蜜芽传媒

by Bob Stanley

The Rockin' Berries - still going strong to this day

Gerry Goffin and Carole King's ballad 'He's In Town' was one of the standout songs of 1964. The lyric was remininiscent of Roy Orbison's Running Scared, only the ending was left ambiguous (my money's on the girl leaving the singer for her old flame). It was originally a hit in the US for 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' hitmakers the Tokens, where it modestly reached no.43. Neil Sedaka had once been a Token, and they had been the first vocal group to produce a US number one for another with the Chiffons' 'He's So Fine' in 1963. Abandoning doo wop and folk, 'He's In Town' pointed them in a new, progressive direction. Jay Siegel's soaring falsetto on 'He's In Town' was the model for a British cover by Birmingham group the Rockin' Berries and their lead singer Geoff Turton. Both groups went on to release another Goffin and King song, 'You're My Girl', as a single in 1965.

Anyone moved by the melancholic, high harmonies of Geoff Turton - and the choked sob in his voice on 'He's In Town' and 'You're My Girl' - would have been rather surprised by the track listing on the Rockin' Berries' second album, 1965's 'Life Is Just A Bowl Of Berries'. Not in a good way. In between impressive beat ballads like 'Happy To Blue', Burt Bacharach's 'My Little Red Book' and Goffin and King's 'I Need You' (also cut by the Walker Brothers) the confused Berries fan would have had to deal with 'The Laughing Policeman' (in a 'northern' accent), a cover of Benny Hill's 'Harvest Of Love' and a version of 'When I'm Cleaning Windows' sung in a Goons voice. The album was released in the same week as 'Day Tripper/We Can Work It Out'; it may have showcased their on-stage versatility, but it really wasn't the greatest career move.

The Berries never scored a hit after the excellent 'The Water Is Over My Head' chimed and rang its way to no.44 at the start of 1966. Though they released some of their best singles between 1966 and 1968 - the acoustic, minor key 'Sometimes'; Macaulay and McLeod's' Reach The Top'; the heartbreaking 'She's Not Like Any Girl' - nothing clicked. Geoff Turton went solo and scored a hit with Paul Ryan's 'The Colour Of My Love', in 1969, under the name Jefferson. The Berries persevered, and are still going (with Geoff Turton back on board) to this day.

The Tokens, meanwhile, had headed towards the soft stylings of the Association and Harpers Bizarre, releasing a terrific, uptempo version of Matt Monro's 1961 hit 'Portrait Of My Love' in 1967. It was their biggest latterday hit, only making it to no.36, but strong enough for a companion album - 'It's A Happening World' - to be released. While the Berries were doing their comedy routines on the British cabaret circuit, the Tokens' Mitch Margo was going through a dark personal period; he then drew on his recovery for the Tokens' 1968 album, 'Intercourse', a humanist song-cycle similar to the Beach Boys' 'Friends', and one of the rarest albums of the sixties. I've never seen an original copy, but happily it's available on CD, and highly recommended.