Marmalade

Marmalade are a Scottish pop rock group from Glasgow, active from 1966 to the present. They begin as The Gaylords, formed in Baillieston, east of Glasgow, in 1961, and later work as Dean Ford and The Gaylords before adopting the Marmalade name in 1966. Their line-up changes frequently over the years, but members associated with the group include Junior Campbell, Pat Fairley, Graham Knight, Dean Ford, Alan Whitehead, Hugh Nicholson, Mikel Japp and Sandy Newman. Sandy Newman fronts the group from 1975 onwards.

Early history

The Gaylords are formed by Pat Fairley and Billy Johnston, with Tommy Frew on drums, Pat McGovern on lead guitar and Wattie Rodgers on vocals. Junior Campbell joins in 1961, replacing McGovern, and the group later changes singers several times before Thomas McAleese, who takes the stage name Dean Ford, becomes lead vocalist. Raymond Duffy later joins on drums, Davey Hunter plays organ for a short period, and Graham Knight replaces Bill Irving on bass by 1965. The band builds a reputation in Scotland and then moves to London in the early 1960s, seeking wider success.

Recordings as The Gaylords and early Marmalade

Under the names The Gaylords and Dean Ford and The Gaylords, the group records four singles for Columbia (EMI). Those releases include a version of Chubby Checker’s “Twenty Miles”, which sells well locally but does not enter the national charts. After the name change to The Marmalade, the band signs to CBS Records and works with producer Mike Smith. Their early CBS singles also fail to chart, but “I See the Rain”, written by Junior Campbell and Dean Ford, later gains cult status and tops the chart in the Netherlands.

Breakthrough and chart success

Marmalade’s commercial breakthrough comes with “Lovin’ Things”, which reaches No. 6 in the UK Singles Chart in 1968. Their debut album, There’s A Lot Of It About, combines singles and cover versions of current material. The group appears in the film Subterfuge in 1968. Later that year, “Wait For Me Mary-Anne” reaches No. 30, and in January 1969 their version of the Beatles’ “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” reaches No. 1 in the UK, making them the first Scottish group to top the chart. The single sells around half a million copies in the UK and about a million worldwide by April 1969. It is followed by “Baby Make It Soon”, which reaches No. 9.

Decca years and international recognition

In 1969 the band signs to Decca Records on a favourable deal that allows it to write and produce its own songs. Its first Decca recording, “Reflections of My Life”, becomes its biggest worldwide hit, reaching the top 10 in the United States and No. 1 in many South American markets, while also topping charts in Europe. The song is written by Campbell and Ford and features a reversed guitar solo by Campbell. It sells over two million copies and later receives a BMI Special Citation of Achievement for radio performances in the United States. Other Decca-era hits include “Rainbow” and “My Little One”, both written by Campbell and Ford, and “Cousin Norman” and “Radancer”, written by Hugh Nicholson.

Live work and TV appearances

During this period the group appears on BBC television programmes including Colour Me Pop and Pop Go The Sixties. It supports acts such as Pink Floyd, the Action, the Who, Joe Cocker, Traffic, Gene Pitney and the Tremeloes, and plays at events including the Windsor Jazz and Rock Festival and the Festival of the Flower Children at Woburn Abbey. It also develops a reputation through a long residency at London’s Marquee Club.

Later line-ups

Junior Campbell leaves in 1971 to pursue a solo career and study orchestration and composition at the Royal College of Music. Alan Whitehead also departs, and Hugh Nicholson joins from the Poets. The band releases Songs in 1971, but with limited success. Pat Fairley leaves around 1972 to run the group’s publishing company, and Nicholson then leaves in 1973 to form Blue. Mike Japp, from the Welsh band Thank You, replaces him, and the group returns to EMI. It releases “Wishing Well” under the shortened name Marmalade, dropping the “The”.

The band later records Our House Is Rocking, which shifts towards a heavier rock sound, but line-up changes continue. Graham Knight leaves in 2010 as the last remaining member of the original band. In 1975 he and Alan Whitehead form Vintage Marmalade with Sandy Newman and Charlie Smith, then take over the Marmalade name with Newman as vocalist. This line-up signs to Target Records and reaches the UK Top 10 again with “Falling Apart at the Seams” in 1976. Later singles do not chart.

Continued activity

Sandy Newman continues to front Marmalade from 1975 onwards. The group later goes through further personnel changes, including John James Newman joining in 2011, Damon Sawyer and Mike Steed in 2010, and Jan Robinson and Chris North in 2015. In 2013 the line-up releases Penultimate, its first new studio album since 1979, with six new compositions alongside re-recordings of earlier songs. The group also issues Fine Cuts – The Best Of Marmalade, a double album of original studio recordings from 1966 to 1972.