So who were Bud Ashton and his group

[JimN]

My memory could well be playing tricks on me but I seem to recall that normal singles and LPs cost around seven shillings and thirty shillings respectively back in those days, whilst the Woolworths Embassy label 45s and 78 were about four shillings.

From what I've heard so far, i would rather spend the extra three shillings, or go without!

That's what we did, why are we raking it all up 50 years later?

The Embassy records started in the days of the 78rpm single, and usually featured a cover version of a hit on each side, often by different artistes. What is often forgotten now is that when the label started, there was much less insistence on having a record by a particular artiste. You could often find the same song in the top twenty in three separate versions by three different artistes on three different labels. I can remember customers in record shops asking for records by title and being offered a choice of artiste. It just wasn't the big thing it later became to have a specific recording. This was echoed in popular music in the media. The BBC's staple fare was live shows with a resident dance-band playing the instrumental hits of the day and with their featured vocalists doing the songs. I can remember the big band and two or three vocalists doing a version of Please Please Me on the Light Programme in the spring of 1963. It was normal...

JN

[JimTidmarsh]

[The BBC's staple fare was live shows with a resident dance-band playing the instrumental hits of the day and with their featured vocalists doing the songs. I can remember the big band and two or three vocalists doing a version of Please Please Me on the Light Programme in the spring of 1963. It was normal...

JN[/quote]

I've just remembered hearing Alan Breeze singing early Beatle's hits on Th Billy Cotton bandshow!!!!

[dave robinson]

I remember those Sunday afternoon shows too as mum and dad always listened to them, but never took them seriously. Breezy and Co just wanted to join in with what was the thing at the time but it was taken as a pinch of salt by the kids.

[Mike Honey]

I'm showing my age but when i was buying a record a week (so I could learn the melodies),embassy was 2/11d !!
The funny thing is that a lot of those musicians who played for Embassy had also played on the originals they were copying!!!

Mike

[Ian Miller]

Hi All,

This thread brings back the memories.
The two bands I remember on those Sundays were David Ede and the Rabin Band & Bob Miller and the Millermen. (No Relation)
I don't remember the featured singers at that time but strangely enough later when I was in the music trade, we had a rep from Watkins (WEM) that I became very friendly with by the name of Tony Wilson who was at one time a trumpet player with the Rabin Band. Unfortunately his career with the band came to an end when he split his lip badly but he was a very talented musician. He always maintained that when the Wilson range of guitars came out they chose his name for them.
He was also a great jazz keyboard player demonstrating the WEM Telstar Keyboards. Remember them?
The Bob Miller Band played a couple of times at the Alchemist's Ball at Worthing during the mid 60's. I was lucky enough to play in the supporting band for these gigs and one other which was when the Ken Mackintosh Band played. I remember on one of the gigs with Bob Miller the vocalist's were Clodagh Rodgers & I think Danny Street who has now sadly passed away.

Regards

Ian