St. Valentine’s Day Massacre | Brother, Can You Spare A Dime | Fontana | 1967

St. Valentine’s Day Massacre – ’Brother, Can You Spare A Dime’/’Al’s Party’ (Fontana TF 883) November 1967

St. Valentine’s Day Massacre | Brother, Can You Spare A Dime | Fontana | 1967 | AT EXACTLY 10.50 a.m. on February 14, 1929, in the garage of the S.M.C. Cartage Company, 2122 North Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois, one of the most infamous of gangster attacks took place—the St Valentine’s Day Massacre.

Seven men were murdered in cold blood and the incident went down as the most famous “happening” in gangster history.

Now, 38 years later, the “happening” has been revived in the shape of five young Englishmen—to be known as The St Valentine’s Day Massacre!

Leader of the onslaught is Mr Arthur Wood, and he and his bunch of “crooks” were formerly known as the Art Woods. Why, we asked, did they change the name after many established years as the Art Woods?

St. Valentine’s Day Massacre | Brother, Can You Spare A Dime | Fontana | 1967

“It was Philips’ recording manager Jack Baverstock’s idea,” he replied. “He had it on strong authority that ‘Bonnie And Clyde’ was going to have such a strong effect on fashion that the gangster image would be a successor to Flowerpower.

But isn’t it a bad policy to associate yourselves with an image that will obviously be as short-lived as all other fashion crazes?

“Well, we’re very happy with the gear,” replied Arthur, “and it will keep us nice and warm during the winter. Besides, we’re not really changing our stayle—just the clothes and the name.

“In fact, everything has happened in the last three weeks. We adopted the name and cut and released ‘Brother, Can You Spare A Dime’ before we had really taken it all in.”

Happily, crime has not played a part in the building of the St Valentine’s Day Massacre. Art Wood, at 25, has had a peaceful history of guitar playing and Art College. Derek Griffiths (23) is a former public schoolboy and articled clerk. Colin Martin boasts a great-great-great grandmother who was a member of the Spanish Royal family and married Queen Victoria’s favourite artist, De Freezor! Jon Lord (24) was a student of classical piano and drama, and Malcolm Pool was taught the violin by an aged aunt.

So when they blast into your local club, sub-machine guns a-blazing, be not afraid, for as Arthur says: “Any massacre will come from our music, not from us!” (Disc & Music Echo, 11/11/67)