The Little Darlin's (and related bands)

The Little Darlin's

Aka -  The Pines / The Sensations / The Goodtime Losers

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This post spans the 1960's with 4 related bands with incremental changes as we move forward.

THE PINES

Formed in 1964 Strictly R&B / Blues  

Line up: 

Allan Waites (rhythm guitar), 

John Gilroy (lead guitar), 

Malcolm O'Sullivan (vocals), 

Terry Twigger (bass), 

Barry Eaton (drums). 

Manager Ken Waites

Recorded a demo at Panthos Studios in October 1964 including 

"... a re-styling of Bo Diddley's Mona ..." .

Met London songwriters Bill Bates and Ken Hawker (who wrote Is It Me for Brenda Lee and also wrote for PJ Proby), and these writers encouraged the band to move to London for a recording test. 

Cutting from the Coventry Standard October 14th 1964 via the Broadgate Gnome.

It wasn't long before The Pines became The Little Darlin's November 1964 .

THE LITTLE DARLIN'S

November 1964 - May 1966 Freakbeat / Mod

Famous for their "outrageously" long hair! 

The line up remained the same as for The Pines except that at some stage 

Johnny Gilroy was replaced by Roy Butterfield and they cut demos, until Roy Butterfield also left to be replaced by a ' London session musician'. Roy Butterfield went on to play with an early version of Indian Summer and eventually as a guitarist and songwriter with The Tom Robinson Band.

Joe Meek was their recording manager and produced their now a much sought after, first single.

They cut 'Good Things Are Worth Waiting For' in March 1966. (Written by Ivy League songwriters John Carter and Ken Lewis) which Manager Ken Waites described as "...strong pumping bass and slight pop-art touch in the middle..." 

Single:

A: Little Bit Of Soul / B: Easy To Cry (Fontana TF 539 - 1965)

The single failed to chart.

" The Little Darlin's came second on the Coventry Express poll  - without doubt the most outrageous looking of all the Coventry groups. No drift back toward short hair for these boys. [rest of this paragraph illegible but it's only about their haircuts- Ed]"

Via the Tim James Site From Coventry Express, Friday May 28th 1965 Citybeat by Paul Connew.

Little Darlin's stop the traffic in London.

" IN the early 1960s, Coventry's beat scene was predictably full to the brim with pop bands, thanks to the influence of The Beatles. As the months ticked by, new bands such as The Rolling Stones and The Pretty Things would arrive on the national scene and would give pop music an altogether new, rhythm 'n' blues slant. One of the best would be The Yardbirds, and pretty soon their influence would show locally with freakbeat supremos The Little Darlin's.

Guitarist John Gilroy, was working at Rolls Royce Parkside. He was approached one day in 1963, and asked if he could play bass guitar. With the answer being yes, it wasn't long before he was on a Coventry Carnival float playing alongside band members Malcolm O'Sullivan (vocals), Allan Waites (guitar), and a drummer who left soon after to pursue his new job of shooting snakes that fell on the deck of the Queen Mary as they sailed up the Amazon! 

The guys soon recruited new drummer Barry Eaton and when John switched to lead guitar, a new bassman Terry Twigger was hired from an advert in The Coventry Telegraph. The band were originally known as The Pines.

"We practiced every night for three months," said John. "Before unleashing ourselves on the general public. A demo disc was made at Hollocks & Taylors in Birmingham which was touted around. Friars Promotions, who held the monopoly at that time on local gigs, signed us up.

"Our first gig was at the Wine Lodge in Coventry, we supported The Avengers. I asked somebody what the difference was between the two bands? I was told that the Avengers were louder, but apart from that there was no difference really. That was the answer I wanted to hear, and bearing in mind the Avengers were a really tight driving band, it was obvious all our practice sessions were paying off."

It was at a private party, however, that things would get interesting for the band. Present at the party were two guys from the 60s band The Ivy League. They liked what they heard and John and the boys were invited down to Southern Music in London.

As a publicity stunt, it was arranged for the Little Darlin's to plug into a barber's shop in Denmark Street (Tin Pan Alley).

"When we opened up," reveals John, "The traffic stopped, a crowd gathered and even Charing Cross Road fouled up. The Met appeared and said okay you got what you wanted, now cease! 

