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The Flying Machine | |
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| Origin | Rugby, Warwickshire, England |
| Genres | Bubblegum pop |
| Years active | 1969–1971 |
| Labels | Pye Records (UK) Congress (US) Janus (US) |
| Past members | Tony Newman Steve Jones Sam Kempe Stuart Colman Paul Wilkinson Troy Adam Jones Martyn "Stalky" Gleeson |
The Flying Machine was a British bubblegum pop [1] band who are best known for their 1969 American No. 5 hit, "Smile a Little Smile for Me". [2]
The Flying Machine descended from British band Pinkerton's Assorted Colours. Pinkerton's (as they were often known) had scored a major UK hit with "Mirror Mirror" in 1966 and continued recording over the next few years. However, by 1969, singer/guitarist Tony Newman, singer/autoharpist/original frontman Sam Kempe, [3] and bassist Stuart Colman from Pinkerton's had teamed up with lead guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Wilkinson to form a new iteration of the group and, with Newman now assuming lead vocal/frontman duties, took the name the Flying Machine. [4]
They are best known for their single in 1969, "Smile a Little Smile for Me", which peaked at No. 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart (on Kapp Records' Congress record label) It also reached No. 6 on the AC chart. Their first LP, which was self-titled, was released by Janus Records in 1969. By 12 December that year the single had sold a million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. [5] The song was written by Tony Macaulay and Geoff Stephens. [6] Despite being released by Pye Records in the band's native UK, the record did not appear on the UK Singles Chart.
A follow-up single, a cover version of "Baby Make It Soon", first recorded by Marmalade, achieved the U.S. Hot 100 the following year. [7] A final single, "The Devil Has Possession Of Your Mind", was released, after which the Flying Machine split up.
Bassist Colman went on to a successful career as a session musician, record producer and BBC Radio disc jockey.
The Archies are an American fictional rock band featured in media produced by, and related to, Archie Comics. They are best remembered for their appearance in the animated TV series The Archie Show. In the context of the series, the band was founded by guitarist/vocalist Archie Andrews, drummer Jughead Jones, bassist Reggie Mantle, percussionist/vocalist Betty Cooper and keyboardist/vocalist Veronica Lodge.
PYE or Pye Records is an independent British record label. It was first established in 1955 and played a major role in shaping rock 'n' roll and pop music history. The Pye name was dropped in 1980 due to trademark issues, after which it produced almost no music until the company name and trademark was acquired by the Scottish broadcaster and music producer, Tony Currie, in September 2024.
James Taylor and the Original Flying Machine is an archival release of 1966 recordings of American singer-songwriter James Taylor's band The Flying Machine, first released in February 1971.
Janus Records was a record label owned by GRT Records, also known as General Recorded Tape. The label was in operation from 1969 to 1979.
Patrice Yvonne Holloway was an American soul and bubblegum pop singer-songwriter, best known as a member of the musical trios Josie and the Pussycats, The Ikettes, and The Blackberries.
The Foundations were a British soul band who were primarily active between 1967 and 1970. The group's background was West Indian, White British and Sri Lankan. Their 1967 debut single "Baby Now That I've Found You" reached number one in the UK and Canada, and number eleven in the US. Their 1968 single "Build Me Up Buttercup" reached number two in the UK and number three on the US Billboard Hot 100. The group was the first multi-racial group to have a number one hit in the UK in the 1960s.
Sheldon Talmy was an American record producer, songwriter, and arranger, best known for his work in England in the 1960s with the Who, the Kinks, and many other artists.
