Tom Thumb "Ludgate Hill" 1970 - The Singles, A & B Sides

In 1968, the music scene in Wellington was starting to change. Pop was beginning to fragment and rock music began to emerge as a distinct form, and right in the middle of it all was Tom Thumb, a band who could be found on stage at two of Wellington's top clubs, The Place and Ali Baba's, pounding out their own brand of music to packed audiences…

...They were the first real rock band that Wellington produced. Why they were never able to achieve national stardom is a mystery, their music was good enough, but perhaps it was to do with the "bad boy" image they were trying to portray. The Tom Thumb story began in 1964 with a school band called the Electrons. This group included Rick White on rhythm guitar and also Onny Parun, later to find fame as one of New Zealand's better tennis players, on bass guitar. After a number of personnel changes, this group evolved into the Relics. The Relics went their separate ways in 1966, but Rick was determined to stick with rock music and set about forming a new band. He recruited Graeme Thompson as lead guitarist, Warren Willis as organist and Sammy Shaw on drums. David Chappell was the first bass player, but within a few months he had left the line-up and was replaced by Paul Newton. Rick called the group Tom Thumb Music, but soon shortened it to just Tom Thumb. Both Shaw and Newton had musical experience from Great Britain, before relocating to Wellington. In late 1968, HMV producer Peter Dawkins offered them a recording deal, and their first release came as a complete surprise to their live audience, it was nothing like anything from their live act. "Witchi Tai To", a North American Indian love chant, is a strange choice for a heavy outfit such as Tom Thumb were, but it became one of their biggest selling singles. It was backed with "Meet On The Ledge". Next up was a solid cover of the Beatles "Hey Bull Dog", much closer to what you would expect if you saw them live. It was backed with "Everybody Sing A Song". It charted locally, but didn't make much of a dent in the National charts. In an effort to gain better recognition, the band toured further afield and appeared on the top TV shows of the day, "C'mon" and "Happen Inn". Heartened by the rave reviews their act got from the critics and fans alike, they lost no time in getting back into the studio to record their follow-up single, "If I Were A Carpenter" / "Stoney". Once again they only managed to score on the local charts. (Kiwi Classics)

trax:
01 Hey Bulldog 02 Stoney 03 It'll Be Me 04 Witchi Tai To 05 Everybody Sing The Song 06 Meet On The Ledge 07 If I Were A Carpenter 08 Still As Stone 09 When The First Tear Shows 10 Heartbeat 11 Ludgate Hill 12 Respect 13 Got Love 14 I Need You 15 Midnight Snack 16 Sorry She's Mine 17 Little Girl 18 The Hammer Song 19 Tired Of Trying 20 Naggin' Woman 21 Whatcha Gonna Do About It 22 You're Gonna Miss Me
…originally served by Gyro1966...