Jump to content

Plastic Penny

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Plastic Penny
OriginUnited Kingdom
Genres
Years active1967–1969
LabelsPage One
Past membersBrian Keith
Paul Raymond
Mick Graham
Nigel Olsson
Tony Murray

Plastic Pennywere a British 1960s pop band, formed in November 1967 before splitting up in August 1969. The group had one hit single early in 1968: the song "Everything I Am". Most of the members went on to greater fame with other bands or in session work.

Career

[edit]

Most of their material waspsychedelic pop,with leanings towards aprog rocksound on some of the band's album tracks.[1]The majority of the material was written by three of the band members:Brian Keith,Paul Raymond,andTony Murray.Keith later left the band, leaving it a quartet, and Raymond took over lead vocals. Plastic Penny's output was released on thePage One Records.The band appeared at the firstIsle of Wight Festival,held on 31 August 1968.[2]

"Everything I Am" reached a high of number six in theUK Singles Chart.[3]The song, enhanced with a string arrangement, was a slowballadversion[1]of a song originally recorded by theBox Tops.[4]It was written bySpooner OldhamandDan Penn.[4]Their follow-up singles, such as theBill Martin/Phil Coulterpenned song "Nobody Knows It", were flops.[5]

Mick Grabham(then billed as Mick Graham) moved on to play withCochiseand thenProcol Harum.Keith later became the lead vocalist withThe Congregation,who share the "one-hit wonder"tag with Plastic Penny. Raymond replacedChristine PerfectinChicken Shack,then joinedSavoy Brownand later played several spells with the rock bandUFO.Nigel Olssonbecame an in-demand session musician, most notably drumming on much ofElton John's early work and back with him from 2001. He also worked with theSpencer Davis Group,Uriah Heep,Kiki Dee,Neil Sedaka,Rod StewartandLeo Sayer.Tony Murray played on Elton John’sEmpty Skywith Olsson, and then joinedThe Troggs.[5]

The group's third and final albumHeads I Win, Tails You Losewas a compilation of the band's more obscure recordings, issued in 1970 after the group had disbanded.

Band members

[edit]

Discography

[edit]

Singles

[edit]
  • 1967 - "Everything I Am" / "No Pleasure Without Pain My Love" (Page One POF 051, UK, 1 December 1967)
  • 1968 - "Nobody Knows It" / "Happy Just to Be with You" (Page One POF 062, UK, 29 March 1968)
  • 1968 - "Your Way to Tell Me Go" / "Baby You're Not to Blame" (Page One POF 079, UK, 26 July 1968)
  • 1968 - "Hound Dog" / "Currency" (Page One POF 107, UK, 22 November 1968)
  • 1969 - "She Does" / "Genevieve" (Page One POF 146, UK, 11 July 1969)
  • 1975 - "Everything I Am" / "No Pleasure Without Pain" (DJM DJS 353, UK, 21 February 1975)

Albums

[edit]
  • 1968 -Two Sides of a Penny(Page One POL 005 (mono)/POLS 005 (stereo), UK, April 1968)

Side One (Heads): "Everything I Am" / "Wake Me Up" / "Never My Love" / "Genevieve" / "No Pleasure Without Pain My Love" / "So Much Older Now" Side Two (Tails): "Mrs. Grundy" / "Take Me Back" / "I Want You" / "It's a Good Thing" / "Strawberry Fields Forever"

  • 1969 -Currency(Page One POLS 014 (stereo), UK, February 1969)

Side One: "Your Way to Tell Me Go" / "Hound Dog" / "Currency" / "Caledonian Mission" / "MacArthur Park" Side Two: "Turn to Me" / "Baby You're Not to Blame" / "Give Me Money" / "Sour Suite"

  • 1970 -Heads I Win, Tails You Lose(Compilation, Page One POS 611 (stereo), UK, April 1970)

Side One: "Hound Dog" / "She Does" / "Turn to Me" / "Caledonian Mission" / "Currency" / "Your Way to Tell Me Go" Side Two: "Celebrity Ball" / "Baby You're Not to Blame" / "I Want You" / "Take Me Back" / "Genevieve" / "Give Me Money" [1]

References

[edit]
  1. ^abcRichie Unterberger."Plastic Penny | Biography".AllMusic.Retrieved28 January2014.
  2. ^"Plastic Penny at the Isle of Wight Festival 1968".Isle of Wight Festival.Retrieved6 July2017.
  3. ^Roberts, David (2006).British Hit Singles & Albums(19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 429.ISBN1-904994-10-5.
  4. ^ab"Everything I Am - The Box Tops | Listen, Appearances, Song Review".AllMusic.Retrieved28 January2014.
  5. ^abColin Larkin,ed. (1997).The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music(Concise ed.).Virgin Books.pp. 958–9.ISBN1-85227-745-9.
  6. ^"Oshea-keith.com".Oshea-keith.com. 16 August 2011.Retrieved23 October2011.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plastic_Penny&oldid=1177207253"