The Flames were a South African musical group formed in 1962,[1] with their best-known lineup consisting of guitarists and vocalists Steve Fataar and Blondie Chaplin, bassist Edries "Brother" Fataar, and drummer Ricky Fataar. Considered one of the most influential and unique bands of 1960s South Africa,[2] they stood out with their blend of soul and rock music, Indian background, and music, which was centered around albums and covers rather than singles and original songs.[3] Their 1968 cover of The Impressions' "For Your Precious Love" reached #1 on the domestic charts and is their most popular song.[2]
They performed across London in the late 1960s, where they met Brian Jones, Keith Moon, Keith Richards, Jerry Garcia, Miles Davis and Carl Wilson. They later traveled to Los Angeles to record an album for The Beach Boys' record label Brother Records in 1970, for which they changed their name to The Flame.[4] The group disbanded shortly afterward, with Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar subsequently joining the Beach Boys,[5] but reunited for performances in 2000 and 2011.
Biography
The Beginning of The Flames
Before the band's formation, Steve Fataar would enter talent contests at the Admiral Hotel, typically winning. According to a friend of his, Bing Kinsey, "he continued entering these contests, which put his mother in a bit of a bother as she had to drive him there. I recall that on one occasion, Steve had heard a song by Cliff Richard just once; I'm not sure whether it was "Gee Whizz It's You" or "I'm Looking out the Window." I knew the song and taught it to him. That night he sang it at the talent contest and won." Eventually, Steve's brother, Edries Fataar, would join him.[6]
The Flames were formed in 1962 by guitarist Steve Fataar, bassist Brother Fataar (real name Edries Fataar), drummer George Fabre, and guitarist Eugene Champion. Before a gig, Fabre withdrew. The urgent need for a drummer was resolved when Ricky Fataar joined the band.[7]
Kinsey added "This became the line-up for the next year or so." The group concentrated on instrumentals, doing covers of The Shadows' and The Ventures' material. Steve was the main vocalist, doing most of the singing, with Eugene and Brother providing harmonies. Eugene and Brother did the occasional song, including "Baby My Heart," a song recorded by The Crickets and The Shadows.[6]
Because of work commitments, Eugene Champion left the group in 1963. Edries Fredericks replaced him. Fredericks' vocal abilities led the band to include more vocalization. Kinsey adds, "Edries had a very soulful sound, and this began the transformation within the group." We began importing records from overseas and also gained access to some recordings by the early soul singers and groups, including Marvin Gaye, Solomon Burke, and James Brown through friends."[6]
The Edries Fredericks Era
In early 1963, the group signed a recording contract with Trutone Records and made their first recording at a studio in Durban run by John and Margaret Cahill. Two songs were recorded; "I Saw Her Standing There", sometimes referred to as "Just Seventeen", and "Misery." Trutone decided not to release them, instead heavily promoting The Meteors' version of "I Saw Her Standing There", which became a hit in South Africa.
In April, the group traveled to Johannesburg to record four tracks. The first release from this recording session consisted of two instrumentals, "Mr. Moto" and "Dixie." These were both distributed by the Rave label. "Mr. Moto" premiered on Eric Egan's morning program during the new releases segment between 7:00 and 7:15. The second single was released soon after, with "Maniac" and "Modern Casanova." The label listed the artists as Steve and The Flames, as Steve sang lead on both songs. In December of that year, The Flames toured Port Elizabeth. After the gigs, The Flames drove to Johannesburg to record their first album.
The band's first album was recorded over three days, with Art Heatley as producer and Dave Erbstoesser as the sound engineer. "White Cliffs of Dover" was the song that the band thought would be the hit from the album. The only track from this album to get airplay on the radio was "Pretty Woman." Peter Lotus played it a few times on the evening music show. This album was out of print but has been re-issued by Fresh Music as a part of a CD collection.
In 1964, the group began to make great strides on the national scene. That year, they won Battle of The Bands, where Ricky was awarded the Best Drummer title. The group toured throughout the country and began to establish their popularity in the Cape, making two tours to Cape Town performing at The Luxarama, as well as touring the Eastern Cape with shows in Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage and East London.
The home scene was not forgotten, with the group performing at places such as Stanger, Verulem, Tongaat, Pietermaritzburg and Richmond. While songs by The Beatles were featured prominently in their repertoire, The Flames included songs by The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, Solomon Burke, Otis Redding and British stars such as The Fortunes. Their popularity increased and more regular gigs came up with performances at Upstairs at the Downstairs and later at the Alfresco.
Although the group was very popular and had many bookings, they did not earn much, and keeping the group's instrumentation modern and up-to-date was costly. Edries Fredericks was in a serious relationship and became concerned that he could not afford to provide for a family. He began looking for something that would provide a decent income and decided to leave the group in March 1966.[7][6]
The Blondie Chaplin Era
Mitchell "Baby" Duval replaced Edries Fredericks in 1966. In his short tenure in the band, he featured on the group's second album, That's Enough.Blondie Chaplin, a young singer making a name for himself as a member of the group The Kittens, would eventually replace Duval.
To quote Kinsey, "Blondie brought another dimension to the group with his soulful singing. He also developed into a great guitarist who would share the lead guitar work with Steve.
This new line-up recorded the Soul albums, which were to produce the iconic Flames' song "For Your Precious Love" featuring the famous introduction by Steve and the fabulous singing of the young Blondie. The song had been part of the group's repertoire since they heard Oscar Tony Jr. in 1967."
