The Flying Machine were a

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band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

who are best known for their 1969 American No. 5 hit, " Smile a Little Smile for Me".

Career

The Flying Machine first rose out of the ashes of British band Pinkerton's Assorted Colours. Pinkerton's (as they were often known, for short) had scored a major UK hit with "Mirror Mirror" in 1966 and continued recording over the next few years. However, by

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

, singer/guitarist Tony Newman, singer/ autoharpist/original frontman Sam Kempe, and bassist Stuart Colman from Pinkerton's had teamed up with lead guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Wilkinson to form a new iteration of the group and, with Newman now assuming lead vocal/frontman duties, took the name The Flying Machine. They are best known for their single in 1969, " Smile a Little Smile for Me", which peaked at No. 5 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart (on

Kapp Records Kapp Records was an independent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of Jack Kapp (who set up American Decca Records in 1934). David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca and RCA Victor. Kapp licensed its records to L ...

' Congress

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

) It also reached No. 6 on the AC chart. Their first LP, which was self-titled, was released by

Janus Records Janus Records was a record label owned by GRT Records, also known as General Recorded Tape. The label was in operation from 1969 to 1979. History Janus was founded in July 1969 as a joint venture of GRT and British label Pye Records. In its ...

in 1969. By 12 December that year the single had sold a million copies and was awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the R.I.A.A. The song was written by

Tony Macaulay Tony Macaulay (born Anthony Gordon Instone; 21 April 1944) is an English author, composer for musical theatre, and songwriter. He has won the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors Award twice as 'Songwriter of the Year' (1970 a ...

and

Geoff Stephens Geoffrey Stephens (1 October 1934 – 24 December 2020) was an English songwriter and record producer, most prolific in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and 1970s. He wrote a long series of hit records, often in conjunction with other British so ...

. Despite being released by

Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherho ...

in the band's native UK, the record did not appear on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. A follow-up single, a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of "

Baby Make It Soon "Baby Make It Soon" is a 1969 song by The Marmalade. It was written by Tony Macaulay Tony Macaulay (born Anthony Gordon Instone; 21 April 1944) is an English author, composer for musical theatre, and songwriter. He has won the British Ac ...

", first recorded by

Marmalade Marmalade is a fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. The well-known version is made from bitter orange. It is also made from lemons, limes, grapefruits, mandarins, sweet oranges, bergamot ...

, achieved the U.S. Hot 100 the following year.''Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990'' - A final single, "The Devil Has Possession Of Your Mind", was released, after which the Flying Machine split up. Bassist Colman went on to a successful career as a session musician,

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

and

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disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...

Band members

*Tony Newman (born 1947,

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Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

) – lead vocals,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

s *Steve Jones (born 1946,

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

) –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

*Sam Kempe (born 1946, Rugby) – vocals ''(had apparently left the band by the time their first album was released, as he is not featured on the cover)'' * Stuart Colman (born Ian Stuart Colman, 19 December 1944,

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa w ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

; died 19 April 2018) – bass, electric piano *Paul Wilkinson (born 1948, Coventry) – drums

Ancillary members

*Edie Andrews (born 1945, Detroit, Michigan) –

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

*Mark Lansing (born 1952, USA) - guitars, sideman courtesy of

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

, 1969 *Troy Adam Jones (birth year unknown) - guitarist, backup drummer

Discography

Albums

*1969: ''The Flying Machine'' (Janus) *1970: ''Down to Earth with the Flying Machine'' (Pye) *1998: ''Flight Recorder - From Pinkerton's (Assort.) Colours to the Flying Machine'' (double CD compilation album on

Sequel Records Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is as of 2013 a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest m ...

)

Singles

*1969: " Smile a Little Smile for Me" b/w "Maybe We've Been Loving Too Long" - No. 5

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

*1969: "

" b/w "There She Goes" - No. 87

*1969: "Send My Baby Home Again" b/w "Look At Me Look At Me" *1970: "Hanging on the Edge of Sadness" b/w "Flying Machine" *1970: "The Devil Has Possession of Your Mind" b/w "Hey Little Girl" *1970: "Yes I Understand" b/w "Pages of Your Life"

References

External links

Coventry Music History feature
* Flying Machine biographyat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Flying Machine, The English pop music groups Musical groups established in 1969 Musical groups disestablished in 1971 Pye Records artists Bubblegum pop groups