主播大秀

The Brum Beat: Bob Stanley on The Mersey Sound

Birmingham, the Second City, would never have boasted that it was on a par with either London or Liverpool in the sixties, but nonetheless it provided us with a bunch of memorable beat groups, some of which had far greater longevity than the bigger names of the era. Brumbeat, as it became known, even had its own magazine, Midland Beat. The city's geographical location, midway between Britain's twin pop capitals, possibly led to its soaking up both R&B influences from London, and the subtle country feel and melodicism of the Mersey Sound.

The Bobcats sadly weren't built to last. Their one single has tight mod angles and an intense yearning; only the back-of-the-class shyness of Can't See For Looking's lyric belies the group's youth. They were pupils at Alderlea school in the Shard End area of Birmingham, and judging by the backing vocals, not all of their voices had broken by the time they cut their sole single for Pye. The group were managed by singer David Cowley's father, their first gig at Tyseley Working Mens Club in 1965, and they won the Birmingham Battle of the Bands contest in 1966. The single earned them appearances in early 1967 on Blue Peter and LWT's David Frost Show, but they quickly sank without trace - try finding a copy (and if you do please let me know, I've been looking for one for years!).

Still packing out American stadiums and organising their own cruise tours, are an incredible success story. Back in 1965, in spite of scoring a no.1 with Go Now in January, their success was less assured and the deeply melancholic From the Bottom Of My Heart fell just short of the Top 20. You can hear a strong hint of the minor key atmospherics that would make them one of the biggest progressive acts of the late sixties and early seventies, so maybe it was just a little ahead of its time. The song was co-written by Mike Pinder and Denny Laine, who was still lead singer at this point - Laine left eighteen months later to form the Electric String Band (musically a forerunner of) with Trevor Burton (later of The Move) on bass and drummer Viv Prince, formerly of another Brum act, Carter-Lewis & the Southerners.

The Moody Blues' name may have seemed to be a drug reference, but it was a nod to local brewers Mitchells and Butler - the group thought if they had the same initials they might get sponsorship, or at least a free crate of beer. Sadly for them, the ruse didn't work. Next time you see Mike Pinder propping up the bar of his yacht, buy him a pint in sympathy.

For more on The Moody Blues and their track 'From The Bottom Of My Heart' (1965) .