The Sorrows
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The Sorrows are considered perhaps to be the archetypal Freakbeat band. They were formed in 1963 in Coventry, England by Pip Whitcher. They released their first album "Take a Heart" in 1965 on the Piccadilly Records label which was a subsidiary of Pye Records. The Sorrows were at the time the hardest, most aggressive and contemporary R&B band of that time, although later this brand of music was eventually termed "Freakbeat". The Sorrows were so edgy and raw they simply made The Rolling Stones seem like easy listening music. Their hallmarks are boomy, raucous vocals, lightning fast guitar solos and frantic thudding drums. The musicianship is excellent yet the band failed to achieve too much success probably due to the fact that their brand of proto-punk rock and roll was simply too ahead of its time. After receiving some minor Chart positions in the UK Phil Packam and Don Fardon left the band. Don Fardon then went on to have a UK chart hit with "Indian Reservation". Wez Price took Phil Packam's place on bass whilst Roger Lomas became lead guitarist and Pip Whitcher focused on vocals. The band relocated to Italy and received minor success. Following the band's breakup Pip Whitcher and Rog went on to record at Air studios under Mike Sullivan. Roger Lomas in the early 80s became a record producer for his own company ROLO productions and produced 80s ska bands such as Bad Manners.
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[edit] Personnel
- Philip (Pip) Whitcher - lead guitar & vocals (born in 1943, in Coventry).
- Don Maughn (Fardon) - vocals (born Donald Maughn, 19.8.1940, in Coventry, Warkwickshire)
- Philip (Phil) Packham - bass (born 13.6.1945, in Bidford-on-Avon, near Stratford, Warwickshire).
- Wez Price - rhythm guitar (born Wesley Price, 19.7.1945, in Coventry).
- Bruce Finley - Drums (born born 20.9.1944, in Huntley, Aberdeenshire, Scotland).
After 1966
- Philip (Pip) Whitcher - rythum guitar & vocals
- Wez Price - Bass
- Roger (Rog) Lomas - Lead Guitar
- Bruce Finley - Drums
[edit] Discography
[edit] Singles
- I Don't Wanna Be Free / Come With Me (Piccadilly 7N 35219) 1965
- Baby / Teenage Letter (Piccadilly 7N 35230) 1965
- Take A Heart / We Should Get Along Fine (Piccadilly 7N 35260) 1965
- You've Got What I Want / No No No No (Piccadilly 7N 35277) 1966
- Let The Live Live / Don't Sing No Sad Songs For Me (Piccadilly 7N 35309) 1966
- Let Me In / How Love Used To Be (Piccadilly 7N 35336) 1966
- Pink, Purple, Yellow and Red / My Gal (Piccadilly 7N 35385) 1967
[edit] Long Playing
- 'Take A Heart' - (Pye NPL 38023), 1965 (Baby / No No No No / Take A Heart / She's Got The Action / How Love Used To Be / Teenage Letter / I Don't Wanna Be Free / Don't Sing No Sad Songs For Me / Cara-lin / We Should Get Along Fine / Come With Me / Let Me In)
- 'Old Songs, New Songs' - (Miura MIU 10011) 1967
- 'Pink, Purple, Yellow and Red' - (LP Bam-Caruso KIRI 089) 1987
- 'The Sorrows' - (CD Sequel Records NEXCD 165) 1991
