SWS005 | Don’t You Worry Baby The Best Is Yet To Come
The resplendent vocal versatility of The Reynolds has been indispensable to Greg Wilson’s Super Weird Substance label over the first four releases and, as such, they have duly been awarded their debut solo release, mixed by Greg and Peza. Although only young, The Seacombe-based twins perform like veterans and in this case they have masterfully taken on Bessie Banks’ ‘Don’t You Worry Baby The Best Is Yet To Come’ – a cult Blackpool Mecca classic from the mid-70s.
By playing contemporary disco alongside 60’s soul rarities the Mecca was at the centre of the famous Northern Soul schism which put the venue at odds with the music policy of Wigan Casino. Whilst the Casino is remembered as the more famous venue, it’s arguable that – via its most influential DJ’s Ian Levine and Colin Curtis – more classic tracks were unveiled in Blackpool than anywhere else.
The Mecca operated during normal club hours, closing at 2am, whereas the Casino was an all-nighter from 2am-8am – subsequently a number of people would leave the Mecca around 1am to get to the Casino for opening. This led to the final hour at the Mecca becoming more experimental and compilation albums have been made focusing purely on records that became popular there during this timeframe – ‘Don’t You Worry Baby The Best Is Yet To Come’ being one, a Colin Curtis special.
It’s such an obscure track that – unless you were there in Blackpool in ’76 – it’s unlikely you’ll have ever have heard of it, having never been issued in the UK. The original vocalist Bessie Banks is best-known for her early 60’s hit ‘Go Now!’ – later covered by the Moody Blues, gifting them their breakthrough hit.
Written by Clyde Otis and Banks’ husband of the time, Herman Kelly – legendary in hip hop circles for ‘Let’s Dance To The Drummer’s Beat’ – ‘Don’t You Worry Baby The Best Is Yet To Come’ was released in 1976, two years before Kelly’s heavily sampled break.
Lending his hand to the recording and mixing once again, Peza cements an ever-fruitful association with producer Greg Wilson, as the Wolverhampton-based DJ and musician takes on a international focus, working with Chen Shi-Zheng in Shanghai on a project opening in New York – on the back of a mutual association with Damon Albarn.
The Reynolds are currently recording further tracks with the intention of a debut album release in 2016. The diversity of sound and nuanced vocal ability of the twins first surfaced on last year’s ‘Blind Arcade Meets Super Weird Substance In The Morphogenetic Field’ mixtape and has become a hallmark of the label since.
“Not a bad effort for a white boy. A song that is very dear to my heart from a golden time!”
~ Colin Curtis
SWS005 | The Reynolds – Don’t You Worry Baby The Best Is Yet To Come
Released 14th August 2015
A1 – Don’t You Worry Baby The Best Is Yet To Come [Greg Wilson & Peza Club Mix]
AA1- Don’t You Worry Baby The Best Is Yet To Come [Greg Wilson & Peza Radio Mix]
AA2 – Don’t You Worry Baby The Best Is Yet To Come [Greg Wilson & Peza Instrumental Mix]
Vinyl & Digital available here
Compilation CD available here