Sugar and Spice / Saints and Searchers

The 22nd of October (my birthday!) 1963 saw the release of the follow up to Sweets For My Sweet called Sugar & Spice (written by Fred Nightingale = Tony Hatch, their producer), b/w Saints And Searchers. Pye 7N .15566. But first of all there were announcements in the musicpress that the B-side will be Sure Know A Lot About Love, one of the songs already known from their Starclub LP.

The single reached no. 2 and stayed in the charts for 13 weeks.

Below left: from NME

 

Advert on the left also lists Sure Know... as the B-side and release date October 15. Acutally it came out one week later with Saints And Searchers. A last minute decision? Pye didn't use picture sleeves for their singles so may be one week was enough time to press the single (or may be not: see further below the remarks about different pressings).

above: Promo pressing  
above and left: purple and maroon label; Sugar & Spice is the only single that appeared in these two colours - beside the regular red label colour. Also note the different colour of the factory sleeve.

advertisements from Record Mirror and New Musical Express

 

 

above, left and below left: different pressings of the single. I have slight variations of the red colour but I'm not sure if if depends on the scan.

The reasons for the maroon / purple and the red covers depend on the success of the single and the late decision the change the B-side. So Pye handed parts of the pressings to the Oriole label and the maroon 7 purple ones are the result while the red ones are usual Pye house pressings.

Singles from other countries

Australia:  Astor AP 1033 reached no. 29

Canada: Pye Records PYE 717 reached no. 11 in 1964

Denmark: Pye Records 7N 15566, no chart information available.

left: France Vogue - Disques 45 PV - 15183

above and below: German Vogue DV 14093, two different pressings, didn't chart.

 
 
 
above: Israel release from 1964, Top Hits TO-455         below: Sheet Music from Israel

left: Japanese single Pye LL - 7017 - Y

right: Swedish cover, Pye 7N 15566 reached no. 14

below: also Sweden?

left: The correct cover of the NL release

right: SA single on Parlophone 45-SPD 291

left and below: a pressed but never released single with a different B-side.There are 2 versions of Sure Know... Starclub version - but availablbe for Pye and the version released in 1964 on the LP It's The Searchers. Could be possible, because it is sung by Tony (with Mike) and the only Tony vocal from that LP. On the other hand this versions sounds more that 1964. An unsolved mystery.

 

US single: first in December 1963 Liberty 55646 was released or may be not. Everything I've ever seen are "Audition Records" - see far above. Above:In April 1964 - the Searchers were well known in the USA - Liberty tried it with a regular release F-55689 which reached no. 44.

Right: Promo record of Sugar & Spice.

Other countries, no images available:

Ireland and New Zealand: Pye Records 7N 15566, reached no. 6  in both countries. 

Norway: Pye Records 7N 15566

South Africa:  Parlophone 45-SPD 291