Cilla Black. Pt 1.

  Cilla Black. Pt 1.

Priscilla Maria Veronica White,
                                                   Born on the 27 of may 1943 was known by her performance name
Cilla Black,  firstly an english pop singer, then actress and entertainer.
Championed by her good friends The Beatles, and signed to NEMS Enterprises under the wing of
the Beatles manager  Brian Epstein.
Her professional singing career started in 1963. Brian Epstein introduced Cilla Black to  George Martin who signed her to  Parlophone Records and produced her first single, a track written by
Lennon and McCartney "Love of the Loved" which was released only three weeks after she joined
Brian Epstein. Reaching a modest No. 35 in the UK.

Cilla Black's second single, released at the beginning of 1964, was a cover of the Burt Bacharach–Hal David composition "Anyone Who Had a Heart", which had been written for Dionne Warwick. The single beat Warwick's recording into the UK charts and rose to No. 1 in Britain in February 1964 (spending three weeks there), selling 800,000 UK copies in the process. Her second UK No. 1 success, "You're My World", was an English-language rendition of the Italian popular song "Il Mio Mondo" by composer Umberto Bindi. She also enjoyed chart success with the song in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, South Africa and Canada. Both songs sold over one million copies worldwide, and were awarded gold discs.
Cilla Black's two No. 1 successes were followed by the release of another Lennon–McCartney composition, "It's for You", as her fourth UK single. Paul McCartney played piano at the recording session and the song proved to be another success for Black, peaking at No. 7 on the UK charts.

Cilla Black belonged to a generation of British female singers which included Dusty Springfield, Helen Shapiro, Petula Clark, Sandie Shaw and Lulu. These artists (other than Petula Clark) were not singer-songwriters but interpreters of 1960s contemporary popular music by song writers and producers.Cilla Black recorded much material during this time, including songs written by Phil Spector, Randy Newman, Tim Hardin and Burt Bacharach. All were produced by George Martin at Abbey Road Studios.

              Brian Epstein and Cilla Black.

              The Single Alfie by Cilla Black.

                                            Cilla Black

                                 Cilla Black.

                                                  Cilla Black.

      Paul McCartney and John Lennon.                            Cilla Black.

                                               

We are the mods!

                                    We Are The Mods!



     

Mod culture was born from London's west end underground jazz clubs in the late 1950s.
The name "mod" came as a result from their taste in modernist jazz, this early incarnation of mods had very little impact outside of London.
This somewhat group of so called intellectual and elitist mods gave way to the next incarnation of mods, and it's in this second incarnation that the scooter boys on Brighton's beaches can be found! Mod culture, with it's symbols,fashion and music was very much a working class movement. It influenced the masses and infiltrated the high street at every level.
It was all encompassing, and it was very much a product of it's time!
In one of The Daily Mail editions of 1963 it was reported 'to be a mod... is more than a fashion. It is almost a way of life!

Looking at the mod culture for anyone who likes pop music and pop culture of yesteryear, is a great way to examine the British pop music and youth fashion explosion of the 1960s in general.

Partly as a result of no more military conscription and partly as a result of teenagers having jobs and a little more money to spend!

Popular pop television show, Ready, steady, go! that was televised every friday night was clearly aimed at the the "mod" market!

Fashion boutiques across the country benefitted enormously from this with the programs bands, singers, male and female dancers alike wearing mod fashions and the latest styles and look being

freely advertised. Mod culture was changing the face of british life and challenging  politicians who were struggling with the horror of losing cultural control over the youth media with the `onslaught of pirate radio stations such as Radio Caroline and Radio London! Teenagers wanted more air time for their favourite pop groups! The Beatles, The Who, The small faces, The Kinks, The rolling stones ect

And back in the day The BBC only had 1 to 2 hours a day for this massive market! 

The British government of the day fought hard and aggressively to close those stations down.