We eventually got into the studio and recorded our first 45, Little Bit O'soul (and Easy to Cry on the B-Side). We visited the influential TV pop-show Ready Steady Go, and got our record played, which went down well. We were all introduced as the song played, we were asked who played the keyboard, as there is some keyboard on the record. We made the mistake of saying that none of us played the keyboard, I think we got turned down because of that."

"When we played our single live at the Locarno," continues John, "I played the keyboard fills on my guitar, someone said that it sounded better live, than on record, boy we were sick!"

Despite the great buzz that surrounded the single, it failed to make a dent on the charts. 

The band continued playing places such as The Matrix, alongside names including Dave Berry and the Cruisers and The Kinks. They topped the bill themselves at The Matrix on January 8, 1965, with Sam Spade and the Gravediggers in support.


By the mid-60's, some of the band became The Sensations, but John went his separate way, as did vocalist Malc O'Sullivan. "They were happy times," said Malcolm. "But I personally wished that we had concentrated on a more rock 'n' roll sound rather than rhythm 'n' blues sound." From Pete Chambers Backbeat - Coventry Telegraph 2006 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Little+Darlings+stop+the+traffic+in+London.-a0154752433

From Pete Chambers - Godiva Rocked to a Backbeat

John Gilroy (Guitarist) " When we played the Locarno with our new single, I played the keyboard frills on guitar. Someone said it sounded better live than on record - boy we were sick!" Disc Music paper said "The Little Darlin's noise sounds just great"

Although it failed to chart for the Little Darlin's, the song Little bit O' Soul was a Stateside hit for Ohio - The Music Explosion in 1967 where it made No 2. In 1983 The Ramones covered the song on their Subterranean Jungle album.

The SENSATIONS
C 1966 - 1967 - Source Broadgate Gnome - Freakbeat 

By the mid-60's, some of the band became The Sensations, but John went his separate way, as did vocalist Malc O'Sullivan. "They were happy times," said Malcolm. "But I personally wished that we had concentrated on a more rock 'n' roll sound rather than rhythm 'n' blues sound."
Line up Colin Delaney (lead guitar), Barry Eaton (drums), Malcolm O'Sullivan (piano), Alan Waites (rhythm guitar), Terry Twigger [Terry Wyatt] (bass)

Previously The Little Darlin's, They released a single in May 1966 'Look At My Baby', which was a Radio London 'Record Of The Week'.

The follow up received fascinating reviews, '...the boys have wasted no time recording a very weird hypnotic, as yet untitled song, which features Indian Sitar and no lyrics..' said the Coventry Standard in May 1966. Midland Beat's July 1966 description was ' ...the third disc, released in a couple of weeks is described as "way out " featuring Sitar, scat singing and a religioso chant...' which sounds very Yardbirds.


There were a number of significant things happening in July 1966 Barry Eaton left, but the most exciting was Liberty Records signed the band and were set to release 'Look At My Baby' in the U.S. , when none other than Sonny & Cher heard the band and insisted the intended B-side, 'What A Wonderful Feeling' was also released as an A-side. The label then asked for two other tracks to be recorded and sent to the U.S. for B-Sides. 

They disbanded in London in 1967. Also known as The Sensations of London. Albeit a Coventry band.
Singles:

A:Look At My Baby / B:? (Decca F12392 - 1966) in U.S.

A:Look At My Baby/B:? (Liberty 1966)

A:What A Wonderful Feeling/B:? (Liberty ? - 1966) 

The GOODTIME LOSERS c1967 Source Broadgate Gnome - Freakbeat / pop


Line up: John Darby (vocals), Colin Delaney (lead guitar), Al Waites (guitar), Terry Wyatt (bass), Chris Hunt (drums).

What happened next and whether they were issued isn't clear, but the band became The Good Time Losers in 1967. 

Previously The Sensations. But the line up was very different, as far I can determine.

Trafalgar Square single was written by media personality, Barry Fantoni, although the self-penned b-side was better, being a brisk, almost folk-rock number.


Played at the Star Club in Hamburg.


Single:

Trafalgar Square / Where Did My Heart Go (Fontana TF791 - 1967)