At the close of the tumultuous 1960s, British rock music was breaking down into various subsects, from early metal and progressive rock to introspective singer/songwriter-based music and earthy folk-rock. As the bigger, more established acts headed out on their respective soul journeys, a hole opened up in the mainstream pop radio market which was eager to appeal to a new generation of teenage listeners. In yet another dazzling feat of pop archeology, Grapefruit Records uncovers the myriad acts, songwriting teams, and producers who rushed to fill that space with the highly entertaining compilation
Bubblerock Is Here to Stay! The British Pop Explosion 1970-73. Over three heaping discs of tuneful bubblegum nuggetry, the likes of
Pickettywitch,
Gumm, Jungle Jim,
Butterscotch, and
Sakkarin take their crack at pop stardom with varying degrees of success. While some of these rare novelty singles are purely disposable (X Certificate's "Don't Stick Stickers on My Paper Knickers"), others in the same vein subvert the genre (
Rick Price's "Top Ten Record") or stand as psychedelic oddities only slightly polished for the masses (
Peter Dello & Friends' "Harry the Earwig"). During this three-year period that preceded the advent of commercial radio, BBC Radio 1 and Radio Luxembourg were the proving grounds for genuine up-and-comers as well as label-generated one-offs and solo acts being groomed by production/songwriting teams like
Chinnichap (
Nicky Chinn and
Mike Chapman) and the future members of art-pop heroes
10cc. Although it's clear why many of these sub-three-minute cuts lacked staying power, there is of course plenty to like among the surprisingly diverse array of sounds and styles being tossed around. Melodic gems like
Touchwood's "You Got a Good Thing,"
Majority One's "Feedback," and
the Tremeloes' "I Like It That Way" stand up well, as do the monster hooks of
Pluto's "Rag-A-Bone Joe." While some of these artists would find success in different combinations later on in the decade, much of the music here comes from genuine one- or no-hit wonders whose brief stabs at glory are graciously documented here by Grapefruit's crack team of archivists.