shea (rhythm guitar & vocals), Richard Steen (lead guitar & vocals), Martin H. Samuel (drums), Peter Allatt (lead vocals). The single featured Maggie Stredder and Jean Ryder of The Ladybirds
with Doris Troy
as back-up singers. The group was a regular on the BBC Radio
Terry Wogan
, Dave Cash
, Jimmy Young
and Radio 1 Club shows.
The former Honeybus
bassist, Colin Hare, released an album March Hare on Penny Farthing in 1971, which was not a commercial success. It was re-released through Hare's own Runfast label in 2004.
In 1971, Larry Page also signed up Johnny Pearson and released a stream of easy listening albums, the last of these being released in 1982. Johnny Pearson is most notable as being the pianist and arranger behind British studio outfit Sounds Orchestral. Pearsons solo hit, Sleepy Shores was a major hit for Penny Farthing in 1971 and an album of the same name was released the following year.
Page also recorded The Barron Knights, whose comedy
records
had some UK chart
success. However, Page's attempts to turn them into a mainstream pop
group failed. He eventually resorted to the flop "The Ballad of Frank Spencer
". Even his attempt to record them under another name - Philly Dog - did not produce the desired hits.
Paul Da Vinci, the voice on The Rubettes
hit "Sugar Baby Love", turned to Penny Farthing immediately after this song made the UK no. 1 slot. The resulting "Your Baby Ain't Your Baby Anymore" sold modestly.
Page One Records
stalwarts The Troggs
were persuaded to join Penny Farthing but their label debut, Page's attempt at the Beach Boys hit "Good Vibrations
" with Reg Presley
's vocals, did not produce sizeable sales.
However, Penny Farthing also recorded an early album by Raymond Froggatt
. However, most of the company's revenue was gained from Germany
, where their solo artist signing Kincade
had a number of minor hits, including "Dreams Are 10 A Penny", "Big Hand For Annie" written by John Carter
. Carter, writing under a number of different names also had hits with Penny Farthing in the early 1970s, such as "Lets Go to San Francisco" by The Flower Pot Men.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Larry Page
Larry Page (British singer and manager)
Larry Page is an English former pop singer and record producer of the late 1950s and 1960s.-Biography:...
, as a progression from his mildly successful 1960s record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, Page One Records
Page One Records
Page One Records, established in 1966, was the UK record label owned by the producer/manager Larry Page, during his successful period as a hitmaker in the 1960s....
. It did not repeat the top 20 hits of his earlier venture, but signed some artists
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
of note.
These included Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone (singer)
Daniel Boone is an English pop musician who became a one-hit wonder in the U.S. with the single "Beautiful Sunday" in 1972. The song was written by Boone and Rod McQueen and racked up millions in singles sales worldwide. It peaked at No...
, whose "Beautiful Sunday" song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
, written
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
by the singer, was a staple of early 1970s disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
s. Picked up by the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese TV
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
show Beautiful Sunday some ten years later, this song was popular all over again in Japan. Page also recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
Daniel's wife
Wife
A wife is a female partner in a marriage. The rights and obligations of the wife regarding her spouse and others, and her status in the community and in law, varies between cultures and has varied over time.-Origin and etymology:...
(Lesley) Lelly Boone, but with no success, despite an appearance on BBC TV's Top Of The Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
.
The Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
group, Shocking Blue
Shocking Blue
Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band from The Hague, the Netherlands, formed in 1967. Their biggest hit, "Venus", went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1970, and the band had sold 13.5 million discs by 1973, but the group disbanded in 1974.-Members:...
, also had their big hit "Venus" with Penny Farthing Records.
In 1970, Penny Farthing Records released the single, "Sister Simon (Funny Man)" PEN 738, by the UK group Heatwave (later known as The Sensations). While the A-side received airplay, the funky B-side, "Rastus Ravel", was well-received in the clubs. Both songs were written and produced by John Edward for Instant Sound Productions. The band's members were: John Fellows (bass guitar & vocals), Terry Shea (rhythm guitar & vocals), Richard Steen (lead guitar & vocals), Martin H. Samuel (drums), Peter Allatt (lead vocals). The single featured Maggie Stredder and Jean Ryder of The Ladybirds
The Ladybirds
The Ladybirds are a British female vocal harmony trio, most famous for their appearances in The Benny Hill Show. They participated in over 60 episodes between 1968 and 1991. In addition, they were long-standing backing singers to many established artists, and perennial television ...
with Doris Troy
Doris Troy
Doris Troy was an American R&B singer, known to her many fans as "Mama Soul".She was born as Doris Higginson in The Bronx, the daughter of a Barbadian Pentecostal minister. Her parents disapproved of "subversive" forms of music like rhythm & blues, so she cut her teeth singing in her father's choir...
as back-up singers. The group was a regular on the BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
Terry Wogan
Terry Wogan
Sir Michael Terence Wogan, KBE, DL , or also known as Terry Wogan, is a veteran Irish radio and television broadcaster who holds dual Irish and British citizenship. Wogan has worked for the BBC in the United Kingdom for most of his career...
