The Motown Sound gets a distinctly 60s UK makeover.

It may seem unbelievable in 2019 but there was a time when Motown was not a household name in the UK. Around 40 Motown singles were released here between 1959 and 1964, not one making a dent in our charts until Mary Wells scored a Top 10 hit with ‘My Guy’. After that Berry Gordy’s company began to slowly make a greater impression on British pop fans but even then a full three years went by before Motown’s flagship acts routinely made the UK Top 20.

However, all but ignored by the public at large, Motown songs quickly won a place in the collective heart of British beat merchants, particularly after the Beatles recorded three Motown songs on their second UK album. Soon it was open season on their catalogue, with all manner of artists coming up with covers of songs that had flopped for the original artists. The Motown sound was difficult to replicate, so most who covered the songs went their own way with them. Not all covers were musically successful but this new Ace project selects two dozen that were.

Most of our selections cover songs from Motown’s early years. Once the hits started coming regularly, there was little point in going up against the originals, so artists started to cover B-sides and singles that had not been issued here at the time. By 1967 there was virtually no point in trying to steal Motown’s thunder, and thus our compilation goes no further than that year. But there’s a lot of great stuff here that stands up well in comparison with the originals, and there are plenty of highlights to savour, from avowed Motown fan Dusty Springfield taking on an early Supremes classic to a certain Liverpool icon reminding us of her R&B roots as Swinging Cilla as she launches herself into Jr Walker’s ‘Shotgun’.

The singers might get the odd word wrong but their commitment to each song can’t be faulted. They may not have been able to replicate the Motown sound but they surely knew how to get “On The Detroit Beat”

ON THE DETROIT BEAT!

01 Mickey's Monkey - The Hollies

02 As Long As I Know He's Mine - Julie Grant

03 Money (That's What I Want) - The Undertakers

04 I Want A Love I Can See - John Leyton & The LeRoys

05 Sweet Thing - Georgie Fame

06 I'll Be Doggone - Billy J Kramer with The Dakotas

07 Two Lovers - Louise Cordet

08 Shake Sherry - Bern Elliott & The Fenmen

09 You Really Got A Hold On Me - Small Faces

10 The Way You Do The Things You Do - Elkie Brooks

11 I Want To Go Back There Again - Bill Kenwright & The Runaways

12 When The Lovelight Stars Shining Through His Eyes - Dusty Springfield

13 One Of These Days - Guy Darrell

14 Heat Wave - Beverley Jones with The Prestons

15 No.1 In Your Heart - Herbie Goins & The Night-Timers

16 Every Little Bit Hurts - The Spencer Davis Group

17 Stubborn Kind Of Fellow - The Roulettes

18 You're My Remedy - Helen Shapiro

19 No Good Without You - The Birds

20 My Smile Is Just A Frown (Turned Upside Down) - Truly Smith

21 Never Leave Your Baby's Side - Tony Jackson

22 Let's Go Somewhere - Beryl Marsden

23 In My Lonely Room - The Action

24 Shotgun - Cilla Black & Sounds Incorporated

CONDITION MINT - STILL SEALED

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