3 January 1970, New Musical Express
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| Review of "My Baby Loves Lovin'", NME, 3 Jan 1970 |
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Happy New Year! The first of our 1970 singles is by a group called WHITE PLAINS, and it's a number written and produced by Roger Greenaway and Roger Cook, titled 'My baby loves lovin'. It's a tremendous catchy tune with nicely interwoven vocal harmonies and a super arrangement -- a very lively and wideawake sound. It's on Deram, and the number is DM 280.
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| Pete Nelson misidentified as Tony Burrows in the 7 Feb 1970 issue of Record Mirror |
14 February 1970, New Musical Express
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| White Plains/Brotherhood Of Man article, 14 Feb 1970, NME |
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TWO NEW GROUPS WITH MUCH IN COMMON
THERE seems to be a certain amount of cross-pollination between the White Plains and Brotherhood Of Man groups, who enter the NME Chart at Nos. 24 and 29 respectively. The White Plains' "My Baby Loves Lovin'" was written and produced by Rogers Cook and Greenaway. Greenaway also sings lead on the record but he doesn't plan to tour with the group. He just wants to make records with them. The rest of the unit consists of Tony Burrows (who also sings with The Brotherhood Of Man and Edison Lighthouse), Peter Nelson and Robin Shaw. These three you may remember as the Flowerpot Men!
At pains
Their manager was at pains to point out that White Plains had evolved naturally from the now defunct Flowerpot Men, and that they weren't just session men flitting like bees from one bloom to another. The threesome brought in Roger Greenaway to sing the lead and changed their name to White Plains, a district just outside New York. From this, their manager points out, we can gather that they hope to go down well in the States.
THE Brother hood Of Man's "United We Stand" was written by Tony Hiller, who happens to be a good friend of Tony Burrows and Roger Greenaway, so they are both heard on the record. Add to them Sue and Sunny, well-known vocal backing artists and disc names, Johnny Goodison, who produced "Race With The Devil," and you have the Brotherhood.
Having unravelled all this complicity a la Conan Doyle, it remains only to say that the records both groups have produced are, as one might expect, professional, clever, catchy, custom-made for the charts and that's where they've landed! -- JAN NESBIT
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| "My Baby Loves Lovin'" at #29, 14 Feb 1970, Disc & Music Echo |
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| "My Baby Loves Lovin'" at #10, 14 March 1970, Disc & Music Echo |
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| Advertisement, Cash Box, 14 March 1970 |
14 March 1970, Disc & Music Echo
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| Pickettywitch's Chris Warren gives his opinion on "My Baby Loves Lovin'" in the 14 March 1970 issue of Disc & Music Echo |
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White Plains is quite nice. I like the instrumental introduction more than the vocals. - Pickettywitch's Chris Warren
14 March 1970, Mirabelle
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SPOTLIGHT ON TONY BURROWS, KING OF THE HIT PARADE
28 March 1970, New Musical Express
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White Plains follow-up MARBLES, CHRISTINE SINGLES
14 March 1970, Mirabelle
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| Tony Burrows interview, Mirabelle, 14 May 1970 |
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SPOTLIGHT ON TONY BURROWS, KING OF THE HIT PARADE
Tony Burrows is the man who gained a sort of subtle notoriety by monopolising Top of the Pops one evening and having three records in the hit parade all at once and all with different groups. By now his face must be very familiar, so we thought we'd fill in a few background details.
TONY is twenty-eight, 5ft. 9in. tall, with brown hair and blue eyes. He is married and has two small daughters, Cindy, seven, and Amanda, four. He started his career in Bristol when he was about eighteen with a semi-professional group called The Kestrels. Another founder member Roger Greenaway who is now part of Brotherhood of Man with Tony. The Kestrels split up in about 1965 and he joined first The Ivy League for a couple of years and then The Flowerpot Men. "I left about nine months ago after a particularly harrowing tour -- four weeks of Israel and Hungary -- and that was enough," he went on. "I really wasn't quite sure where I wanted my career to go. I'm just letting things happen and they seem to be going quite well. I've enjoyed working on sessions with White Plains, Brotherhood of Man and Edison Lighthouse but I'm glad I'm not with a group permanently. Roger and I are doing a disc together called Gimme Dat Ding. It's just a joke thing about a metronome that loves its ding. We're called The Pipkins for that. Then on March 27 I've got my own record out, a Barry Mason/Tony Macaulay song Melanie, I think that's what I'd really like, a hit single all my own."
