Plastic Penny were a British 1960s pop band, formed in November 1967 before splitting up in August 1969. The group had one hit single early in 1968: "Everything I Am". Most of the members went on to greater fame with other bands or in session work.
Career
Most of the band's material was
psychedelic pop, with leanings towards a
prog rock sound.
The majority of the material was written by Brian Keith,
Paul Raymond, and Tony Murray. Keith left the band, and Raymond took over lead vocals. Plastic Penny's output was released on the
Page One Records; the band appeared at the first
Isle of Wight Festival
The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport, Isle of Wight, Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a Counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970.
Th ...
, on 31 August 1968.
"Everything I Am" reached number six in the
UK Singles Chart and number 30 in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
.
The song, enhanced with a string arrangement, was a slow
ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...
version
of a song originally recorded by the
Box Tops.
It was written by
Spooner Oldham and
Dan Penn.
Plastic Penny's follow-up singles, such as the
Bill Martin/
Phil Coulter song "Nobody Knows It", were flops.
(then billed as Mick Graham) moved on to play with
Cochise and then
Procol Harum
Procol Harum () were an English rock music, rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold more than List of best-selling si ...
. Keith became the lead vocalist with
The Congregation. Raymond replaced Christine Perfect (
Christine McVie
Christine Anne McVie (; Perfect; 12 July 1943 – 30 November 2022) was an English musician. She was the keyboardist and one of the vocalists and songwriters of the rock band Fleetwood Mac.
McVie was a member of several bands, notably Chic ...
) in
Chicken Shack
Chicken Shack are a British blues band, founded in the mid-1960s by Stan Webb (guitarist), Stan Webb (guitar and vocals), Andy Silvester (bass guitar), and Alan Morley (drums), who were later joined by Christine McVie, Christine Perfect (later ...
, then joined
Savoy Brown and later played with
UFO.
Nigel Olsson became the drummer for
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
and an in-demand session musician. Tony Murray played on Elton John’s ''
Empty Sky'' with Olsson, and then joined
The Troggs
The Troggs (originally called the Troglodytes) are an English beat music band formed in Andover, Hampshire, in May 1964. Their most famous songs include the US chart-topper " Wild Thing", " With a Girl Like You" and " Love Is All Around", al ...
.
The group's third and final album ''Heads I Win, Tails You Lose'' was a compilation of the band's more obscure recordings, issued in 1970 after the group had disbanded.
Band members
*Brian Keith, (born Brian O'Shea, 22 September 1942,
Port Glasgow
Port Glasgow (, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recent census in 2011 s ...
, West Renfrewshire, Scotland) - Vocalist
*
Paul Raymond, (born Paul Martin Raymond, 16 November 1945,
St Albans
St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...
, Hertfordshire – 13 April 2019) - Keyboardist/guitarist
*
Mick Graham, (born Michael Grabham, 22 January 1948,
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
, County Durham) - Guitarist
*
Nigel Olsson, (born Peter Nigel Olsson, 10 February 1949,
Wallasey
Wallasey () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the mouth of the River Mersey, on the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Peninsula. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic county bou ...
, Cheshire) - Drummer
*Tony Murray, (born Anthony Murray, 26 April 1943,
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, County Dublin, Ireland) - Bassist
Discography
Singles
*1967 - "Everything I Am" / "No Pleasure Without Pain My Love" (Page One POF 051, UK, 1 December 1967)
*1968 - "Nobody Knows It" / "Happy Just to Be with You" (Page One POF 062, UK, 29 March 1968)
*1968 - "Your Way to Tell Me Go" / "Baby You're Not to Blame" (Page One POF 079, UK, 26 July 1968)
*1968 - "Hound Dog" / "Currency" (Page One POF 107, UK, 22 November 1968)
*1969 - "She Does" / "Genevieve" (Page One POF 146, UK, 11 July 1969)
*1975 - "Everything I Am" / "No Pleasure Without Pain" (DJM DJS 353, UK, 21 February 1975)
Albums
*1968 - ''Two Sides of a Penny'' (Page One POL 005 (mono)/POLS 005 (stereo), UK, April 1968)
Side One (Heads): "Everything I Am", "Wake Me Up", "Never My Love", "Genevieve", "No Pleasure Without Pain My Love", "So Much Older Now"
Side Two (Tails): "Mrs. Grundy", "Take Me Back", "I Want You", "It's a Good Thing", "Strawberry Fields Forever"
*1969 - ''Currency'' (Page One POLS 014 (stereo), UK, February 1969)
Side One: "Your Way to Tell Me Go", "Hound Dog", "Currency", "Caledonian Mission", "MacArthur Park"
Side Two: "Turn to Me", "Baby You're Not to Blame", "Give Me Money", "Sour Suite"
*1970 - ''Heads I Win, Tails You Lose'' (Compilation, Page One POS 611 (stereo), UK, April 1970)
Side One: "Hound Dog", "She Does", "Turn to Me", "Caledonian Mission", "Currency", "Your Way to Tell Me Go"
Side Two: "Celebrity Ball", "Baby You're Not to Blame", "I Want You", "Take Me Back", "Genevieve", "Give Me Money"
References
External links
Plastic Penny page by Alex Gitlin*
Plastic Penny biography at Allmusic*
Mick Grabham biography at The Musicians’ Olympus websiteNigel Olsson official site
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plastic Penny
Musical groups established in 1967
Musical groups disestablished in 1969
English rock music groups
English pop music groups