"My Friend Jack" | ||||
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Single by The Smoke | ||||
from the album It's Smoke Time | ||||
B-side | "We Can Take It" | |||
Released | 10 February 1967 | |||
Recorded | 1966 | |||
Genre | Psychedelic rock, freakbeat | |||
Length | 3:06 (single version) 3:09 (original version) 3:04 (1976 version) | |||
Label | Morgan Blue Town (UK ) Columbia (EMI) Metronome (Germany) Impact Records (France) Capitol of Canada (Canada) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Geoff Gill , Mal Luker, Zeke Lund and Mick Rowley | |||
Producer(s) | The Smoke, Monty Babson | |||
The Smoke singles chronology | ||||
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"My Friend Jack" is a psychedelic rock song released by the English freakbeat group The Smoke in 1967. It was included originally in their debut album It's Smoke Time , and it was also included (among other compilation albums) in the collection Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964–1969 (Rhino, 2001).
It was credited to all four band members: Geoff Gill, Mal Luker, Zeke Lund and Mick Rowley.
The song was later covered by Boney M.
"My Friend Jack" was the only international hit by The Smoke. The song seems to suggest the use of psychedelic drugs (specifically LSD) in lines such as “My Friend Jack eats sugar lumps” and suggests traversing the world inside his mind (such as “Been on a voyage, across an ocean”).
The song was pulled off the U.K. market due to the drug connotations and it therefore never succeeded in their own country. The original content of the song was so unacceptable that "My Friend Jack" had to be rewritten before EMI would touch it; finally, it was released in February 1967. The single only made it to number 45 before being banned by the BBC, limiting it to three weeks on the U.K. charts.
The first version (somewhat slower and almost entirely modified except for the chorus) featured more obvious content related with the hallucinogenic effect and incomprehension. Lines such as "Oh, what beautiful things he sees" had to be re-recorded as "Sugarman hasn't got a care". The demo is available on some CD compilations, such as Real Life Permanent Dreams. A Cornucopia Of British Psychedelia (1965-1970) (Castle Select, 2007).
In mainland Europe, however, the final version of the record sold well; the group and their song was supported after appearing on an installment of the successful German television show Beat-Club , alongside Jimi Hendrix, The Who, and Cliff Bennett & the Rebel Rousers.
"My Friend Jack" ended up reaching the No. 2 spot in the German pop charts, and earned the Smoke a place on a tour with the Small Faces and the Beach Boys in 1967. The single charted high in Switzerland, France, and Austria as well, and suddenly there was demand for a Smoke LP in Germany, entitled later It's Smoke Time .
The song is characterized by a march beat and mix of shimmering and crunchy reverb-laden guitar (its most notable sound). It presents an aggressive riff, heavily influenced by The Who's power-chord and a trippy cheerfulness, like other songs with drug references from that era.[ citation needed ]
According to Matthew Greenwald in AllMusic: "The song opens with a tremolo-laden slide guitar riff from Mal Luker, which creates a trippy, unsettling but wholly interesting hook. The main melody is a bouncy, mid-tempo slice of pop-psychedelia, filled with a buoyancy that equates this to an English version of the Turtles on psychedelic drugs. The effervescent chorus is a fabulous singalong affair, making it instantly accessible." [1]
"My Friend Jack" was included in the documentary film John Peel's Record Box , made by Elaine Shepherd, released on 14 November 2005 on Channel 4 (British public-service television). The film was nominated for Primetime Emmy Award. [2]
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In 1976, The Smoke re-recorded the song with other arrangements and a glam rock style, along with the other songs from It's Smoke Time . The album was released under the British label Gull. [4] The single (released only in France), featured a new song, "Lady".
Chart (1967) | Peak position |
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Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [5] | 6 |
Germany (GfK Entertainment) [6] | 2 |
United Kingdom (Official Charts Company) [7] | 45 |
"I See a Boat on the River / My Friend Jack" | ||||
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Single by Boney M. | ||||
from the album The Magic of Boney M. | ||||
Released | April 1980 | |||
Recorded | 1980 | |||
Genre | Pop, Euro disco | |||
Label | Hansa Records (FRG) | |||
Producer(s) | Frank Farian | |||
Boney M. singles chronology | ||||
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German/Caribbean vocal group Boney M. released “My Friend Jack” as a double A-side single (with ”I See a Boat on the River”) in 1980; the song was also included in the compilation album The Magic of Boney M. – 20 Golden Hits .
Original Smoke member Zeke Lund was by now working as a sound engineer for their album's record producer, Frank Farian. The initial single pressings featured a 4:56 single mix, differing with the omission of a guitar solo which was included in the subsequent 4:40 mix which was faded 10 seconds earlier on the LP version. This cover peaked at No. 6 in Norway and No. 57 in the U.K.
Boney M. are a disco group that specialises in R&B, reggae, disco and funk, created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary songwriter. Originally based in West Germany, the four original members of the group's official line-up were Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett from Jamaica, Maizie Williams from Montserrat, and Bobby Farrell from Aruba. The group was formed in 1976 and achieved popularity during the disco era of the late 1970s. Since the 1980s, various line-ups of the band have performed with differing personnel.