, Dave Cash
Dave Cash
Dave Cash may refer to:* Dave Cash * Dave Cash * Dave Cash , Yiddish comedian- See also :* David Cash, birth name of American wrestler performing as "Kid Kash"...
, Jimmy Young
Jimmy Young
Jimmy Young may refer to:*Jimmy Young *Jimmy Young , singer -See also:*Jim Young *James Young...
and Radio 1 Club shows.
The former Honeybus
Honeybus
Honeybus were a 1960s pop group formed in April 1967, in London. They were best known for their 1968 UK Top 10 hit single, "I Can't Let Maggie Go".-Line-up:The best known line-up consisted of:...
bassist, Colin Hare, released an album March Hare on Penny Farthing in 1971, which was not a commercial success. It was re-released through Hare's own Runfast label in 2004.
In 1971, Larry Page also signed up Johnny Pearson and released a stream of easy listening albums, the last of these being released in 1982. Johnny Pearson is most notable as being the pianist and arranger behind British studio outfit Sounds Orchestral. Pearsons solo hit, Sleepy Shores was a major hit for Penny Farthing in 1971 and an album of the same name was released the following year.
Page also recorded The Barron Knights, whose comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
had some UK chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
success. However, Page's attempts to turn them into a mainstream pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
group failed. He eventually resorted to the flop "The Ballad of Frank Spencer
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em was a BBC situation comedy, written by Raymond Allen and starring Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice.The series followed the accident-prone Frank Spencer and his tolerant wife Betty through Frank's various attempts to hold down a job, which frequently end in...
". Even his attempt to record them under another name - Philly Dog - did not produce the desired hits.
Paul Da Vinci, the voice on The Rubettes
The Rubettes
The Rubettes were an English pop band assembled in 1973 by the songwriting team of Wayne Bickerton, then the head of A&R at Polydor Records, and his co-songwriter, Tony Waddington, after their doo-wop and 1950s American pop-influenced songs had been rejected by a number of existing acts...
hit "Sugar Baby Love", turned to Penny Farthing immediately after this song made the UK no. 1 slot. The resulting "Your Baby Ain't Your Baby Anymore" sold modestly.
Page One Records
Page One Records
Page One Records, established in 1966, was the UK record label owned by the producer/manager Larry Page, during his successful period as a hitmaker in the 1960s....
stalwarts The Troggs
The Troggs
The Troggs are an English rock band from the 1960s that had a number of hits in UK and the US. Their most famous songs include, "Wild Thing", "With a Girl Like You", and "Love Is All Around"...
were persuaded to join Penny Farthing but their label debut, Page's attempt at the Beach Boys hit "Good Vibrations
Good Vibrations
"Good Vibrations" is a song by American rock band The Beach Boys. Composed and produced by Brian Wilson, the song's lyrics were written by Wilson and Mike Love....
" with Reg Presley
Reg Presley
Reg Presley is an English singer-songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer with prominent 1960s rock and roll band The Troggs, whose best known hit was "Wild Thing", though their only UK number one single was "With A Girl Like You"...
's vocals, did not produce sizeable sales.
However, Penny Farthing also recorded an early album by Raymond Froggatt
Raymond Froggatt
Raymond William Froggatt was born in Bordesley Green, Birmingham, UK on 13 November 1941, and is a British songwriter and singer....
. However, most of the company's revenue was gained from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, where their solo artist signing Kincade
Kincade
Kincade was an English band that was formed in 1972. In that year, they had their hit single, "Dreams are Ten a Penny", but the band itself did not exist at the time. The song was written by John Carter and his wife Gill. Carter also sang all the vocals and played the guitar on the record. The...
had a number of minor hits, including "Dreams Are 10 A Penny", "Big Hand For Annie" written by John Carter
John Carter (musician)
For the jazz clarinet player John Carter, see John Carter .John Carter is an English singer, songwriter and record producer.-Overview:...
. Carter, writing under a number of different names also had hits with Penny Farthing in the early 1970s, such as "Lets Go to San Francisco" by The Flower Pot Men.