Barikada
- World Of Music - Svastara - 2008 |
|
THE FOUNDATIONS
UK
(Everlasting)
|
The Foundations
UK
The Foundations were a surprisingly obscure late-'60s outfit,
considering that they managed to reach the tops of the both the British and
American charts more than once in the space of a year and had a solid three
years of recordings. At the time of their debut in mid-1967, they were hailed
as being among the most authentic makers of soul music ever to emerge from
England - the best practitioners of the Motown sound to be found on the far
side of the Atlantic - and were also accepted in jazz circles as well. "Baby
Now that I've Found You," "Build Me Up Buttercup" and "In
the Bad, Bad Old Days" were the biggest hits for this multiracial octet,
made up of Londoners and West Indians.
The Foundations were formed in January
1967 in the basement of a local coffee bar in Bayswater, gathered together
through advertisements in Melody Maker. Lead singer Clem Curtis was a former
boxer from Trinidad, while lead guitarist Alan Warner had been making his living
in the printing trade in London while waiting for music to pay off. Flautist
/ saxman Pat Burke hailed from Jamaica, tenor saxman Mike Elliott had played
with Colin
Hicks (brother of Tommy Steele) in his band the Cabin Boys, as well as in several
jazz bands, and trombonist Eric Allan Dale was another jazz veteran. Tony Gomez
(keyboards), Peter Macbeth (bass), and Tim Harris (drums) rounded out the lineup.
They selected a name Foundations based on their surroundings, a rehearsal space
in the basement of a building.
The group made very little headway for their
first few months together, although they did manage to get an audition at the
Marquee Club. It was at their regular spot at a much smaller club called the
Butterfly - where they played one legendary gig on the last night of the Stax
/ Volt European tour - that led to their breakthrough. They were spotted by
record
dealer Barry Class, who was impressed enough with what he heard to become their
manager. He arranged a meeting with Pye Records producer / songwriter Tony
Macaulay, who was working with Long John Baldry with some success, but also
was desperately
looking for a new act to break for the label. He'd written a song with his
partner John Macleod called "Baby Now that I've Found You," which
seemed to suit the Foundations. The resulting single, issued in the summer
of 1967, got no reaction from the public or on the airwaves until it got picked
up by the BBC's newly founded Radio 1, by a stroke of pure luck. The station
wanted to avoid any records being played by the pirate radio broadcasters,
and looked back at recent releases that the pirates had missed. "Baby
Now that I've Found You" was the immediate beneficiary, along with the
group - by November, the single held the number one spot on the British charts.
The group's timing was as perfect as the song - there had
been a soul boom in England since late 1965, and the subsequent Motown and
Stax / Volt tours by
American R&B stars only heightened the public's interest. The Foundations
were hailed for being the first British band to come up with an authentic soul
sound, and the fact that they were first multiracial band to top the British
charts only made their success that much more impressive (at a time when England
was beginning to come to grips with its own racial attitudes). What's more,
the group had the goods to back up the press' accolades. Their performances
revealed a seasoned, well-rehearsed, exciting stage presence and a bold, hard
soul sound that most British bands managed to imitate only in the palest manner,
if at all.
Meanwhile, their debut single got to number 11 on the American
charts in the hands of MCA's Uni label, and it was equally well-received in
the rest
of the world, selling something more than three and a half million copies.
Suddenly, the Foundations were a British phenomenon and had a worldwide following.
An album, From the Foundations, was duly recorded and featured some superb
material, embracing both current soul and the then-popular discotheque sounds
- the covers included everything from Joe Tex ("Show Me") to Tony
Hatch ("Call Me," in a version worthy of Motown), as well as some
new Macaulay / Macleod numbers.
The debut album never made the British charts,
but it remained in print for years, a perennial seller that held up well over
time. Unfortunately, a follow-up single, "Back on My Feet Again," didn't
crack the British Top Ten, despite very heavy airplay and promotion, and barely
made the U.S. Top 50. In retrospect, it may have been too similar to "Baby
Now that I've Found You," which had sold in enormous numbers. Its relative
failure led to the beginnings of a split between the group and Macaulay, as
both, songwriter and producer, exacerbated by the latter's decision - as their
producer - not to permit the group to record any of their own songs, even
as B-sides. Additionally, they felt that Macaulay reined in their "real" sound,
making them seem more pop-oriented than they were. These disagreements occurred
at just about the same time that the group itself began experiencing internal
fractures. It seemed to Curtis, in particular, that some of the other members,
having topped the charts and chalked up an international hit, weren't putting
out the same effort they'd been giving to the group when they were still struggling.
Curtis was persuaded to pursue a solo career, ironically right after he'd recorded
perhaps the best track he ever cut with the group, a killer rendition of "It's
All Right," a number they'd been knocking crowds dead with on stage all
along. (They also released a live album, "Rocking the Foundations".) Additionally,
saxman Elliott quit as well, and was never replaced.
Curtis was succeeded by
Colin Young, a good singer in his own right who fit in perfectly with the group's
sound, and the reconstituted group hit once more in early 1969 with "Build
Me Up Buttercup," written by Macaulay with Mike D'Abo, which reached number
two in England and number one in America. "In the Bad, Bad Old Days (Before
You Loved Me)" was yet another hit, reaching the U.K. Top Ten and the
U.S. Top 30. The band's success finally faltered when Macaulay exited Pye Records.
As he later revealed, he was still being paid solely as a producer and he received
no royalties for his songs, despite millions of copies sold. With his departure,
the group were cut off from the only composer who'd written all of their hits.
Additionally, the sounds of soul were changing faster than the group could
assimilate it all - they tried for a funkier, James Brown-type sound on their
last recordings together in 1970 but failed to attract any attention.
The Foundations
split in 1970, and by the middle of the decade that followed, Curtis revived
the band - but so had Young, and both outfits were called the Foundations.
A lawsuit resulted in Curtis getting the rights to the original name, while
Young was allowed to use The New Foundations. The group remains fondly remembered,
if not often written about, in England, and it achieved some fresh international
recognition in 1998 when "Build Me Up Buttercup" appeared prominently
in the hit movie "There's Something About Mary". Curtis continues to perform
in a revived version of the group, and he and Warner have recorded new versions
of the Foundations' classic numbers. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide.
|
The Foundations
BUILD ME UP BUTTERCUP |
|
Why do you build me up (Build me up)
Buttercup baby just to
let me down (Let me down)
And mess me around
And then worst of all (Worst of all)
You never call baby
When you say you will (Say you will)
But I love you still
I need you (I need you)
More than anyone darlin'
You know that I have from the start |
So build me up (Build me up)
Buttercup
Don't break my heart
I'll be over at ten
You tell me time and again
But you're late
I wait around and then
I went to the door
I can't take any more
It's not you
You let me down again
Baby Baby
Try to find a little time
And I'll make you happy
I'll be home
I'll be waiting beside the phone
Waiting for you. |
Why do you build me up....
To you I'm a toy
But I could be the boy
You adore
If you'd just let me know
Although you're untrue
I'm attracted to you
All the more
Why do I need you so Baby Baby...
ooh ooh ooh
Why do build me up ... |
|