Pete

Been loving all the clips you have put up on YouTube. Glad to see so many favourable comments.

Re The Exciters, Tell Him - you have that described as a "promo" film.

But I thought myself that that film was made for those video juke boxes that were around in the 60's. They went by the name Scopitone/Cinebox and Colorama. Shows how many miles I have on the clock that I can actually remember them. I lived near one of the Butlins Holiday Camps and they had one there. As kids we weren't hugely impressed. For one play on that we could get at least 3 plays on a conventional jukebox and all the up-to-date records to boot.

Take a look at this website. Click here If you look at the list of films by artist you will see 2 for The Exciters - Tell Him and He's Got the Power. I am not 100% certain this film is the one you uploaded but I think it is.

Someone might want to look through the others in case there is any other soul stuff listed.

MB

P.S. Received the DVD - thanks for that. Wow! - what about the Marvelettes rocking it up on stage??!! Sorry for the cliche but I thought I had "died and gone to heaven."

But it was a promo film - made for the video jukeboxes...

Am I right in saying that Scopitones were bigger in France than the rest of the world during the early to mid-60s?

A mate of mine had a couple of reels of these. He never got to see them but had lists of the tracks, must have been around 1963 because one of the tracks was by Screaming Lord Sutch and I think he said there was an Emile Ford one, can't remember much else about it unfortunately.

Some of those films were also issued as 8MM sound films for the home market. I had the Screaming Lord Sutch one (presume it's "Jack The Ripper you mean) in 8MM format, but it was black and white.

I've got about 3 hours of these on VHS (all pop), done by a friend of mine from a compilation he had. The earliest one of these is "Too Much Tequila" by The Champs, which dates from 1960. It's also the only one in black and white. The majority of them date from 1963 - 1964.

PETE - if you wan't 'em copied, drop us a PM mate.

Edited February 7, 200718 yr by Gene-R

You can download some more Scopitones from this page:

Click here

A very kitsch bit of Timi Yuro near the top.

Weird you should both mention Screaming Lord Sutch. It is one of only 2 films I can remember seeing on that video jukebox at Butlins.

The other was "Come Outside." I would have bet serious money that it was the British hit version by Mike Sarne and the (then) gorgeous Wendy Richards.

But I have had a bit of correspondence with the guy who put up this website and he has finally convinced me that it was a different version by Alan Klein(?) & Julie Samuel(??).

MB

Take Six Short

1963 Eden Kane, Vince Hill, Shane Fenton, The Viscounts, Alan Klein Alan Klein and Julie Samuel sing: Come Outside/The Viscounts:Let's Twist again/Steve Perry sings: Ginny Come Lately Parkside/ British Lion Douglas Hickox

Alan Klein wrote the screenplay for what a crazy world and released an album "Well at least it's british" that was a minor influence on Britpop. He was in the touring version of The New Vaudeville Band. He co wrote Fichley Central with John Stephens

and this one Three Coins in a Sewer

https://tinyurl.com/yu26v2

He does not own Abkco.

I beleiev he ended up writing pantomimes

I was in Rome last year and one evening prior to going out i searched the tv for something to watch, there was a documentary on the Video boxes, fascinating stuff, very early Italian rock n roll and crooners all the way through to late sixties pop, not much of interest for soul lovers but things like this fascinate me, and it was obviously big business in its day, as an aside i seem to recall watching something on UK television about short music films that were done for the jump jive bands of the 40,s and fifties Louis Jordan, Cab Calloway etc anyone else see this, there was some great footage of the masters of swing.

rob h.