TONY is twenty-eight, 5ft. 9in. tall, with brown hair and blue eyes. He is married and has two small daughters, Cindy, seven, and Amanda, four. He started his career in Bristol when he was about eighteen with a semi-professional group called The Kestrels. Another founder member Roger Greenaway who is now part of Brotherhood of Man with Tony. The Kestrels split up in about 1965 and he joined first The Ivy League for a couple of years and then The Flowerpot Men. "I left about nine months ago after a particularly harrowing tour -- four weeks of Israel and Hungary -- and that was enough," he went on. "I really wasn't quite sure where I wanted my career to go. I'm just letting things happen and they seem to be going quite well. I've enjoyed working on sessions with White Plains, Brotherhood of Man and Edison Lighthouse but I'm glad I'm not with a group permanently. Roger and I are doing a disc together called Gimme Dat Ding. It's just a joke thing about a metronome that loves its ding. We're called The Pipkins for that. Then on March 27 I've got my own record out, a Barry Mason/Tony Macaulay song Melanie, I think that's what I'd really like, a hit single all my own."
28 March 1970, New Musical Express
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| New single announcement for "I've Got You On My Mind" NME, 28 March 1970 |
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White Plains follow-up MARBLES, CHRISTINE SINGLES
WHITE PLAINS' follow-up to its current hit "My Baby Loves Lovin'" is being issued by Deram on April 10 -- titled "I've Got You On My Mind." Other newly-announced singles out the same day are Vanity Fare's "Come Tomorrow" (Page One), the Bedrocks' "Hit Me On The head" (Columbia) and Three Dog Night's "It's For You" (Dunhill). A late addition to the April 3 release is Edgar Broughton's "Out Demons Out" (Harvest), and Blue Horizon issues Christine Perfect's "I'm Too Far Gone" on April 17.
4 April 1970, New Musical Express
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PLAINS PACK HIT APPEAL
4 April 1970, New Musical Express
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| Review for "I've Got You On My Mind" NME, 4 April 1970 |
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PLAINS PACK HIT APPEAL
WHITE PLAINS: *I've Got You On My Mind (Deram).
ANOTHER light-hearted and bright-and-breezy routine that's full of the joys of living, and is guaranteed to chase away your blues. Again written by the Greenaway-Cook team, it's just a fraction slower-paced than "My Baby Loves Lovin'" -- but nevertheless is jaunty, bouncy, infectious and gay.
This is "instant pop" with a simple and catchy sing-along melody and a happy-go-lucky feel. Encased in a bustling backing with swirling strings, it features some spirited vocalising and attractive harmonies from White Plains. An irresistible toe-tapper which the youngsters will love. Perhaps not quite as strong as the group's debut disc, but certainly loaded with Chart appeal. And the team's current popularity must boost it.
ANOTHER light-hearted and bright-and-breezy routine that's full of the joys of living, and is guaranteed to chase away your blues. Again written by the Greenaway-Cook team, it's just a fraction slower-paced than "My Baby Loves Lovin'" -- but nevertheless is jaunty, bouncy, infectious and gay.
This is "instant pop" with a simple and catchy sing-along melody and a happy-go-lucky feel. Encased in a bustling backing with swirling strings, it features some spirited vocalising and attractive harmonies from White Plains. An irresistible toe-tapper which the youngsters will love. Perhaps not quite as strong as the group's debut disc, but certainly loaded with Chart appeal. And the team's current popularity must boost it.
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| Advertisement for the NME Poll Winners' Concert NME, 11 April 1970 |
25 April 1970, New Musical Express
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| White Plains article, 25 April 1970, NME |
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GHOST GROUP NO LONGER
WHITE PLAINS were the ghost group of the Top Thirty in those recent days of their first chart hit "My Baby Loves Lovin'". Tony Burrows and Roger Greenaway were otherwise occupied. And fellow Plainsmen Robin Shaw and Peter Nelson simply had to sit around at home turning down big cash offers for one-nighters and other personal appearances. "Of course we could have got a quick outfit together and gone out on the road and cashed in on the hit", the level-headed Mr. Shaw told me at his parents' home in Hayes, Middlesex, "But Peter and I weren't having any of that. It would have just been a big con on the public. "Anyway, people would have tumbled that we weren't the same group they'd seen plugging the song on television. And we would have ended up doing ourselves more harm than good."
