60s NORTHERN SOUL/MOD/BEAT BAND OF ANGELS UK PICCADILLY
£
55
$
72
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Description
Welcome to my new-look soul sales. In an effort to cut down on spiralling eBay costs, all my auctions from now on will start at 99p.
Once again, I've had a revision of how I intend to sell some of my very large collection in the future, and have decided to be more ruthless in what I sell and what I keep. I haven't the equipment to provide my own sound clips, so will have to rely on your own good judgement - after all, soul lovers are the world's most knowledgeable and devoted collectors.
There will be some real gems, so make sure you keep your eyes open.
COLLECTABLE 60s NORTHERN SOUL/MOD/BEAT
UK 2-SIDER
A BAND OF ANGELS
"INVITATION"
b/w
"CHEAT AND LIE"
(UK: Picadilly 7N.35292, 1966)
Recorded: 1965
Record conditon: Excellent (plays Excellent ++)
Labels condition: Very good + (A); Excellent (B)
A Band Of Angels were the mid-60s equivalent of well-spoken James Blunt - they even went to the same school. Although they attended Harrow a good twenty years before Blunt, they adopted a similar posh stance, as shown by the above publicity shot, complete with the group's trademark straw boaters. They lined up as Christian Gaydon, John Baker, Dave Wilkinson, James Blunt - sorry, James Rugge-Price - and lead Mike D'Abo (on the right of the above shot). They gained a recording contract with United Artists in 1964 (for whom they recorded two singles), then moved to Piccadilly for another two singles. They broke up in 1966, when Mike D'Abo replaced Paul Jones as the lead singer of Manfred Mann. Gaydon was instrumental in the future careers of glam rockers Roxy Music and T. Rex, in his role as co-partner of E.G. Records.
On offer here is the best-known of the group's four singles, both sides of which have been played on the scene since the days of the Twisted Wheel. They are prime examples of British beat/soul, and sound just as good today as they have ever done.
"Invitation" is a D'Abo original with a cracking mid-tempo beat, and delicious horns throughout. It has always been the favoured side in Northern circles, and was only two years old when it saw a dubious reissue on possibly the very first boo?leg label, Green Light. It's often known as "(Accept My) Invitation", and appeared as such on the hopfully-titled "Hitmakers" LP (Marble Arch) in 1969, as well as a 1983 Soul Supply maxi-single.
It's lesser-known B-side is a similar mid-pacer that was written by Miki Dallon, and also released by him around the same time (on the Strike label). For me, it's the slightly better side, the sax work on the intro is cool, and it's got nicely spaced breaks, particularly the last. I don't much like the way D'Abo pronounces words like "time" or "divine", but for 98% of the time it's perfect.
The vinyl is exceptional, with just a few insignificant "spiders webs" on both sides. The sound is superb, with not even a mild click anywhere. The A-side label has the damage/staining seen on the scan, plus a mild hint of ring-wear. The B-side label just has mild ring-wear.
The edges are completely chip-free.
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