THE MAJORITY, "PRETTY LITTLE GIRL" C/W "I DON'T WANNA BE HURT NO MORE," LONDON 45 LON 9779 (REL. 6/1965)

Today’s record is such an obscure release I didn’t presume it existed. London Records’ connection to UK Decca (no relation to the American label of the same name) gave it entrée to the British imprint’s catalog. They’d hit big with The Rolling Stones and gotten a few stray Stateside hits with other groups like The Nashville Teens and Unit Four + Two. Alongside these were dozens of failures—records that never made it to the retail stage, as is the case with today’s single.

In several cases, London took a risk on a UK record that failed on its home turf. Given the fervor for anything UK in the mid-1960s US, these were reasonable bets here. Styrofoam manufacturers stayed busy pumping out the goo that comprised London’s brittle, sub-par discs—less costly than the longer-lasting vinyl equivalent, much more harmful to our ecology and a Dixie cup-level disposable one-time-use item for most consumers.

London did themselves no favor as they issued styrene promotional copies. This practice might have soured experienced disc jockeys and program directors on their wares. A new-looking styrene record might produce clear, sharp sound—or distorted, fuzzy discord with all the sibilants given an ugly burr. (Most labels didn’t understand the value of good-quality vinyl versions for DJ use. A good-sounding record would get more plays on-air, more exposure to the public and a bigger chance of becoming a hit. I’m sure this is A-B-C stuff in hindsight, and it seems so obvious that…I’ll stop myself; you’ve gotten the picture.)

Among the disarray of London’s 1965 releases was the debut disc of UK group The Majority. This five-man group came from Hull, where they developed a four-part vocal harmony sound and touched the hem of the baroque-pop garment on their eight singles, released from 1965 to ’68. None of their home-turf singles became hits, though some of them are prized by collectors.

They recorded songs by Ray Davies, Jackie De Shannon, David Skinner & Andrew Rose and John Carter & Ken Lewis, whose “Pretty Little Girl” was the A-side of their debut disc. Enough buzz generated to intrigue London Records; their issue of the record met with utter silence. Not the vaguest allusion to this release is seen in any of the US music-biz magazines. London made one small run of promotional copies and moved onto the next potential smash. Before summer’s end, it was as if the record never happened.

As with yesterday’s disc, it’s not a jaw-dropper, but represents the average UK beat-group sound of its year well. “Pretty Little Girl” is another appealing Carter-Lewis pop confection that features a startling and uncredited guitar solo by Jimmy Page. The future Led Zeppelin star earned his living with session work in the mid-1960s and was a reliable way to kick the average pop record up a notch with eight bars of his focused frenzy. Amidst the stately oboes and the genteel atmosphere of this Buddy Holly-meets-Beach Boys song, Page’s grizzled moment startles the unexpecting listener.

The sound The Majority achieve isn’t far from that of The Ivy League, the harmony trio fronted by Carter, Lewis and Perry Ford, another denizen of the UK music scene who’s credited on the sheet music as a co-author of the song; on the records it’s just Carter-Lewis. Pleasant enough, and a song I am sure you’ve never heard before.

Hear it >>>>> HERE. <<<<<

On the flip is a song penned by the group’s arranger, Richard Whitaker. “I Don’t Wanna Be Hurt No More*” is a pensive, melodic beat-group ballad with touches of Leonard Bernstein in its show-tuney melody. This dramatic mid-tempo item gets a more assured performance from the group and has some haunting turns in its melody. It epitomizes the more serious, sober aspects of the mature beat-group sound.

On both sides, producer Richard Lloyd smothers the group vocals in reverb, which does them no favors—especially on the A-side, where the song’s title is a blur of sound. A ‘drier’ approach might have rendered this a much bolder recording. The Phil Spector influence that hung over international pop recording mid-decade dictated reverb as the gold standard. Here’s an example of it as a detriment.

* The double-negative of this song’s title creates a suspension of disbelief: since two negatives cancel one another out, does this mean the narrator DOES wanna be further hurt? Pop-song grammar is always fast and loose, but this implication tickles me, and I hate to chuckle, given the group’s sincere attempt at drama.

Hear it >>>>> HERE. <<<<<

The group moved to Holland and renamed themselves Majority One. At last, they became pop stars with the Top 20 hit “Because I Love.” (It went over well in Italy and Brazil too!) So: there’s a semi-happy ending. All their UK recordings were gathered onto a CD, The Decca Years, which offers a Zelig-like account of the 100% average pop group’s navigation of the Swingin’ 6Ts.

Tomorrow: Meanwhile, back in America, Midwestern garage band The Soothsayers offer a pair of appealing teen-pop items redolent of the sound of The Beatles’ Rubber Soul, via a 1966 Acropolis Records 45.