Put right
All this missed fame, glory and hard cash is now put right, however, with two new members having joined White Plains for their follow-up single and new chart entry "I've Got You On My Mind." Neither Roger Greenaway nor Tony Burrows are on the disc -- and all concerned are at pains to point out that this time, there's a full-time group right there behind the recorded sound. "It's another Greenaway-Cook number," Robin told me, "and the fact is that it's so good, so commercial, we knew it must stand a great chance of making the charts. This time we're ready. As well as Peter Nelson singing and myself on bass, we've taken on Robin Box on lead guitar, Denis White on organ*; and Julian Bailey on drums. We'll be a bigger group -- all of us experienced -- and I believe we'll have a strong sound. [*ed. note: Denis White was former organist for Merlin Q. It's not known if he recorded or played live with White Plains. By the time this article was published, Brian Johnston had officially joined as the group's organist. See accompanying photo.]
"I think this session singing scene will definitely die out. It's been a bit of a novelty for records like "My Baby Loves Lovin'" and "Love Grows," and it'll probably reach a peak of popularity before it drops off. But, I can't see it lasting." Robin is a former telephone engineer who entered the pop scene via Peter's Faces, which took it's name from his White Plains colleague Peter Nelson. "Later on I met people like Neil Landon, Tony Burrows, Ken Lewis and John Carter, " he adds, "and that's how the Flowerpot Men developed."
"John Carter's the guy who wrote the Eurovision song "Knock Knock" with Geoff Stephens -- and even in those days he was a commercial writer with more than a few hits. He's very quiet and hard to get to know at first, and I think it was inevitable he gave up group work to stay in London and write. He loves town." "I'm completely different. Sitting at home, not being on the road -- it drives me up the wall.""I love travelling, one-nighters and all that scene. I need to see new faces. There's nothing wrong with those same old faces around London, but I have to keep moving. Sure, being on the road has its problems... the tiredness, the breakdowns. But for me, the good times always outweigh the bad."
Robin admits to being low on cash and to having had a lean time financially in the past six months. "I have a bit by me for the dodgy times," he told me, "but living at home makes it easier. I always believe I'll come up bouncing. Life's like that in this business. One minute you're walking the street, the next it's the whole bit with the pictures in the papers."
Spender
"I don't see myself ever saving or trying to build up a business or a fortune in any other way, though. I'm just not made like that. I just spend." "About the only thing I want to do is be a musician. And write, when I get the time. I believe in good commercial pop music and I don't see why it can't be played well and give people pleasure and satisfaction." "I just don't think young kids want to hear this 'heavy musicianship' thing when they first take an interest in pop. Later on, maybe -- when they grow into it. But it shouldn't be rammed down their throats."
9 May 1970, New Musical Express
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| NME Poll Winners Concert review, 9 May 1970, NME |
Text (partial):
Then on bounced TONY BLACKBURN, resplendent in a kind of bluey-grey Chairman Mao thing, and after some gags it was time for WHITE PLAINS. Tony Burrows didn't take part for "My Baby Loves Lovin'," which gave rise to the peculiar situation here of watching a group of almost completely unknown faces performing a major hit. Original members Pete Nelson and the tubby Robin Shaw were there, however, and the Plains presented some competent, if uninspired, pop.
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| On stage at the 1970 NME Poll Winners Concert L to R: Robin Box, Pete Nelson, Julian Bailey (drums), Ricky Wolff, and Robin Shaw (organist Brian Johnston not pictured) |
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| Advertisement, Cash Box, 9 May 1970 |
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| "My Baby Loves Lovin'" at #10, 27 June 1970, Cash Box (US)* [click for larger view] |
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| "My Baby Loves Lovin'" at #13, 27 June 1970, Billboard (US)* [Click for larger view] |
[*Note: "My Baby Loves Lovin'" is listed at #10 on the Cash Box Top 100, but is listed at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the same week (both are US magazines). This is due to the fact that Cash Box was solely a sales-based chart and Billboard based their charts on combined sales and airplay.]
