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Georgie Fame
RB at the Ricky Tick 65
Back in 1965, the centre of the Mod Universe was London’s West End. Clubs like The Flamingo were pulling in hip young kids to see the new R&B acts. The biggest home-grown act was Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, who incorporated all that the new breed wanted to hear and dance the night away to: R&B, Soul, Jazz and Ska. Out of town, clubs dropped ‘jiving’ and ‘Merseybeat’ nights in favour of the new sounds that were surging out of the city. In nearby Windsor, the only place to be if you were a mod was The Ricky Tick, and on May Day 1965, the Blue Flames were topping the bill. Fame was certainly a crowd puller. When he made his appearance at the club that night, he was fresh from having just finished touring with the first UK Tamla Motown revue. He had been added to the bill at the last minute to boost numbers on the tour that included The Supremes, Martha & The Vandellas, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles. The promoters knew Fame could pull in the mods. A sincere sounding Georgie said in Rave magazine, “since rhythm and blues came in it’s done a hell of a lot for honesty in music. Young people today are cool. They’re looking for the good things in life. If you start off looking for truthfulness and meaning and maturity you’re starting on the right track.” Well said, Georgie. Get on the right track baby!