MOVE IT ON THE BACKBEAT (Part Three)
MOVE IT ON THE BACKBEAT!
JOSIE + THE PUSSY CATS IN LONDON
1958-60
PART THREE:
HOT SPELL
By February of 1958, an album’s worth of Burt Bacharach numbers had been successfully integrated into Josie + The Pussy Cats’ repertoire. Two of them, both led by Greg, were getting very positive responses on stage: “Land Of Make-Believe” and “Message To Martha”. Alexandra booked a singles session at Lansdowne Studios; this was a brand new recording facility co-owned by sound man Joe Meek. The natural echo produced by its high ceilings made Lansdowne popular with producers, and it was fast becoming the favored studio of Lonnie Donegan, Shirley Bassey, Acker Bilk and several other “name” artists.
With more reverb at their disposal, Xandi and Pepper resolved to fatten up the sound! It wasn’t unusual to see them doubling each other on keyboards, but this time there was a good bit of overdubbing: Our versatile Kool-Tyme Katts brass section was drafted in to play various other instruments.
Pete, Byron and Val all plucked stand-up bass; Lee augmented Josie and Melly on acoustic guitar; Greg and Bunny played twin sets of trap drums; Jimmy and Robbie’s saxophones were doubled, tripled and then quadrupled; and anybody with a hand free had a go at playing percussion. I shook the Dickens out of an old Gypsy tambourine that had been in Josie’s family for generations. Together we raised quite a raucous din - Jack Good would have approved!
SEBASTIAN PITCHES A HISSY!
But what I recall most about that first session was the uproar caused by Alexandra’s pet cat Sebastian. She hadn’t brought him to a recording session for a long time, but he used to be a regular presence; and in the past, he was always well-behaved. However, this time pussy went stark-raving mad: Snarling, spitting and clawing at Xandi and Joe! None of us could understand why the cat would act that way. “This strange behavior started last week,” Xandi told us. “My poor tabby has fallen ill! It’s time to book an appointment with the vet straightaway; I was foolish to wait.” The session didn’t get on track until her maid came and took Sebastian away.
Four songs were then laid down in short order. Greg created an exotic rhythm pattern for “Make-Believe” that Pep duly incorporated into her musical arrangement. Then Xandi had Val shadow Greg on the verses; they competed fiercely with each other for the lead, generating pure excitement! That record had such a cracking good playback, I felt chills down me spine.
Even so, Pepper’s dramatic arrangement for “Message To Martha” was the keeper - especially after the lad lay down a stunning vocal track. Melody’s high harmony was just as awesome. “That’s our single”, Xandi declared, “but I want another one in the can. Two smash hits in a row is what The Pussy Cats need now!”
That second smash was captured at the next Lansdowne session, held in the summer of 1958. Pepper’s bombastic charts for “Tower Of Strength” were a stellar showcase for Greg’s booming baritone. The two hits were pressed on vinyl at the same time but “Tower” was issued first. Sailing into the Top Twenty, it inexplicably stalled there.
Xandi was furious! She gave the promotion department an edict: “Get that follow-up on the radio! Jiffy up, then! Keep your pluggers working all night if necessary.” When “Message To Martha” hit the streets, it leapfrogged straight up to Number One on the New Musical Express chart! Let me tell you, Josie, Melody, Valerie and Greg were beside themselves with glee: They had finally “arrived”! The following week, they signed a four-year recording contract with Triumph Records.
Triumph X 715
TOWER OF STRENGTH/
THROUGH THE EYE OF A NEEDLE
JOSIE + THE PUSSY CATS
A CABOT TWINS PRODUCTION
Arranged by “PEPPER”
- May 1958, Top Twenty hit
Triumph X 722
MESSAGE TO MARTHA/
LONDON LIFE
JOSIE + THE PUSSY CATS
A CABOT TWINS PRODUCTION
Arranged by “PEPPER”
- November 1958, Number One hit
We already had a publicity photo in circulation but what with Greg’s growth spurt and repositioning as lead singer, I felt that a new one was in order. Lex and I both owned motor scooters; we were in at the beginning of British mod culture and used to zip across town on weekends. I had the idea to pose the girls astride these bikes, but I was stumped about what they should wear. Melly Rutledge came up with a design for tiger print vinyl jackets which her aunt Myrna then created on short notice - insanely expensive, but ultimately worth it! Black berets and tall biker boots completed the look.
