"My Friend Jack" is a

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

song released by the English

freakbeat Freakbeat is a loosely defined subgenre of rock and roll music developed mainly by harder-driving British groups during the Swinging London period of the mid-to late 1960s. The genre bridges British Invasion R&B, beat and psychedelia. Etymolo ...

group

The Smoke The Smoke were an English psychedelic pop group from York. They consisted of Mick Rowley (Lead vocalist, lead Singing, vocals), Mal Luker (lead instrument, lead guitar), John "Zeke" Lund (Bass guitar, bass) and Geoff Gill (Drum kit, drums a ...

in 1967. It was included originally in their debut album ''

It's Smoke Time ''It's Smoke Time'' is the only studio album by the British psychedelic pop band The Smoke, released in early 1967, originally by Swedish label Metronome Records only in Germany. It features the hit single “My Friend Jack”, number two on th ...

'', and it was also included (among other compilation albums) in the collection '' Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964–1969'' (

Rhino A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

, 2001). It was credited to all four band members: Geoff Gill, Mal Luker, Zeke Lund and Mick Rowley. The song was later covered by

Boney M. Boney M. is a German reggae, funk and disco music group founded in 1974. It achieved popularity during the disco era in the second half of the 1970s. The band was created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary song ...

Background

"My Friend Jack" was the only international hit by The Smoke. The song seems to suggest the use of

psychedelic drugs Psychedelics are a subclass of Hallucinogen, hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger psychoactive drug, non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also ...

(specifically

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...

) in lines such as “My Friend Jack eats sugar lumps” and suggests traversing the world inside his mind (such as “Been on a voyage, across an ocean”). The song was pulled off the U.K. market due to the drug connotations and it therefore never succeeded in their own country. The original content of the song was so unacceptable that "My Friend Jack" had to be rewritten before EMI would touch it; finally, it was released in February 1967. The single only made it to number 45 before being banned by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, limiting it to three weeks on the U.K. charts. The first version (somewhat slower and almost entirely modified except for the chorus) featured more obvious content related with the hallucinogenic effect and incomprehension. Lines such as "Oh, what beautiful things he sees" had to be re-recorded as "Sugarman hasn't got a care". The demo is available on some CD compilations, such as ''Real Life Permanent Dreams. A Cornucopia Of British Psychedelia (1965-1970)'' (Castle Select, 2007). In

mainland Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by so ...

, however, the final version of the record sold well; the group and their song was supported after appearing on an installment of the successful German television show ''

Beat-Club ''Beat-Club'' was a West German music programme that ran from September 1965 to December 1972. It was broadcast from Bremen, West Germany on ''Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen'', the national public TV channel of the ARD, and produced by one of its m ...

'', alongside

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

, and Cliff Bennett & the Rebel Rousers. "My Friend Jack" ended up reaching the No. 2 spot in the German pop charts, and earned the Smoke a place on a tour with the

Small Faces Small Faces were an English Rock music, rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966 ...

and the

Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by thei ...

in 1967. The single charted high in Switzerland, France, and Austria as well, and suddenly there was demand for a Smoke LP in Germany, entitled later ''

''.

Musical style

The song is characterized by a

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

beat and mix of shimmering and crunchy

reverb In acoustics, reverberation (commonly shortened to reverb) is a persistence of sound after it is produced. It is often created when a sound is reflected on surfaces, causing multiple reflections that build up and then decay as the sound is a ...

-laden guitar (its most notable sound). It presents an aggressive riff, heavily influenced by

's power-chord and a trippy cheerfulness, like other songs with drug references from that era. According to Matthew Greenwald in

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

: "The song opens with a tremolo-laden slide guitar riff from Mal Luker, which creates a trippy, unsettling but wholly interesting hook. The main melody is a bouncy, mid-tempo slice of pop-psychedelia, filled with a buoyancy that equates this to an English version of

the Turtles The Turtles are an America, American Band (rock and pop), rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965. The band achieved several Top 40 hits throughout the latter half of the 1960s, including "It Ain't Me Babe" (1965), "You Baby (song), ...

on psychedelic drugs. The effervescent chorus is a fabulous singalong affair, making it instantly accessible."

