The Singles, 1967 - 1969

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The A-side is a 60's American soul/R&B number (Detroit Spinners), with Ollie's vibes playing a key role in the sound.  The B-side is a vibes-based instrumental.

"I'll Always Love You" was included on the "Piccadilly Story" CD from Sequel/Castle (1993, Cat.# NEDCD 240).    It was also included on the "Dance Like The Devil" compilation CD from Sequel Records/Castle (1998, Cat. # NEMCD 972).  Both tracks were included on the "Beggin'" compilation of Timebox recordings from Retrodisc (2008, Cat. # RETRO 834).

Due to vocalist John Henry, a US Army deserter, being "retired" from the music business by military police, both cuts are instrumentals.  Jeff Dean came down with TB and was replaced by a session player for this single.  "Soul Sauce" is a latin soul number (Cal Tjader), whereas the B-side is a sort of 12-bar jam that was credited to the band.

The lineup on this single was Kevan Fogarty (guitar), Peter "Ollie"  Halsall (vibes), Clive Griffiths (bass), Chris Holmes (keyboards), and Ronnie Verrell  (drums).

"Soul Sauce" was included on the "Soul For Sale" compilation CD from Sequel Records/Castle (1998, Cat. # NEMCD 975).  "Soul Sauce" is also available on "Jump and Dance - Doin' The Mod Vol 2" (2001, Castle CMRCD097).   "I Wish I Could Jerk Like My Uncle Cyril" was included on the "The Go-Go Train (Doin' the Mod! Vol 1)" compilation CD from Sequel (2000, Cat. # NEMCD 479).  Both tracks were included on the "Beggin'" compilation of Timebox recordings from Retrodisc (2008, Cat. # RETRO 834).

The first single for Deram.  The A-side is the first Timebox track to feature Mike Patto on vocals.  Ollie sings lead on the B-side.  John Halsey confirms that he did not play drums on this single.  In the absence of a regular drummer, their manager, Laurie Jay, actually played the drums.   This was the last single with Kevan Fogarty on guitar.

This was the first of several singles produced by Michael Aldred, who was a former presenter on the Ready Steady Go! television programme.

Side A is a slower R&B number, but it includes a vibes solo, swooping bass lines, female backup singers, twangy guitars, and sitar!  

The promotional copy has a very different version of the song.  It is an early mix of the same rhythm section but an alternate vocal take, alternate vibes 'solo', no sitar, and no backing vocals.  In fact, if you look at Mike Patto's personal copy of this record, you can see that he has written "UNFINISHED" on the A-side's label.

Side B has the 60's American R&B sound with a dominant vibes riff in the chorus, string arrangement, and wind chimes.

Lineup for this single was Mike Patto (lead vocal on A-side), Peter "Ollie" Halsall (vibes, sitar on A-side, lead vocal on B-side), Clive Griffiths (bass), Chris Holmes (keyboards), Kevan Fogarty (guitar), and Laurie Jay (drums).

Come On Up (Felix Caveliere) 
c/w A Woman That's Waiting (Mike McCarthy, Ivan Zagni)
Produced by Michael Aldred
Deram DR 41.826 / 17.010, released circa April, 1968, France only
Released as "The Timebox"

This is the first single released with John Halsey on drums. It is a France-only release of a cover version of the Young Rascals tune.  It features an early guitar solo from Ollie, and Chris takes the opportunity to showcase his organ playing as well.  Fine vocals and rhythm section.

The B-side features a lavish orchestral arrangement and distant, reverberated backing vocals.  It is a fine tune written by Ivan Zagni and Mike Patto (McCarthy).  Ivan played in Jody Grind with Tim Hinkley, who was in various bands with Mike including the Bo Street Runners and Chicago Line Blues Band.

Lineup for this and successive singles was Mike Patto, Peter "Ollie" Halsall, Clive Griffiths, Chris Holmes, and John Halsey.

The picture sleeve shows the band posing around one of the sphinxes by Cleopatra's Needle on the banks of the Thames in London.  Even though the band was very popular in France, this record seems to be particularly rare.

This was the first UK single with John Halsey on drums.  The song is a finely produced remake of the Four Seasons song with an extravagant orchestral arrangement.  According to John Halsey, the backing vocals are Mike, Ollie, and Clive along with Kiki Dee, and the additional percussion was played by Barry Morgan, later of Blue Mink.