Mod culture brightened up dreary and finically crushed post war Briton and also with the international success of bands like The Beatles opening the flood gates for other Brit pop outfits sending mod culture all over the world!

The British Taxman had a huge mod smile on His or Her face!

Piagio whom make vespa scooters and lambretta scooters the two most popular brands of motor scooters amongst mods also did very nicely out of the mod explosion! 

My 1996 PX 200 Vespa is a pleasure to ride! Motor bike riders just don't get it! They still feel the need to ride up along side me and the drag me off! As if i don't know a motor 10 times the size of mine has more power...

But hey.... They can't understand can they? It's a way of life!

 

The Troggs.

                                                                      The Troggs.

 The Troggs are an English rock band from the 1960s that had a number of hits in the UK and the US. Their most famous songs include the Hot 100 chart topper "Wild Thing", "With a Girl Like You" and "Love is All Around", all of which sold over one million copies and were awarded gold discs.^[1] "Wild Thing" is ranked #257 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and was an influence on garage rock and punk rock.

Fronted by Reg Presley, the Troggs were from the town of Andover in southern England and were originally called the Troglodytes.

The Doors.

                                                                        The Doors.

The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robby Krieger. The band took its name from the title ofAldous Huxley's book The Doors of Perception,  which itself was a reference to a William Blake quotation, from his famous work The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: "If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite." They were among the most controversial, influential and unique rock acts of the 1960s and beyond, mostly because of Morrison's wild, poetic lyrics and charismatic but unpredictable stage persona. After Morrison's death in 1971, the remaining members continued as a trio until finally disbanding in 1973.

They were signed to Elektra Records in 1966. The 1967 release of The Doorswas the first in a series of top ten albums in the US, followed by Strange Days(1967), Waiting for the Sun (1968), The Soft Parade (1969), Morrison Hotel(1970), Absolutely Live (1970) and L.A. Woman (1971), with 20 Gold, 14 Platinum and 5 Multi-Platinum album awards in the United States alone.  Although the Doors' active career ended in 1973, their popularity has persisted. According to the RIAA, they have sold 35.5 million certified units in the US  and over 100 million  albums worldwide. The band is one of the best-selling bands of all time.The Doors were the first American band to accumulate eight consecutive gold and platinum LPs.

Three of the band's studio albums, The Doors (1967), L.A. Woman (1971), andStrange Days (1967), were featured in the Rolling Stone list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, at positions 42, 362 and 407 respectively.

The band, their work, and Morrison's celebrity continue to be considered inexorably embedded within the larger counterculture of the 1960s.

In 1993, the Doors were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The Supremes.

                                                                  The Supremes.

The Supremes were an American female singing group and the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and are, to date, America's most successful vocal group  with 12 number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100.  Most of these hits were written and produced by Motown's main songwriting and production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland. At their peak in the mid-1960s, the Supremes rivaled the Beatles in worldwide popularity,  and their success made it possible for future African American R&B and soul musicians to find mainstream success. 

Founding members Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross, and Betty McGlown, all from the Brewster-Douglass public housing project in Detroit,  formed the Primettes as the sister act to the Primes (with Paul Williams and Eddie Kendricks, who went on to form the Temptations).  Barbara Martin replaced McGlown in 1960, and the group signed with Motown the following year as the Supremes. Martin left the act in early 1962, and Ross, Ballard, and Wilson carried on as a trio.

During the mid-1960s, the Supremes achieved mainstream success with Ross as lead singer. In 1967, Motown president Berry Gordy renamed the group Diana Ross & the Supremes, and replaced Ballard with Cindy Birdsong. Ross left to pursue a solo career in 1970 and was replaced by Jean Terrell, at which point the group's name reverted to the Supremes. After 1972, the lineup changed more frequently; Lynda Laurence, Scherrie Payne, and Susaye Greene all became members of the group during the mid-1970s. The Supremes disbanded in 1977 after an 18-year run.