Joyful Sorrows

On Sunday night Mister F and I ventured up to darkest Camden to see The Sorrows, one of those near-legendary bands of the 1960s who did not get the success they deserved at the time and were rightly rediscovered years later, only to then be brigaded into some ludicrous invented genre that exists only so hipsters can establish precise shades of hipness. What the hell is freakbeat meant to mean?

The Sorrows plied their trade between 1962 and 1967, led by the mighty Don Fardon who went on to have a moderately successful solo career. The current line-up got together in 2011 to play occasional gigs and are now mid-way through recording a new album. This will double at a stroke the number of albums they have released, the last being 1965's "Take A Heart" (which formed the bulk of the set).

Nearly 50 years on from their peak, we weren't sure beforehand whether they could capture the buzz and energy of their original recordings. We shouldn't have worried. They were great, with Don Fardon in magnificent voice for a man of 73 (or of any age).

Here are a couple of tracks from "Take A Heart", plus an old Cliff Bennett number that was perhaps the pick of the cover versions they played on Sunday.

"You've Got What I Want" - The Sorrows

"Gonna Find A Cave" - The Sorrows

"Slow Down" - Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers

On the subject of gigs, Mister F and I also went to see Jessica Pratt at Cafe Oto earlier in the month. Very good she was too. If you haven't yet got her eponymous album you need to put that right. This is why: