The Peddlers

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The Peddlers were a British pop jazz group of the 1960s and 1970s; it was formed in 1964 and remained together until 1972, unchanged in terms of personnel.

Band members

The trio was made up of Roy Phillips (born May 5, 1943 in Parkstone , Dorset - vocals, keyboards ), Tab Martin (born December 24, 1944 in Liverpool as Alan Brearley - bass ) and Trevor Morais (born October 16, 1943 in Liverpool - drums ). The three musicians had already gained experience in different groups: Phillips as guitarist for the R&R group The Dowlands produced by Joe Meek , Martin with the Tornados , also a Meek group, and Morais with Farron's Flamingos , a band that played in the Had frequent club appearances and a loyal base of fans in Liverpool in the early 1960s.

Music genre

The Peddlers (German: peddlers, flying dealers) played an often improvising, soul-jazzy style that was far removed from the rock 'n' roll of their previous groups. Martin and Morais formed a well-rehearsed rhythm section that provided dynamism and drive, with the bass playing with long notes also adding melodic accents, and Phillips sang with a “deep black” voice and mastered his organ (rarely the piano) with virtuosity. Nevertheless, the group, which was mostly dressed in black on stage and also ignored the hair fashion of the mid-60s, never lost sight of the pop audience; that is why she was at home with her numerous engagements in the smoky cellars of Beat bars as well as in jazz clubs all over England. Allmusic.com describes their music as most comparable to that of the early Brian Auger & The Trinity .

Recordings and achievements

Soon after they were founded, the Peddlers had signed a record deal with Philips Records and in early 1965 they entered the UK TOP 50 for the first time with a bluesy version of "Let the Sunshine In" . They were unable to repeat this success with two long-playing records produced afterwards, but their numerous appearances in posh London clubs were as well attended as those on the stages of northern English industrial cities, and their most famous fans were the Stones and Princess Margaret even then .

In 1967 they switched to CBS Records and made it into the longplay hit parade in early 1968 with their LP Freewheelers . This and the following two records were produced and arranged by Keith Mansfield ; In the same year, Three in a Cell, their second long-playing record, appeared on the CBS label. The band continued to tour the UK between recording sessions, making it into the UK's Top Twenty in 1969 with their single Birth . This title came from the pen of Roy Phillips as well as some other, better-known songs that were also included on their most successful LP Birthday (also released in 1969), for example Girlie or Southern Woman . Their repertoire also included compositions by other jazz, blues and folk greats such as Bloom / Mercer , Dixon , Seeger and Webb , which they adapted to their own style. Their catchy melodies were also often heard in the intros and credits of BBC television programs around 1970. 1971 - The Peddlers have now produced their recordings again at Philips - they wrote and played the soundtrack to the film Goodbye Gemini , and released two singles, which, however, did not come close to the success of Birth .
In 2002 CBS released a CD box with the three LPs from 1968/69 as well as all the singles and some unreleased recordings, the sales figures of which show that the band is still attracting the interest of music lovers in England today.

Dissolution of the band

1972 Trevor Morais left the group; Roy Phillips and Tab Martin stayed together until 1976 and continued to record (most recently at EMI ) without being able to leave any lasting impressions on the changing music market. Morais' successor as drummer was Paul Johnston. Phillips subsequently retired from the business entirely and has lived in New Zealand for over 20 years; Martin first worked as a studio musician and then moved to Portugal; Morais has also played on recordings by other artists (including Bryan Ferry ), then moved to southern Spain and now runs a record studio in Málaga.

Discography

Albums

  • 1966 The Fantastic Peddlers (Philips)
  • 1967 Live at the Pickwick (Philips)
  • 1968 Freewheelers (CBS)
  • 1968 Three in a Cell (CBS)
  • 1969 Birthday (CBS; 200? Re-released on Epic)
  • 1971 Goodbye Gemini [Soundtrack] (DJM)

Re-releases / anthologies

  • 1974 The Best Of The Peddlers (CBS)
  • 1999 Part One (Sony Jazz)
  • 2000 Live at the Pickwick / Three for All (See For Miles)
  • 2002 How Cool Is Cool ... The Complete CBS Recordings (Columbia)
  • 2006 Listen Now! Suite London (Universal / Mercury)

Singles

  • 1965 Let the Sunshine In - # 50 on the UK charts
  • 1969 Birth - 17th place on the British charts
  • 1969 Girlie - number 34 on the British charts
  • 1971 Georgia on My Mind
  • 1972 Suite London

Individual tracks on samplers

  • 1997 Groovy, Vol. 2: A Collection of Rare Jazzy Club Tracks (Performer)
  • 1999 Diggin 'Deeper 4 - The Roots Of Acid Jazz (Performer)
  • 2000 Hammer Film Music Collection, Vol. 2 (Performer)
  • 2002 Lost Continent - Original Soundtrack (Performer)

Web links