Super Saturday Early Show at the 2023 Birthdays of Freddie Garrity, Errol Brown, and the Legendary Terry Reid

by Robert Wilkinson

We begin our Saturday musical celebrations with a brief fad during the British Invasion, get into a funky groove "You sexy thing!" and celebrate the life and work of one of the most famous unknown talents of the past 50 years.

Our first act is Freddie Garrity (14 November 1936 – 19 May 2006), who provided the voice, dance, and comic relief for the British Invasion pop group Freddy and the Dreamers, very big between May 1963 and November 1965 and known for four top ten UK hits, one of which went to #1 in the US. For a brief peek into Manchester’s contribution to the British Invasion, here’s Freddie and the Dreamers!

First, their biggest! It was #2 UK in August 1963, and went straight to #1 US in the Spring of 1965. For your dancing enjoyment, live on The Merv Griffin Show, “I’m Telling You Now.” From The Ed Sullivan Show,, Freddie showing just a little of how crazy he was performing “I’m Telling You Now.”

An early Shindig performance of their Summer 1963 #3 hit, “If You Got To Make A Fool of Somebody”

From Hullabaloo in 1965, Freddie and the Dreamers perform another big one that went to #3 in November 1963, “You Were Made For Me” From Shindig that same year, Freddie singing to a backing track in another performance of “You Were Made For Me”

Here was the last in a string of hits, going to #5 UK in late 1963! Live on Shindig, “I Understand”

Here’s their manic performance on the NME stage in 1964! “Kansas City” “Send Me Some Lovin’” “Short Shorts”

From June 1964, Freddie on tv doing a skiffle country shuffle called “I Love You Baby”

Also from 1964, an upbeat rave up performance of “Over You”

Here’s a respectable performance from 1966 at the Beat Club of “If You've Got A Minute, Baby.” Also from The Beat Club in 1966, here’s their cover of “Run For Your Life”

Speaking of the Beatles, from 1967, again at The Beat Club, Freddie and the Dreamers in a live video performance of them doing the early Beatle standard “Some Other Guy”

Our closer is a live performance on The Ed Sullivan Show of the bizarre dance craze that almost took off, thanks to Arthur Murray! Freddie really was more than a bit out there, which you’ll see about half way through the song! “Do The Freddie”

The encore is a blast! Here he closes a Hullabaloo episode, with Trini Lopez, Vikki Carr, Chuck Berry, Herman’s Hermits, the Sir Douglas Quintet, Martha and the Vandellas, and the Hullabaloo dancers all joining in doing the Freddie! “Do the Freddie”

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Our second act is brief, but VERY funky! Most don’t know who Mister Errol Brown (12 November 1943 - 6 May 2015) was, but he gave the world one MONSTER hit. And we owe it all to John Lennon!

That's because Sir John approved Hot Chocolate's version of "Give Peace A Chance," leading the band forward to their monster hit, heard by millions, the infectious crazy sound of "You Sexy Thing," which it turns out he wrote for his wife, who he was married to until her death.

Talk about a classy guy, from the Washington Post obituary on Errol Brown, a piece it quotes from the Telegraph:

The Telegraph offered words of tribute that perhaps cannot be topped.

“He is a man who has stayed with his wife for 30 years despite being pelted with ladies’ pants wherever he plays,” the newspaper wrote, “who has owned racehorses but never bet more that £100 on a race, and who, when the hits stopped, was happy to leave the music business at the height of his fame without rancour or regret.”

From 1977, their UK #1 hit written by the great Russ Ballard of Argent, “So You Win Again”

From 1974, the music video of their US #8, UK #3 hit “Emma”

From the German television show Rockpop in October 1977, Hot Chocolate performing their 1976 hit “Heaven Is In the Back Seat of my Cadillac”

From 1980, the music video of Errol performing “No Doubt About It”

From Top of the Pops in 1982, a live performance of "It Started With A Kiss."

We’ll close this short set with a reprise of Errol live on Top of the Pops in 1975 getting’ down on the One with "You Sexy Thing."

Thanks for the funky groove, Errol. You've made me smile more times than I can count. "Touch me!"

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Our final act of this show is Terry Reid (born 13 November 1949), one of the greatest acts of the late 60s. Gifted with a unique voice and great songwriting talent, he opened for the Stones at the Royal Albert Hall and toured with Cream. I always thought his voice was compelling, and his music rocked hard, similar to the Small Faces.

