Throughout the 1960s, the British music magazine Melody Maker called on artists to review some of the latest singles of the day. Many times they’d never heard of the artists before; thus the feature was called “Blind Date” (and later “New Blind Date”).
In the July 22, 1967, issue, the publication asked Pink Floyd frontman Syd Barrett to give his honest opinion of nine songs released that year. By then, Pink Floyd already had two charting singles in the U.K., “Arnold Layne” and “See Emily Play.” They were mere weeks from releasing their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, when Barrett delivered his reviews.
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Among the nine singles Barrett discussed were songs by “newcomer” David Bowie and country singer Jim Reeves. Barrett showed little enthusiasm for songs by New York City rockers the Blues Magoos, and suggested one Tom Jones song would sound better played backward since it was “too emotional.” Barrett was also not a fan of “Nothing Today” by Barry Fantoni, which he dubbed “very negative.”
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From there, Barrett shared further musings and (painfully) honest reviews of more songs released during the first half of 1967. Here’s a deeper look at the nine songs Barrett liked, and disliked, in his own words.
1. “One by One,” Blues Magoos
Did you ever see a girl grow up before your eyes / Her girlish smile has turned to a woman’s sighs sing the Blues Magoos on their 1967 single “One by One.” At the front lines of the psychedelic rock movement, the Bronx, New York, rockers already scored a hit the previous year with “(We Ain’t Got) Nothin’ Yet” from their debut album, Psychedelic Lollipop.
“It’s got a message, but it didn’t really seem to branch out anywhere,” said Barrett of the Magoos’ single. “It’s nice and I dug it but it won’t do anything. No idea who it was. You’re going to tell me it’s The Byrds. I really dig The Byrds, The Mothers of Invention, and The Fugs, we’ve drawn quite a bit from those groups. I don’t see any reason for this record being a big flop or a big hit, it was a nice record.”
The Blues Magoos continued touring throughout the decades. Original members Ralph Scala, “Peppy” Castro, and guitarist Geoff Daking played two shows with The Zombies in 2008, and the band released their first album in more than 40 years, Psychedelic Resurrection, in 2014. To commemorate their 55th anniversary, the Blues Magoos released their final album, Nowhere Is Somewhere, in 2022.
2. “The Sunday Song,” Alex Harvey Band
“Nice sound—yeah, wow,” said Barrett of the Alex Harvey Band’s “The Sunday Song.” He added, “Lots of drums but it avoids being cluttered. The people in the background seem to be raving a bit more than the people in front. Is it English? Maybe it’s one of those young groups like John’s Children. It moved me a little bit but I don’t think it will be a big hit. Very snappy.”
Right at the forefront of 1970s glam rock, Scottish rocker Harvey and his band were known for their outrageous live shows. His music even reached a young Nick Cave, whose first band was an Alex Harvey cover band. “We did ‘Framed,’ ‘Isobel Goudie,’ ‘Faith Healer,’ ‘Gang Bang,’ ‘Next,’ ‘Midnight Moses,’ everything,” shared Cave in a 2020 edition of his blog, The Red Hand Files. “I wore jeans and a tight-cropped T-shirt and our guitarist wore clown make-up like [guitarist Zal Cleminson].”
3. “(It Looks Like) I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” Tom Jones
In Tom Jones’ “(It Looks Like) I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” he’s been wronged and has given up on love after another failed attempt: I’ve been in love so many times / Thought I knew the score / But now you’ve treated me so wrong / I can’t take anymore.
Written by Lonnie Donegan and Jimmy Currie, “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” was first released by Donegan as a single in 1962. Jones released his 1967 version on the live album Radio Europe 1967. It went to No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and topped the Adult Contemporary chart when it was re-released in 1969.
[RELATED: Tom Jones on Songwriting, Getting Older, and Recording a Bob Dylan Album]
Despite the success of the song, Barrett wasn’t sold on Jones’ lovelorn ballad: “I detect a Welsh influence on the strings,” he said. “I believe it’s one of those numbers you should play at slow speeds, or backward, or upside down. It’s Sandy McPherson, everyone knows who it is. It won’t be a big hit because it’s too emotional. It will sell a lot but I won’t buy one.”
4. “A Little Piece of Leather,” Gene Latter
Another Welshman, Gene Latter, fared better with Barrett with “A Little Piece of Leather.” A former boxer from Cardiff, Wales, Latter had some hits in the mid-’60s and played with several bands, including The Shake Spears. He released a timely single in 1978 called “John Travolta, You Are a Superstar,” and continued releasing music as a solo artist through the 1980s.
“It’s great,” said Barrett of “Leather.” “That’s nice. It’s on the soul scene, and I think people will go on digging the soul scene. I hope that the people who listen to us will listen to this as well. The new wave of music is all-embracing, it gets across and makes everybody feel good.” Barrett continued, “I don’t think this will do well in the charts, but it will be okay for the clubs. I nearly guessed who it is, is it Gene Latter?”