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| LP Review, Cash Box, 18 July 1970 |
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MY BABY LOVES LOVIN' -- White Plains -- Deram DES 18045
On the heels of their singles smash, White Plains is heard on a host of songs written by the team of Greenaway and Cook, who penned "My Baby Loves Lovin'." Among the more familiar items is "You've Got Your Troubles." The group also offers a moving reading of "Today I Killed A Man I Didn't Know," and "I've Got You On My Mind," which kicks off side one sounds like a natural singles follow up to their current charter. LP should do well.
15 August 1970, New Musical Express
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| Review of "Lovin' You Baby", 15 August 1970 |
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WHITE PLAINS SURE FIRE FORMULA IS REPEATED
WHITE PLAINS: * Lovin' You Baby (Deram).
THE third single from this six-piece group is another Greenaway-Cook composition and that should be sufficient to give Plains a head start in their quest for a Chart hat-trick. This follows much the same pattern and policy as their previous two hits -- it's up-beat, finger-popping, instantly commercial teenybopper material.
But I don't mean that in any derogatory sense -- indeed, it's a thoroughly professional production. Delicious counter-harmonies weave around Peter Nelson's lead vocal [Ed. Note: the lead vocals were actually performed by Ricky Wolff], and the whole routine is carried along on a bustling wave of sound, brilliantly scored by Zack Laurance. And the tune? -- Well, perhaps not so immediately catchy as at the last two, but very definitely a song to register fairly quickly. And another hit!
22 August 1970, Record Mirror
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| Review of "Lovin' You Baby", Record Mirror, 22 Aug 1970 |
WHITE PLAINS: Lovin' You Baby: Noises (In My Head), Deram, DM 312. Usual formula -- this is their third, I think. That means, orchestral build-up (brief and pertinent) and then a jolly old chorus song which doesn't have much to say for itself but is performed with big-rising harmonies and with a straight, sharp, single-minded commercial sound. Actually I liked it a lot. And it'll do well.
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| Radio One listing for White Plains on the Dave Lee Travis Show |
29 August 1970, Cash Box (US)
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| Advertisement, Cash Box, 29 Aug 1970 |
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| Review of "Lovin' You Baby", Cash Box, 29 Aug 1970 |
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WHITE PLAINS (Deram 85066)
Lovin' You Baby (3:05) (Maribus, BMI---Cook, Greenaway)
The "My Baby Loves Lovin'" team comes back with yet another sample of their teen electricity in this follow-up outing. Working with the rhythmic sugar of their first, and topping it with tasty vocals, the White Plains takes off for round two on the top forty charts. Flip: "Noises (In My Head)" (3:15) (Same credits)
5 September 1970, Record World (US)
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| Review of "Lovin' You Baby", Four Star Picks |
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WHITE PLAINS---Deram 85066
LOVIN' YOU BABY (Maribus, BMI)
Sounds like more gold from the composing team of Cook and Greenaway. Could hit instantly.
14 November 1970, Disc & Music Echo
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| White Plains article, 14 Nov 1970, Disc & Music Echo |
White Plains won't freak!
DESPITE all the rumours, White Plains state emphatically that they do not intend to go heavy! And their temporary freak-out should be ignored. The freaking-out in dispute is by guitarist Robin Box, who likes to "do his own thing on stage." Like throwing his guitar up in the air! "He's been doing it for about four years," said group member Peter Nelson. "He tends to get emotional and a little out of hand, but we just ignore him." And the gentleman himself? "It's just excitement. I don't do it every time I go onstage---only if I feel like it. I do it because I mean it, not for effect." Robin hasn't got to the length of smashing up equipment---he just throws the guitar in the air---but has no objection to anyone who may feel like doing so.
White Plains, who rose from the ashes of the Flowerpot Men, say they are happy to provide good teenybopper music, without being in the slightest bit ashamed of it. They are concentrating on songs with melody and, unlike most other groups, are happy to see people dancing to their music. They prefer ballroom gigs. "I like to see people enjoying themselves," said Peter. "Basically we're there to please the audience. That sounds corny but we don't put over any falseness."
They write some of their material themselves. The rest is written by Roger Cook. A new White Plains album should be out after Christmas. Work on their last one was rushed, because they were working in Birmingham the same week they were recording and had to drive down every night, after doing two shows, to record. As a result, they think that their voices may have been a little rough. For the new album they have 24 tracks on tape to choose from. A single will be issued at the same time.
