Entertainment For Lively Minds
I'm Gonna Spend My Christmas With A Dalek
I've been on a mission for many years, dear Word readers; and I've had a small degree of success. But I need help to complete. Yep, that's where you come in! To be honest, I don't know why I didn't call on the Word massive far, far earlier! In 1964, a group from the north of England - The Go Go's - released a single called 'I'm Gonna Spend My Christmas With A Dalek'. This is now revered/reviled by Dr Who fans. However, the reason for my interest is far simpler. The singer - Sue Smith, as was - is my mother.
I have a copy of the record although - sadly - not one with a picture sleeve (I will track one down one of these days!). My Mam swears there was a reasonably-sized feature - with pic! - in the NME (or maybe the Melody Maker...) just as the single was released. I've been seriously chasing this article for about 5 years. I've tracked down a 2-line review of the single in the NME on December 11, 1964 and obtained a copy for both myself and my Mam. But! As I say, she swears there was a more substantial article & that she was on a regional UK news show too. I've no doubt the TV appearance has been wiped but I've made it my mission to track down the article. I was hoping to obtain a copy & get framed etc for my Mam's 60th birthday - but that was last year!
There's not much more I can add - the song was written by Les Van Dyke & my Mam and the band thought this might be their big break. Unfortunately, far from becoming the next Connie Francis or Brenda Lee, she was instructed to sing in the voice of a 7-year old, about a dalek; so, no pop stardom after all. I can't believe my Mam didn't keep any memorabilia or record of her mini pop adventure. I've berated her but there's not much more I can do!
I'd be forever grateful if someone could help me out...
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Sorry...
Can't help, but great story. I'm sure I've heard it played on Sounds Of The Sixties on Radio 2. Have you contacted the show - the listenership is very knowledgable about such stuff. Might be worth a try! Anyway, Happy Xmas, avec or sans Dalek.
That's a good idea
If Brian Matthews himself doesn't know, I'm sure he'd be happy to put word out to his listeners and if anyone in the world has the entire GoGos archive, I would put my mortgage on that person being a regular listener to Sounds of The Sixties.
Thank you!
Maybe I'll get to spend my christmas with a dalek after all. Although, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure that's a good thing! Thanks again.
Thank you...
Good shout. Email sent, here's hoping.
Can't help you with the article ..
.. but I did know the band. Not as "The Go-gos" which I think was Oriole records' idea (sigh) but as the Selmer Five. Indeed, I was in Olivers' music store in Ashington on the Sunday they recorded their demo tape there. Not with your mam, though. Though I have shadowy memories of a girl singer sometimes working with them, I'm pretty sure it was an all male gathering that day. The guy in the band I knew was called Les - he's the one in the shades looking like a prat on the single cover - but I'm buggered if I can remember his surname.
I think everybody was embarrassed by the awfulness of the record and I doubt if it sold a dozen copies in Ashington.
And they seemed to disappear without trace after it bombed. Did they stay down south?
The Skin
Put out a shout on here....
http://gallifreybase.com/forum/
You might have to register, though.
I'm impressed
I have been listening to that track a lot and it is on this year's Green Christmas 2009 compilation.
Googled that...
...but couldn't find anything. Have you got any more info please? Just found a cover version on iTunes by Yule Nog & Nathan Kuruni (?)! It's on the 'Who Is Dr Who?' compilation, too. Maybe I should contact the PRS; I know my Mam's never received any royalties!!! Nor, to be fair, fines for crimes against music so I guess it all evens itself out.
Ahem..
You will not find it on Google - it's for my own personal pleasure and listening throughout the Green family's Christmas blow-out. It's expected now because I buy CDs throughout the year with silly tracks. It came from from the Who Is Doctor Who compilation BTW.
I See....
that'd explain it then! Thanks for letting me know!
Oriole records.
