Vanity Fare – ’I Live For The Sun’ / ’On The Other Side Of Life’ (Page One POF 075) June 1968

Ruthlessly plugged though I have been, I nevertheless give this group and this song a good chance of making it first time out. An obviously commercial arrangement, production and number, with a catchy little repetitive sun-sun-sun phrase which registers strongly.

They’re getting the radio and TV space and this is blatantly grow-on-you-instantly pop. Flip: A la-la-lah sort of thing with fair appeal. (Record Mirror, 29/06/68)

VANITY FARE: “I Live For The Sun” (Page One) | Every now and then there are fantastic rumblings about the business prophesying the future of a certain record. The last one was “World Of Oz“, and where did that get? Rumblings don’t impress me particularly, but the record does.

Nice four Seasonsy type thing. Well produced and well put together. One of the best engineers in the country, Barry Ainsworth, was at the controls on this one to help make this fine noise.

Apparently he’s now moving on to warmer climes, for what I understand is a record salary, the highest ever paid to an engineer, so I don’t expect he minds if this is a hit or not. Have to be a bit guarded as to whether this will be a hit though, ‘cos the falsetto thing is a bit out at the moment. (Top Pops, 06/07/68)

The history of Vanity Fare

Vanity Fair is a literary classic by the great English novelist W.M.Thackeray [1811-1863). Such was his far-flung influence that his best-known work inspired the name of a much-loved pop group that called themselves Vanity Fare.

The roots of a group that placed its main emphasis on vocal harmonies and lilting melodies, can be found amidst the turbu music scene that once existed in the towns that bestride the Medway in Kent.

In the Sixties there were many young pop groups in Medway towns, vying for attention and hoping to seek their fortune. One such was The Avengers, comprising school friends from the nearby towns. They included; Dick Allix (drums),Trevor Brice (vocals), Tony Goulden (guitar), Tony Jarrett (bass) and Barry Landeman (keyboards).

The group began gigging at local clubs and one night found themselves supporting the more experienced Candy Choir, a group fronted by Eddie Wheeler. As well as doing their own gigs, Candy Choir also acted as the backing band for pop stars Crispian St. Peters and Barry Ryan. The young Avengers were highly impressed by the group. They became friends and also followed their example by concentrating more on vocal harmonies than on instrumentals.

During these early days, The Avengers attracted the attention of local entrepreneur Roger Easterby, who subsequently became their manager. He found them a song called ‘I Live For The Sun’ which had been a minor hit in America for The Sunrays, a group from California managed by Murray Wilson, father of The Beach Boys. It was deemed eminently suitable material that would take advantage of the British group’s love of harmony and cheerful tunes.

Before the song could be recorded and released, it seemed like a good idea to find a new name for The Avengers (which made them sound like an old-fashioned rock’n’roll outfit). During a meeting with their manager, one of the group spotted a copy of ‘Vanity Fair’ on a bookshelf. With a judicious change of spelling, The Avengers became Vanity Fare.

Vanity Fare | I Live For The Sun | Page One | 1968

While heavy rock groups Cream, Free and Jethro Tull dominated the scene, it might not have been a good time to launch a vocal harmony pop group. However, their first record ‘I Live For The Sun’, released on Page One, was a surprise hit and got to Number 20 after entering the U.K. singles chart in August 1968. The public clearly warmed to the group’s alternative musical fare and fresh new sound.

The record received lots of radio airplay and the group appeared on BBC TV’s ‘Top Of The Pops’ chart show. One week Vanity Fare were still playing at working men’s clubs. The next week they were on TV and booked for a nationwide tour, billed as the country’s latest pop sensations. It was an exciting time and although they had to wait a year, they consolidated their success with another hit single.

To everyone’s relief, “Early In the Morning’, written by Mike Leander, finally got to Number 8 in the U.K. in July 1969. Even more encouraging, the record was a huge hit in America and got to Number 12 in the U.S. Billboard chart. It eventually sold a million copies and earned the group a gold disc.

FLOODS DON’T STOP VANITY FARE! | VANITY FARE—Wellington boots?

GO and see this group they said. The one that wears the smart clothes on stage and have their hair cut to a reasonable length. So I went to see the group and what were they wearing? WELLINGTON BOOTS!

Mind you, there was a very good reason for Vanity Fare’s unusual footwear. When I went to see them at a Maidstone ballroom last week the town had just been hit by the worst flooding in living memory and the boys had had to wade through knee-deep water to get to the venue.

I ask lead singer Trevor Brice what difference a hit record had made to their lives.

“Well it’s funny you should ask that,” said Trevor as he poured about three pints of water from his left wellington, “but it was only this week when we went back to a venue that we had played about a month previous that we realised just how things change when you have a record in the charts.

“It was the Locarno, Streatham and when we played there first time our disc was getting quite a few plays and we had done a couple of tellys and we thought that the reception we got from the crowd was very good. But when we went back there this week . . Phew I’m gonna take a course in judo!”

Trevor went on to talk about the forthcoming Beach Boys tour, which the group hope to be featured on “Although we have heard it said quite a few times that we are this country’s answer to the Beach Boys I would like to point out that we don’t do surfing numbers all the time. Our act is very varied and we try to play all forms of music and give an audience what it wants to hear. And I can assure you we won’t be doing any Beach Boys’ numbers on the tour!

“I guess because our hit record, ‘I Live For The Sun’, is a surfing number we have been labelled as another harmony or surfing group, but really the disc isn’t representative of our style. It was Just a number that we thought was commercial and one we thought would make a good record release.”

Hooked on yoghurt

At that moment the group’s roadie walked in with a box of yoghurts and the boys made a rush for them. A health kick I thought, but no, Trevor explained that their manager, Roger Easterby, had been on a diet and ate nothing but yoghurt.

“We were with him one day in a BBC canteen and we decided to try it and before we knew where we were we were hooked on it. In fact, if Ski are looking for anybody to do a yoghurt commercial then we must be first choice. We like yoghurt so much that the other day we decided to have a competition to see who could eat the most. The winner to be decided by the first one of us to be sick. Our drummer, Dick Allix. won!

Finally, did they think that their smart image of well-cut suits would go down well in the ballrooms?

“I don’t think it matters how you dress,” said Trevor. “the audience is only really concerned with the music you play and if they like that you are home and dry. And, just because we dress smartly doesn’t mean we can’t rip It up like the long-haired groups. We can mix It with the best of them.”

So there you have Vanity Fare, a group that can still rave it up on stage despite their well-pressed suits and I’m their biggest fan. Mind you, I have to be: Trevor lent me his wellington boots so I could wade through the car park to my car!