The writing credits for "A Woman That's Waiting" are reversed compared to those listed on the  "Come On Up" single.  According to John Halsey, the high vocals sung at the end of the song were done by Johnny B. Great, another Decca artist and session vocalist.  His real name was Johnny Goodison, and he had a band called Johnny B. Great and the Quotations.

"Beggin'" was the band's only single to achieve some success on the charts.  It peaked at #38 in August, though some accounts indicate it sold more copies and received more airplay than its chart position suggested.

July 27, 1968 - Enters charts at position #49
August 3, 1968 - Highest chart position at #38 (pictured at right)
August 10, 1968 - Position #48
August 17, 1968 - Position #48 (pictured at right)

Girl Don't Make Me Wait (Leon Huff) 
c/w Gone Is The Sad Man (Mike McCarthy, Ollie Halsall)
Produced by Michael Aldred
Deram DM 219, released November, 1968

The A-side followed the "Beggin'" formula with another extravagant orchestral arrangement, this time with more of a 60's American R&B feel.  Mike's vocals, as usual, are great, but the record buying public made it clear that the song was not of the same caliber as "Beggin'".

The B-side is perhaps second only to "Beggin'" in terms of historical recognition of Timebox's recordings.  "Gone Is The Sad Man" has popped up on various psychedelic compilation albums over the years.  It was the first song released by the Patto/Halsall writing team.  Indeed, Ollie's distorted solo in the middle break gives it a psychedelic feel, but most of the song has a more straight-forward piano/vibes arrangement.  A great tune with fine harmonies and a very catchy chorus.

The band's first self-produced single and the first A-side written by the band.

The A-side is a novelty song about a failed Martian invasion where the Martians, led by Klaus, unleash their secret weapon which fired baked jam rolls at the unsuspecting Earthlings. "Are you trying to kill or feed me?"

The B-side is a great rock tune, closest to the rock material done later with the bands Patto and Boxer.  Ollie's leads (12-string or is he playing octaves?) are much more prominent in the mix released on the 1998 CD, "The Deram Anthology".

Bruce, who is given co-production credit, was not actually a person.  Band manager Laurie Jay's partner was Laurie Boost.  He owned a bingo hall where the band practiced called the Club Noreik.  He also owned some greyhound betting shops which he for some reason called Bruce.  So, that is where Bruce comes from, but Laurie Boost actually had nothing to do with producing the single.

The final Timebox single, featuring two more original compositions.  The A-side is a fun rocker with prominent guitar and brass section.  The lyrics about a "woman-crazy" salesman prompted the BBC to ban the song from the airwaves.  The B-side is a slow, bluesy number with interesting production,  particularly the distorted guitar and clavinet mixed with heavily compressed vocals in the chorus.

The source of this odd single indicates it is from the 1970's.  The Timebox side is a stereo mix (sounds like mono reprocessed for stereo) of the song and is incorrectly credited to C. Dice instead of Farina/Gaudio. 

The A-side is a track by Little Sister, a female trio organized by Sly Stone consisting of Vaetta Stewart (Sly's little sister), Mary Rand and Elva Melton.  They sang backups on many early Sly & the Family Stone records.  "You're the One", released in the US on Sly's Stone Flower label, reached #4 on the US R&B charts in the early part of 1970, so perhaps this single is from that year.

Several sources have reported that Timebox provided the backing for this disc, including Record Mirror (see Articles And Interviews, 1967 Through May 1968).  Most sources indicate the single was released in June of 1967, which would make sense, since the team won the FA cup final in May.  However, the Record Mirror article indicates that the single was not released until October, and the publicity shot included below was certainly taken after John Halsey joined the band around that time.

The record is basically a singsong with members of the football team taking on the likes of "Glory Glory Hallelujah," "Bye Bye Blackbird," "Maybe It's Because I'm A Londoner," and "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling."  

But did Timebox really play on the single?  It seems they did not.

John Halsey has no recollection of recording it, though one could argue that it could have been recorded before John joined the band.  However, after sending a copy to Chris Holmes for him to listen to, he thinks the band did not play on the single.

Really, one would never guess just by listening to the disc that Timebox is involved.  For a kick-off, none of the guys in the band played the clarinet.  And you'd expect there to be organ, vibes, or guitar, but none of these instruments are played.

So, was the football club just fans of Timebox and someone mistakenly assumed the band played on the record?  Was it just another publicity stunt dreamed up by Max Clifford, Laurie Boost, or Laurie Jay?  It is not certain, but for those who do believe the band was involved, I've included scans of the record sleeve and labels.