The Peddlers

Contributor: Paul F. Newman

The Peddlers were a trio, essentially a live group best heard in a nightclub setting. Their first LP was Live at the Pickwick and that spontaneous improvisational quality lies at the heart of their best work. Although the recognisable Peddlers’ sound is Roy Phillips on vocal and keyboards; the bass of Tab Martin and drums of Trevor Morais play a vital part, more noticeable than in bigger groups. All three were accomplished musicians and retrospective fan websites laud them as one of the most underrated British bands of the 1960s. Their soul-jazz-rock combination was something new in the mid-60s especially when linked to the playing of old standards, and their creative interpretation of these gave me such a long list of good listening to choose from I have had to limit it to just three (above). The remaining two in my list, Gassin’ and It Ain’t No Big Thing, an instrumental and a vocal, are actually my ultimate favourites of the five titles shown, and are examples of what The Peddlers could produce almost ad-lib from their own creative juices.

In a similar jazzy vein to The Peddlers, The Morgan James Duo were another mid-60s phenomenon who disbanded soon after the decade was spent and whose best work was only partially captured on record and not easy to categorise. I would like to fill up a couple of the missing slots by submitting two tracks by this talented pair of singers and instrumentalists who pushed the boundaries of modern music into places few had taken it: Ring A Ding Dong (B side of Philips single BF 1489, Put Your Tears Away) and You Can Bet I’m Laughing (Two For The Road LP).

The only website dedicated to The Peddlers

The Peddlers biography (iTunes)

One of the most underrated British bands of the 1960s? You can hear 42 of their tracks on How Cool Is Cool, the complete CBS recordings – a double CD released last year – so decide for yourself. The Morgan James Duo recordings are somewhat more difficult to track down.

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