SKIP BIFFERTY (Full Album) 1st RCA `Red Dot` UK press 1967 Rare Psych LP £500
Released in mono (RD 7941) & stereo (SF 7941) on the black RCA Victor label. The very first UK pressings had the `Red (RCA) Dot` on the label with front of sleeve laminated and the rear unlaminated. A mint archive copy sold in 2017 for £520. There was a later issue on the orange RCA label that although not as rare will still sell for £200+. Definitely worth looking out for this rarity!!
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See the bands interesting history below
Side 1
1 Money Man
2 Jeremy Carabine
3 When She Comes To Stay
4 Guru
5 Come Around
6 Time Track
7 Gas Board Under Dog
Side 2
1 Inside The Secret
2 Orange Lace
3 Planting Bad Seeds
4 Yours For At Least 24
5 Follow The Path Of The Stars
6 Prince Germany The First
7 Clearway 51
Skip Bifferty were formed when Newcastle upon Tyne band The Chosen Few (featuring Alan Hull, later of Lindisfarne) changed their name and recruited a new singer, Graham Bell, to replace Hull. Managed by Don Arden, father of Sharon Osbourne, the band were given a contract by RCA Records.
For RCA, the group released the 1967 album Skip Bifferty. Some of their songs were covered by established artists such as Cilla Black, The Tremeloes and The Kingsmen and they built a following on the “live” circuit, including touring with The Who in October 1968. They also appeared in the 1960s cult film Smashing Time, featuring Rita Tushingham.
However, a management dispute with Arden eventually led to the band’s demise under that name in November 1968. Early in 1969, under the pseudonym ‘Heavy Jelly’ the band released one single on Island Records, “I Keep Singing That Same Old Song”, which received exposure on the Island Records sampler LP Nice Enough to Eat. The name was taken from a joke review in the London magazine Time Out, and confusingly was soon also used by another group, which featured Jackie Lomax the band split soon after.
Together with Turnbull and Gallagher, Bell formed Bell & Arc in July 1971. Bassist Colin Gibson went on to work with Ginger Baker, Bert Jansch, Alvin Lee and Van Morrison, amongst others. John Turnbull and Mick Gallagher reappeared in 1977 in The Blockheads, backing Ian Dury.