They write some of their material themselves. The rest is written by Roger Cook. A new White Plains album should be out after Christmas. Work on their last one was rushed, because they were working in Birmingham the same week they were recording and had to drive down every night, after doing two shows, to record. As a result, they think that their voices may have been a little rough. For the new album they have 24 tracks on tape to choose from. A single will be issued at the same time.
The group's album sales in the States alone have reached 100,000. They have been pleased by the reception they have been getting, where they least expected it---in colleges, the strongholds of heavy music. "You can be loud and exciting without being heavy," says Peter. I admire 10 percent of the heavy groups and the rest are self-indulgent. The Moody Blues are good. You can be spiritually heavy without being physically heavy." White Plains think that there may be a swing back to soft acoustic music, but don't intend to go one way or the other. Playing safe, in the middle of the road, they can't really go wrong.
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| Cutting from Disc & Music Echo, 14 Nov 1970 |
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| "Julie Do Ya Love Me?" at #16, 14 Nov 1970, Disc & Music Echo |
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| Cutting from the 21 November 1970 issue of the NME L to R: Ricky Wolff, Pete Nelson, Robin Box, Robin Shaw, and Roger Hills [note: Ricky Wolff's name is misspelled as "Ric Wolf"] |
28 November 1970, Disc & Music Echo
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| Hit Talk by Peter Nelson, 28 Nov 1970 [Click to Enlarge] |
5 December 1970, New Musical Express
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| White Plains article, 5 Dec 1970, NME |
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'CASHING IN' CLAIM IS FALLACY - PLAINS PROTEST by Nick Logan
IN the "session group" boom earlier this year, when trying to sort out Tony Burrows from Roger Greenaway and White Lighthouse from Edison Plains gave most people the Blue Pip, it isn't surprising that certain misapprehensions set in. White Plains have been labouring under some for quite a time now and their achievements are such --- three hit singles and a packed date sheet of one nighters. To suggest that they have been the most successful out of that crowded field, they feel, has been more despite, than because of, the initial publicity. The impression popularly held of them as a group of well-off session men formed to cash in on the chart success of a commercial song is claimed by them to be a fallacy. Robin Shaw pointing out when we met on Monday: "We explain at every interview but no one seems to print it."
The facts, the group is eager to explain, are that Tony Burrows did not sing lead on their first single, "My Baby Loves Lovin'," and that the line-up now on the road is not an outfit hurriedly created around Shaw and Peter Nelson but the actual group which cut the single. Also that none of them are known as regular session men --- Nelson admits to two sessions, Shaw to a half dozen or so some years ago.
Not first time
As far as accusations of cashing in go, White Plains isn't the first time it has happened for Nelson and Shaw who paid their dues in that respect when they were with the Flowerpot Men, the group that went around in caftans and beads singing the 1967 commercialized flower power epic "Let's Go To San Francisco." It is the Flowerpot Men, in fact, that provides the starting point needed to untangle the misunderstanding. That was a group built around a song. Nelson and Shaw with Neil Landon and Tony Burrows, having recorded "San Francisco", formed a group to follow up its success.
On a downer
They lasted two and a half years, on a downer after "San Francisco" and the wilting of flower power. Landon, when he left to join Noel Redding's Fat Mattress, was replaced by Ricky Wolff while Robin Box and Roger Hills were in the group that provided backings for the harmonies. The three of them make up White Plains today with Nelson and Shaw.
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| Cutting from 5 Dec 1970 issue of the NME, "Radio One Line-Up For Next Week" |
12 December 1970, Record Mirror
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| White Plains article, 12 Dec 1970, Record Mirror |
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The lighter than light White Plains
WHITE Plains going heavy? "No", says group member Pete Nelson. "Certainly not, we are going light and we want to get a varied act which will give the audience a choice." And a varied act White Plains will need for they are currently playing one-nighters at clubs and ballrooms throughout the country and in the New Year they will be playing cabaret dates.
The group have a new LP coming up soon and many of the tracks are written by Roger Greenaway and Roger Cook. "The new album is a lot like our first one except that we have spent much more time on it this time and at the moment only half the tracks are recorded", said Pete. "At present the pop scene seems to be pretty healthy, it's nice to have a little bit of everything in the charts and even nicer to see our latest single there too", said Pete. So for the while White Plains will be staying White Plains. "We are settled with five members and we seem pretty stable", and Pete repeated that the group did not intend to go heavy at all.
