The Foundations
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| The Foundations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Origin |  London, England |
|
| Genre(s) | Soul | |
| Years active | 1967–1970 | |
| Label(s) | Castle, Uni | |
| Former members | ||
| Pat Burke Clem Curtis Eric Allan Dale Mike Elliot Tony Gomez Tim Harris Peter MacBeth Alan Warner Colin Young |
||
The Foundations was a British soul band, active from 1967 to 1970.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
The group, made up of both West Indians and Caucasians, is best known for their two biggest hits, "Baby, Now That I've Found You" (a Number One written by Tony MacCaulay and Mike McCleod,hit in the UK singles chart, and subsequently Top 10 in the U.S.); and "Build Me Up Buttercup" (a chart topper in the Billboard Hot 100), co-written by MacCaulay with Michael d'Abo, at the time the lead vocalist with Manfred Mann on hits like 'Semi Detached Suburban Mr. James', Bob Dylan's 'Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo)', 'Ha Ha said the Clown' and 'My Name is Jack'.
They are also notable for being one of the few acts label, to successfully imitate what became known as the Motown Sound. In terms of line-up and musical style, they anticipated the sound of the more successful Hot Chocolate, although they were in a similar musical vein to the Love Affair who topped the UK charts in 1968 with their version of Robert Knight's 'Everlasting Love' but unlike the Foundations never played on their early hits. They signed to Pye records, at the time one of only four big UK record companies (the others being EMI with its HMV Columbia Parlaphone labels, Decca, and Philips who also owned Fontana).
Original vocalist Clem Curtis left in 1968 and moved to the U.S. for a solo career on the club circuit, encouraged by the likes of Wilson Pickett and Sam and Dave, playing Las Vegas with the Righteous Brothers. He was replaced by Colin Young.
The group's final hit was the less pop-oriented, more sophisticated "Born To Live and Born To Die". They split in 1970, when the rhythm section broke away to form the progressive group Pluto. When Curtis returned to the UK he formed a new version of the group with little success on record, but a lucrative spell on the 1960s nostalgia circuit. In fact, Curtis' re-formed foundations have on several occasions re-recorded their old hits, but without Colin Young's distinctive voice. Although their later Pye hits were re-issued on stereo albums, surprisingly "Baby, Now That I've Found You" and "Build Me Up Buttercup", only appeared in Mono or mono electronically created stereo. However, within the last 10 years, genuine stereo versions of both tracks have appeared, but surprisingly the stereo version of "Baby, Now that I've Found You" actually features a very rare Colin Young vocal.
"Build Me Up Buttercup" became a hit again in 1998 when it was featured in the ending credits of the comedy film, There's Something About Mary. The group's original recordings are now owned by Sanctuary Records, though it is said that the sound quality on 'Buttercup,' unlike the other hits, is quite poor sounding like a dub from the original single.
[edit] Personnel
- Clem Curtis: lead vocals - born 28 November 1940, in Trinidad, West Indies.
- Colin Young: lead vocals - b. 12 September 1944, in Barbados, West Indies - replaced Clem Curtis in 1968.
- Alan Warner: lead guitar - b. 21 April 1947, in Paddington, West London.
- Peter Macbeth: bass guitar - b. 2 February 1943, in Marylebone, North London.
- Tim Harris: drums - b. 14 January 1948, in St John's Wood, North London.
- Tony Gomez: keyboard - b. 13 December 1938, in Colombo, Ceylon - (now Sri Lanka).
- Pat Burke: tenor saxophone/flute - b. 9 October 1937, in Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies.
- Mike Elliott: tenor saxophone - b. 6 August 1929, in Jamaica, West Indies.
- Eric Allandale: trombone - b. Eric Allandale Dubuisson, 4 March 1936, in Dominica, West Indies. Died 23 August 2001.
[edit] UK Singles Discography
- "Baby, Now That I've Found You" - 1967 - UK Chart High - Number 1.
- "Back On My Feet Again" - 1968 - Number 18.
- "Any Old Time (You're Lonely And Sad)" -1968 - Number 48.
- "Build Me Up Buttercup" - 1968 - Number 2.
- "In The Bad Bad Old Days (Before You Loved Me)" - 1969 - Number 8.
- "Born To Live, Born To Die" - 1969 - Number 46.
- "Build Me Up Buttercup" - re-issue -1998 - Number 71.
[edit] References
- Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X
- The Guinness Book Of 500 Number One Hits - ISBN 0-85112-250-7
- The Book Of Golden Discs - ISBN 0-214-20512-6