We did the photo shoot in Sloane Square and attracted a good bit of attention; however, that was nothing compared to the reaction we got when our new glossies were distributed along Fleet Street. The girls were inundated with interview requests! An editor I knew confided: “Done up like that, them birds looked like American tough sluts! For fuck's sake - we were all falling over ourselves to do stories on The Pussy Cats.”
Requests for bookings and TV appearances came flooding in, too - more than I could handle! I took on additional staff and began sorting through it all. We immediately leapt at the chance to add the group to a London Palladium package concert. The first one was headlined by Shirley Bassey, but it almost didn’t come off. She raised objections to having “a bunch of Scouse tarts” on the bill!
Shirley and I knew each other, so I requested a personal meeting with her. At the last minute, I suggested to Greg that he tag along. Well, that handsome rascal nearly charmed the pants off Miss Bassey! I played her a copy of “Message To Michael” and she adored how he sang. A little later she met Josie, Val and Melly and liked them straightaway. Long story short, we landed the gig! Supporting the likes of Matt Munro, Joan Regan and The Chris Barber Band, The Pussy Cats would make five more appearances at the “Palace”. At the last one, they’d be headliners but that was several years on.
Next came their appearances on “Oh, Boy!” That was one of the first Rock ‘n’ Roll TV series in Great Britain. It raised their public profile considerably, but I can’t take credit for that booking: Myrna Munro made it happen! Melody’s aunt was friends with Cherry Wainer, a featured performer on that show. She invited her to see a Pussy Cats show and Miss Wainer promptly fell in love with the act. Myrna saw opportunity beckoning and urged her to get them booked on “Oh, Boy!”
This was no mean feat because the producer, Jack Good was very particular about who to showcase; but our “hot” publicity photos had already piqued his interest. The group aced an audition, singing “Magic Potion” and “Saturday Sunshine” for Good in his office at ABC Television. Even so, I don’t think he cared too much for their music! Good favored hard rockers, and The Pussy Cats definitely didn’t fall into that category.
However, he had a weakness for leggy lasses as evidenced by The Vernons Girls, a troupe of dancing singers who cavorted in short shorts on every telecast. At Good’s request, Melody and Myrna created a shorts look for the girls that caused a sensation! The Pussy Cats made not one, not two, but three appearances on Good’s show and were very well-received. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’d have asked them to become regulars if “Oh, Boy!” hadn’t left the airwaves in the summer of ‘59.
But frankly, Jack Good was tone-deaf if he thought The Pussy Cats had nothing to offer musically. At the turn of the decade, their shows were hotter than a dish of West London curry! The band would open with a rapid-fire version of Roy Hamilton’s “You Can Have Her’, a strenuous workout for Greg and his drum kit. That set the stage for “Tower Of Strength”, which segued into the French favorite “Melodie D’Amour” set to an infectious cha-cha rhythm. Then Josie stepped forward with a warning to potential suitors: “Keep Away From Other Girls!’ The band’s Forget-Me-Not Medley paired “The Forgotten Man” with “Always Something There To Remind Me.” Spiced with Flamenco-styled hand clapping, that last number always got the crowd in a toe-tapping mood.
Then audiences were ready for a bilingual Rock ‘n’ Roll Medley featuring excerpts of Bobby Freeman’s “Do You Wanna Dance?”, Buddy Holly’s “Rave On!,” The Champs’ “Tequila”, Ritchie Valens’ “La Bamba” and The Diamonds’ “Little Darlin.” When applause finally died down, Melody stepped forward to sing “Susie Darlin’” an octave-and-a-half higher than Robin Luke had done, even while displaying the Flamenco guitar skills she learned so well from Josie. The first half of the show ended with the potent one-two punch of “Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa” and “With Open Arms.”
