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The
Great Wurzels Vinyl Mystery!
by Paul Gunningham
Can you
help solve the riddle of the cryptic messages found engraved on
old Wurzels records?
Several
of The Wurzels' 45 rpm 7-inch singles from the 1970s have
been found to contain cryptic messages engraved on the "dead"
space near the runout groove. Can anyone out there explain how these
came to be there, and explain what they're about? If you can, then
please contact us!
Record
no. |
Track
title |
Message
/ Possible explanations |
EMI
2450
Side A |
The
Combine Harvester (Brand New Key) |
"NOT
THE JOHN MILES !"
Notes: John Miles was The Wurzels' manager
at the time of this recording (1976). Round about this time,
a different John Miles was enjoying chart success with
records such as Highfly and Music. Maybe the message
is something to do with this - but which one is "the"
John Miles? |
EMI
2450
Side B |
The
Blackbird |
"HAVE
A GURT BIG Dollop"
Notes: The old Adge Cutler song When The Common
Market Comes To Stanton Drew includes a mention of "a
girt dollop of spaghetti", but otherwise I can't think
of any obvious meaning for this message. Could there be an Italian
connection? |
EMI
2520
Side A |
I
Am A Cider Drinker (Paloma Blanca) |
"I'M
A PANAMA BLANKET!! "
Notes: I assume this is a reference to the song Una
Paloma Blanca on which The Wurzels' hit was based.
|
EMI
2520
Side B |
The
Back Of My Old Car |
"NICE
ONE SAMMY"
Notes: No idea about this one - who is "Sammy"?
|
EMI
2568
Side A |
Morning
Glory |
"FIVE
FOR VIC LANZA ! "
Notes: I assume this is a reference to the words of
the song:
One for the Morning Glory
Two for the early dew
Three for the man who stands his round,
and Four for the love of you, my girl
Four for the love of you
But
who is Vic Lanza? Well, Vic was a former
EMI division chief, described
by Music Week as "one of the record industry's most colourful
characters". Vic
Lanza headed up EMI Records' MOR music division for nearly
two decades in the 1970s and early 1980s, scoring numerous
successes during that time. Vic died in January
2008 after a long illness, and is buried in West London. |
EMI
2568
Side B |
Rock
Around The A38 |
"WELCOME
Billy"
Notes: No idea about this one - who is "Billy"?
|
EMI
2637
Side A |
Farmer
Bill's Cowman (I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman) |
"A
NIKICUT"
Notes: No clues about this one at all! |
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