{"id":7574,"date":"2026-04-01T13:40:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T12:40:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/?p=7574"},"modified":"2026-04-01T13:40:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T12:40:55","slug":"shindig-174-the-sorrows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/?p=7574","title":{"rendered":"Shindig! #174 &#8211; The Sorrows"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Emerging from the half-rebuilt ruins of the post-war Midlands, THE SORROWS\u2019 career encompassed encounters with Joe Meek, German club residencies, one-hit wonder success at home, mega success abroad, revolving door line-ups and a musical path that wound through rock \u2019n\u2019 roll, beat, R&amp;B and mod, before splintering into psych, prog and hard-rock. And the best of their handful of 45s still sound fresh and thrilling 60 years on. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>SHAUN HAND<\/strong><strong> gets sent to Coventry to investigate<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In March 1966, [the] revised line-up embarked on a seven-week tour that zig-zagged an illogical path from Iceland to France, on to Germany, back to Scotland, and thence to Italy. \u2018Take A Heart\u2019 had been a hit as far afield as Japan, and the band recorded versions in German (\u2018Nimm mein Herz\u2019) and Italian (\u2018Mi si spezza il cuore\u2019), but it was the latter country that took the band to its collective heart.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Sorrows - You&#039;ve Got What I Want (1966)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sy_rmgZroJI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cA <em>Sliding Doors <\/em>moment for us was our first gig in Biella, Italy, in June \u201966,\u201d remembers Lomas. \u201cIt was the opening show of Cantagiro #5, a massive, nationwide, annual stadium tour that ran for three weeks. Unbeknown to us, we were already \u2018stars\u2019, which was evident from the audience reaction we received at that show and throughout the tour. \u2018Take My Heart\u2019 had already been a massive Italian hit, and now our label asked us to promote our Italian-language version. Needless to say, we repeated the chart success of the record for a second time!\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But as Lomas was entering the frame and things were picking up abroad, so Don Fardon was exiting. Regardless of Italian enthusiasm, any momentum \u2018Take A Heart\u2019 had enjoyed at home \u2013 where the singer had a wife and baby daughter to support \u2013 had quickly vanished. Anyway, he wanted to change musical direction and go solo. As Whitcher also observes, \u201cAs with many bands, there were personality clashes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Sorrows - No, No, No, No (1966)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/W0b3jhggp-k?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0Fardon returned to Coventry and factory work before being sought out by CBS, who put him in the studio with Percy \u2018Theme From A Summer Place\u2019 Faith for The Righteous Brothers-esque swooner \u2018It\u2019s Been Nice Loving You\u2019 (co-written by Al Kooper). Unfortunately, Terry Juckes\u2019s paranoia about the machinations of the music biz came true for Fardon when the single\u2019s January \u201967 launch was scuppered by Pye piping up to remind him he was still under contract to them. The song wouldn\u2019t see official release for another two years, and Fardon would have to wait until \u201970 to finally taste British chart success again (with his George Best tribute \u2018Belfast Boy\u2019 and most notably a re-release of another of his old singles, \u2018Indian Reservation\u2019).<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Sorrows - Let Me In (1966)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4iloE8YnN80?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Back in \u201966, though, despite the lack of pop success in Blighty, things were getting musically exciting for The Sorrows. Even before Fardon quit, the follow-up 45s to \u2018Take A Heart\u2019, most notably the Dallon-penned \u2018You\u2019ve Got What I Want\u2019, fizzed with the kind of frenetic energy that contemporary reviewers might have called \u201cwild\u201d and a \u201crave\u201d \u2013 Fardon would later recall that no lesser authority on wild raving than Keith Moon thought Bruce Finlay \u201cthe best British drummer of our generation\u201d. Today, their best work falls under the jurisdiction of \u201cfreakbeat\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Sorrows - Ypotron (1966 Italia Freakbeat) OST from the movie Ypotron\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZgbTkYyGXpc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like \u201cyacht-rock\u201d, freakbeat is a retrospective term, applied decades after the fact. But whereas yacht-rock successfully rebranded acres of long-derided AOR music, freakbeat has never been uncool. Tough, taut and hip, it bridged the wired energy of mod with the weirdness of the burgeoning psychedelic scene. It\u2019s just that no one was thinking of it that way in \u201966.