With intermission over, it was Valerie Santiago’s turn to shine. She dazzled fans with her incendiary take on the Spanish/Greek favorite “Misirlou!” This and the rest of the tunes were presented in extended versions that showcased The Pussy Cats’ instrumental prowess. “Saturday Sunshine” always brought the crowd to its feet (even the notoriously reserved Japanese audiences couldn’t stay seated)! After that, Josie returned to the mike for a gorgeous rendition of the recent Little Dippers hit “Forever”. Then Val posed the musical question “Are You There With Another Girl?” to rapturous response. This Bacharach composition was particularly difficult for a band to negotiate, but they nailed it every single time!
Greg James crooning a heartfelt “Message To Martha” brought a second standing ovation, and The Pussy Cats closed with a rousing rendition of Marty Robbins’ Country and Western ballad “El Paso”. This six-minute-long saga of death and unrequited love never failed to get everybody swaying and humming along. The group members took their bows, sang one encore, and that was the show finale.
It was in ‘59 that we started having to whisk them off stage and into motorcars quickly; they’re the first female act in Britain to be mobbed after performances! Of course, Greg's presence generates some of that hysteria. It’s an exhilarating experience, but frightening, too. The first time it happened, I damn near pissed me pants!
PUSSY CATS ON THE AIR!
At the same time as Burt Bacharach’s songs were gaining a foothold in Great Britain, they were also having an impact on the American charts. The previous year, the aforementioned Marty Robbins had gone Top Twenty with a Folk-flavored number called “The Story Of My Life”. Then TV star Perry Como took a silly novelty tune called “Magic Moments” straight up to Number One! Soon, New England chanteuse Jane Morgan would score on Pop radio “With Open Arms”. That smouldering ballad was already in The Pussy Cats’ stage repertoire and among our cache of recorded masters. Shirley Bassey, who was now a strong supporter of ours heard Valerie’s unreleased vocal take and declared that she sang it better! Soon, British record buyers would get a chance to judge for themselves.
The first recording session of 1959 took place in the United States. Burt Bacharach wanted to meet the group who’d scored her first Number One hit in Great Britain. That’s right - her! Burt’s real name was Sabrina Spellman; she concealed her female sex behind a masculine moniker. The Pussy Cats were delighted to meet her: A petite blonde from Kansas City with sparkling green eyes, Sabrina was just 20 years old but she looked even younger than that. Like Alexandra, she was in the habit of bringing her pet to studio dates: Salem was a handsome tuxedo cat, much better-behaved than Sebastian. However, there was an air about him that didn't invite petting - so we kept our distance!
Lex Cabot and I flew over to the States with The Pussy Cats for a round of television appearances. He decided to book a recording session and "Burt" suggested that he do so in Nashville, which was her home base. She met the group at Bradley’s Film and Recording Studio where many Country music stars laid down tracks. Much to my surprise, she’d installed herself as music director for the session.
Both Lex and I were leery, but producer Lee Hazlewood dismissed our misgivings: “Bree’s charts are great, and I’ve never seen a more competent woman in the studio. When it comes to working with both singers and musicians, she’s even better than Anita Kerr!” Famous Music had assigned Lee to officially supervise the date; he’d produced a string of hits for guitarist Duane Eddy, so we were in trustworthy hands.
Harold Bradley, Bob Moore, Floyd Cramer, Millie Kirkham and the other Nashville regulars were simply amazing; they all worked wonderfully with Sabrina, laying down four strong tracks. I thought she spent an inordinate amount of time coaching Greg’s vocals, but I can’t argue with the results of their intensive preparation: A track with major hit potential! “Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa” was so outstanding, Lex sent the master back to England on an overnight flight and had it rush-released.
Triumph X 731
TWENTY-FOUR HOURS FROM TULSA*/
DON'T GO BREAKIN' MY HEART
JOSIE + THE PUSSY CATS
*A FAMOUS MUSIC PRODUCTION
Arranged by BREE SPELLMAN
A CABOT TWINS PRODUCTION
Arranged by “PEPPER”
- April 1959, Top Ten hit
AND THE PUSSY CATS IN
NASHVILLE.
That record was destined to score a smashing success, and in my opinion, it was Bree Spellman’s fabulous rock-a-tango arrangement that made it happen. She was a brilliant musician and quite friendly; even so, the woman was guarded and hard to know. I did manage to crack her shell a wee bit during a luncheon break. Both of us were Jewish, and we got talking about our mothers, as Jews will! But laughter over shared cultural absurdities couldn't hide the lines of worry in her lovely face. “Is something wrong?” I inquired.
