Carl Wayne - "Way Back in the Fifties"

Way Back in the Fifties b/w Candy (Polydor 1975 - Dutch issue)

Here's the original singer for The Move, trying to stay relevant in the seventies. I remember my dad telling me once, how Carl Wayne was basically an uncredible "dork." Wayne reputedly left the band due to his desire to take The Move in a more cabaret direction. Of course, Roy Wood had different ideas, and he went on to be considered by many a pop genius, whilst Mr. Wayne pretty much waded through the trenches of the music industry.

This record, however, ain't half bad. Hey, the guy had a great voice! It seems pretty obvious that he was capitalizing on Roy Wood/Wizzard's fifties in the seventies formula, though with considerably less hair. Both sides were written and produced by the team of Wayne Bickerton and Tony Waddington, who had many successful projects under their collective belt, including writing "Sugar Baby Love." If you're into this track, it's pretty much the end of the road for good Carl Wayne records. Search his name on Youtube and, frankly, it reaffirms what my dad told me years ago. The solo stuff is mostly schmaltz. I have heard another Carl Wayne recording of this song, with slicker (more-recent?) production and a mock-fifties spoken intro. I'm posting the better version.