New releases from Telford band from pop's golden era
Shropshire's most successful pop group of the 1960s and early 1970s could be heading for a renaissance nearly 50 years after their break-up.
Fluff from Telford released several singles and achieved national airplay, but hovered tantalisingly on the edge of the big time without ever making the breakthrough.
Now the group’s third single, Sunny, Honey Girl, is among the tracks on a new CD release called Bubblerock Is Here To Stay being released this month by Cherry Red Records.
When the record, written by renowned songwriters Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, was first released in July 1970, it was withdrawn after a few weeks on the instructions of the publishing company who discovered that Cliff Richard wanted to record the song.
The group’s manager at the time, Austin Powell, who still looks after the group’s interests, says it’s only right that the group’s output is now being made available again.
He said: “It was always of a very high standard. The group was very talented and after all this time it’s good to see that record companies and music researchers are realising that.”
The original group comprised vocalist Chris Wallace from Donnington; guitarist Mick Skinner from Trench; and, all from Dawley, six-string bass player Gerry Ward, four-string bass player Dave Archer, and drummer Alan Millington.
Later Chris and Dave left, and Alan Phillips from Dawley joined on guitar, with Fluff becoming known as Ironbridge, making an LP for EMI which was only released in France.
Late last year Just A Day, a track from that 1973 LP, was re-released on a CD collection called Once Upon A Time In The West Midlands and a second track from that LP is to feature on a forthcoming CD called The Roots Of British Power Pop due for release in mid-July.
