How fascinating to learn that Blue Mink [previously celebrated yesterday, would you believe it?] was an early champion of the “new reggae” sound — albeit one increasingly augmented by strings (i.e., “Hollywood reggae“) — that was starting to show commercial potential in the UK as the 1960s gave way to the 70s.
“Gimme Reggae“
Blue Mink (1969)
“Don’t call me Yank!” demands Madeline Bell on this track from Blue Mink’s debut album, Melting Pot – an LP that curiously was released in the US first (1969), then the UK (1970).
According to Discogs.com, “Gimme Reggae” was the A-side of a single release (with “Gidda Wadda Wobble” as the flip side) in 1970 – but for the Austrian market only! Otherwise, “Gimme Reggae” — attributed to group members, Madeline Bell, Roger Cook, Herbie Flowers, Alan Parker, Roger Coulam & Barry Morgan — did not enjoy single release in the UK and Germany until 1975, after the original group had decided to disband, and seems not to have been issued as a 45 in the US.
Germany
1975
Worth pointing out that the US version of Melting Pot excludes “Gimme Reggae” — that song would be included on US copies of the band’s second album, Real Mink, an album that appears not to have gotten a UK release.
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LINK to Pop +/- Strings Reggae on Zero to 180