John Clifford Farrar is an Australian music producer, songwriter, arranger, singer, and guitarist. As a musician, Farrar is a former member of several rock and roll groups including The Mustangs (1963–64), The Strangers (1964–70), Marvin, Welch & Farrar (1970–73), and The Shadows (1973–76). In 1980, he released a solo eponymous album. As a songwriter and producer, he worked with Olivia Newton-John from 1971 to 1989. He wrote her U.S. number-one hit singles: "Have You Never Been Mellow" (1975), "You're the One That I Want", "Hopelessly Devoted to You" (1978), and "Magic" (1980). He also produced the majority of her recorded material during that time, including her number-one albums, If You Love Me, Let Me Know (1974), Have You Never Been Mellow (1975), and Olivia's Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (1982). He was a co-producer of the soundtrack for the film Grease (1978).
"Make Me Smile" is a song written by James Pankow for the rock band Chicago with the band's guitarist, Terry Kath, on lead vocals. Part 1 of Pankow's 7-part "Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon" song cycle/suite, it was recorded for their second album, Chicago, which was released in 1970. The song "Now More Than Ever", a separate track from the same song suite, serves as a reprise of the song and appears edited together with it on many later versions, including a single edit, on several greatest hits collections, and in many live performances.
Ian Stuart Colman was an English musician, record producer and broadcaster. Allmusic noted that he "has an impressive catalogue as a record producer and much of Shakin' Stevens success can be attributed to Colman". Over the decades, Colman worked with a diverse array of musicians including Billy Fury, The Blasters, Cliff Richard, Phil Everly, Alvin Stardust, The Jets, The Inmates and Little Richard.
Pickettywitch was a British pop group. Fronted by singer Polly Brown, with Chris Warren as the secondary lead singer. The group became best known for its hit single, "That Same Old Feeling", which was written by Tony Macaulay and John Macleod. It reached number five in the UK Singles Chart in 1970.
Alan Warner is an English musician who has been active from around the mid-1960s. He was a member of groups such as The Ramong Sound, The Foundations, Pluto, and The Polecats.
Pinkerton's Assorted Colours were an English pop band active during the 1960s. They are best known for their 1965 release, "Mirror, Mirror", which reached No. 9 in the UK Singles Chart in February 1966.
Anthony Ralph Clarke was an English rock music record producer and guitarist. Born in Coventry, he is best known for producing The Moody Blues from 1966 to 1978.
"Solomon Grundy" is a song written by Eric Allandale, a member of the English multi-racial group The Foundations. The song is loosely based on "Solomon Grundy", the 19th-century children's nursery rhyme. It appeared on their 1969 Digging The Foundations album that featured the hit single "In the Bad Bad Old Days ", and it was the B side of their minor American hit single "My Little Chickadee". The singer pronounces it "Solomon Grandy" throughout the song, even though it foils the rhyme. It was also released as a single by Hong Kong beat group Danny Diaz & The Checkmates and it was the song that first brought Polly Brown & Pickettywitch to notice when they appeared on ITV's Opportunity Knocks television talent show. It was also the B side of Pickettywitch's 1969 debut single "You Got Me So I Don't Know".
Colin Young is an English singer who led Joe E. Young & The Toniks in the 1960s. He is mainly known for being a member of the British soul band the Foundations. He also led a progressive rock band and was part of a hit making dance band of the 1980s.
The Montanas were an English 1960s and 1970s pop rock band from Wolverhampton, England. Though they never found significant success in their home country, they had one moderate hit in the United States.
"That Same Old Feeling" is the title of a pop song composed by John Macleod and Tony Macaulay which in 1970 was a Top Ten UK hit for Pickettywitch, an English band fronted by Polly Brown. In the US the Pickettywitch single vied with a rival version by The Fortunes, with both versions scoring well-enough regionally to reach the Top 70 of the Hot 100, the national hit parade maintained by Billboard magazine.
"Smile a Little Smile for Me" is the debut single by the Flying Machine. The song was written by Geoff Stephens and Tony Macaulay.
Digging the Foundations is the final studio album by English soul group the Foundations. The album includes two of the group's hits, "In the Bad, Bad Old Days" and "My Little Chickadee". The album was released in the UK on the Pye label in 1969. There would be various issues relating to the album that would be a cause of concern for the group.
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