Tag Archives: British Invasion

Eye On Design: Hullabaloo Mondrian-Inspired Hi Brows Boots

Hullabaloo Mondrian Inspired Hi Brow Boots
All Photos By Gail

These extremely rare, retro-vintage Hi Brows Boots were worn by one of the GoGo dancers on the 60s-era TV show, Hullabaloo. Made of white vinyl with red and blue vinyl panels and black vinyl piping, the red and blue color block design was inspired by the non-representational paintings of Dutch artist, Piet Mondrian. They are low heeled and below the calf in height, with a back metal zipper at the back. Why these boots originally sold for just a few dollars per pair, they can now fetch as much as $700 or $800 on eBay.

Hullabaloo Mondrian Inspired Hi Brow Boots

Hullabaloo was a Pop Rock weekly variety show that ran from 1965 to 1966 (two seasons), NS was broadcast on the NBC network. As with ABC TVs Shindig, which began 4 months earlier, this series combined the musical trends of the day, The British Invasion, Detroit’s Motown sound and the merging Folk Rock trend. Unlike Shindig, this series featured a segment from Great Britain hosted by The Beatles‘ manager Brian Epstein, who presented “up and coming” groups. The weekly hosts, at NBC ‘s Burbank studio, included George Hamilton, Roger Smith, Noel Harrison, Paul Anka and Sammy Davis Jr.

Hullabaloo Mondrian Inspired Hi Brow Boots

The performers, from both sides of the Atlantic, included The Four Seasons, The Beatles, Nancy Sinatra, Gary Lewis and The Playboys, Petula Clark, Barry McGuire, The Kinks, Herman’s Hermits, The Byrds and The Lovin’ Spoonful.

Photographed in the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens, NY.

Video Clip of The Week: The Grip Weeds “Lies”

Do you like the Sixties Rock? I sure do. That is is why The Grip Weeds are one of my favorite local bands. Not only do they freely worship The Beatles, but they also pay homage to the sound of many of the greatest bands of both the Psychedelic era and the British Invasion. Oh my, they are so groovy. This week’s featured clip is a new cut from the band: a cover of the Nuggets classic, “Lies”, which was recorded for the album My Hometown: A Tribute To NJ. My Home Town is a new compilation CD which features an amazing collection of bands covering the greatest rock ‘n roll songs to come out of the Garden State. Vocals on “Lies” are handled by Grip Weeds‘ drummer Kurt Reil. He is so handsome! All proceeds, after production costs, will be donated to the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund (Click Here). Enjoy the clip!

The Zombies Invade NYC’s City Winery


Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone Keep The Zombies Alive

The Zombies have been hailed as the best original British Invasion act touring today that isn’t fronted by Mick Jagger, and I’m going to have to agree with that. At age 66, I’d venture a guess that Zombies’ front man Colin Blunstone’s breathy vocal stylings and faux orgasmic ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ on the band’s legendary hit, “Time of The Season” probably still get him laid. What a set of pipes that guy has! Even his speaking voice slays me. Blunstone and Keyboard player/songwriter Rod Argent may be the only original Zombies’ members present from its sixties incarnation, but for all intents and purposes, this band is the real deal, with Blunstone and Argent having enlisted top shelf musicians to bring their beloved classic sound to the fans. In the live band, bass guitar and backing vocals are handled by the very adept Jim Rodford, a career-long friend to the original Zombies as well as a founding member of Argent and bassist for The Kinks from 1978 – 1996; quite a pedigree! Rodford’s son Steve is the band’s current drummer, with Tom Toomey, who joined in 2010, on lead guitar. I’m not one to generally be swayed by a nostalgia act, but this incarnation of The Zombies is truly a band for all Seasons.

The capacity crowd at City Winery was clearly in the house to hear the hits and I doubt anyone left feeling disappointed. Drawing from its tiny, three-album back catalog – including 1967’s untouchable Odessey and Oracle – the band packed the evening with hits, favorites, covers and tunes from various members’ solo careers, as well as a new CD of all original songs, Breathe Out, Breathe In, just released in celebration of the band’s 50th Anniversary. Also in honor of that landmark event, City Winery had bottled a special vintage of Sauvignon Blanc (see photo below), which was sold at the shows to enjoy during the performance or to take home as a souvenir/collector’s item!


Photo By Anne Raso

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The Who Open For Herman’s Hermits

On This Date, July 14th in 1967: The Who kicked off their first large scale U.S. tour at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon as the opening act for Herman’s Hermits.

Gail On The Web: StarPolish!

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Just posted in the Starpolish.com Critics’ Corner are four new reviews from yours truly: Tel Aviv-based melodic rockers DMA, appropriately named, shitty garage-punk band Monstrous, and not-one-but-two rappers: GIF (Harlem) and D.E.V.O. (California). Check out my Reviews to find out which artist does a song that I described as “a multi-layered, electronic beat-heavy instrumental piece that sounds like the theme to some futuristic spy thriller where the robots conquer the humans, or something like that.”