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 © Bill Zygmant/Rex Features

Annie got hot pants power

by Syl Johnson

Possibly our favourite hot pants 45 of all time, this one is from 1971, shortly before Syl moved to HI Records. At one point he sings: 'You caused a ten car wreck just yesterday...' Probably something that has been happening ever since the automobile was invented - only last week there was a story in the press about a guy who had crashed his car after being distracted by an attractive young lady - that's hot pants power!

Them hot pants

by Lee Sain

There's a paragraph of information about Lee Sain on the Stax Museum website, but it doesn't tell you much about him. This is probably his best known record, and it grooves along nicely. We've posted both sides, so you don't have to worry about flipping the record over while you're getting down!

Country girl with hot pants on

by Leona Williams

Probably better known in the US than Europe, Leona Williams has worked with many of the leading lights of country music, and was even married to Merle Haggard for a while. At the time of writing 'the internet' says she still tours, so check her website for dates. I don't know if this song is still in her set, but I hope so!

James Brown

Blues and Pants

No doubt many of you will already be familiar with The Godfather's 'Hot Pants' 45, so here's a track from the album of the same name. 'Blues and Pants' has a more laid back groove, which stretches out over more than 9 minutes. The whole LP only has only four tracks on it, basically they're funky jams rather than 'songs' - evidently at this point in his career JB was so successful that he could issue whatever he liked!

Hot pants, boots and Raleigh Chopper. The epitome of 70s cool. Just add some T. Rex!

A country girl - with hot pants on... illustration

by Peter Driben, from the early 50s.

Debbie Harry by Serge Clerc

Hot Pants!

There can't be many fashion trends that have brought as much joy to the world as hot pants, which is probably why they inspired so many records. Unfortunately, most of them aren't very good. Fortunately, your caring and sharing friends here at tunastreet have listened to almost every 'hot pants' 45 known to man and selected the best of the them for your listening pleasure!

More to come!

James Brown's Soul Classics  © Chappell, New York

The Cramps

If ever a band deserved their own comic strip it was the Cramps. This one is from 'Rocker!' by French illustrator Serge Clerc. It's a collection of rock-related strips he drew for Métal Hurlant magazine, which also features The Clash and Blondie.

I only saw the Cramps play once, but I'm really glad I did! The visual highlight of the show was when Lux jumped off the drum riser and the stage collapsed under him. When he clambered back up he just laughed and said 'They sure don't make these stages like they used to!'. What a trouper.

At the same show the drummer (probably Nickey Alexander - I think Nick Knox left prior to this tour) did a neat trick with his snare drum. During a quiet spell (Lux eating the mic during 'Surfin' Bird'?) he poured some water on to the drum head. When the band came back in he did a roll, which made the water cascade upwards where it was briefly 'frozen' by a srobe light. It looked great - like a fountain of ice!

...but is it as good as 'The Beatles on Holiday'?

The Monkees

'The red Monkeemobile was roaring along the road by the sea. Inside were the four Monkees: Davy, Peter, Micky and Mike. They were all singing loudly and slightly out of tune'.

The opening lines of 'The Monkees on Holiday' from 1968. Presumably they couldn't hear each other over the roar of the engine, since their singing usually attracts less criticism than other aspects of their career. No they didn't play all the instruments on their records. No, they didn't write many of their hit songs. Does it matter? Not really, because they contributed to some great records. And they did that funny walk... On the other hand, Mickey Dolenz is the only Monkee on their great version of '(I'm not your) stepping stone' - that's three short of the full troop!

Elvis

1978. Distraught fans of the King wondering how to fill the Elvis-shaped hole in their lives could at least console themselves with a piece of gum and some fascinating Elvis trivia from the cards. Here's Elvis Fact No. 45: 'Elvis attended Humes High School in Memphis. Academically, he was not an outstanding student. However, he had an over-average interest in music'. Amazing!

Marilyn

Back in the analogue age architectural drawings were done by hand, and drawing curves with a drafting pen wasn't easy.

Fortunately Marilyn Monroe took some time out from her busy acting career to model for these French curves!

Pop culture

We don't just have records in the tunastreet vaults. There's also an impressive collection of junk! Fortunately there are one or two interesting items in there. Don't worry though, we'll throw in a few 45s as well. Check it all out here!

new songs and old records

Play I some music

Some of you might have wondered why there isn't much Jamaican music on tunastreet. The answer is simple - I rarely find any Jamaican 45s that don't look as though they've been used as a frisbee or rubbed down with coarse-grained sandpaper. However, there are a couple in our collection, so let's give them a spin...

Erica Roe - another Twickenham streaker. 

Domino

by The Cramps

Originally recorded by Roy Orbison, and released on Sun in 1956, this rockin' version of 'Domino' is from The Cramp's excellent 'Gravest Hits' EP, their 1979 UK debut.

