Neville Taylor – Rockaroo! The (Almost) Complete Recordings, 1958-1961

Following on from Jasmine's recent well-received compilation of tracks by pioneering 1950s UK-based Jamaicans the Southlanders, we now bring you the first ever CD collection of tracks from their fellow Caribbean expatriate - and like them, a popular turn on 50s British television and a pioneer of UK R&B - Neville Taylor.

Guyana born Neville came to the UK in the 1940s, before the arrival of the 'Windrush Generation', but made his name in the 1950s after a few TV appearances led to a residency, with his group the Cutters, on Jack Good's pioneering weekly pop show 'Oh Boy!' An integral part of Good's regular line up, the TV shows inevitably led to recording contracts and 'Rockaroo' brings you as many of Neville's recordings from 1957-1962 as we were able to fit on one CD.

Throughout his recording career Neville led a 'double life' on 45s, recording his own 45s for labels like Parlophone, Decca and Oriole and covering many hits of the day for Woolworth's label Embassy as 'Hal Munro' - a disguise that would have fooled nobody who knew his voice from his own records or from TV broadcasts. All of 'Hal's Embassy sides are also featured here to make this as complete a collection of his work as the finite running time of a compact disc permits.

'Hal's 45s were budget priced and never chart-aimed, but Neville's were and given the high overall quality of them as displayed here - particularly the rock 'n' roll sides like 'Mercy Mercy Percy' and 'Crazy Little Daisy' and his original recording of the highly popular 'House Of Bamboo' - it's surprising that he didn't chart a single one.

Jasmine continues to explore corners of British popular music that are long overdue for re-appraisal, and further released are already planned on other artists who arrived from the West Indies in the 40s and 50s to seek musical fame and fortune.

Track Listing
1. I DIDN'T MEAN IT - THE ROCK 'N' ROLLERS
2. COFFEE BREAK - THE ROCK 'N' ROLLERS
3. JAILHOUSE ROCK - HAL MUNRO
4. YOU SEND ME - HAL MUNRO
5. GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY - HAL MUNRO
6. DON'T - HAL MUNRO
7. BREATHLESS - HAL MUNRO
8. WEAR MY RING AROUND YOUR NECK - HAL MUNRO
9. HOUSE OF BAMBOO - NEVILLE TAYLOR
10. MERCY MERCY PERCY - NEVILLE TAYLOR
11. TEARS ON MY PILLOW - NEVILLE TAYLOR
12. I DON'T WANT TO SET THE WORLD ON FIRE - NEVILLE TAYLOR
13. THE MIRACLE OF CHRISTMAS - NEVILLE TAYLOR
14. A BABY LAY SLEEPING - NEVILLE TAYLOR
15. I'VE HAD IT - THE CUTTERS
16. ROCKAROO - THE CUTTERS
17. CRAZY LITTLE DAISY - NEVILLE TAYLOR
18. THE FIRST WORDS OF LOVE - NEVILLE TAYLOR
19. IT'S LATE - HAL MUNRO
20. C'MON EVERYBODY - HAL MUNRO
21. WHERE WERE YOU ON OUR WEDDING DAY - HAL MUNRO
22. DREAM LOVER - HAL MUNRO
23. IT AIN'T NECESSARILY SO - NEVILLE TAYLOR
24. ON A SLOW BOAT TO CHINA - HAL MUNRO
25. YOU GOT WHAT IT TAKES - HAL MUNRO
26. CALIFORNIA HERE I COME - HAL MUNRO
27. DANCE WITH A DOLLY (With A Hole In Her Stocking) - NEVILLE TAYLOR
28. FREE PASSES TO THE MOVIES - NEVILLE TAYLOR
29. THE WRECK OF THE JOHN B - HAL MUNRO
30. GOOD TIMIN' - HAL MUNRO
31. YOU ALWAYS HURT THE ONE YOU LOVE - HAL MUNRO
32. DON'T YOU KNOW IT - HAL MUNRO