Double Nugget, Hard-to-find

Denny Laine is in my ears and in my eyes

Craig McAllister

S’another couple of tracks in my fairly infrequent Double Nuggets series, where I take a couple of rarely heard gems from the 60s and thrust them centre-stage and under the spotlight and give them their 15 minutes of fame.

First up, Say You Don’t Mind by Denny Laine’s Electric String Band. Recorded and released in Year Zero for psych-heads (1967) betwixt and between Laine’s stints in the Moody Blues and Wings, this track is pastoral English baroque-pop personified. Deram had high hopes for the single, but it wasn’t until 1972 that former Zombie Colin Blunstone helped it into the charts with his own version. Ironic, really, as Say You Don’t Mind would give anything from the Zombies Odessey & Oracle album a good run for it’s money. A glass-half-full optimistic strumalong full of upbeat joy (you get the idea), if you like yer Paul Weller pastoralised (is that even a word?) or yer Foxes Fleet of foot, this track’s for you.

Next, a band who came straight outta Mod Central. Sounding naffink like the track above, Brighton-based Penny Peeps were named (my grandfather tells me) after those saucy seaside gizmos you could put a penny in and see a girl undressing. Cheeky scamps. This is a band who, had they been invented way back then, would’ve had The Who’s first album on constant repeat on the old iPod. The guitars ring like Townshend’s and the backing vocals ‘ooh‘ and ‘ahh‘ like a lost demo of Substitute (listen out too for the “I can sit for hours and hours and hours and hours” line just after the minute mark – pure ‘oo!) Aye. A harmony-heavy hammond-enhanced mod stomping 2 minutes 54 seconds, these kids are alright. Here you go.

Published by Craig McAllister

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2 thoughts on “Denny Laine is in my ears and in my eyes”

  1. Love the Model Village tune, very The Creation, The Action – and never knew Colin Blunstone Say You Don’t Mind was a cover.

    I wouldn’t be a surprised if Macca get Denny onboard as
    A) the name
    B) he looks very Lennon in some shots

  2. Penny Peeps 2nd single I See The Morning was a more poppy affair with harmonies still intact. Guitarist/ singer Denny(that name again) Alexander left and the rest regrouped as Gethsemane. Our old chum Robert Stigwood arranged for them to record a couple of ditties which remain unreleased. The drummer then popped of to do a session with another old pal Reg Dwight while guitarist, Martin Barre joined Jethro Tull after failing the initial audition. Toodle Pip old bean.

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