I usually buy lots of records from Singapore-Malaysia and Indonesia, but most sellers now seem to think every record they have is worth hundreds of dollars. However, no one seems to buy them, as they advertised again and again. There are still some realistic sellers, but postage has got outrageously expensive. In response to Covid, Malaysia has actually ceased all international mail (I am not sure how this is supposed to help) and the only option is very expensive courier mail. One result of all this is a renewed focus locally
Australia
Bobbie & Laurie – Hitch Hiker (Cum Sunt Ambulant) LP. Parlophone, PMCO 7535
Some of Bobbie & Laurie’s material is a bit light-weight pop to my ears, but there are some stellar garage tunes on this LP right from the first track, an Alan Brite original, ‘No Next Time’. Good album. On a side issue, I always thought the subtitle must be Latin, but the online translator suggests Romanian for ‘How I’m Walking’. Huh? PS. Alan Brite = Laurie Allen and Bobby Bright
The Master’s Apprentices – self-titled debut LP. Summit, SRA 250-524
Of course, I’d prefer to have got the Astor original release, but when a nice copy (at a nice price) of the Summit release from a few years later came along, I couldn’t resist. All the original tracks are killer, but some of the album-only covers were a bit of a surprise to me, although they mainly work well. Jim Keays’ spoken dedications to the ‘masters’ Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry is a nice touch
Motivation – Boy Meets Girl/ Running And Hiding (All Of The Time). Ramrod, RS 1008
The A-side is a nice little fuzz-guitar and organ-drenched affair. Motivation later cut another two records for Ramrod, but I’ve yet to hear them
Johnny Noble – Lonely City/ Tough Enough. Linda Lee, HK 752
The B-side is a remake of a late 1950s song by Johnny Otis. Invite any of your garage-fiend friends around to listen to Johnny Noble’s version and they might agree that it is indeed just tough enough. Play them the A-side, however, and they’ll be liable to throw you out of your own house
Steve and The Board – Now That I’m Older/ So Why Pretend. Spin, EK 1463
Great double-header
Tony Worsley and The Fabulous Blue Jays – Tony Sings. The Blue Jays Play LP. Calendar, R66499
Missed out on the original label again, which was Sunshine in this case. Not the wildest garage album by any means, but there are some good tracks here by Tony. The B-side is the band without Tony. For me, the standouts on that side are a pretty good version of ‘Louie, Louie’ and the instrumental ‘Jay Walker’. A funny thing about my copy is it still has the price sticker ($2.95) that shows it was purchased at Nock & Kirby, which was a Sydney-based hardware chain. I don’t remember them selling records. Did they get Joe The Gadget Man to spin the discs in-store? (you’ve got to be an old plodder from Sydney, like me, to get the last bit. N&K used to have this fella called Joe on TV promoting all the latest gadgets, like orange juicers, knife sharpeners, potato peelers etc)
Tony Worsley – My Time of Day LP. Calendar, R66506
Another Sunshine release re-issued on Calendar. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, but also has some great garage tunes. Worth owning just for the super-tough version of The Birds’ ‘How Can It Be’
Indonesia
Tikki, Takki, Suzy & Lies [Dara Puspita] – Welcome To My House/ I Believe In Love. IBC Recording Studios
A 1970 recording and dance music, not garage, but still good. Anything by Dara Puspita is worth having. And this is also my first-ever acetate. Woo-hoo!
Italy
Caterina Caselli – Cento Giorni/ Tutto Nero. The B-side is ‘Paint It Black’ sung in Italian. Maybe not garage, but super cool. Purchased following a tip from forum member ~erry~
The Netherlands
The 4 Strangers - Seventh Heaven (ich tanze mit dir in den Himmel hinein)/ Sloppin’ The Blues. Life, 4 011
I bought this record on the Malaysian Life label expecting this could be a Malaysian band. Turns out The 4 Strangers were from Rotterdam. Life obviously had some sort of deal going on in the Netherlands, as I have another record on the label by Dutch band Willy & His Giants. This single is two instrumentals from 1964. The A-side is a German tune dating back to the 1930s; sounds like it too. The B-side is a livelier and less-kitschy original
Various Artists – Wow! A Special Shell/Philips Presentation. Philips, 112201 DE
Presumably, this EP was available for free or at a special price for consumers of Shell products. I also assume it was available in both Singapore-Malaysia and the Netherlands because the three bands on it are Dutch, but the EP often appears for sale in the former places. The record appears here because of the inclusion of the great Chapter II song, ‘She Won’t Even Let Me In’
New Zealand
The Underdogs – Sitting In The Rain/ Shortnin’ Bread. Zodiac, Z 45 1306.
I always liked The Underdogs’ version of the John Mayall song on the A-side. I was expecting to be embarrassed by the B-side. Instead, I am just bemused
Singapore
Ahmad Daud & Swallows Orkestra - Dendang Pontianak/ Dikau Jauh. Parlophone, DPE 8182.
The A-side song is the one for you here. The title translates to something like ‘Ghost Song’ or ‘Vampire Song’ and originally appeared in the film Pusaka Pontianak (Inheritance from a Vampire). The comic-actor/singer Ahmad Daud is a regular crooner, but his backing band are a bit more interesting and later released a few classic Malay garage records simply as The Swallows. The instrumentation is certainly lively, but more like surf music than garage. Fun
UK
The Dave Clark Five – Nineteen Days/ I Need Love. Columbia, DO 4738
The Dave Clark Five - I’ve Got To Have A Reason/ Good Time Woman. Columbia, DO 4757
The Dave Clark Five – Everybody Knows (We’re Through)/ Concentration, Baby. Columbia, DO 5036
The Dave Clark Five – Red Balloon/ Maze Of Love. Columbia, SC 8199
Thanks to Ed and Jim of this forum for putting me onto the DC5. I heard ‘Good Time Woman’ and thought this is great and then I heard ‘I Need Love’ and I thought this is fantastic. I then discovered ‘Concentration, Baby’ and ‘Maze Of Love’ as well. All great stuff. The first three listed above are the Australian releases and originally just came in company sleeves, but my copy of ‘Good Time Woman’ is in the US Epic picture sleeve. I am happy to have it, but the seller didn’t respond when I asked how this came to be. Meanwhile, my copy of ‘Maze Of Love’ is the Jugoton release from Yugoslavia. Surprising what a communist regime allowed to be released at the time
The Pretty Things – Midnight To Six Man/ Can’t Stand The Pain. Philips, BF-245
The Pretty Things – Honey, I Need/ I Can Never Say. Fontana, TF537
Great, but nothing rare. I only mention it because I was after the Australian version of ‘Midnight To Six’ for quite a while, but sellers always wanted more than I was willing to pay. I scored this copy in a batch of eighteen 45s for less than the last price I saw for the single. Other records were the other Pretty Things’ 45 plus The Easybeats, The Byrds, Eric Burdon and The Animals, other 60s 45s and some interesting early 70s Oz records, among others. Not a bad haul
USA
The Left Banke – Desire’e/ I’ve Got Something On My Mind. Smash, S 2119
Another record bought following a tip from someone on this forum. Thanks, Jim. ‘I’ve Got Something On My Mind’ is really special
Scans for DC5 enjoy