5. “What’s That Sound (For What It’s Worth),” Art
The band Art wasn’t around long; they released one album, Supernatural Fairy Tales, before breaking up. However, several members later joined the late “Dream Weaver” singer and songwriter Gary Wright‘s band Spooky Tooth.
Supernatural Fairy Tales featured both original songs and some covers, including their take on the 1966 Buffalo Springfield song “For What It’s Worth” written by Stephen Stills. In his review, Barrett called the track “good” and added, “I don’t recognize it and I have no idea who it is, but it drives along. I like the instrumental sound. A medium hit. I suspect it to be American. I dig it.”
6. “When the World Is Ready,” Vince Hill
It was the lyrics of British pop singer Vince Hill’s single “When the World Is Ready” that didn’t connect with Barrett. “Fade it out,” said Barrett. “Vince Hill. I didn’t understand the lyrics at all. It is very well-produced and well-sung. It may be a big hit, but I shouldn’t think so because the lyrics are so unconvincing.”
Best known for his 1967 No. 2 hit cover of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Edelweiss,” the late Hill hosted several television shows throughout the 1970s and ’80s. He also released 25 albums and several soundtracks throughout his career. “When the World Is Ready” was featured on the soundtrack to the 1967 film The Long Duel starring Yul Brynner.
7. “Trying to Forget,” Jim Reeves
Trying to forget the times you broke my heart / Remembering how happy you made me at the start sings country singer and songwriter Jim Reeves in this heartbreaker ballad. Written by Sonny Burnett and Gene Martin, the song was released as a single three years after Reeves died in a 1964 plane crash at 40.
Barrett guessed the single’s singer was Jim Reeves, but wasn’t very impressed by the sobering ballad. “Very way-out record,” said Barrett. “I think I tap my foot to that one. I don’t know who it is. Well, let me think, who is dead? It must be Jim Reeves. I don’t think it will be a hit. It doesn’t matter if an artist is dead or alive about records being alive, but if you’re trendy this isn’t going to fit the bill. It’s a number that would sound better at 33” (which is a reference to 33-1/3 revolutions per minute, the speed at which a full-length vinyl record spins).
[RELATED: Pink Floyd’s Bookending Opus to Syd Barrett: “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”]
Reeves, who was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1967, first reached international success with his 1959 No. 1 hit “He’ll Have to Go.” He gained reach in countries as far-flung as Sri Lanka, South Africa, and Norway.
8. “Nothing Today,” Barry Fantoni
Better known for his work with the British satire magazine Private Eye, British author, cartoonist, and jazz musician Barry Fantoni also released some music in the 1960s. His single “Nothing Today” didn’t entirely click with Barrett. Of all the songs reviewed, he was least enthralled by Fantoni’s pop ballad. He deemed it “very negative.”
Barrett added, “The middle jazzy bit was nice. Apart from the saxophone bit, it was very morbid. I don’t know what it was all about. It seemed to be about somebody kissing somebody’s feet. I don’t want to hear it again, maybe it should be played at 78.”
9. “Love You Till Tuesday,” David Bowie
David Bowie was a lifelong fan of Barrett. “I was passionately in love with the writing of Syd Barrett from Pink Floyd,” said Bowie in the 2007 BBC documentary Seven Ages of Rock. “There was something slightly not-quite-with-us about Syd that really appealed to me strongly. There was a Peter Pan quality about him.”
In 2003, Bowie even listed Barrett’s 1970 solo album, The Madcap Laughs, as one of his favorite albums. “Syd will always be the Pink Floyd for some of us older fans,” said Bowie. “He made this album, according to legend, while fragile and precariously out of control. Malcolm Jones, one of his producers at the time, denies this vehemently. I will go with Jones, as he was there. [The] highlight track for me is ‘Dark Globe’; gloriously disturbing and poignant all at once.”
Unfortunately, Barrett wasn’t the biggest fan of one of Bowie’s earliest singles “Love You Till Tuesday.” Written by Bowie and released on his eponymous debut in 1967, the track was an early pop gem that nonetheless failed to impact the U.K. charts.
“Yeah, it’s a joke number,” said Barrett. “Jokes are good. Everybody likes jokes, the Pink Floyd likes jokes. It’s very casual. If you play it a second time it might be even more of a joke. Jokes are great, I think that was a funny joke.”
[RELATED: 7 of David Bowie’s Favorite Songs]
Though the single didn’t gain much movement, Bowie still used the title for his 1969 promotional film, Love You Till Tuesday. “I think people will like the bit about it being Monday when, in fact, it was Tuesday,” Barrett concluded. “Very chirpy, but I don’t think my toes were tapping at all.”
Photo: Chris Walter/WireImage