Terry was Jimmy Page’s first choice as vocalist for Led Zeppelin. Terry, riding a wave of success that had him touring with the Stones and Cream as well as sharing a stage with Jimi Hendrix at the Miami Pop Festival, recommended that Jimmy go talk to his friends Robert Plant and John Bonham. He was even offered the lead vocal for Deep Purple. Being offered the front position for both Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple is a truly singular achievement. He was/is THAT good!

I had the rare treat of being able to hang out with him an entire evening at an LA club some years back (it was a favorite hangout of Waddy Wachtel and Keith Richards, among others) and I found him to be a straight up guy with a great sense of humor. While he’s not in the limelight now, I thought we’d celebrate his birthday with a few great tunes you never heard.

We’ll begin with the original studio version of the beautiful “Without Expression”

Terry live on The Old Grey Whistle Test television show giving us a little more laid back version of “Without Expression”

My favorite Terry Reid tune for 50 years! When I got to hang with him a few years back, he told me Jimi said this was his favorite song! A major rocker! “Tinker Tailor”

Here’s his grinding studio interpretation of the Sonny and Cher #1 hit “Bang Bang”

Here’s a great live performance from 1969 of “Bang Bang”

His interpretation of this masterpiece from Donovan got everyone’s attention, including some of the biggest musicians in the world, “Season of the Witch”

From June 2009, a great live performance by Terry and Second Hand Blues of “Season of the Witch”

I found it again! I was the only person in central Florida to grab this when it first came out. Had to special order it. For your enjoyment, the entire classic first album titled Bang Bang You're Terry Reid

From December 1968, Terry’s 54 minute set opening for the Cream! Terry Reid at the Fillmore West Dec 1968

From Dec 31, 1969 at the Beat Club, Terry live in a three-fer! “Superlungs,” followed by “Rich Kid Blues,” and close with “Highway 61 Revisited.” (which is actually another song and not the Dylan standard.)

A live video performance in Detroit in 1970 of “Superlungs”

Here’s a 10 minute audio of Terry performing live at Glastonbury 1971! Terry Reid at Glastonbury

From the same year, a 15 minute video of Terry at Montreux! Terry Reid at Montreux

This may or may not be a poor copy of his 1973 performance on the Old Grey Whistle Test, as it simply says it’s a BBC show. “Live Life”

Produced by Tom Dowd, here’s his 1973 album River

Produced by Graham Nash, Terry’s 1976 album Seed of Memory

Bringing us up to now, live at the Picturedrome in 2011, “To Be Treated Rite”

From May 2013, live in London, “Seed of Memory”

From April 2016 in San Francisco with the Once and Future Band, “No Expression” From the same gig, “Faith to Arise” and “Dean”

From late October 2016, a live performance with Mick Taylor of “White Room”

From a November 3, 2016 show in London, “Funny How Time Slips Away” From what looks to be later in the same gig, Terry giving us “Rich Kid Blues”

Back to the rocking “Tinker Tailor!” I found a clip from SXSW 2013 featuring an amalgam of great musicians from The Split Squad and Minus Five cranking out a version of “Tinker Tailor” (The song begins around 1:45)

From the 1968 Fillmore concert, an extraordinary performance of “Tinker Tailor” (He would have made a great front man for the Small Faces when Steve Marriott left! And you can hear why Jimi said this was one of his faves.)

We’ll close with Terry delivering an audio-only live “unplugged” performance on BBC Scotland in 1973 of “No Expression”

For our encore, a beautiful laid back live performance from 2014 of “No Expression”

From the video, “UK Guitar great, Terry Reid, received the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award at the CV Weekly Awards Event held in Palm Springs, CA. This video was pre-taped by friend and award-winning filmmaker/director Chip Miller and screened at the award ceremony due to Terry being on tour in Ireland.” A candid 8+ minute hang with an amazing talent who hung with the top of the top. Terry Reid Interview at his Lifetime Achievement Award in Palm Springs 2016

An excellent 5 minute video documentary of our amazing talent! If you want to know his life in a nutshell, this is it! Superlungs – A Terry Reid documentary

Thanks, Tie Dye, for insisting I go to the club. And pranams to Kelly, another November 13 Scorpio I once knew and loved.

© Copyright 2023 Robert Wilkinson

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