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| December 1964: Tony's 2nd single was on the market: Pye 7n 15745, didn't chart. |
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"We've
got a few smooth beat numbers up our sleeve", Jackson assured the press. "We
won't be doing any ballads, unless a really good one comes along." Convinced
that Motown was the way to go, he returned to the Mary Wells catalogue for a
cover of *You Beat Me To The Punch*. This was the first single licensed by
Tito Burns' new Lyndon organisation to Pye, and it meant that Jackson's
recording career was now being handled by Kinks' producer Larry Page. Page
encouraged The Vibrations to move away from the R&B sound of their debut and
emphasise Tony's roots in The Searchers - with the bizarre result that this
Soul song came out sounding like a cross between 'Needles And Pins' and
'When You Walk In The Room'. The public weren't convinced. Peter Doggett: Foldout sheet Watch Your Step CD |
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A second 45; You Beat Me To The Punch' b/w 'This Little Girl Of Mine' followed in December, with 'Punch' being another gem from the Mary Wells catalogue, written this time by Smokey Robinson. It was recorded at Baker Street's Olympic Studios with producer Larry Page and engineer Keith Grant. They worked for hours to perfect a new 'bass' sound for Tony, 12-string guitars were layered on and the resulting mix was considered pretty damn amazing. Tony's obvious love of such material was equally clear on this release, another faultless record coupled again to a worthwhile flip, sadly it made little commercial progress, although Jackson's standing among his peers remained high, with Eric Burdon tipping him for stardom in 1965. (From booklet Just Like Me CD) right: US release Kapp K 639, no chart success |
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left: rare release with a
picture cover from Denmark, same catalogue no. as UK release.
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| Other countries where the single was probabely released are Ireland, Australia, Sweden and the Netherlands. |
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