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• The first-ever complete anthology of wild mid-‘60s UK garage R&B band The Betterdays who briefly reformed in the early ‘90s
• Includes previously-unissued live tracks from a 1964 show in their West Country heartland
• Featuring numerous rare photos and a new essay on the band with fresh quotes from leader Mike Weston
The West Country’s leading exponents of British Garage R&B, The Betterdays’ thrillingly raw sound and unkempt, long-haired appearance initially saw them banned by local promoters in their native Plymouth.
The national success of The Rolling Stones turned the tide in their favour, and by mid-1964 they boasted a thriving local fan club and were provoking riots among audiences.
Having acquired local hero status, they opted not to relocate to London, although they did cut a handful of demos at venues like RG Jones (Morden) Ltd and even released a single via Polydor in September 1965.
By that juncture the R&B scene was fading, and The Betterdays duly disbanded – although they did reform in the early ‘90s with the original five-man line-up, promptly recording the album they’d been denied in their mid-‘60s heyday.
The first-ever complete anthology of their work, the 2-CD set ‘Hush Your Mouth’ brings together their small but valuable cache of mid-Sixties acetates, their feverishly-pursued Polydor single, a clutch of August 1964 live cuts (including three tracks now being heard for the first time) and those early ‘90s recordings – which initially gained a partial release as ‘No Concessions’ before an expanded version appeared in 2017 as ‘Backlash’.
Featuring a 24-page booklet with numerous rare photos and a new essay on the band, ‘Hush Your Mouth’ is the final word on this legendary mid-‘60s British R&B band.
Tracklist
DISC ONE:
1 Don’t Want That (single version)
2 Here ‘Tis (single version)
3 Aw Shucks Hush Your Mouth
4 Cracking Up
5 Here ‘Tis (practice version)
6 Honey What’s Wrong?
7 Don’t Want That (demo version)
8 Ain’t That Lovin’ You Baby
9 I Wanna Be Loved*
10 Parchman Farm
11 Dimples*
12 Who Do You Love*
13 Walkin’ The Boogie
14 Roadrunner
15 I Was Fooled
16 Howling For My Baby (fast version) 17 Working Man
18 I Ain’t Got You
19 You Can’t Judge A Book By The Cover
20 I’m Looking For A Woman
21 Keep Your Hands Off My Woman 22 Got Love If You Want It*
23 I Was Fooled
24 Bright Lights, Big City
1-2 Single, Polydor BM 56024, released
September 1965
3-5 Not originally released, recorded October 6-7 Not originally released, recorded February
8, 10, 13 Not originally released, recorded live at the Quay Club, circa August 1964
9, 11, 12 Previously unreleased, recorded live at the Quay Club, circa August 1964
14-15 Not originally released, recorded live 1990 16-21 From the album No Concessions, Aftermath NAFT 1001, released 1994
22 Previously unreleased, recorded 1992 23-24 From the vinyl version of the album
Backlash, NTB Records 1003 – recorded early 1990s, released 2017
DISC TWO:
1 Cracking Up
2 I Can Tell
3 Goin’ Upside Your Head
4 Raining In My Heart
5 Route 66
6 Working Man
7 Don’t Start Me To Talking
8 I Wish You Would
9 Don’t Lie To Me
10 Howling For My Baby
11 Baby What You Want Me To Do
12 Boom Boom
13 Help Me
14 High Heel Sneakers
15 Pretty Thing
16 Two Fifty-Three
17 Hello Josephine
18 Walking The Boogie
19 Just A Little Bit
20 Treat Her Right
21 I Know It’s A Sin
22 Too Much Monkey Business
23 I’m Too Poor To Die
24 Road Runner
1-24 The album Backlash, NTB Records CD 1004 – recorded early 1990s, released 2017
*previously unreleased