Staccatos - Half Past Midnight * STEREO * {Underground Records CANADA, 1990}

In 1963, a pop group from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada came into being, known as The Staccatos. The five man band was led initially by singer/disc jockey Dean Hagopian, who left the band the next year. Les Emmerson became the lead singer thereafter, though Rick Bell sang lead here on "Half Past Midnight."

Though they had great popularity in Canada, The Staccatos could not make a dent onto the U.S. charts, and by 1969 the group became known as The Five Man Electrical Band. After their contract with Capitol Records Canada expired, they signed with the new Lionel Records label, a subsidiary of MGM Records. They promptly had two U.S. Top-40 hits: "Signs" and "Absolutely Right."
But by 1973, the group, suffering from exhaustion, disbanded for awhile, while Les Emmerson marched on under the Five Man Electrical Band name.

Written by Les Emmerson, this single was a Top-10 hit in Canada on Capitol 72453, b/w "Weatherman." The same single was released a short time later in the U.S. on Capitol subsidiary Tower Records (Tower 322), but went nowhere on the charts, except regionally in Detroit.

Oddly, neither the 2009 "Staccatos - First Sparks: The Anthology (1965-1969)" 2-CD set, nor the 2008 "Five Man Electrical Band - Half Past Midnight: Staccatos & Beyond " CD anthology offers "Half Past Midnight" in Stereo - it is the MONO single version.

So here, from the Canadian label Underground Records (URC-1050) is the rare STEREO VERSION of The Staccatos best-known single. This version also runs nearly 20 seconds longer than the Mono 45 RPM version.
This particular reissue 45 is backed with the 1966 mega-hit, "No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach's In)" by The T-Bones.

Plug-in your stereo headphones and enjoy!

PLEASE NOTE: Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

Created using the One True Media YouTube App - Simply powerful video creation and editing. Create for free.