J. Vincent Edwards - I Can't Let Maggie Go (1974)

J. Vincent Edwards' music career began in 1962 when he was lead singer in a local Newcastle-Upon-Tyne band called The Invictors, before joining The Answers on drums/vocals in 1963 along with Tony Hill (Guitar), Bobby Calder (Bass) and Ronnie (no surname! Lead Guitar). The Answers defining moment would be their first of two singles, the freakbeat classic "Just A Fear" on Columbia records from 1966.

Following the demise of the Answers, Edwards briefly fronted his own soul band called Vincent Edwards' Present Tense and six months later he joined the Gates Of Eden although no recordings were made with either acts. In 1968, Edwards landed the part "Vince" in the hippie musical, Hair after auditioning for a part at the Shaftsbury Theatre in London. His first solo single "Hair" b/w "Aquarius" was released by United Artists in 1968 and the Original Cast Recording of the Hair soundtrack would reach number 2 in the UK charts, a career peak for Edwards.

Throughout the late 1960's and 1970's Vincent Edwards released many singles on various records labels without much success. The highlight of his seventies output has to be his take on the Honeybus classic, "I Can't Let Maggie Go" from 1974 on the Fontana record label. The song benefits from some funky drums, akin to the version on the Nimble bread advert and was produced by Honeybus's old manager, Terry Noon. The b-side "Dreamy Day" written and produced by Edwards, sounds like Rod Stewart circa 1973, not a killer song but has a nice sound and a fab Honeybus-esque guitar solo.

The single wasn't a massive hit but appears to be easy enough to track down. It sits proudly in my small collection of Honeybus related records, more of which will follow soon on this blog.