The Applejacks

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TELL ME WHEN / WISHING WILL NEVER MAKE IT SO / OVER SUZANNE / HELLO JOSEPHINE / AS A MATTER OF FACT / TOO MUCH MONKEY BUSINESS / MEM'RIES OF YOU / AIN'T THAT JUST LIKE ME // KANSAS CITY / I WONDER / THREE LITTLE WORDS (I LOVE YOU) / BABY JANE / NO TIME / SEE IF SHE CARES / WHAT'S THE MATTER LITTLE GIRL / WHAT'D I SAY TELL ME WHEN / WISHING WILL NEVER MAKE IT SO / OVER SUZANNE / HELLO JOSEPHINE / AS A MATTER OF FACT / TOO MUCH MONKEY BUSINESS / MEM'RIES OF YOU / AIN'T THAT JUST LIKE ME / KANSAS CITY / I WONDER / THREE LITTLE WORDS (I LOVE YOU) / BABY JANE / NO TIME / SEE IF SHE CARES / WHAT'S THE MATTER LITTLE GIRL / WHAT'D I SAY / LIKE DREAMERS DO / EVERYBODY FALL DOWN / YOU'RE THE ONE FOR ME / I GO TO SLEEP

Originally called The Crestas, they formed in 1961 in Olton, Solihull. Phil Cash - rhythm guitar, Martin Baggot - lead guitar, Don Gould - organ, and Gerald Freeman -drums had been in the scouts together, they were complemented by Megan Davies on bass guitar, who stood out in the same way that Honey Lantree did in The Honeycombs. Tell Me When" / "Wishing Will Never Make It So" / "Over Suzanne" / "Hello Josephine" / "As a Matter Of Fact" / " Too Much Monkey Business" / " Memories of You" / "Ain't That Just Like Me" / " Kansas City" / "I Wonder" / "Three Little Words (I Love You)" / "Baby Jane" / "No Time" / "See If She Cares" / "What's the Matter Little Girl" / " What'd I Say" In 1964 Birmingham had its first group in the Top Ten. Their follow-up release was given to them by The Beatles! They made a film!! They appeared at the incredible NME Poll Winners concert!!!Cliff and The Shadows was definitely the way to go. There were very few other role models to choose from anyway, and we gradually went electric. It was obvious then, that one of us would have to change to bass guitar. Here, I think the story goes, "Well, you're the worst guitarist, Megan. You can play bass." I'm not sure that it was actually said in so many words, but that's the gist of how I got the job.

So, yes, you’re going to hear Megan talking about all of this, as well as other details like her other career as a clinical physiologist in neurophysiology in the National Health Service (that basically involves studying people’s brain waves) and just stuff about playing the bass guitar, how she’s still working on her technique and things like that.NOTE: This single (A side) was never recorded but was promoted by the record company as the next release. Steppenwolf Canadian-American band Steppenwolf was formed by German-born guitarist and singer John Kay (real name, Joachim Fritz Krauledat) in 1967, playing… Great Ormond Street Hospital– a famous hospital in London specialising in pediatric care (medical care for children) Where Megan has worked since the late 1990s. After Three Little Words also stalled at #23 it became clear that the ‘Solihull Sound’ was not going to eventuate. A couple of friends and I had a so called 'group'. I don't think we ever selected a name but we had lots of ideas! Margaret Griffiths, a lifelong friend, played the piano and her friend, Anne Abernethy, who lived across the road, improvised on 'drums' with knitting needles and biscuit tins. I proudly twanged away on my plastic strings! We just rehearsed a lot but were really a "sitting room group". We considered "Let's Have A Party" to be our best number.

Entire Decca output accompanied by new sleeve-notes featuring quotes from the band's bassist, Megan DaviesI was always really impressed by the fact that his parents were both professional musicians, or had been professional musicians at various times because I was so into music from the 60s and 70s including a lot of the artists that Jake’s Mum and Dad had worked with or brushed shoulders with over the years. I guess I could ramble on for ages about gigs and groups from the 60s onwards. I still do a few gigs but not in the professional sense. Got involved with a musician so one of us had to get a proper job! I have a good position in the NHS at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London. I miss my music. Megan Davies recalled; "The downside to this is that we became pretty much isolated as pop artists and out of touch with the local and national music scene. Nevertheless, those three years at sea were great fun."

Mystery BrumBeat personality Bulls Head Bob asked Megan for her early memories of starting out as a bass player and what guitars she opted for along the way; My Guitars... for the love of Freda Like Dreamers Do" / "(BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM) Everybody Fall Down" (Decca F 11916) June 1964 (#20 UK) The record was a brilliant and catchy composition - fitting the times perfectly. Produced by Mike Smith, it peaked at Number 7 in the U.K. and remained in the charts for 13 weeks. Some of the band members were still going to school at the time! Upon later graduating to electric instruments, a bass guitarist was now considered essential. Megan recalled; "Cliff and The Shadows was definitely the way to go. It was obvious then, that one of us would have to change to bass guitar. "Well, you're the worst guitarist Megan. You can play bass!" I'm not sure that it was actually said in so many words, but that's the gist of how I got the job."The solid body Hofners were an improvement, at least image-wise for a while but the dream of the majority of guitarists was to own a Fender. The year was 1962 and Selmer had just started distributing the Fender range of guitars (Stratocasters were 163 guineas new). "Monk" Mutch ( Johnny Neal and The Starliners) let me use his Fender bass at one of John Singer's Town Hall gigs and I was smitten (by the bass and Monk's playing). You might be wondering why I didn’t get Megan to play some bass for us, which would have been really nice of course. The group quarrelled with Decca over their next single. Decca wanted them to record " Chim Chim Chiree", but the group disliked the song. Although the single had been announced (and is therefore listed in most discographies), it was never released. According to Megan Davies, [5] the group did not even record "Chim Chim Chiree". Thanks to that quarrel, their next single, "Bye Bye Girl", was released half a year after "Three Little Words". Accent, The Yorkshire group The Accent were originally known as The Blue Blood Group before moving to London in 1966. They secured… So that’s how I know Megan. I am friends with her son, and now I’ve finally taken the initiative to interview her on this podcast. Megan is lovely and she was happy to do this, which I really appreciate. Vocabulary