The Foundations
were a surprisingly obscure late-'60s outfit, considering that they
managed to reach the tops of the both the British and American charts
more than once in the space of a year and had a solid three years of
recordings. At the time of their debut in mid-1967, they were hailed as
being among the most authentic makers of soul music ever to emerge from
England -- the best practitioners of the Motown sound to be found on the
far side of the Atlantic -- and were also accepted in jazz circles as
well. "Baby Now That I've Found You," "Build Me Up Buttercup," and "In
the Bad, Bad Old Days" were the biggest hits for this multi-racial
octet, made up of Londoners and West Indians.
The Foundations
were formed in January 1967 in the basement of a local coffee bar in
Bayswater, gathered together through advertisements in Melody Maker.
Lead singer Clem Curtis was a former boxer from Trinidad, while lead guitarist Alan Warner had been making his living in the printing trade in London while waiting for music to pay off. Flutist/saxman Pat Burke hailed from Jamaica, tenor saxman Mike Elliott had played with Colin Hicks (brother of Tommy Steele) in his band the Cabin Boys, as well as in several jazz bands, and trombonist Eric Allan Dale was another jazz veteran. Tony Gomez (keyboards), Peter Macbeth (bass), and Tim Harris (drums) rounded out the lineup. They selected the name Foundations based on their surroundings, a rehearsal space in the basement of a building.
The group made very little headway during their
first few months together, although they did manage to get an audition
at the Marquee Club. It was at their regular spot at a much smaller club
called the Butterfly -- where they played one legendary gig on the last
night of the Stax/Volt European tour -- that led to their breakthrough.
They were spotted by record dealer Barry Class, who was impressed
enough with what he heard to become their manager. He arranged a meeting
with Pye Records producer/songwriter Tony Macaulay, who was working with Long John Baldry with some success, but also was desperately looking for a new act to break for the label. He'd written a song with his partner John Macleod called "Baby Now That I've Found You," which seemed to suit the Foundations.
The resulting single, issued in the summer of 1967,
got no reaction from the public or on the airwaves until it got picked
up by the BBC's newly founded Radio 1, by a stroke of pure luck. The
station wanted to avoid any records being played by the pirate radio
broadcasters, and looked back at recent releases that the pirates had
missed. "Baby Now That I've Found You" was the immediate beneficiary,
along with the group -- by November, the single held the number one spot
on the British charts. The group's timing was as perfect as the song --
there had been a soul boom in England since late 1965, and the
subsequent Motown and Stax/Volt tours by American R&B stars only
heightened the public's interest.
The Foundations
were hailed for being the first British band to come up with an
authentic soul sound, and the fact that they were first multiracial band
to top the British charts only made their success that much more
impressive (at a time when England was beginning to come to grips with
its own racial attitudes). What's more, the group had the goods to back
up the press' accolades. Their performances revealed a seasoned,
well-rehearsed, exciting stage presence and a bold, hard soul sound that
most British bands managed to imitate only in the palest manner, if at
all.
Meanwhile, their debut single got to number 11 on
the American charts in the hands of MCA's Uni label, and it was equally
well received in the rest of the world, selling something more than
three and a half million copies. Suddenly, the Foundations were a British phenomenon and had a worldwide following.
An album, From the Foundations,
was duly recorded and featured some superb material, embracing both
current soul and the then-popular discotheque sounds. The covers
included everything from Joe Tex ("Show Me") to Tony Hatch ("Call Me," in a version worthy of Motown), as well as some new Macaulay/Macleod
numbers. The debut album never made the British charts, but it remained
in print for years, a perennial seller that held up well over time.
Unfortunately, a follow-up single, "Back on My Feet
Again," didn't crack the British Top Ten, despite very heavy airplay and
promotion, and barely made the U.S. Top 50. In retrospect, it may have
been too similar to "Baby Now That I've Found You," which had sold in
enormous numbers. Its relative failure led to the beginnings of a split
between the group and Macaulay,
as both songwriter and producer, exacerbated by the latter's decision
-- as their producer -- not to permit the group to record any of their
own songs, even as B-sides. Additionally, they felt that Macaulay reined in their "real" sound, making them seem more pop-oriented than they were.
These disagreements occurred at just about the same
time that the group itself began experiencing internal fractures. It
seemed to Curtis,
in particular, that some of the other members, having topped the charts
and chalked up an international hit, weren't putting out the same
effort they'd been giving to the group when they were still struggling.
Curtis
was persuaded to pursue a solo career, ironically right after he'd
recorded perhaps the best track he ever cut with the group, a killer
rendition of "It's All Right," a number they'd been knocking crowds dead
with on-stage all along. (They also released a live album, Rocking the Foundations.) Additionally, saxman Elliott quit as well, and was never replaced. Curtis was succeeded by Colin Young,
a good singer in his own right who fit in perfectly with the group's
sound, and the reconstituted group hit once more in early 1969 with
"Build Me Up Buttercup," written by Macaulay with Mike D'Abo,
which reached number two in England and number one in America. "In the
Bad, Bad Old Days (Before You Loved Me)" was yet another hit, reaching
the U.K. Top Ten and the U.S. Top 30.
The band's success finally faltered when Macaulay
exited Pye Records. As he later revealed, he was still being paid
solely as a producer and he received no royalties for his songs, despite
millions of copies sold. With his departure, the group was cut off from
the only composer who'd written all of their hits. Additionally, the
sounds of soul were changing faster than the group could assimilate it
all -- they tried for a funkier, James Brown-type sound on their last recordings together in 1970 but failed to attract any attention.
The Foundations split in 1970, and by the middle of the decade that followed, Curtis revived the band -- but so had Young, and both outfits were called the Foundations. A lawsuit resulted in Curtis getting the rights to the original name, while Young was allowed to use the New Foundations.
The group remains fondly remembered, if not often written about, in
England, and it achieved some fresh international recognition in 1998
when "Build Me Up Buttercup" appeared prominently in the hit movie
There's Something About Mary. Curtis continues to perform in a revived version of the group, and he and Warner have recorded new versions of the Foundations' classic numbers. Various versions of the Foundations continued to tour into the first decade of the 21st century, including Curtis as Clem Curtis & the Foundations and Warner as Alan Warner's Foundations.
The Foundations were a fine Soul, R'n'B Pop band mid till the end of the sixties. This are their greatest hits and this post is to remember the legacy of Clem Curtis, leadsinger, born November 28 1940 who passed away on March 27th 2017. May he rest in peace
Frank
Flac part1
Flac part2
mp3@320
