PopArchives: The Blog: Bigger in Oz (21): Sounds Incorporated

Bigger in Oz: tracks that were more popular in Australia than in their countries of origin.

See also: Only in Melbourne.

21. Sounds Incorporated - The Spartans (Trevor Stanford [known as Russ Conway])

Composition also known as Spartacus or Spartacus (The Spartans)

Columbia single (UK) #DB7239 April 1964
Columbia single (Australia) #DO4447 June 1964

British charts: #30

Australian charts: #3 Melbourne, #10 Brisbane | #5 Australia

Also released in USA and Canada.

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Footage of Sounds Incorporated opening for The Beatles on their 1964 Australia tour makes it clear why got the gig. This rocking, mainly instrumental, six-piece band from Kent are still a joy to watch, even if the video quality isn't terrific.

They expertly played saxophones, flutes, guitars, keyboards and drums, with an act full of energetic physical moves and comical dance sequences. They knew how to put on a show, and their stage experience came from backing pre-Merseybeat American stars touring Britain, including Eddy Cochran with whom they also recorded.

Apart from the quality of their work, Sounds Incorporated were the ideal band to open for The Beatles. I can imagine how audiences of Beatlemaniacs might have fidgeted through a lesser vocal-and-guitar group, while they waited impatiently for the biggest vocal-and-guitar group ever. Sounds Incorporated were something altogether different, and so entertaining that I'm guessing nobody even thought of yelling out, "We want the Beatles!"

Both bands were managed by Brian Epstein. Sounds Incorporated supported The Beatles again on their 1965 US tour, and members of Sounds Incorporated formed the brass section on the Beatles track Good Morning, Good Morning on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967).

The Spartans was the first Sounds Incorporated record to chart in both Britain and Australia. In Britain it was followed by one other, but in Australia it set off a series of charting singles that lasted into 1965.

Here are all the charting singles (Top 75) by Sounds Incorporated in Britain and Australia.

Britain
April 1964 The Spartans #30
July 1964 Spanish Harlem #35

Australia
July 1964 The Spartans #5
Aug 1964 Spanish Harlem #22
Aug 1964 Rinky Dink #22
Sept 1964 William Tell Overture #2
Sept 1964 Maria #2
Jan 1965 Light Cavalry #71
March 1965 Cast Your Fate To The Wind #20
March 1965 Hall Of The Mountain King #58

I have written before about Australians' fondness for an instrumental track. It helps to explain why Sounds Incorporated records did so well in Australia compared with their chart performance back in the UK. On top of that, it is fair to assume that the impression they made on the trendsetters at the Australian Beatles shows would have played a role.

The Spartans was written by Russ Conway (b. Trevor Stanford 1925-2000), a star British pianist and composer who had nineteen Top 40 hits 1957-1963 including Side Saddle (1957 #1 UK) and Roulette (1959 #1).

Sounds Incorporated rearranged The Spartans to feature the alto flute as lead instrument after listening to a demo recording. Saxophonist-keyboardist Barrie Cameron told Disc magazine in 1964 that they were emulating a sound developed on stage while backing Brenda Lee on tour in the UK.

Composer Russ Conway performed The Spartans himself on stage in April 1964 in a benefit concert for the son of recently deceased singing star Michael Holliday, a longtime friend since their days together in the Navy. It was released in July 1964 on an album, Tribute To Michael Holliday. The YouTube post of the track includes the full liner notes.

Conway's performance offers a contrast to the Sounds Incorporated version. It has a majestic feel, not unlike a theme for an epic historical film (it reminds me a little of piano duo Ferrante & Teicher). It is still stirring, but in a different way.

The composition's US copyright registrations adds an alternative title, Spartacus. The title Spartacus (The Spartans) is seen on a more guitar-based German single by Liverpool band Ian & The Zodiacs (1965) and on German issues of their album Star-Club Show 7 (1965). A re-orchestrated track by Les Reed And His Orchestra on their album Love Is All (1969) is also Spartacus (The Spartans).

An Australian footnote: Essex-born Trevor White had been a member of Sounds Incorporated when the band broke up in Australia in 1971. He stayed on to become a permanent Australian resident, first becoming known here for his starring role in the original Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar (1972). White was not in Sounds Incorporated for the Beatles tours or charting singles 1964-65, as he did not join the band until 1968 upon Barrie Cameron's departure.

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Chart positions
• Britain: from The Guinness book of British hit singles (1983)
• Melbourne and Brisbane: as calculated retrospectively by Gavin Ryan
• Australia: from Grant Dawe's Top 100 Singles site.

Selected sources:
• "No vocals for us, say Sounds Inc.", Disc, 9 May 1964 (Barrie Cameron on recording of The Spartans)
• "Sounds Incorporated", Record Mirror, 9 March 1968 (Sounds Incorporated's new organist Trevor White will be joining the group when Barry Cameron leaves in mid-March ...)
(Links are to digitised copies at WorldRadioHistory.com)

Sounds Incorporated - The Spartans (released April 1964, recorded in January)