KURSAAL FLYERS - Five live Kursaals

KURSAAL FLYERS Five live Kursaals lp/cd 1977 C.B.S. 320 kbps

Original Model / Yellow Sox / Pocket Money / Cruisin' For Love / The Sky Is Falling In Our Love / Little Does She Know / Street Of The Music / TV Dinners / Speedway / Revolver / On My Mind / Anna / Friday On My Mind .

Produced by Vic Maile.

KURSAAL FLYERS : P. Shuttleworth : vocals / B. Martin : guitar / V. Collins : guitar, steel / R. Bull : bass, vocals / and W. Birch : drums.

The group formed when Shuttleworth, Douglas, Birch, Collins, Bull and Hatfield, who had all performed locally in various combinations around Southend, got together in late 1973 to form a new band. They made their first appearance together as The Kursaal Flyers - named after a local ballroom - at The Blue Boar pub in Victoria Avenue, Southend-on-sea,in February 1974, mainly playing covers of country rock songs but over time increasingly writing their own material.
Through contacts in the band Dr. Feelgood, they then got some support slots in London, where they were seen by influential agents and songwriters. All bar Hatfield turned professional at the start of 1975, signed for Jonathan King's UK Records, and released their first album 'Chocs Away'. Although the singles "Speedway" and "Hit Records" received some airplay, the band's second album, 'The Great Artiste', sold poorly.
Nevertheless the band developed a solid live reputation on the London pub rock scene, with an eclectic mixture of original material and cover versions, fronted by P. Shuttleworth's "wide boy" persona.
In 1976 they signed with the CBS label, and recorded the album 'The Golden Mile' with record producer, M. Batt. One of their songs, "Little Does She Know", was singled out by Batt for an over-the-top Phil Spector style production. In addition, the band's then manager, P. Conroy, had the band perform on BBC Television's Top of the Pops surrounded by laundry machines and giant detergent boxes. It soon reached #14 on the UK Singles Chart. However, Graeme Douglas was concerned about the over-commercialisation of the group's music and left to join Eddie and the Hot Rods, being replaced by Barry Martin.
The group toured widely and issued two more albums, 'Golden Mile' and 'Five Live Kursaals', but, with the growth of punk rock and numerous personnel changes, the band disintegrated in late 1977.
Following the Kursaals' demise, Shuttleworth released several solo records, Douglas enjoyed success with Eddie and the Hot Rods, and Birch formed The Records. The group reformed for tours in 1985 and 1988, and in 2001 reformed on a more permanent basis.

One of my favorite live album ...

Great cd covers by Max !!!