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| Congratulatory ad from the 12 Dec 1970 issue of Record Mirror |
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| Record Mirror 1970 Chart Survey, 12 Dec 1970 |
19 June 1971, Cash Box (US)
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| Review of "When You Are A King" |
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WHITE PLAINS (Deram 85076)
When You Are A King (2:48) (Maribus, BMI---J&R Hill)
Striking ballad with a melodic magnetism that should turn the side into a giant. The performance is immediately enticing, but the real enchantment sneaks up on listeners in a subtle manner that could make it a while in happening. But when it breaks, the side will have bombshell impact, Flip: "The World Gets Better with Love" (3:00) (Maribus---Greenaway, Cook)
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| "When You Are A King" at #17, 3 July 1971, Disc & Music Echo |
17 July 1971, Record Mirror
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| White Plains article, 17 July 1971, Record Mirror |
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'Nobody is interested in pop albums' say White Plains by Valerie Mabbs
WITH the entry of their single "When You Are A King" into the charts a lot of changes have come for White Plains. Most noticeable, perhaps, is the change of songwriters. After three hits under the Cook--Greenaway banner, the group's latest hit has been written by two previously unknown songwriters.
HELPFUL
Roger and John Hill took their songs to group member Robin Shaw, who immediately passed the material to the Rogers Cook and Greenaway. "Roger and John Hill had been signed to another Company and they hadn't been doing anything," Robin told me. "And when I played the material to Roger Greenaway he leapt up and down -- but he didn't wave his knickers." Recognition of the material turned out to be a shrewd move for Robin and the rest of the group, for "When You Are A King" was one of the previously ignored numbers. "We weren't worried about recording somebody else's songs apart from Greenaway-Cook," vocalist Peter Nelson told me. "We don't look at the songwriter, we look at the song." In fact Robin Shaw was a professional songwriter himself -- penning "I'm Coming Home" for the Nashville Teens, a Norma Rowe hit, and several tracks on an Amen Corner album; and so had a 'head start' on recognising profitable numbers. White Plains have recently begun writing their own material, and say that rather than embarrassing them, Rogers Cook and Greenaway are often very helpful. This month the group are recording three compositions, for a possible single follow-up, one written by Greenaway-Hammond, though none of their own are included. "It takes a while to get songs ready for recording," said Brent Scott-Carter. "At least to arrange the basics of the number. But eventually we'll probably record some of our own songs."
A major change for White Plains has been the addition of Brent to the group, along with Tony Hall. Both were previous members of Geno Washington's band. "We came from there at the same time," Tony, a tall and constantly humorous fellow, told me. "But I wouldn't say it was a waste of time being with Geno, he was a good drinker! But it was a bit of a traumatic experience." "We now have a totally different approach to the audience," agreed saxophonist and flautist, Brent. "Musically what this group is doing matters a lot more than with Geno. Geno's was all a showmanship type of thing, purely the on stage performance."
All of White Plains have been on the road for many years, but are still adamant that they enjoy live work. "We were too young to take it in before!" laughed Pete Nelson. "We still do three or four gigs on average a week, but we don't get fed up with it. We work half cabaret and half ballrooms, and I quite like cabaret -- but then again I like ballrooms." "You're more on top of the bar though in cabaret," quipped Tony. "That must be best!" Many dates in Britain are set for White Plains, as well as a tour of Scandinavia and a projected tour of S.E. Asia. Their "Baby Loves Lovin'" was a top ten hit in America, and an album release there is planned for later this year.
MARKET!
"Everybody likes to record albums," said Pete. "But nobody here is really interested in pop albums. But if we do put another LP out here, it will probably be the one we've made for America. I suppose there could be a possible market for it." "South Harrow market," added -- yes -- Tony! White Plains have already recorded a Mama Cass Show for broadcasting in America, and hope that this might pave the way for their album there, and an eventual visit. But before that time there is a lot of settling down to be done, because yet another change for the group has come via management. Well it certainly can't be said that they've been static in the last few months.
9 October 1971, Record Mirror
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| White Plains article, 9 Oct 1971, Record Mirror |
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Val Mabbs talks to guitarist Robin Box and asks... WHO ARE WHITE PLAINS?
