Thursday 13 May 2010

The Changing of the Guard

"The Changing of the Guard is part of our tradition but now we find it's been applied to us ..." mourns The Marquis of Kensington as he feels the gentry is up against it in swingin' England. If his Changing of The Guard has a touch of the Noel Coward sings The Kinks about it then that'll be because their manager Robert Wace was on vocals. The Marquis of Kensington was a studio project featuring Wace with the great Mike Leander. This song was featured in Peter Whitehead's 1967 documentary Tonite Let's All Make Love In London, and was a hit on the continent. As Wace wanted to keep a low profile they got a young art student to do the TV appearances. Another single, Sister Marie, had a great mod instrumental, Flash, on the flip which was covered in Italy and became a hit for the equally aristocratic Duke of Burlington.

1 comment:

  1. Great track, I think he was actually Robery Wace, one time Kinks manager. The cheeky bastards just played the song backwards for the B-side called "Reverse Thrust"! "If we ever get invited to the palace then we'll all go there by bus...". Equally recommended in a similar election vein is the semi-rare "Make Your Mark Little Man" by The National Pinon Pole on Planet Records UK '66.

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