POOR SOULS 45rpm 7" single-1970-Canada-Quality LOOKIN' ROUND / SCARECROW

THE POOR SOULS 
45rpm 7" single-1970-Canada-Quality records
 LOOKIN' ROUND / SCARECROW

thanks for the following info from Anonymous comment:

LISTEN :
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'Poor Souls' in Canada 
featured on the single -
included :
John Moran 
Martin Soldat.
Tommy Frew.
Mike McDonald 
and John Slorach. 




SOME HISTORY BELOW  :

Following info from : http://www.kinemagigz.com/'p'.htm#Poor_Souls

This band evolved from the "Hi Four"


I can't find references to this single, but I know the band "Poor Souls" recorded overseas , I would point to Scotland as origin since at least '65. Then one of the members moved to canada, (John Moran ?) so maybe that's the broken link, and he possibly used the name Scarecrow and demo's/previous releases to hitch a gig at Quality Canada. Hopefully someone knows more? See info below which states they broke up in 1967 . 

Comment please, if you know, or if you dig this nice Pop/Rock 2 sider.  I started off the video with Side 2- It's got hard edges on 'Scarecrow' with heavy Hammond vibes, an uptempo electric blues beat and very strange lyrics that I'm diggin'. Side 1-'Lookin' Round' is a flighty harmony pop gem. Digg it.

Culled from article BANDS WHO PLAYED THE KINEMA BALLROOM DUNFERMLINE

Johnny Hudson (John Moran) - vocals
Chick Taylor - lead guitar
Dougie Martin - bass
John Casey - drums

Poor Souls were originally called 'The Hi Four' (or 'The Johnny Hudson Hi-Four') and were a Scottish beat group from Dundee (formed in 1964) who released at least two singles: 'When My Baby Cries' / 'My Baby She's Not There' (June 1965) and 'Love Me' / 'Please Don't Change Your Mind' (July 1966).

'Love Me' was co-written by Johnny Hudson / Andy Lothian and recorded at Craighall Studios in Edinburgh by ALP (Andy Lothian Productions).

They played a fortnightly residency at 'The Top Ten Club' in Dundee, supported The Beatles at The Caird Hall Dundee and appeared on pop TV show, "Stramash".  They split in 1967.

Johnny now lives in Toronto, Canada.  Dougie Martin still records in Dundee.

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Following Excerpt from outside blog describing the band's 1st single on Decca.
Extracted from : http://retrodundee.blogspot.com/2008/10/dundee-demo-1-poor-souls.html

This tidy wee tune on demo disc is by Dundee beat outfit, The Poor Souls. Recorded in 1965, it is a good example of the kind of pop music that was around at the time, most being strongly influenced by the Mersey Sound. This particular track (photo above) is actually the flip side to the main song "when my baby cries", which, in my opinion, isn't as catchy as "my baby's not there", written by Hudson & Lothian. The Poor Souls line-up was : Johnny Hudson - vocal, Doug Martin - guitar, Chick Taylor - bass, Johnny Casey - drums. Co writer of the song, Andy Lothian was a local music promoter who used to run the Top Ten Club on Sundays at the Palais in South Tay Street in the mid/late 60's. Needless to say this was also a venue The Poor Souls played regularly, as well as the Chalet and other places further afield.
Although the combo appeared on pop TV show, "Stramash", and got a thumbs up on the local circuit, they didn't really break into UK's main pop scene and sadly became a 60's group that slipped through the net.
Here below, is The Poor Souls with "my baby's not there".

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Following is an obscure letter from The 'Evening Telegraph', Scotland, website
which I had to use Google Cache to see.
 www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/output/2005/05/14/letters.shtm+%22poor+souls%22+%22hi+four%22+johnny+hudson&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk

Ray Charles “nae Dougie Martin”
I REFER to two recent letters. I played with Dougie Martin (still do occasionally) in his band Mafia.

Dougie started the band in Glasgow. There were many members over the years. I was member 105.

Dougie has inspired musicians from Dundee and all over Scotland for many years.

And in joke with the band is… “Oh you are from Dundee. You must have played with Mafia then!”