Hesitantly, she confessed to having a health concern - periods where she blacked out and couldn’t remember what she’d been doing! She’d started having them a few years earlier. They’d gone away for a long time, but now they’d returned. My father died of a brain tumor, and while I didn’t share that tragedy with Sabrina, I did let her know I was concerned. Before we left Nashville, I advised her to see a specialist and she promised to do so.
On the same day that we flew out of the city, the newspapers reported a ghastly crime: A Music Row executive was savagely murdered in his office! Someone had taken an axe to him and he’d been almost completely dismembered. Hacked to death in that fashion, the man surely must have screamed for his life; yet no one, not even building security heard a sound. It was left for the charwoman to find him and she promptly went into shock! The papers reported that she had to be resuscitated at the scene and rushed to hospital. The whole thing reminded me of London Lizzie’s reign of terror; it alarmed me so much that I didn't fancy staying in Nashville a minute longer than necessary!
Barely a week after The Pussy Cats performed it for the first time on the BBC’s “Easy Beat” programme,”Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa” was firmly lodged in the British Top Ten. It would remain there for over a month and win the group fans in places as far away as Australia and Japan! It even scored a regional hit in America, prompting a return trip to appear on Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand.” However, Xandi didn’t seem as happy for the success as she should have been. I’m sure it was because she had played no part in it! This was a harbinger of future trouble now that Bree Spellman aka Burt Bacharach had taken an interest in our recording activities.
The Pussy Cats had returned to London armed with a batch of new Bacharach songs; all of them had arrangements customized by the composer. Alexandra promptly set them aside in favor of previously submitted charts by Priscilla Potts. Xandi was so critical of new material, there were times when we thought she’d had her fill of the Bacharach sound! Eventually, that would indeed be the case; but she always had firm notions of what she wanted in a Pop tune - and what she didn’t want!
Alexandra Cabot spent long hours in the studio directing musicians, mixing tracks and overdubbing tape, but unless the song was right she wouldn't even bother! Musically challenging material didn't put her off but she was wary of anything that sounded too esoteric. She couldn’t bear tunes that were excessively cloying, either, and some of Sabrina’s material did fall into that rut. Considering our track record thus far, I felt that Xandi’s judgment was sound; she still had the group’s best interests in mind. However, that would change, too!
A July 1959 recording session ended up yielding no new singles, but at Lex’s urging, Xandi reconsidered two previously-recorded masters featuring lead vocals by Valerie and Melody, respectively. Josie supported him. “I know the public now considers Gregory our lead singer, but it isn’t that way inside the group,” she insisted. “Right from the beginning, we’ve been sharing leads. So isn’t it time that Val and Melly had their turns at bat?”
SHIRLEY BASSEY WITH THE PUSSY CATS
AT LONDON PALLADIUM!
Subsequently, Valerie’s passionate reading of “With Open Arms” and Melody’s jaunty ride on a beam of “Saturday Sunshine” dominated the British charts for the remainder of 1959. When The Pussy Cats performed them along with “Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa” at the London Palladium in November, the crowd’s thunderous response made it clear that the group boasted three lead singers! Josie was proud of them all; she took pains never to play favorites with her son. As for Greg, he smiled through the applause for his bandmates but I could tell he was fuming! The lad now craved being at the centre of attention. Privately, I wondered if his days singing with a group weren’t numbered?
Triumph X 747
WITH OPEN ARMS/
MEXICAN DIVORCE
JOSIE + THE PUSSY CATS
A CABOT TWINS PRODUCTION
Arranged by “PEPPER”
- July 1959, Top Ten hit
Triumph X 752
SATURDAY SUNSHINE/
KEEP AWAY FROM OTHER GIRLS!
JOSIE + THE PUSSY CATS
A CABOT TWINS PRODUCTION
Arranged by “PEPPER”
- November 1959, Top Twenty hit
Meanwhile, Lex was looking for ways to raise Val’s public profile. A new BBC-TV series called “Juke Box Jury” had broken for a ratings hit; it featured music celebrities passing judgment on the week’s latest Pop releases. The show’s casting was progressive in that its panel of four judges nearly always included two women.