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Sorrows - Verde, Rosso, Giallo &amp; Blu (1967)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pvllI4tw0rc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of the many essential, and now rare, 45s from freakbeat\u2019s brief late \u201965-67 lifespan (see sidebar), The Sorrows\u2019 four-single run \u2013 \u2018You\u2019ve Got What I Want\u2019, \u2018Let The Live Live\u2019, \u2018Let Me In\u2019 and \u2018Pink, Purple, Yellow And Red\u2019 \u2013 stand up against anything you might care to throw at them from, say, The Creation or The Eyes. The drums, the rumbling bass, the increasingly distorted guitars. It\u2019s all there.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/widget.qobuz.com\/album\/0505074941290?zone=GB-en\" width=\"378\" height=\"390\">Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>To read the full article order issue #174 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.silverbackpublishing.rocks\/product\/shindig-174\/\">here<\/a>, Subscribe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.silverbackpublishing.rocks\/product\/unlock-the-world-of-shindig-subscribe-today-and-access-every-issue-ever-published\/\">here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<span class=\"synved-social-container synved-social-container-share\"><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-24 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-facebook nolightbox\" data-provider=\"facebook\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share on Facebook\" href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fshindig-magazine.com%2Findex.php%3Frest_route%3D%252Fwp%252Fv2%252Fposts%252F7574&#038;t=Shindig%21%20%23174%20%E2%80%93%20The%20Sorrows&#038;s=100&#038;p&#091;url&#093;=https%3A%2F%2Fshindig-magazine.com%2Findex.php%3Frest_route%3D%252Fwp%252Fv2%252Fposts%252F7574&#038;p&#091;images&#093;&#091;0&#093;=https%3A%2F%2Fshindig-magazine.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F04%2FCov-1.png&#038;p&#091;title&#093;=Shindig%21%20%23174%20%E2%80%93%20The%20Sorrows\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:24px;height:24px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Facebook\" title=\"Share on Facebook\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"display: inline;width:24px;height:24px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/48x48\/facebook.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-24 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-twitter nolightbox\" data-provider=\"twitter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share on Twitter\" href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fshindig-magazine.com%2Findex.php%3Frest_route%3D%252Fwp%252Fv2%252Fposts%252F7574&#038;text=New%20post%20on%20our%20site\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:24px;height:24px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"twitter\" title=\"Share on Twitter\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"display: inline;width:24px;height:24px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/48x48\/twitter.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-24 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-mail nolightbox\" data-provider=\"mail\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share by email\" href=\"mailto:?subject=Shindig%21%20%23174%20%E2%80%93%20The%20Sorrows&#038;body=New%20post%20on%20our%20site:%20https%3A%2F%2Fshindig-magazine.com%2Findex.php%3Frest_route%3D%252Fwp%252Fv2%252Fposts%252F7574\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:24px;height:24px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"mail\" title=\"Share by email\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"display: inline;width:24px;height:24px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/48x48\/mail.png\" \/><\/a><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Emerging from the half-rebuilt ruins of the post-war Midlands, THE SORROWS\u2019 career encompassed encounters with Joe Meek, German club residencies, one-hit wonder success at home, mega success abroad, revolving door line-ups and a musical path that wound through rock \u2019n\u2019 roll, beat, R&amp;B and mod, before splintering into psych, prog and hard-rock. And the best [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7575,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1009,7,1172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-magazine","category-music-videos","category-qobuz","post_format-post-format-video"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7574"}],"version-history":[{"count":-4,"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7574\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}