Nightflight to Venus is the third studio album by Euro-Caribbean group Boney M., and was released in July 1978. The album became a major success in continental Europe, Scandinavia, and Canada, topping most of the album charts during the second half of 1978 and also became their first UK number one album. In Canada, it received a nomination for a 1980 Juno Award in a category 'International Album of the Year'.
Marcia Barrett is a Jamaican-British singer and one of the original singers with the vocal group Boney M.
Gold – 20 Super Hits is a 1992 greatest hits album by group Boney M. Shortly after record label PolyGram had acquired the rights to the ABBA back catalogue and had issued the multimillion-selling hits package Gold: Greatest Hits, BMG and producer Frank Farian followed suit with Boney M.'s Gold – 20 Super Hits which resulted in their best chart entry in the UK and most other European countries since 1980's The Magic of Boney M. – 20 Golden Hits.
The Smoke were an English psychedelic pop group from York. They consisted of Mick Rowley, Mal Luker, John "Zeke" Lund (bass) and Geoff Gill.
Take the Heat off Me is the debut album by Euro-Caribbean group Boney M. The album became a major seller in Europe, specifically in the Nordic countries, but in the US the album just missed the album chart. Tracks include the hits "Daddy Cool", "Sunny" and the debut single "Baby Do You Wanna Bump".
Oceans of Fantasy is the fourth studio album by Euro-Caribbean group Boney M. Released in September 1979, Oceans Of Fantasy became the second Boney M. album to top the UK charts and features the hits "El Lute / Gotta Go Home" and "I'm Born Again / Bahama Mama".
Love for Sale is the second studio album by Euro-Caribbean group Boney M. The album includes the hits "Ma Baker" and "Belfast". It also includes covers: "Love for Sale", "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?", and "Still I'm Sad".
The Magic of Boney M. – 20 Golden Hits is a greatest hits album by Euro-Caribbean group Boney M., issued in 1980, which contained all their biggest hits up until that point, including non-album singles "Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord" and "Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday", album tracks from Take The Heat Off Me, Love for Sale, Nightflight to Venus and Oceans of Fantasy as well as their most recent double A-side single release "I See a Boat On the River"/ "My Friend Jack".
Boonoonoonoos is the fifth studio album by Boney M., released in September 1981.
Christmas Album is the sixth studio album by Boney M. It was recorded in the summer of 1981 and released on 23 November 1981. In certain territories the album was given the alternate title Christmas with Boney M.
Ten Thousand Lightyears is the seventh studio album by Boney M. and the first to feature new member Reggie Tsiboe, who had taken over Bobby Farrell's role as the band's leading man in early 1982.
The Best of 10 Years – 32 Superhits also known as 32 Superhits - Non-Stop Digital Remix is a remix album by Boney M. released in 1986.
The Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album of recordings by Boney M. released by BMG in the United Kingdom in late 2001.
The Collection is a compilation album of recordings by Boney M. released by label BMG-Ariola in 1991.
The Collection was part of BMG's first mid-price CD campaign, the company released many Collections containing back-catalogue material by artists ranging from Modern Talking, Imagination and Amanda Lear to Chuck Berry, Glenn Miller and Elvis Presley.
The majority of the tracks on this release are taken from 1980 compilation The Magic of Boney M. - 20 Golden Hits, subsequently most of them appear in slightly edited form.
BMG-Ariola France has re-issued this compilation with new artwork as Cristal Collection in 1994 and as Sunny, Daddy Cool, Rivers Of Babylon and L'Essentiel, both in 2001.
The Complete Collection is a compilation album of recordings by Boney M. released by BMG/CMC Records in Denmark in late 2000.
Norske Hits is a compilation album of recordings by Boney M. released by BMG-Ariola in Norway in late 1998.
"Painter Man" is a song written by British singer Kenny Pickett and guitarist Eddie Phillips, and first recorded by their group the Creation. It was released as a single in October 1966. Written as a response to their avant-garde stage show, the single was their only top-forty hit on the UK Singles Chart, reaching number 36. It fared better in West Germany, where it reached number eight. It was later issued on their album We Are Paintermen.
"I See a Boat on the River" / "My Friend Jack" is a double A-side single by German band Boney M., taken from their 1980 compilation album The Magic of Boney M. - 20 Golden Hits. "I See a Boat on the River" peaked at #5 in Germany but marked the group's waning popularity in the UK where "My Friend Jack" was promoted as the A-side, faring even worse than their former single "I'm Born Again", stalling at #57. Boney M. would use the double A-side format over the next years, typically with the A1 being the song intended for radio and A2 being more squarely aimed at discos. The sides would usually be switched on the accompanying 12" single.
It's Smoke Time is the only studio album by the British psychedelic pop band The Smoke, released in early 1967, originally by Swedish label Metronome Records only in Germany.