Prior to a taping, Lex learned that one of the ladies, singer Alma Cogan, had to skip a week due to a family emergency. A last-minute substitute was needed for her, and Lex pulled strings like mad to get Valerie slotted! I can tell you there was significant pushback from BBC producers; but this was one case where the irresistible force of old money triumphed over the immovable object of racial bias! It was the very first time that a coloured woman appeared on a British TV show of this sort.
The panel judged new releases by the likes of Russ Conway, Petula Clark, Anthony Newley and The Stargazers. Val’s charming Trinidad lilt provided a pleasant contrast to the other panelist’s oh-so-proper British accents; but then, a shock! The last record to be discussed was a soon-to-be released single by none other than . . . Josie + The Pussy Cats!
Lex assured me that he had nothing to do with this apparent oversight; it was pure coincidence, a mistake resulting from the speed with which Miss Cogan was replaced. Quite an embarrassment for both the BBC producers and Valerie, but she handled the situation with grace. Quite understandably, she recused herself from commenting on the disk. Then she was pleasantly surprised when her hard-to-please fellow panelists rendered an overwhelmingly positive verdict!
Triumph X 755
HOT SPELL/
WARM AND TENDER
JOSIE + THE PUSSY CATS
A CABOT TWINS PRODUCTION
Arranged by “PEPPER”
- cancelled release
Triumph X 756
ARE YOU THERE WITH ANOTHER GIRL?*/
BLUE GUITAR
JOSIE + THE PUSSY CATS
*A FAMOUS MUSIC PRODUCTION
Arranged by BREE SPELLMAN
A CABOT TWINS PRODUCTION
Arranged by GREG JAMES
- February 1960, Top Five hit
MIXED-RACE COUPLES OUT
ON THE TOWN.
The track that pleased them was another one from the vaults. “Hot Spell” was slated to ring in the year 1960. It was a Folk-flavored track featuring Josie on lead for the first time; however, Alexandra had misgivings and stopped shipment at the last minute. So much for that thumbs-up from “Juke Box Jury!”
A song called “Blue Guitar” with Greg’s lead voice was issued instead; but offshore “pirate” deejays flipped the disc over and started playing the Dickens out of it. Surprisingly, BBC Radio followed suit and “Are You There With Another Girl?” turned out to be such a huge hit (rising to #2), there were no hard feelings from Josie. As Val’s tour-de-force performance of this latest Burt Bacharach item burned up the airwaves, Josie + The Pussy Cats were on their second concert tour - this time as headliners!
Supported by The Lollygags, The Westminster Abbies, The Chancellors, Siobhan Nicholls and other Triumph labelmates, they toured northwestern England. The tour ended with a triumphant (no pun intended) return to Liverpool, The Pussy Cats’ home town. The crowd was mostly female, which was the case at nearly all of their dates; women and what I’ll politely call “nancy boys” were The Pussy Cats’ core audience! This took me by surprise but I certainly didn’t mind. Women tend to be far more loyal to their favorite artists than men, and a distaff following was certainly preferable to a fan club of furry fetishists, eh wot?
While on the road, the girls were delighted to hear that they’d won third place in the New Musical Express poll for Best British Group! Josie in particular was over the moon; it had taken years of scuffling for her to reach that pinnacle. However, she wasn’t happy about what she saw going on between Xandi and Greg. “That rich hussy has got designs on him!” she fumed. “Have you seen how she looks at my boy - like a hungry alley cat ready to gnaw on a fishbone?” Greg told his mother that Alexandra was teaching him how to arrange music, but they were spending a lot of time out on the town; the fifteen-year-old was squiring Xandi around London to some of the finest restaurants and nightclubs!
Performance venues notwithstanding, he was too young to enter some of these establishments; but who was going to reproach one of England’s richest women for having an underage escort - especially when he didn’t look underage? Besides that, Xandi delighted in doing what simply wasn’t done in society circles at that time: Keeping high-profile company with a coloured man! There was talk, of course, but as I told you before, the Cabots both had “rogue” reputations. They did what they wanted and never gave a damn about what other people thought! Lex and Valerie were also dating by then.