I’m not in the best position to tell any of what went on in the past with The Johnny Hudson Hi-Four or The Poor Souls. I was only just born at that time.

But I do know that The Poor Souls opened for The Beatles at the Caird Hall back in the 60s.

I also know they played Hamburg at the same time as The Beatles.

Dougie still plays three or four nights a week and can still “do the job”.

In fact, I have to go as far to say he is the “real deal”.

I gave up playing five years ago. I am a touring keyboard technician and could no longer commit to a band.

I’ve worked with Ray Charles, James Brown and BB King, to name but a few.

To me, the only guy that comes close to Dougie Martin is Ray Charles.

And I mean just that. Ray was not a bad chanter but “he’s nae Dougie Martin!” — Mark Trayner. 

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Following article from BBC online 2009 regarding the Average White Band and Poor Souls '09 Tour. 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/tayside_and_central/8219793.stm



Old pals help Average White Band

By Alan Grant
BBC Scotland

The Vikings 1966
The Vikings in 1966. Dougie Wightman, Mike Fraser, Drew Larg, Alan Gorrie and Donny Coutts.

Legendary Scots group Average White Band is taking to the stage in Dundee on Friday and it will follow the oldest support band it has ever played with.

The support band will be a one-off group of local musicians who played with the band's bass player, Alan Gorrie, in his teenage years in Perth and Dundee.

And while one or two of them may be approaching 70, they perform regularly.

The one thing they all share is a love of 60s and 70s soul music.

As a teenager in Perth, Gorrie played with several groups - most notably The Vikings. Their contemporaries in Dundee were the Poor Souls, with both bands going on to record singles.

"You had to go to London to do it," said Alan, adding: "The Poor Souls' records and the Vikings' records were made in London.

"We didn't make the grade but it was a great experience and it meant that, when we did get another chance to go and record, we weren't trembling."

The Average White Band makes a point of using local support bands when they tour and, when the idea came up for an amalgam of Dundee bands from 30 and 40 years ago to support them at the city's Fat Sam's nightclub, Alan leapt at the opportunity.

"These guys have continued the tradition of belting out good soul music and that means people will always keep coming to the pubs and clubs and the live gigs," he said.

Among those performing will be former Vikings vocalist Drew Larg and ex-Poor Souls frontman Dougie Martin.
The Poor Souls 1965
The Poor Souls in 1965. John Casey, Chic Taylor, John Moran and Dougie Martin

Both are now 68 years old but are still playing in venues around Dundee and, to some extent, band members can be interchangeable.

"My outfit goes from two to 14 players depending on who's available," said Dougie.

"In the 60s all these bands were competing but the camaraderie was amazing.

"We all played in each other's bands and sometimes you forgot which band you were in."

Ex-Vikings drummer Donny Coutts has been organising the group, which has been called Poor Souls 09.

"Drew and Dougie are people that guys like myself and Alan looked up to, because they'd already been in bands in the late 50s, so they were the guys we aspired to be and these friendships have continued throughout the years," he said

Poor Souls 09 and the Average White Band are even set to end the gig on stage together with a performance of the O'Jay's "Love Train" - and the aptly titled Average White Band classic "Let's Go Round Again". 

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Here's more great info and a Bonus LIVE track from 1965 "He's Just a Playboy"
Courtesy of : http://retrodundee.blogspot.com/2009_04_01_archive.html

Dundee band The Poor Souls formed in 1964.
Band line-up : DOUGIE MARTIN bass - CHICK TAYLOR guitar & keyboards - JOHNNY "Hudson" MORAN guitar - JOHN CASEY drums. All 4 did vocals.
Locally they played at venues such as the Chalet and the Palais but often the band would be based down South, where the above photo was taken.
In addition to recording 2 singles, one on ALP and the other for Decca, the band also appeared on a TV pop show called Stramash. They performed 2 songs, and I have an exceedingly rare audio recording taken from that very show.
So below are the lads on Stramash, getting the crowd going with a track called "He's Just a Playboy".
Big thanks to Mac & PH.