Posted on by Nathan Beaudry

Episode #96 – Fancy – Wild Thing

Watch video on Cocoscope: https://www.cocoscope.com/watch?v=80988

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Show Updates:

Lead up to the Album:

  • Mike Hurst says he’d always loved the song “Wild Thing” but he didn’t think the Troggs’ version was sexy.  He thought Jimi Hendrix did a great version and wanted to do it in yet a different way.
  • Would the song be sexier if sung by a woman?
  • He says he didn’t want it to be sung he wanted it to be “massaged.”
  • Mike called up Ray Fenwick to work on the arrangement, then they needed to find a singer.
  • Mike doesn’t remember who suggested the name of Helen Caunt.  She’d previously worked for Rod Stewart but was better known for being a Penthouse Pet.
  • Ray brought in Mo Foster and they got to work on the song with Henry Spinetti on drums and Mike Hurst and Ray Fenwick on backing vocals.
  • Hurst wanted it to be slow and funky with “splashes of sex.”
  • Eventually he told Caunt to breathe all the way through it.
  • Alan Hawkshaw was brought in to play keyboards and finish up the track.
  • They recorded “Fancy” as an instrumental B-side for the single.
  • They had a single and now needed to sell it.  With a Penthouse Pet as a singer it didn’t seem to be too difficult as they put her on the cover partially nude during a photo shoot.
  • The single was put out in April of 1973.  It didn’t do much in the UK but it was released in the US where it made it to number 7 in the charts.
  • Mike Hurst says: “By this time, and with the success int he USA, Helen had got herself a new manager, her boyfriend.  That was two strikes against her, she had to go.”
  • They auditioned a bunch of different singers and felt like they weren’t going to come up with a suitable replacement until they came across Annie Kavanagh.  She had previously worked with Steely Dan and been in the Australian stage production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

Personnel

  • Bass Guitar, Vocals – Mo Foster
    •  
  • Drums – Les Binks
    •  
  • Guitar, Vocals – Marlon (49)
    • Alias used by Ray Fenwick while he was in Fancy.  Couldn’t find any explanation as to why.  I thought maybe it was for contractual reasons or something.  I reached out to Ray for clarification and here’s what he sent me:
    • “Hi Nate…Good to hear from you.Answers to your questions. Marlon came from a leather jacket I had made…it had a  white leather logo script on the back , reading .. MARLON..homage to Brando. Why?   Who knows!”
    • He also did a single “Let’s Go to the Disco” with “Broken Man” as the B-side released in 1974 on Purple Records co-written and co-produced with Roger Glover.
      • https://www.discogs.com/sell/release/7718275?ev=rb
    • This will be included on an upcoming Anthology released in April – Ray Fenwick “Playing Through The Changes” a 61-track covering 60 years in Ray Fenwick’s music career.
      • Coming on Singsong Music: https://singsongmusic.com/ 
  • Lead Vocals – Anne Kavanagh*
    • Appeared in the Australian cast of “Hair” and toured with the production for two and half years.
    • Appeared in “Jesus Christ Superstar” in London while doing session work for Steely Dan, Roger Daltrey, Mick Ronson, and Jack Bruce.
    • In the 80s moved back to Australia where she supported acts such as James Brown, Tom Jones, Dionne Warwisk, and Patti Labelle.
    • In the 2000s began working as a voice coach.

Additional Personnel

  • Mike Hurst – Vocals
  • Helen Caunt – Vocals
  • John Perry – Backing Vocals
  • Henry Spinetti – Drums
  • Alan Hawkshaw – Keyboards
  • Clem Cattini – Drums
  • Bud Parks – Trumpet
  • Mike Bailey – Trumpet
  • Dave Coxley – Baritone Sax
  • Nick Rowley – Clarinet
  • Phil Kenzie – Tenor Sax, Brass Arrangement

Album Art & Booklet Review

  • Design [Cover Design] – Marianne Llewellyn
    • Only credit on Discogs
  • Engineer – Dave Hunt
    • Worked with Velvett Fogg, Killing Floor, Noel Redding
  • Photography By – Richard Dunkley
    • Did some visual work for Eddie Hardin on his “Home is Where You Find It” album.

Technical:

Album Tracks:

Side One:

  1. Wild Thing (Chip Taylor)
    • Chip Tayler was born James Welsey Voight
    • Chip Taylor is the brother of Jon Voight and uncle of Angelina Jolie
    • Chip has almost 2000 entries on Discogs
    • First version of the songs was recorded by the Wild Ones
    • Chip Taylor says he wrote it in a matter of minutes for the band
    • English rock band The Troggs popularized the song releasing it in April of 1966
    • It was a surprise hit in the US peaking at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100.
  2. Love For Sale (Hurst, Fenwick)
  3. Move On (Hurst, Fenwick)
  4. I Don’t Need Your Love (Hurst, Fenwick)
  5. One Night (Dave Bartholomew & Pearl King)
    • Songwriting team behind 
    • Released “One Night” in 1956 recorded by Smiley Lewis
    • Dave Bartholomew wrote a lot of songs for Fats Domino
    • Pearl King was his wife and has a ton of credits as a song writer

Side Two:

  1. Touch Me (Hurst, Fenwick)
    • Released as a single in the US and was in the top 20 within a month.
  2. U.S. Surprise (Hurst, Fenwick)
  3. Between The Devil And Me (Hurst, Fenwick)
  4. I’m A Woman (Jerry Lieber & Mike Stoller)
  5. Feel Good (Hurst, Fenwick)
    • Has been sampled over 100 times including by the Beastie Boys on the song “3-Minute Rule” off of their album “Paul’s Boutique” and “Unite” on “Hello Nasty.”  Also on “Fuck Tha Police” by N.W.A.
    • “Scooby Snacks” by “Fun Lovin’ Criminals”
    • Complete List Here: https://www.whosampled.com/Fancy/Feel-Good/sampled/

Reception and Review

  • The album was released in February of 1974.  It was top 20 in the US but did not do well in the UK.
  • An Australian singer released “Touch Me” in Australia and it went to number 1 in the charts.
  • Hurst says Atlantic didn’t want to put any marketing behind them so they pulled out of the deal and signed with Bell/Arista and Tony Roberts.
  • They booked an American tour in the summer of 1974.
  • They toured with a numbe of bands including Steppenwolf, Guess Who, and Kiss.

For Further Information:

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