Steve Fataar said, "At the time of recording Burning Soul!, we were a tight band that had been performing continuously, so the recordings were pretty much live. They were done on a four-track analogue recorder and the sessions were quite cheerful, confident and sans stress. Essentially it was a band adventure. Soulfire was recorded similarly but there was more overdubs and brass tracking added," he says. "All this was a learning curve and rather exciting — consider that Ricky and Blondie were only 14 and 15 years old at this time."[4]
Graham Beggs recorded material for a live album at the Al Fresco in Durban. The recordings weren't released and currently haven't been located.
In 1965, The Flames entertained the idea of trying their luck overseas. It didn't work out then, but the idea never left them. It seemed as if the group had no real future because they couldn't get the exposure that other groups seemed to be getting. This influenced them to perform in a number of venues in London and also record a song called "Streamliner." In 1969,[4] their performances gained the attention of The Beach Boys (Particularly Carl Wilson and Al Jardine)[8] and The Bee Gees.
The Flames joined the Beach Boys' Brother label and moved to America. The group was renamed The Flame to avoid confusion with another band. A self-titled album was released in 1970.[6] It was the first ever rock album recorded in quadraphonic sound[8] and the only non-Beach Boys album on the Brother records label, produced by Carl Wilson.[9] One track, "See The Light," reached the BillboardHot 100. The group developed a following as they performed at different venues, mainly in the West Coast. They once visited South Africa, performing in Durban and Pietermaritzburg.
A second album was recorded but was never released, despite numerous attempts.
List of tracks on the second, untitled, unreleased album
"Mother Of The Century"
"Sigh Baby Sigh"
"High Overhead"
"Sunny Skies"
"Thank Someone"
"Seven Sisters"
"Have You Ever Been Happy"
"Henry's Son"
"Sweet Jane"
"I'm A Man" (Outtake)
"Hello!" (Outtake)
"Everybody" (Outtake)
Both Steve and Brother were unhappy living in the US, and with Brother leaving for England and Steve to South Africa, the group was disbanded.[6]
Post-break up
In 1972, Ricky Fataar and Blondie Chaplin joined The Beach Boys.[10] Blondie was a bass guitarist and vocalist, singing lead vocals on two Beach Boys studio albums and the live Beach Boys in Concert album. The track "Sail On, Sailor" is his most-known work. Blondie left the group in 1973 and worked with a number of other musicians, performing live as well as on records, including members of The Band and The Byrds. He also recorded two solo albums. Blondie's talents came to the attention of The Rolling Stones and he has toured with the group for over 10 years, as well as appearing on some of their studio recordings. He is also a member of Skollie, a band formed with Keith Lentin and Anton Fig.
Ricky remained with the Beach Boys for three years. In 1978, he featured in the film All You Need Is Cash, a spoof on the Beatles. He played the role Stig O'Hara, a character based on George Harrison.[6] He also featured on The Rutles' two albums. He became a producer, with his first major success being Renée Geyer's So Lucky, which also featured Blondie as a vocalist. He later emigrated to Australia, producing a number of successful artists, including Tim Finn, Kate Ceberano, Dragon, and Wendy Matthews. Ricky also wrote the scores for a few Australian films. Ricky met Bonnie Raitt in 1978, and has since accompanied her on many tours, as well as appearing on most of her later recordings.
Steve Fataar and Edries Fredericks later teamed up with some other artists to form the band In Formation.
In the 1970s,[8] almost all The Flames' masters were destroyed in a fire. It is only through the restoration done by Bas Mollenkramer from physical records that almost all the Flames recordings are available.[6]
Brother Fataar died on September 10, 1978, and Baby Duval died on an unknown date.
The Flames have reunited a few times. In 2000 and 2011, the three surviving members of the band reunited for a few shows in South Africa.[11]
Steve Fataar died on January 18, 2020, having performed at a show hours before. It's believed he died in his sleep from lung complications.[12]
Members
Steve Fataar - lead guitar, lead vocals (1962-1970, 2000, 2011) (March 14, 1943[13]-January 18th, 2020 (aged 76)[14])
Featured on all recordings and the 2000 and 2011 reunions.
Edries "Brother" Fataar - bass, backing and occasional lead vocals (1962-1970) (July 6, 1945-September 10, 1978, Amsterdam, the Netherlands (aged 33))[15]
Featured on all recordings, except the reunions.
George Fabre - drums (1962)
Not featured on any recordings.
There was some dispute over when Fabre left the group. Some say it was in 1964, with George and Eugene Champion leaving in a similar time frame. Other sources say he left in 1963. According to Bing Kinsey, the lineup with Eugene Champion and Ricky Fataar lasted about a year.[16] It was ultimately resolved that he left in 1962 and a year before Champion.[7]
Eugene Champion - rhythm guitar (1962-1963)
Not featured on any recordings.
Ricky Fataar - drums, backing and occasional lead vocals (1962-1970, 2000, 2011) (September 5, 1952-)
Featured on all recordings and the 2000 and 2011 reunions.
Edries Fredericks - rhythm guitar, backing and occasional lead vocals (1963-1966)
Featured on most singles and Ummm! Ummm! Oh Yeah!!!.
Mitchell "Baby" Duval - rhythm guitar, backing and occasional lead vocals (1966-1967) (deceased)[15]
In the recording session that produced "Nobody" and "Is It You?", two other tracks were recorded, "Boys" and "Claudette." According to Rob Allingham from Gallos in 2002, he found the tracks and was intending to release them. They were included on a re-release of Ummm! Ummm! Oh Yeah!!!.[6]
Studio albums
Ummm! Ummm! Oh Yeah!!! (1965)
Steve Fataar - lead guitar, lead vocals (tracks 1-5, 7-12)
Brother Fataar - bass guitar, lead vocals (track 6)
Psychedelic Essentials (2011) (re-release of The Flame with different track order.)
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