Meekologists Q&A = Questions & Answers
Here at the Joe Meek Society we get enquiries from all over the world on various aspects of Joe Meek, his techniques, his artistes etc.
We have a team of Meekologists - experts who between them can usually come up with an answer.  Here are some of the queries we
have received and we shall add to this as we receive more - we shall also update any unanswered questions



Q.  One of our Peaksoft CD releases is PEA007 The Complete Dickie Pride.  I have now learned that Joe Meek cut a demo of Dickie singing the James Brown number Out Of Sight, for ciculation to record companies.  Is there any possibility that this track might be traced?
 
A. Dickie pride  (Real name Robert Kneller) recorded about 4 tracks with Joe in 1965, the only known title is "Out Of Sight", none of these recordings have ever been heard, hopefully they are in the Tea Chest Tapes. We have just spoken to Alan Blackburn who has listened to all the teachest tapes but he can’t say that he ever heard anything by Dickie but there again he said he might not have recognized the voice. There are many tracks in the tea chest tapes where the singer is unknown because unless it was reasonably obvious a conclusion couldn’t be made. Joe didn’t write much on the tape boxes and what he did write often did not relate to what was on the tapes, so as to mislead people who were trying to steal his songs, . The song was a No.24 hit for James Brown in 1964 so I guess Dickie, the Sheik of Shake, must have made his demo in that year, well after his fame as one of the Larry Parnes’ stable of Fury, Power, Wilde, Gentle and Eager which was at its peak in about 1960 – 1961 when Boy Meets Girl and Oh! Boy! were on the box and Dickie was among the stars who featured regularly on TV at Saturday tea time.     answered by Meeklogists David Peters and Ken Ledran

Q.   With reference to the guitar Joe loved BURNS VIBRA ARTIST.   1961. I am contemplating selling an identical guitar.
        What do you think this is worth

 A.  Joe was not known to have played guitar and no guitars were were on the 304 auction list.  Gary LePort used a Vibra Artist for the lead part on 'Vampire' but that
was his guitar.

That aside, putting a price on a Vibra Artist is impossible without a VERY detailed description and pictures (and preferably an examination).
For top price it would have to be in absolutely original condition with no replacement parts and with the original paint finish in mint
condition (the paint finish tended to 'craze'.).  In poor condition,  not a lot - they are not collectable in the way that an original Marvin
or Bison is collectable. A Vibra Artist DeLuxe would be more valuable (very few made).

Does the guitar have any provenance - original sales receipt for example? If not, how does he know it is 1961? Burns did not start to
use serial numbers until later ranges came in.

So, anything between £25 and maybe £1000.  To get a better idea it needs to be examined by a Burns specialist and even then the price at
auction will depend  on who is interested at the time and whether other Vibra Artists are being auctioned.

I've owned my 1959 Burns Artist (an early prototype model) since 1963 and I can date its manufacture from a letter sent to me by Phil Sweet,
one of Jim Burns' managers. Even so, the respray it's had, and all the modifications that I've done over the years means that it will never be
very valuable. For best price, original condition is vital.    answered by Meeklogist Ray LIffen
Q. Did Joe Meek use the same girls as backing singers on most of his recordings?
The girls that sing on Johnny Remember Me and Walk with my Angel and many many others.
If he did, who were they?


A.  Lissa Gray was responsible for the haunting backing cries on Johnny Remember Me but almost every girl singer who worked at the studio may have been used as a session singer for any of Joe Meek's recordings. Examples being Kim Roberts and Vivienne Chering who was Flip of Flip and the Dateliners. The Ladybirds worked with Joe and they became the Sharades and of course they were an offshoot of the Vernons Girls who also worked with Joe. The Vernn Girls themselves worked with Joe.There was Diana Parry- Husbands of Diana and the Javelins and of course there were the Fletchers who sang the backing to Cry My Heart and they were Guy, Ted and Babs Fletcher. There was also Sue and Sunny who later backed the Love Affair on Rainbow' Valley. It is possible that Pamela Blue also sang backing vocals.  answered by Meeklogist Ken Ledran
Q.    Joe Meek Tribute Records as featured in Thunderbolt Magazine
Perhaps someone in the JMS can help me with the necessary info where I can find
the songs listed below: Rob Huxley: Robert George; Gay King Cheese Boy: Joe Meek on Brighton Pier;
Blue Rondos: The Boys and Joe; Dave Adams: Robert/No Matter What You Believe/Poor Joe;
Billy Blue Rondo: Hey Hey Telstar Man; Richard Routledge: Meet Joe Meek; David Millen: Joe's Dream;
Thunderstrucks: The Hook.
I found out that Robin Goldwasser is a member of They Might Be Giants, and that the song I Hear A New World
is one of 23 tracks on the (bonus) CD Cast Your Pod to the Wind. Nevertheless not that easy to find...
 
Maybe an extension/addition to the list of David Peters are the songs listed below:
B-52's: Planet Claire; Edwyn Collins: A Girl Like You; Dead Kennedys: Winnebago Warrior/Have I The Right;
Duffy: Please Stay; Gemini: Goodbye Joe; Horrors: Crawdaddy Simon/Jack the Ripper;
Inspiral Carpets: Joe/Saturn 5 (var.versions); Orbital: Satan (1-2-3); Shakin' Stevens/Frankie Vaughan: Green Door;
Rev.Spadge Dooley: Please Stop Stamping on my Head.

