Alex Harvey And His Soul Band - Framed 1964

1964 spielte Alex Harvey im Top Ten Club in Hamburg. Zehn Jahre später habe ich ihn mit der SAHB (gemeinsam mit Deep Purple) live in Berlin erlebt. Es war mein erstes Livekonzert.

In my first live-concert everytime i see SAHB in the year 1974, together with Deep Purple in Berlin.


Alex Harvey - Born in Govan, Glasgow, on the 5th February 1935, legend has it that Alex Harvey had over 36 jobs before setting out on a career as a performer and started of playing the trumpet circa 1955, before he moved to a singer/songwriter. After several name changes they decided on the Alex Harvey Soul Band circa 1962. It was considered at the time, that the Scottish R+B scene was a few years ahead of artists such as Georgie Fame and his Blueflames, and Graham Bond, but as these artists were London based they got the recognition for being the pioneers of this sound.

In 1963 Alex Harvey leaves Scotland for Germany and is playing clubs in Hamburg like The Top Ten Club as there isnt enough work for him here, and by all accounts built up an atmosphere with the crowd at his gigs, considered to be way ahead of anything better than what the Merseybeat sound could offer.


Polydor signed up Harvey, but his original band were back in Scotland, and so the backing band, was mainly members from Kingsize Taylor And The Dominoes, mainly due too the fact it was contractual and sadly we never get to hear the real Soul Band. What was put out was an LP for the German market, and so it never got the acclaim it richly deserved.


It wasnt until February 1964 that The Soul Band debuted in Londons Jazz Club, 100 Oxford Street and further gigs in Newcastle, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow followed. A second LP was recorded in Hamburg in June 1964 and was recorded over two days. By 1965 the band was in debt and disbanded, but recorded an excellent version of Edwin Starrs soul classic Agent 00 Soul but unfortunately that sound wasnt commercial enough and the song didnt chart.


Alex Harvey returned to Scotland in 1966, musically a different place to the one he left three years earlier and was now embittered about the way his music career was heading. Another 45 was soon released, this time a version of Work Song and sadly yet again never made any impression on the charts.

This was to be the same outcome for Harvey over the next few years until the formation of the SAHB. These two classic Alex Harvey 45s Agent 00 Soul and Work Song are hear for all too enjoy, and to give an insight to what was being played on the Scottish club scene in the mid 1960s. There is a book by an Edinburgh publisher on the life of Alex Harvey, they have recognised the glasgowmods.co.uk appreciation for the band.

Framed lyrics:
I'm walking down the street mindin' my own affair
when two policemen grabbed me and I'm unaware
They said "Is your name Alexander?" and I said "Why, sure!"
They said "You're the cat that we've been looking for."
Chorus:
But I was framed
I was framed
I never did nothing
but now I was, I was framed

The cops took me to a little room where the bright lights shine
there was ten poor souls like me standin' in the line
I knew I was the victim of somebody's evil plan
when a stool pigeon looked at me an' said....

That's your man!

Chorus

Then the public prosecutor started prosecutin' me
that man wanted to find what was my pedigree
He said "Where were you on the third of June 1963?"
Them cats with rubber hoses started givin' me the third degree....

Chorus

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Rock

[Dangersmith1]

watched an episode of rock family trees and the bass player of the mersey beat or something talked of how he'd played on a fake live album by alex harvey , who was determined to portray his band as a hamburg favorite live act.

this song is off that record,

used to have a tape of it,

loved it and was strangely pleased when i found out it was fake

[hermygagala]

GREAT BAND RIP ALEX.

[Iancrockert]

@lifeinapuddle This Album was recorded "Live" In The Studio and the audience effects were overdubbed later.

[lifeinapuddle]

Thanks for sticking this up, hadn't heard this version with His Soul Band before. Have never really been a rock lover, soul and reggae was my thing but i'd heard Next and loved it so i went to a SAHB in concert..The whole band were superb, pure entertainment, Alex had us eating out his hand. Been looking around to see if there's any footage or recordings from his last band Electric Cowboys. No joy so far

[trubolt]

the Last of The Teenage Idols ... RIP Mr.Harvey

[BigIainy]

Dont make any bullets,dont buy any bullets and dont shoot any bullets!!!!!

[MsBarking]

wunderbar!

[lescot2000]

very good find ,,, Volks ... good music ... a big hi from Glasgow .. Scotland

[ENGLAND303AD]

Wow !

[MarkRevival]

Coool stuff!

Have a copy of Teenage A Go Go up on eBay at the moment, a collection of some very rare and previously unreleased tunes from '64 - '68. Vital stuff!!