It's a blatant cash-in on the British Invasion, but quite entertaining nonetheless, with spririted versions of songs such as Somebody Help Me and Pretty Flamingo. The backing band is the Hollies, who were apparantly reluctant to give Don and Phil their best material.
The best thing about it, though, is the sleevenotes, which I reproduce verbatim in full below. Written by one Stan Cornyn, "the king of liner notes" according to the excellent Space Age Pop site, they purport to be the Everlys’ “own guide to London”, which they claim to know extremely well and in fact be “part of the whole scene”.
It reads as though they’re trying to convince themselves of this as much as anyone else, and becomes quite bewildering when we suddenly find ourselves in a marriage bureau “a bit out of town” in Manchester, “the Beatles’ homeland”. Still, I like the idea of Don and Phil watching art films at the NFT, and having a pint at the Thomas a Becket on Old Kent Road (no definite article for the bruvvers), a pub I used to frequent circa 1980 when a great mod R&B band called Hit and Run used to do gigs there.
THE NEW GUIDE
TO LONDON TOWN
Like the rest of the world, The Everly Brothers have discovered England. But Don and Phil Everly were explorers; they’ve been hitting London annually for a decade. They’re part of the whole scene there. They’re what’s happening in London, just as much as Jean Shrimpton, Terence Stamp, Mary Quant, George Hamilton & Co. London’s their kind of town, so will be yours too (if it isn’t already). To help prepare you, here’s some of the highlights from The Everly Brothers’ own London:
FOR MEN’S WEAR: Lord John Boutique on Carnaby Street, which features what best can be described as the peacock look. Begin with their $12.50 checked trousers. Then add a lavender corduroy topper and a flowered tie. And you have the neo-Edwardian look, which is the right thing to have.
FOR DISCOTEQUES: Sybilla’s is the newest and most promising. It’s at 9 Swallow Street, about ten yards off Piccadilly, and owned by George Harrison and photographer Terry Howard, among others. It’s named after the grand daughter of Marshall Field, another cementing of the Anglo-American alliance.
FOR BIRDS’ WEAR: The Bazaar, at 46 Brompton, SW3, where the Mary Quant look is in fullest flower. At this HQ, you can doll thyself with the latest in mini-skirts and the new must, a pants-suit with bell bottoms. Then walk out into Chelsea and knock the men loopy.
FOR ETHNIC R&R: Rust’s Rare Records, 38 Grimsdyke Road, Hatch End. They’ll be able to come up with the unavailable Bo Diddleys and even a few rare Everly Brothers sides. Worth the time rummaging.
FOR GAMBLING (LEGAL): The Clermont, 44 Berkeley Square, W1. Unlimited stakes at chermin-de-fer (£1 minimum at blackjack). High life and the jet set mix in Georgian splendour here. Easily the poshest craps palace in the world. The croupiers all seem to be named Brian.
FOR ANTIQUES: Sotheby’s Auctions on Bond Street. A Dickensian labyrinth of improbably connecting buildings, basements, staircases, and tunnels, where at one time or another you can buy anything. It’s not all Rembrandts. 75% of their sales are under $300.
FOR EATS: Parkes at 4 Beauchamp Place, SW3, is the highest class (high prices, too). Restaurateur Tom Benson serves highly original food in a small, dark basement. Make your reservation four days in front.
FOR GROCERIES: Bakers, Kensington High Street, W8, is best if you’re cooking at home. Eighty clerks tend 15,000 square feet, selling 50,000 eggs a week. Also boneless goose, tinned snails, Southern yams, and 150 varieties of jam.
FOR PUBBING: Thomas a Becket, the “local” on Old Kent Road. Entertainment by Ted and John, the Lino Bros. Pop art on John’s drums. Mostly men (their women are at home cooking). Noisy and musical, and not at all jetty.
FOR CINEMA: National Film Theatre, Waterloo Bridge, South Bank, SE1. No smoking. All foreign films subtitled or with earphone commentary. Fare from “Le Dejeunner sur l’Herbe” to “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.”
FOR ROOM MATES: Wasps & Co., 93/97 Regent Street. Want to share a flat? They offer a personal service for those wanting a roomy in any area of London.
FOR WEDDED BLISS: Ashley Marriage Bureau, 10 Corporation Street, Manchester 4. A bit out of town, but marriage’s a big deal, and you’ll visit The Beatles’ homeland on the trip. Established 1953, and they claim to offer a reliable, confidential service for those seeking happy-happy. “Successes throughout the country,” they say.
FOR ANYTHING ELSE: Anything for Anyone, 29 Paddington Street, W1. Need a nanny or a rare book or a ticket for a bullfight or or or? These blokes solve (or find) anything.
Me me me: I picked this album up in a shop in Aarhus, Denmark, earlier this year. The shop was next door to the jewellers where we got the soon-to-be Mrs 50pbloke's engagement ring. It was she who spotted the album.
4 comments:
Although this article is a few years old now, finding it has made my day.
My Dad was Johnny Lino of the Lino Brothers and would have been thrilled by the mention here - and even moreso with their inclusion on the sleevenotes of an Everly Brothers LP.
The Lino Brothers entertained at the Thomas a Becket for a number of years during the 50's and 60's and knew the owners of the pub, Tommy and Beryl Gibbons very well indeed. My Dad and his Partner Ted (they weren't related), worked extremely hard on their act and were quite well known on the circuit, gaining a modest following - playing with Bev Martin and Ronnie Gleaves - but they gave it up due to increasing family commitments, one of which was me.
In the late 60's 'Weekend' ran a piece on London pub culture and the Lino Brothers were interviewed in-depth, along with a motley collection of boozers and ex-boxers, who used the drinking facilities and the gym at the Becket. Copy from this piece featuring the Lino Brothers was used in an article published in the Evening Standard some 20 years later, as a slice of nostalgia - in order to explain the emerging popularity of the variety act in a number of pubs in Central London. My Dad was especially proud of this as they used a picture of him playing his Pop Art Drums to illustrate the piece.
He always regretted giving up his act. So much so that he and Ted re-formed, and appeared on a Variety Show on Sky TV in the early 90's - they were something of a novelty, for their costumes alone, but were praised by Melvyn Hayes for their comic timing and originality. He made sure "The Boys" were given their moment on TV as they won through to the Final - but they were unfortunately pipped to the post (and some)in the Grand Finale.
Johnny Lino would be as pleased as punch know that his name is floating around in cyberspace forever....
Hi Biffs
That's fascinating. Did your father know he'd been namechecked on the sleevenotes of an Everly Brothers album?
Hi John,
No - unfortunatley he wasn't aware of the mention and sadly he died 16 years ago, so will never know. But thanks to you, I do know and am really and truly grateful for your typing up the notes verbatim - I couldn't believe my eyes!
My Mum confirmed that they had quite a following in their day - so all that work paid off.
Thanks again
Biffs
Glad to find this here. Another odd one -- I'm pretty sure "Rust's Rare Records" wasn't a shop, as the liner notes suggest -- Brian Rust (who died this past January) pretty much invented the modern art of discography, but he kept his records in the garage, and never ran a shop that I know of. The address is a leafy suburban street of detached houses in Hatch End, with no shops in view today. I think Cornyn just picked the address off of Rust's great book "Jazz Records". In fact, I'm pretty sure Cornyn never set foot in Blighty before writing these notes, but cribbed them from some guide book. Not too many Everlys fans shopping at Sotheby's, I reckon.
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