A.    The Robb Huxley track is on his self-produced cd which although no longer available is available to listen to on his web site www.robbhuxley.com
and it is the Lost Songs album. I suspect the others like Dave Adams and Richard Routledge are similarly self produced cd-r's but see what David comes up with.
 
But  Green Door by Frankie Vaughan/S Stevens  I cannot see this as a tribute -  there is information on the internet - the gay/lesbian night club in London the song is supposed to be associated with Joe Meek.  But I cannot believe this is true. The song was written in the USA - in 1956!!   Granted Joe was in London at this time but hardly so notorious to feature in a song  i.e. the line  'Joe sent me..'
But it does say this in Wikipaedia: Possible inspirations
"According to the website Songfacts, the lyrics were inspired by a popular music club in Dallas, Texas, where the kids who were not allowed in hung around outside a yellow door.[1] The color was then changed to green in the song because it "sounded better."
At the time the song was popular, many believed it was inspired by a green-doored restaurant and bar called "The Shack" in Columbia, Missouri, where singer Jim Lowe had attended the University of Missouri. Long-time Shack owner Joe Franke doubts this theory, however.[2]
The song has also been said to refer to the lesbian Gateways club (first opened in 1930), which had a green door and was featured in the movie The Killing of Sister George.[3][4] though this seems unlikely.[5]"     -  answered by Meeklogist Rob Humphreys
Q.    The Wolves
Just by accident I came across a fine 2CD BeatBeatBeat vol.5, which contains two tracks by the Wolves: Now/This Year, Next Year. According to the liner notes
these tracks have been produced by Joe Meek and were released in January '65 on Pye 7N15733. Both tracks are from the can of Howard/Blaikley, which were responsible
for some Honeycombs' hits. I can't remember ever read a letter about this group; they certainly are not in John Repsch' book.
Don't know if it is of any interest as the series of CDs seem to be from 2001...

A.  This is the story of The Wolves, nothing to do with Joe at all.

"That honour went to the Wolves, a group which had previously been known as the Big Beats. They actually sought and received permission from the Wolves Football Club to change their name. Such a publicity manoeuvre was undoubtedly the brainchild of the group's very shrewd manager, Geoff Jacobs, as was the securing of a recording contract from Pye a matter of months after the group's first live gig. It was the rapidity of the recording contract and the group's television appearances which really upset many of the more established local groups.
A member of one of the town's most popular groups from the 60's who asked to remain anonymous, describes the feeling at the time:
"They seemed to come from nowhere and suddenly they were on For Teenagers Only and even Thank Your Lucky Stars after they made their first record. To be honest they were not that good and I'm willing to bet that if you mentioned their name to people who were really in the know around the town in the 60s they would not recall the Wolves as one of the town?s leading pop groups. Still, they did get the recording contract which was the one thing most of us really wanted. Perhaps it?s just jealousy on   my part."                                                                                                 
 John Eades, who was the lead guitarist with the group, accepted that they were not really that good to begin with: "It was only when we played alongside some of the better local groups that we realised our own limitations."

A representative from Pye saw the Wolves at the Wulfrun Hall on April 18th 1964 and they were signed up soon afterwards. Their first record called Journey Into Dreams was released in July. They appeared on Thank Your Lucky Stars in the August (once again the first Wolverhampton group to achieve that distinction) and received a large number of airplays on both Radio Caroline and Radio Luxembourg.
Their second single Now was voted a miss on Juke Box Jury with Lonnie Donegan announcing that it sounded 'like millions of other groups '. They were recognised as the most successful of the local groups in December 1964 when they topped the bill at the Grand Theatre's Midland Groups Galore.

 The group's manager, Geoff Jacobs, worked tirelessly for them. He made links with American radio stations and managed to get fairly regular plays of the group's records on some of those stations. He even visited the USA on the group's behalf. He negotiated for them to join Manchester's Kennedy Street Agency which meant that they got to work much further afield than just around the West Midlands. He organised a summer season for the group in Weymouth. The Wolves made four records in all, three for Pye and one for Parlophone. Their most successful record was the Drifters' number Down At The Club.

In June 1966 Geoff Jacobs produced a breakdown of the group's activities during the previous year. They had worked 344 days out of 365, playing 138 clubs, 123 days summer season, 37 pubs, 26 dance halls, I theatre, 6 military bases,4 night clubs, 8 youth clubs and the Lord Mayor's Ball in Birmingham. The group was obviously quite successful."

The had 4 singles, all of which are very rare. - answered by Meeklogist David Peters
Q.  Gerry Champion
Has anyone got a copy of the tracks that Gerry Champion recorded for Joe Meek?

A.  From one of our Meeklogists:  Sorry but don't have any of Gerry's recordings, but would like to hear them if they become available.  Gerry is a great rock'n'roll singer and always gives the crowd what they pay for.  I have always rated him very highly.  I am still in touch with Gerry by phone and will contact him tonight   - answered by Meeklogist Norman Thompson
Q.  Michael Cox
Does anyone know what happened to the singer Micheal Cox who made the song Angela Jones famous in the 1960s.

A.  In the late 1970s, Michael Cox began working on cruise ships, where he met his future wife. This led to apearances in the USA, and eventual emigration there. In 1981 they moved to New Zealand, (her birthplace) where he continues to work as Michael James. - answered by Meeklogist David Peters