The Wild Oats The Wild Oats

£22.14

Genre:
60s Rock
Label:
Big Beat
Format:
LP
Catalogue Id:
HIQLP 044

This product is also available in these versions:
The Wild Oats (MP3), MP3 (£7.11)

One of the classics of British Beat collecting. Now in perfect sound, with five extra tracks from the sessions.

In the swinging 60s, the very small town of Leiston in Suffolk was home to its own beat group: the Wild Oats. In 1963 budding producer David Nicolson put an ad for new bands in the NME and the Oats were the first to reply. The following year they were in R.G. Jones’ studios in Morden, south London, recording five rousing R&B numbers. They were issued on a custom-pressed EP on the Oak label, the catch-all imprint run by the studio. The run was only 100 discs. David went back into the studios, this time with Harry Stoneham added on piano, to cut ‘I’m Coming Home’ and ‘So Long’. The latter song was written by Crispian St Peters, who added harmonies to it. A final session was recorded at Tony Pike’s studios in Putney but only two tracks recorded there survived.

The glossy EP was quickly forgotten until beat group record collecting began seriously in the 70s and the Oak label became one of the ultimate objects of desire. Oak boasted EPs from the Bo Street Runners and the Five Of Diamonds and singles from the A-Jaes, the Thyrds, Pneumonia and the Factory. All are highly collectible and would cost between £500-£1000 each if sold today. Let’s say £750 for the Wild Oats EP, if you can find a copy for sale.

Moving on 50 years, Ace Records were put into contact with producer David Nicolson, a fascinating 60s music business character who went on to produce Crispian St Peters on his big hits ‘You Were On My Mind’ (music by Harry Stoneham) and ‘The Pied Piper’ as well as records by the Mark Leeman Five, the Truth, Patsy Fuller and many more; the young Jimmy Page features on several of his recordings. David not only had all the master tapes of the Wild Oats EP but also the three extra R.G. Jones tracks and the two from the Tony Pike session. He had the original photos from the shoot on the Suffolk coast and even a couple of copies of the EP.

With the extra tracks sounding at least the equal of the issued numbers, Ace felt a 10-inch deluxe vinyl LP would be most appropriate; the inner bag giving a chance to display the artefacts. Even better, most of the group are still performing around their home town and will enjoy this historic appreciation of their musical talents.

Ady Croasdell

Share

Track listing

Show

Delivery & Returns

Show

We offer free P&P to UK addresses. For all other territories packaging is free and postage is charged on a weight basis.

We use Royal Mail First Class for UK deliveries and standard Air Mail for all other territories, very large orders will usually be sent via parcelforce. You may cancel your order at any time prior to your order being dispatched by emailing us at orders@acerecords.com ensuring that you quote your name, address and order reference number or by telephoning +44 (0) 208 453 1311 between 9am and 5pm GMT/BST, Monday to Friday. Please note: As music downloads are dispatched immediately after purchase, there is no possibility of cancelling these orders.

In the event that any products supplied to you by us are damaged or defective, we agree to replace or repair the damaged or defective products or refund the amount you paid for such goods (including postage & packaging) providing you notify us (either via post at or e-mail: orders@acerecords.com ) and return the goods within 28 days of purchase. Physical goods should be sent back to us in the same condition you received them to: “Returns” Ace Records, Such Close, Letchworth Garden City SG6 1JF, United Kingdom. Music downloads should be returned to us via the e-mail address above including a copy of your notification.

You have the right to cancel your order within seven days of purchase, or seven days of receipt of the goods (whichever is the longer). If you choose to cancel your order, full payment will be returned to you. Returned items should be sent to: “Returns” c/o Ace Records, Such Close, Letchworth Garden City SG6 1JF, United Kingdom. Music downloads should be returned to us via the email address: orders@acerecords.com including a copy of your notice of cancellation and order number.

Customer reviews

Show

Related products

Customers who bought this item also bought