THERE SEEMS to be an obvious lack of identification surrounding White Plains.
Most likely if you try to name the line up, the guesses will begin somewhere around Tony Burrows and progress into isn't that chap with the blond hair the lead singer? But that's just it, Mr. Burrows never was a working part of White Plains, and though they've had their changes, the basic members remain.
"Oh Christ yes, people do think Tony Burrows is still involved in the group," guitarist Robin Box agreed. "People still tend to think that we're a bunch of session men, which we're not. "I think also the fact that we've had quite a few changes in the group has affected us. When Rick left we decided we wouldn't try to replace him vocally. Instead we've got two sax players, which helps us somewhat to reproduce numbers live, especially things like 'Julie'. "I think people are a bit surprised to see us using brass, but we've kept this present line up for about four months now. It's a permanent thing, but we'll change again if it needs to be changed. I'm not saying we're not stable, but we enjoy working live, and we want to keep things so that we can get the best results on stage."
It seems stranger still that White Plains have failed to make an individual impression on the nation when it is discovered that they have worked constantly in Britain. "We've not worked abroad at all in fact," explained Robin. "I think probably because Europe has gone completely heavy and pop isn't going over like it used to. But I think given the chance people would listen to us, because although we're a pop band we're pretty loud, and heavy in that way. In cabaret though we have to stick to the basic formula." I asked Robin if he felt that White Plains were keeping away from their 'pop' audiences by concentrating on cabaret, or if they felt their best chances lie in that direction. "I think with the teenyboppers now they want to hear all the heavy bands. And I've never known quite who buys the records for us," Robin told me. "It's always very difficult to pin down an audience, and we generally find that some people like certain numbers we do, but not necessarily all of them. "Where we play up north I think the people have seen it all and they want something that's new. This is why most groups are including some comedy in their acts, but we're a straight group and we play our hits and go down well because of that."
Perhaps some consideration could be given to movement on stage, choreography? "I don't think you need to bother about that," said Robin. "But I think perhaps we could do a lot more personally, but on the other hand with the numbers we've got what can you do really? "Whereas everyone else is doing comedy, we think why should we do it. Now people are finding it a change to have a straight group. But either way we're fighting!" Adding ammunition to the cause is the group's current single "I'm Gonna Miss Her Mississippi", by Cooke-Greenaway-Hammond and Hazelwood, no less! And an album 'When You Are A King' is also on the way.
October 1971, Musik Express (Germany)
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| White Plains article, October 1971, Musik Express |
Text (rough translation from German):
A very successful family
The 6 man formation "White Plains" has emerged from a whole series of different groups. Their first record "My Baby Loves Lovin'" was written by the well-known songwriting duo Greenaway/Cook. Roger Cook formed "Blue Mink" with Madeline Bell, and Roger Greenaway joined the studio group "White Plains" as a record producer. The other "Plains" played previously with "Ivy League", "Ram Jam Band" and "Flowerpot Men", among others. Initially, they wanted to do pure studio work and did not even think about giving live performances. However, with the recent success of their single "When You Are A King", the situation has fundamentally changed. After the number proved successful in the charts, they undertook a promotional tour of Europe, whose course was then quite promising. Now the six talented musicians are busy working on their second LP. White Plains is the best example of a real family group. A very successful family by the way...
4 May 1974, Record & Radio Mirror
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| 4 May 1974 article featuring Robin Box, Record & Radio Mirror |
Text:
Womble problem
THERE were problems all round for Wobbles Wellington and Bungo when they arrived at Brands Hatch motor racing circuit to practice for the Radio One D.J. and Pop Star Grand Prix on Sunday, May 5. So their guardian angel, Mike Batt will represent them when it comes to sitting behind the wheel of the Shellsport Mexicos which they will enter in the event.
Other stars in the Top Of The Pops team will be Hurricane Smith, Hot Chocolate's Errol Brown, Steeleye Span's Rick Kemp, Cozy Powell, Maurice Gibb, Robin Box of White Plains and John John Ford. The Radio One DJs expected to drive are Tony Blackburn, Alan Black, Paul Burnett, Noel Edmonds, Bob Harris, John Peel, Rosko, Dave Simmons and Dave Lee Travis.
MORE TO COME... (LAST UPDATED 10 FEBRUARY 2019)
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posted by Kelly Kinsley
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posted by Kelly Kinsley
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