Tumblin' Dice

by Owen Grey

The Blue Mountain label was part of Island Records, so I'm guessing that this enjoyable cover of the Rolling Stones' 'Tumblin' Dice' was an attempt to introduce Owen Gray to a wider audience - he was already a star in Jamaica. There's a fair bit of surface noise on this copy, but I'm sure that you'll be able to find a cleaner audio file on the web if you like it.

LIFE magazine's picture of the year! 

Twickenham streaker Michael O' Brien by Ian Bradshaw. 

Good evening Mr. Bond, I've been expecting you...

People often ask me 'DJ Dod, what's the best James Bond theme song ever?' Fortunately, that's a fairly easy question to answer, since the answer has to be one of those performed by Shirley Bassey. So, it's either 'Goldfinger' or 'Diamonds are forever', since 'Moonraker' isn't quite in the same league. They're both great, but since 'Goldfinger' has come to the top of the 45 stack, that's the one we're going with!

Martha Reeves and the Vandellas

Show me the way

One of the joys of buying 45s used to be the pleasure of flipping the record over and discovering a non-album track, or, very occasionally, a song that was better than the 'A' side. This dynamic track is the 'B' side of 'Honey Chile', one of the less memorable singles by Martha and the Vandellas. From 1967.

 © Wise Publications 1981

J.J. Barnes

Don't bring me bad news

J.J. Barnes is one of those artists who never really made it big in his home country, but enjoyed much greater popularity in the U.K. - so much so, that he actually went to live there! This is the flip side of J.J.'s version of 'Day Tripper', released in 1966.

Thanks to Mark and Max for this!

Darrow Fletcher

The pain gets a little deeper

Darrow was all of 14 when he co-wrote and recorded this track, which was his first single. Released in 1966, it was a local hit in Chicago, but, like most of his records, failed to make much of an impact elsewhere. Except in the north of England, of course, where Darrow appears to be something of a legend!

​© Pan Books, 1957

Sipple out deh

by Max Romeo

You can imagine how pleased I was to find a clean copy of 'Sipple out deh', which as far as I can tell is just a different mix of 'War ina Babylon'. I'd be even more pleased if the hole in the middle of the disc was centred. But lets not quibble, it's still a great track!

The B-52s

Hot Pants Explosion

The first two B-52s albums are excellent, and easy to find, so pick them up if you don't have them! Their subsequent releases are a little, well, patchy. This track is from the 'Good Stuff' LP, which is probably the best of their later albums. According to Wikipedia 'Hot Pants Explosion' was released as a single, but it appears to have sunk without trace - either ahead of its time or out of date, but we're including it here as a welcome addition to the hot pants genre!

Fish Pot

by The Willows

I don't know anything about The Willows, other than that they made a few records in the early 70s (this one is from '74). Never mind, it's what in the groove that counts!

Streaking

Call me old-fashioned, but I've never had the urge to strip off and run naked on to the pitch during a major sporting event. However, back in the 70's it was all the rage. For a brief moment, around 1974, a well-timed streak was headline news. And like all fads, it brought us a novelty hit record ('The Streak' by Ray Stevens). And for every novelty hit, there are probably dozens more that didn't make it. Which brings me to 'I am a streaker' by Arelean Brown. Frankly, it's too good to be classed as a novelty record, so I prefer to think of it as continuing the blues tradition of commenting on current affairs. Either way, it's fun!

© Pan Books, 1960

Rex Garvin and the Mighty Cravers

Sock it to 'em, J.B. (Part 1)

When I first saw the title of this song I thought that it was going to be a tribute to James Brown, so it was a surprise to discover that this storming soul number is in fact dedicated to Bond, James Bond. In 1966 this was the sound!

Northern Soul

To the uninitiated (i.e. me), the world of Northern Soul can seem like a secret society where entry requires an unlimited knowledge of little-known artists and rare records. And the right dance steps...

On the other hand, there's no doubt that the enthusiasm of the Northern Soul scene has rescued many greats tracks from undeserved obscurity. In fact, some of them have become quite well-known over the years, so here's a small selection of more mainstream 'Northern' 45s from the tunastreet vaults!

Al Wilson

The Snake

Originally released in 1968 the U.S., this track almost cracked the top 40 in the UK in 1975 thanks to its popularity on the Northern Soul scene, and it's easy to see why. The guitar intro grabs your attention straight away, but it really takes off when the drums kick in!

As the label says, the song was written by Oscar Brown, Jr, whose jazzy original came out in 1963.

The Flirtations

Nothing but a heartache

Another great track from 1968, written by a couple of Brits (who went on to write 'Sugar Baby Love' for the Rubettes - a guilty pleasure at tunastreet), this one sounds almost tailor-made for the Northern Soul scene. On YouTube you can find a video of this song being performed in the unlikely location of Tintern Abbey in Wales!