Red Herring - Working Class Man (1973)

Red Herring was ex Honeybus member Pete Dello, who decided to leave right after their most successful release "I Can't Let Maggie Go" found its way to Number 8 in the UK pop chart in 1968.

Following his departure from Honeybus, Dello released his first of three issues of "I'm A Gambler" b/w "Go Away" under the moniker Lace for Page One records in 1968 and "Taking The Heart Out of Love" b/w "Uptight Basil" on Penny Farthing records in 1969 before releasing his only solo LP "Into Your Ears" under his own name on the Vertigo subsidiary label Nepentha in 1971.

Around this time Honeybus reformed and were signed to Warner Brothers.  An albums worth of material was recorded but never released.  A test pressing of the album, "Recital" surfaced in 2007 on ebay and fetched £466.  A pleasant enough record full of light pop tunes but doesn't qualify for the KILLER tag unlike it's predecessor, 1970's "Story".

"I'm A Gambler" was released again in 1973 on the independant label GM. The B-Side "Working Class Man" is just as good, if not better than anything on "Into Your Ears".  Quite like Macca at his most whimsical, it has a distinctively "When I'm Sixty Four" feel to it.  The Lyrics are sang with the least convincing working class accent I've ever heard and is clearly a piss take but still, a great tune and probably the best 30p I've ever spent!  Around the time of this release Dello produced a single for American singer Leah.  Both sides were cover versions taken from the Dello songbook ("Arise Sir Henry" & "Uptight Basil").  I've heard neither so can't pass judgement!

"I'm A Gambler" was released one last time in 1976 on Arista backed with "Tattered Robe", another fine Dello original, recalling Honeybus at their best. 1976 also saw the re-release of "I Can't Let Maggie Go" following is use on the popular UK television Nimble bread advert. Pete Dello quit the music business soon after.