Pop Archives

Ray Columbus And The Invaders - She’s A Mod (1964)

(Terry Beale)
New Zealand New Zealand
#17 NZ #1 Sydney* #1 Melbourne #2 Brisbane #2 Adelaide #2 Perth

NZ chart data by Warwick Freeman

Single on Zodiac by popular New Zealand band, also on Zodiac in Australia with a different B-side.

In 1981 She’s A Mod recharted in Brisbane[#37] and in NZ [#28].

See full history at Bruce Sergent’s New Zealand music site.

See also Till We Kissed, The Invaders’ biggest New Zealand hit.

Further reading: For some good background detail, see the She’s A Mod page at New Zealand History Online, adapted from an article by Redmer Yska.

Suggestion from honeydhont via The Originals.


The Senators - She’s A Mod (1964)

(Terry Beale)
UK UK

Single on Dial, released later than the album track.

Senators bass player Bill Ford, at the Brum Beat website, says that the band re-recorded She’s A Mod for a single release after it appeared on the album Brum Beat (see below).

The Youtube videos of The Senators’ recording are a mixed bag. Listening to one labelled as the album version (showing the album cover) and another as the single version (with video of the 45 playing on a turntable) it is hard to distinguish any difference. Perhaps the rerecording remained unused and they reverted to the original album track.


Double J And Twice The T [feat. Ray Columbus] - She’s A Mod/Mod Rap (1989)

(Terry Beale [+ ?])
New Zealand New Zealand
Later version
#2 NZ

Parody

Single on Definitiv by Samoan-New Zealand rap and beatbox duo Jerry Tala Brown and Jeremy Toomata. This is a joyous celebration of Ray Columbus’s hit with Columbus himself contributing.

As Robyn Gallagher observed in her Proper Top Ten of New Zealand songs:

We can’t count the “She’s a mod” part of it because that was not written by a New Zealander. Instead I’ve chosen to honour the rap from this song by these two lads. They skilfully transformed the song from a pop song about a mod chick, to an ode to their mother, a former mod chick who was bringing her modness to the dinner table. There was also a beat-boxing solo.

Post at Robyn’s Secret Passage, November 2001 (no longer online)

Source: Wikipedia article on Double J and Twice The Tea.

Further reading: Aotearoa Hip Hop: Jeremy Toomata at AudioCulture covers the formation of Double J And Twice The Tea but also places it in a wider context.

Thanks to Robyn Gallagher.


The Senators - She’s A Mod (1964)

(Terry Beale)
UK UK
Original version

Track on Brum Beat on Birmingham label Dial, February 1964, an album showcasing various local artists. The song was written for Brum Beat, and re-recorded for a single.

Record Mirror 7 March 1964

She’s A Mod was written by The Senators’ lead singer Terry Beale (c.1944-2011). His surname is often misspelt as “Beal”.

The line-up of The Senators included future Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, heard here for the first time on record.

The liner notes for Brum Beat state that She’s a Mod was “composed… by the group’s vocalist Bobby Child“, although the track listings on the sleeve and the label both credit Beale. The explanation is that The Senators were originally called Bobby Child And The Sidewinders with lead singer Barry Goodchild aka Bobby Child. When Barry/Bobby left he was replaced by Terry Beale:

Terry Beale took on the name of “Bobby Child” because we had a professionally sign-written van!

Senators bass player Bill Ford at the Brum Beat website

At Brum Beat’s Senators page, bass player Bill Ford tells the story of how the band was floundering without a good regular drummer until Terry Beale went off during a break and brought back John Bonham, his former bandmate in The Blue Stars. Ford says the result was “as if someone had stuck rocket fuel in our drinks!”

Source: The Senators at Brum Beat. This is also the source of the Birmingham Music Archives page on The Senators.

Thanks to Teresa for clarification on the spelling of Beale.

Cash Box 14 March 196

Mach Pelican - She’s A Mod (2006)

(Terry Beale)
Australia Australia
Later version

Single on Bop Records by punk band formed by Japanese students in Perth in 1996, relocated to Melbourne, broke up in 2007. They were Kei Nakamura (guitar), Atsuchi Omari (bass) and Toshi Maeda (drums), aka K Rock, Atsu Longrun and Toshi 8beat. All three sang.

Sources, further reading: 1. Mach Pelican discography at Discogs.com. 2. Wikipedia’s Mach Pelican article. 3. Mach Pelican at Facebook.

Merci à Philippe de me signaler cet enregistrement australien.