The Mickey Finn are one of those cult 60s Mod bands shrouded in mystery who have yet to enjoy a retrospective of their own – until now!
They started life as Mickey Finn & The Blue Men on ska label Blue Beat, coinciding with the craze for Jamaican music which exploded in 1964. A shift to Oriole saw them gravitate to an R&B/beat sound, with help on occasion from a guitarist named Jimmy Page.
Further singles in 1965/1966, the Shel Talmy-produced ‘The Sporting Life’ and ‘I Do Love You’, revealed their skill at soulful ballads. In 1967, they unleashed one of the finest nuggets of the British psych era, ‘Garden Of My Mind’, on the Direction label.
This CD marks the first time when all the Mickey Finn’s recordings have been compiled: every A- and B-side plus the retrospective 7”, ‘God Bless The Child’ (rescued from acetate) and three previously unissued demos.
Sleeve-notes by Brian Neavyn (Ugly Things), who has interviewed band members to finally tell the band’s story.
Track Listing
PILLS
I STILL WANT YOU
GARDEN OF MY MIND
NIGHT COMES DOWN
HUSH YOUR MOUTH
TIME TO START LOVING YOU
AIN’T NECESSARILY SO **
IF I HAD YOU BABY
THE SPORTING LIFE
BECAUSE I LOVE YOU (ALIAS I DO LOVE YOU)
REELIN’ & A’ROCKIN’
STAGGER LEE *
POVERTY *
MISS JANE *
GOD BLESS THE CHILD **
TOM HARK
PLEASE LOVE ME
* PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED DEMO
** NOT ORIGINALLY RELEASED
