Dear GEORGIE FAME is a national treasure – but oddly ignored by the establishment. Where lesser artists are lauded, even knighted Georgie continues to do his own thing just as he did when he was plain Clive Powell from Leigh, Lancashire!
Fans of Georgie will be delighted to learn that Ace Records via their BGP subsidiary are releasing a must have vinyl 7” EP on our man. For reasons that we’ll endeavour to explain, the four tracker is credited to THE BLUE FLAMES and the music contained on the disc is really rather rare.
Here’s the story. In 1963 a young Clive Powell, having paid his dues on the package tour circuit was knockin’ ‘em dead at London’s famed Flamingo Club. Backed by his Blue Flames and playing a mix of embryonic soul, real R&B, soul-jazz, ska and calypso he was clearly destined for bigger things – like a recording contract with major label, Columbia.
However while he and his manager Rik Gunnell (owner of the Flamingo) were negotiating with Columbia, Georgie took the Blue Flame into London’s Lansdowne Studios to cut some tracks aimed at the growing demand from London’s Caribbean population for soul, ska and blue beat.
Georgie and the band cut four swinging instrumentals – all with an intriguing soul-jazz/Caribbean flavour. They were instrumentals because the negotiations with Columbia were at a delicate stage and Gunnell did want to mess things up trying to explain why his man was singing on non-Columbia tracks. Thus, the four tunes were released on two singles by the tiny R&B label which was owned by Rita and Benny Izon. Again for contractual reasons, the singles were credited to “the Blue Flames”.
And it’s those four R&B label sides that make up this delicious Ace/BGP EP. The tunes are ‘J A Blues’, ‘ Orange Street’, ‘Stop Right Here’ and ‘Rik’s Tune’ – an obvious nod to Gunnell. All swing in best Fame style and show exactly where George and the band were coming from and where they were going . ‘J A Blues’ in particular is a fine example of the sound – owing more than a little to ‘Pink Champagne’ – a tune already in Georgie’s Flamingo repertoire.
The Blue Flames EP is released via Ace/BGP and you learn more @ https://acerecords.co.uk/the-blue-flames-1