Usage in media

"My Friend Jack" was included in the

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

John Peel's Record Box ''John Peel's Record Box'' is a documentary film made by Elaine Shepherd, released on 14 November 2005 on Channel 4. It was nominated for Primetime Emmy Award. __TOC__ Contents The box contains a small private collection of the British radio ...

'', made by Elaine Shepherd, released on 14 November 2005 on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

(British public-service television). The film was nominated for

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

Releases

Source: *7-inch Single (Metronome, 1967) #"My Friend Jack" - 3:06 #"We Can Take It" - 2:47 *7-inch EP (Impact, 1967) #"My Friend Jack" - 3:06 #"Don't Lead Me On" - 2:19 #"We Can Take It" - 2:46 #"Waterfall" - 2:43 In 1976, The Smoke re-recorded the song with other arrangements and a

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

style, along with the other songs from ''

'' . The album was released under the British label

Gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the subfamily Larinae. They are most closely related to terns and skimmers, distantly related to auks, and even more distantly related to waders. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed ...

.My Friend Jack ´76 at Discogs
/ref> The single (released only in France), featured a new song, "Lady". *12-inch LP (Gull, 1976) #"My Friend Jack" - 3:04 #"Waterfall" - 2:37 #"You Can't Catch Me" - 3:13 #"High In A Room" - 2:56 #"Wake Up Cherylina" - 2:15 #"Don't Lead Me On" - 2:12 #"We Can Take It" - 2:40 #"If The Weather Is Sunny" - 2:50 #"I Wanna Make It With You" - 3:04 #"It's Getting Closer" - 2:37 #"It's Just Your Way Of Loving" - 2:23 #"I Would If I Could But I Can't" - 2:10

Personnel

The Smoke

* Mick Rowley – Vocals, Guitar

ith Two Fingers The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometers, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is im ...

* Mal Luker - Guitar *Zeke Lund –Bass *Geoff Gill - Drums

Chart performance

Boney M. version

German/Caribbean vocal group

released “My Friend Jack” as a double A-side single (with ”

I See a Boat on the River "I See a Boat on the River" / "My Friend Jack" is a double A-side single by German band Boney M., taken from their 1980 compilation album '' The Magic of Boney M. - 20 Golden Hits''. "I See a Boat on the River" peaked at #5 in Germany but marked t ...

”) in 1980; the song was also included in the

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

The Magic of Boney M. – 20 Golden Hits ''The Magic of Boney M. – 20 Golden Hits'' is a greatest hits album by Euro-Caribbean group Boney M., issued in 1980, which contained all their biggest hits up until that point, including non-album singles "Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord" and "Hoo ...

''. Original Smoke member Zeke Lund was by now working as a sound engineer for their album's record producer, Frank Farian. The initial single pressings featured a 4:56 single mix, differing with the omission of a guitar solo which was included in the subsequent 4:40 mix which was faded 10 seconds earlier on the LP version. This cover peaked at No. 6 in Norway and No. 57 in the U.K.

Personnel

Boney M.

Liz Mitchell Elizabeth Rebecca Pemberton-Mitchell (born 12 July 1952) is a British singer, best known as one of the original singers of the 1970s disco and reggae band Boney M. Mitchell now lives in Reading, UK. Early life Mitchell was born in the paris ...

- lead vocals *

Marcia Barrett Marcia Barrett (born 14 October 1948) is a British singer and one of the original singers with the vocal group Boney M. Early years Barrett was born in Saint Catherine Parish, British Jamaica; her parents brought her to Croydon, England in ...

- backing vocals *

Frank Farian Franz Reuther (18 July 1941 – 23 January 2024), known professionally as Frank Farian, was a German record producer and singer who founded the 1970s disco-pop group Boney M., the pop band No Mercy, and the pop band Milli Vanilli. He frequent ...

- backing vocals

References

External links

My Friend Jack review in AllmusicMy Friend Jack at DiscogsMy Friend Jack in German TV, 1967
*https://web.archive.org/web/20151022181234/https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/boney_m_ * :de:The Smoke {{authority control The Smoke songs Songs about drugs 1967 debut singles 1980 singles 1967 songs