Junk Box Jury

Taken from the LP ‘The Fantastic Peddlers’ | (Fontana SFL 13016) 1968

The unofficial fan club of the Peddlers reads like a random list from a showbusiness Who’s Who directory. Ever since they started a residency early in 1966 at London’s Pickwick Club, a well known meeting place for members of the entertainment world, the Peddlers have had a most exclusive clientele returning time and again to hear their music, which falls into that broad neither-jazz-nor-pop category, and usually ends up being defined as ‘soul.’

The Peddlers themselves — ROY PHILLIPS (organ and vocals), TAB MARTIN (bass guitar) and TREVOR MORAIS (drums) — would not wish to be concerned with such pigeon-holing.

Nevertheless, it is difficult to avoid using such a description of their music when Roy launches into one of his strangely blues-tinged vocals, which frequently remind the listener of an earlier Ray Charles.

Their following takes in such widely divergent personalities as Robert Farpon and the Rolling Stones, Annie Ross and Max Bygraves, Herman and Siobhan McKenna, The Shadows and Christopher Plummer, The Duchess of Bedford, Jimmy Tarbuck, Richard Harris, and Eric Sykes.

“We are discovering that it is possible to bridge the gap between strict pop, uncompromising jazz and what some people call quality pop music,” says Roy. “We end up with a sort of pop-art-jazz, which we hope appeals at all levels. But we try to steer clear of preaching or attempting to convert an audience to one type of music.”

The Peddlers | “Let The Sun Shine In” | Fontana

With this broadly-based attitude they are able to keep Pickwick sophisticate’s happy, a ballroom audience of teenagers cheering and stamping for more, confidently accept a six-week season in Las Vegas —the first British pop group to do so — perform in Northern clubs and tour U.S. bases in Germany.

ROY PHILLIPS, organ and vocals, was born in Parkstone, Dorset, on 5 May, 1941 and has been absorbed in music since he started playing piano at the age of five. By the time he was 12, his father had to forbid him from sitting-in with the local Palais band, and during his schooldays Roy played in pubs and clubs at every opportunity.

While working as an apprentice photographic engraver, Roy played finger-style guitar in a group called the Soundtracks and was appearing in a Southampton club when he met independent recording manager Joe Meek, who invited him to play on sessions in his studios.

It was this session work which led Roy — 6ft. 2ins. tall, weighing 11 st., with brown hair and brown eyes — to join a group called the Tornadoes, formed to back singer Billy Fury, in which he met . .

TAB MARTIN, bass guitar, was born in Newcastle on 24 December 1944, but grew up in Brighouse, Yorks. He is 5ft. 10ins. tall, weighs 11 st., has green eyes and fair hair.

He owes his interest in music to his father’s enthusiasm. Tab was not allowed to have a guitar until he found a tutor to give him lessons for twelve months.

The Peddlers | “Let The Sun Shine In” | Fontana

He was leading a skiffle group when he was astonished to learn that his father had answered Joe Meek’s advertisement for bass guitarists and that he was required to attend an audition.

Although he had never played bass before, Tab sufficiently impressed Billy Fury, Larry Parnes and Joe Meek at the audition to be invited to join the Tornadoes.

He became friendly with Roy and after a time, with a drummer, they formed the Saints to back Heinz, with whom they worked for ten months, before deciding to go it alone as a duo. But after working in Northern clubs and making one record they decided to become a trio again and signed up . . .

TREVOR MORAIS, drums, was born in Liverpool on 10 October 1944. He started playing at 16, turned professional a year later and was in on the exciting Merseyside music boom, as a member of Faron’s Flamingoes and Rory Storm and The Hurricanes.

The Peddlers | “Let The Sun Shine In” | Fontana

While appearing with Ian Crawford and The Boomerangs in pantomime at Coventry, Trevor performed a drum solo in the cathedral at a special service for university students. He led his own group for a time before joining Roy and Tab. He is 6ft. tall, weighs 11 st. 7lbs., has brown hair and brown eyes.

“Let The Sun Shine In” was quite an old recording, having gained release as a November 1964 single. The other track I’ve added to my YouTube upload is the jazzy instrumental “Gassin’”, the B-side to “I’ve Got To Hold On”, from November 1966.

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cost of record: £3
from: charity shop