The origins of Skip Bifferty can be traced back to the mid-60s and the North of England's Newcastle beat scene. The Chosen Few were one of the leading unsigned bands and featured founder members Alan Hull (guitar/vocals, later in Lindisfarne) and Mickey Gallagher (keyboards). Both had played together in local outfits previously, starting with The High Five in 1962. Gallagher was playing in another local group, The Unknowns when Alan Price announced his departure from The Animals. Mickey Gallagher was drafted into the famous Geordie outfit for a short tour of Scandinavia and the UK, playing keyboards for Eric and the boys.

Digitally remastered and expanded edition of this 1968 album. They may have been downgraded over the intervening years to a retrospectively-acclaimed, collector-type.

On his return to Newcastle, Gallagher and drummer Alan Jackman from The Unknowns recruited old pal Alan Hull and singer Rod Hood together with bassist Alan 'Bumper' Brown to form The Chosen Few. They rehearsed at the Key Club in Newcastle, which was owned by their manager, Bill Keith, who managed to get them a 15-minute slot on Radio Luxemburg performing live, and, from that broadcast, the group was signed to Pye Records. Urban And Regional Planning Graduate Programs Australia Post on this page. By the Summer of 1966, with a year of successful gigs and two singles under their belts, the band lost Alan Hull and 'Bumper' Brown, but found replacements in Colin Gibson (bass) and John Turnbull (guitar). The young duo had been friends since the age of five, and were both former members of The Primitive Sect, a group which also featured Bob Sergeant on organ (later in Junco Partners). A few months later, Graham Bell returned to his home town of Newcastle after his group, The Graham Bell Trend, had broken up due to lack of interest down south. Bell had met up with Mickey Gallagher during his stint in The Animals, and The Chosen Few offered him the vocalist spot. Although he'd released one 45 on Polydor, which was in an MOR direction, he saw The Chosen Few as where it was happening.

The group secured some London gigs, and it was during a particularly scorching set at the Marquee that Don Arden approached them with an offer that they couldn't refuse: 'In 9 months you'll be as big as the Stones', he said.With that, the band signed, and Arden immediately put them up in a house in Beckenham to 'get it together', which they did, pouring out new songs with intricate arrangements that showcased their many talents. To further highlight their artistic talents, they also painted the lawn red! Arden secured a deal with RCA in the Summer of 1967, and the first fruits of that deal was the bands' first 45, 'On Love'/'Cover Girl'.

The A-side featured a blistering killer fuzz guitar riff underpinning Graham Bell's superb soulful Spencer Davis-like vocals. The pirates, Radio Caroline and Radio London, loved it and gave it heavy rotation, but due to the BBC's playlist policy at that time, the latter failed to pick up on a classic single. The track was later recorded as 'Our Love' by The Sons Of Man on their hideously rare 'Oak' EP from the same year. Meanwhile, work flooded in, including appearing in the cult 60s film 'Smashing Time', featuring Rita Tushingham. Sadly, their music doesn't appear on the LP soundtrack. Download Free Software Meyer Pecan Cracker Manual Dexterity here. A follow-up single was required, and with more than a little influence from Don Arden, the band wrote the flower-power pop ballad, 'Happy Land', which was recorded at Decca's West Hampstead studios during the first session for a projected album.The band began to do regular sessions on John Peel's 'Perfumed Garden' and became firm underground favourites.