The label, Oriole, had a tendancy to erase their master tapes after a year or two, at least when it came for popular material, so the masters may no longer exist. However in early 1965 or so they got bought out by CBS, so the masters could survive and be in the hands of Sony music.
Backnumbers
Have you tried backnumbers for the edition of the NME with your Mum in it? http://www.backnumbers.co.uk/
It‘s a goldmine for anyone looking for old music papers.
If you know roughly what week it was they might be able to track it down for you.
Fabulous, fabulous 45....thank you Mrs. DrGrim
Can you thank your mother from me, DrGrim, for being a part of one of the greatest singles ever made.
I can't recommend the 'Who Is Dr. Who' compilation enough but the Go-Go's single is the highlight.
How wasn't it a huge 'earthbound' hit?
This song is proof that there are some wonderful Christmas records out there, that Christmas records existed before Slade (no, really) and that the industry's obsession with about 30 of them is a microcosm of the industry's disregard of 99% of music made any other time of year (there....I feel better now!).
On a similar theme, have Radio 2 axed Lamarr's wonderful Christmas Day show as well as (temporarily) scraping 'Shake, Rattle & Roll' and (permanently) scraping 'Alternate 60s'?
Thanks...
...for your kind comments! I'll pass them on to my Mam, she'll be thrilled to bits.
Thank you!
I love this song! How wonderful that your Mum is still proud of it - she should be! I've always wished that this was included on Christmas compilations - it shouldn't be the rarity it is! Do pass on my admiration...
I wonder whether your Mum is remembering the same newspaper article that is reprinted in the sleevenotes to Who is Dr Who CD? It's more of a preview than a review, it mentions all the band members by name, and says that "the kids will go for it in a big way"! There's a small image of the inside sleeve of that CD, featuring the newspaper cutting, here: http://www.millenniumeffect.co.uk/audio/tributes/content/officialcd-1c.j... - it doesn't say where the cutting is taken from, but you could easily contact the CD's producer Mark Ayres (who has his own website here: http://markayres.rwsprojects.co.uk) to find out. (The website hosting the image also features a little write-up of the record here: http://www.millenniumeffect.co.uk/audio/tributes/songs1.php#gogo)
Finally, there's an amateur cover-version of the song available to download from this site - it's supposed to be the Daleks' reply! http://www.returntokendal.co.uk/gogos.mp3
I've emailed...
Mr Ayres & have everything crossed. Good shout! The review - such as it is - is in NME No.935 (December 11, 1964). I've had a thought, mind...you seen that Facebook group trying to get Rage Against The Machine to Xmas No 1? Maybe for the 50th anniversary - or maybe sooner - I could try to whip up some interest with a similar stunt. Damn, wish I'd though of it sooner!
Also had a chuckle at the dalek 'answer song'; good stuff!
Sorry but.........
Isn't that what the Dr does?
I do however
wish you luck on your mission.
lamarr and xmas tracks on bbc
As Christmas Day is a Friday then there is a God's Jukebox as usual between 12pm and 3am. Didn't Lamarr used to get that gig because he volunteered to work given that didn't like christmas jollity etc.
Between 4 and 7pm on 6music we are promised Don Lett's reggae christmas.
(there was a great trojan xmas compilation a few years back)
Between 5 - 7 on Radio 2 is Parky's "Jazzy Christmas" - seasonal discs. (i quite like parky's mor tinged jazz tastes)
Brass bands and Carols ? - Ian Macmillan on Radio 2 Xmas Eve 11pm - 12pm.
absolutely agree with you about the xmas single "top 30" enforcement and xmas tracks before slade comment. loads more out there as lamarrs show used to prove.
lamarr has said shake rattle and roll is returning to radio 2 here: (or at least it looks like its him) http://www.myspace.com/saveshakerattlenroll ("for a longer run")
meant this to be a reply to query above
good luck drgrim btw ? ever seen this before.
http://www.currybet.net/cbet_blog/2007/12/dalek_xmas.php