Page 31 - BiTS_05_MAY_2024_Neat

As was noted last month, the final “pre-CBS” single was by Eddie Boyd, backed by John Mayall’s
Bluesbreakers, with 2 unused tracks from the sessions that produced the Decca LP “Eddie Boyd
and his Blues Band” - the titles were ‘So Miserable To Be Alone’ and ‘Empty Arms’.

However, a Blue Horizon catalogue produced in late 1966/early 1967 mentions a number of
other titles, by Willie Love, Robert Boyd, Mule Thomas and J. B. Lenore (as spelt in the catalogue),
plus 2 further forthcoming releases on Outa-Site (the r&b label run by the Vernons), 3 gospel
EPs (on the Wheel label), and 2 compilation/documentary LPs on Blue Horizon. However, none
of these were issued.

Jack Dupree at Halifax Women’s Institute!
Also unissued were 2 tracks
recorded at a mid-1967 session
featuring Rod Stewart, Peter
Green, Jack Bruce and Aynsley
Dunbar, entitled ‘Stone Crazy’
and ‘Fly Right Baby’. The latter
has never seen the light of day,
for contractual reasons, but Stone
Crazy did appear on a US
compilation, and is available on

You Tube. It is a very fine
performance by all concerned,
and a great shame that neither
has ever been officially released.
The band name is referred to in
some places as The Aynsley
Dunbar Retaliation, but of course
it isn’t them. According to Mike
Vernon, the name on the tape box
is Crazy Blue, and it remained
overlooked in the vaults for many
years simply because no one remembered who they were!

Having been approached by Peter Green, in the Spring of 1967, stating that he was intent upon
leaving the Bluesbreakers, and taking Messrs. McVie and Fleetwood with him, Green told Vernon
that he would like Blue Horizon to issue their music. With a view to a licensing deal with Decca
Vernon took the band into the studios in West Hampstead to cut some demos, which included
‘First Train Home’ and the instrumental ‘Fleetwood Mac’, both of which were issued later on
Mac compilation albums.

Having presented the demos to Decca, they were keen to sign the band, but not to any sort of
deal with Blue Horizon, which apparently was strictly against company policy. Consequently, a
plan B was put into operation, with the assistance of Mike’s brother, Richard, who worked in
the Promotion Department at CBS Records. Discussions took some weeks, but eventually
resulted in the deal they were looking for, so contracts were duly signed in October 1967, and
Blue Horizon came formally into being.