Move (The Move album)


Move is the debut album by The Move, released on the Regal Zonophone label. The only one which was recorded by the group’s initial line-up before bassist Ace Kefford left, it includes both sides of their third and fourth singles. "Flowers in the Rain" was the first ever song played on Radio 1 in September 1967 by Tony Blackburn.

Content

The album consisted of Roy Wood originals, and three cover versions that had featured prominently in their live set. "Weekend" was an Eddie Cochran song, and "Hey Grandma" had originally been recorded by US psychedelic band Moby Grape. "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" was an old James F. Hanley standard, with an arrangement copied from The Coasters.

"Cherry Blossom Clinic"/"Vote for Me" single

The last track, "Cherry Blossom Clinic", was intended as a single at the end of 1967, and an acetate, with "Vote for Me", was pressed. Release was cancelled, as the lyrics were about the inmate of a mental home, and in the wake of the controversy which had dogged "Flowers in the Rain", with its promotional postcard featuring an allegedly libellous drawing of Prime Minister Harold Wilson, it was felt that potential further allegations of bad taste and scandal would harm their career irreparably.

Release

It was The Move's only album to chart, reaching number 15. Just before the release, Kefford quit the band, following a breakdown during a rehearsal shortly after the band appeared on Top Of The Pops promoting Fire Brigade.
It was later reissued on CD with additional tracks in 1998. It was then reissued in a deluxe two disc package in 2007 by Salvo.
The latest re-issues arrived in April 2016 from Esoteric Records, a label of Cherry Red Records. Two versions of the album are involved, a 3CD remastered and expanded deluxe edition and a remastered and expanded edition. According to Esoteric, these newly re-mastered editions focus on the mono mix of the album, and includes five bonus tracks on the single CD version, this increasing to 52 for the 3-CD set, five of these previously unreleased.

Track listing

All songs written by Roy Wood, except where noted.

Personnel

;The Move
;Additional Personnel