Greg was now sporting copious amounts of hair pomade and a rascally mustache; it made him look greasy, and I told him so. I might have saved my breath: It was Alexandra’s suggestion that he grow facial hair in the first place! He confided to me something that I thought it best not to share with his mother: Xandi had taken his virginity!
Well, if it hadn’t been her, it surely would’ve been one of the groupies Josie and I were fending off regularly on the road. He was the first teen idol of African descent in Great Britain, and it was really something to witness: His mixed-race charms drove young White girls to distraction! It was the first time I ever saw women shuck their lingerie in public and fling it on stage!
Some people assumed that Greg was homosexual, but that definitely wasn’t the case. He also had the reputation of being humble, and that wasn’t true, either! Greg James was developing quite the swelled head, making demands and coming across like a conceited prat! The girls would put him in his place without hesitation, but Xandi was inclined to entertain his petulance.
The time came when Greg got frustrated with his lack of name recognition. “Because I sing lead,” he groused, “people assume that I’m ‘Josie’. Being mistaken for me own mum: That’s bloody daft!” Alexandra agreed, and together they conceived a group name change: “Gregory + The Pussy Cats!” I caught wind of it before Greg had got up enough cheek to approach his mother; fortunately, I was able to dissuade him! Compromise won the day, and a “featuring Greg” credit began appearing on Pussy Cat singles.
In March of 1960, tragedy visited our music circle. Arranger Priscilla Potts, the backbone of our Kool-Tyme Katts studio ensemble was found dead! She hung herself in the bathroom of her flat. All of us were dumbfounded; how was it possible that such a vivacious and cheerful young woman would commit suicide? We saw no warning signs whatsoever.
Yet Alexandra, who knew Pepper better than the rest of us, revealed that she harbored a shameful secret. “She was despondent, and the reason was something she’d confided only to me,” she told us. “Pepper was . . . confused about her gender. She felt that she’d been born in the wrong body and desperately wanted to be male. She was even considering hormones and surgery, but the prospect frightened her too much. Priscilla Potts hid her inner pain from the world, but in the end, she couldn’t hide from herself. It was probably inevitable that she’d take her own life!” Without Pep’s leadership, the Kool-Tyme Katts quickly disintegrated, leaving us to depend on per diem studio musicians.
At our final Lansdowne Studios session, she was on everyone's mind! Everyone but Joe Meek, that is. Melody’s misgivings about him were finally realized. She’d arrived at the studio first, finding herself alone with him. He proceeded to grab her by the wrists, drag her into the sound booth and make her listen to a private recording he had just finished. “It gave me the shivers,” she told me later. “A lot of spooky coos and gasps and shrieks, swimming in bottomless echo.” Joe insisted that those sounds were communications from the spirit world, sent by recently-deceased Rock star Buddy Holly. He was absolutely obsessed with Holly and babbled about him non-stop!
Suddenly, he stopped talking and gazed intently at Melly. “If we two were to marry up,” he blurted, “I’d walk you down the aisle to Buddy’s music. We’d have a bloomin’ Rock ‘n’ Roll wedding!” Gobsmacked, the poor lass hardly knew what to say! Fortunately, she didn’t have to say anything: The rest of the band arrived at that moment, which allowed her to beat a hasty retreat onto the studio floor. Melly was so traumatized by her encounter with Joe that she could barely sing; but by the time I arrived, Xandi had calmed her down enough to try a few takes. Her rather shrill third attempt at “Trains And Boats And Planes” ended up being the master; it would surface later on the Pussy Cats’ début album.
At that date, Greg stepped forward to fill the musical vacuum Pepper had left. He provided all of the song arrangements and really buckled down to the task; but the lad just wasn’t ready! Even with Xandi and Josie helping, he definitely bit off more than he could chew. Predictably, none of the tracks were judged suitable for immediate release.
Lex suggested that Bree Spellman be flown over for the next scheduled record date: “She was really an asset when we recorded in Nashville. With her input, I’m sure we’ll get something usable.” Greg was enthusiastic about the idea, but you should have seen the dirty look Alexandra gave her brother!
END OF PART THREE!
Comments