A GREAT SKIFFLE 78 FROM THE VIPERS

 "NO OTHER BABY" 

Witten by Dickie Bishop himself this great song has been covered by a host of others until it finally got into the lower regions of the charts with Paul McCartney's version - sung shortly after the love of his life - Linda had passed away

 

No Other Baby by Dickie Bishop & The Sidekicks (1957)

No Other Baby by The Vipers (1958)

No Other Baby by Bobby Helms (1959)

No Other Baby by Billie Davis (October 1965)

No Other Baby by Shakin' Stevens (1983)

No Other Baby by Paul McCartney (October 4, 1999)

 

B SIDE - "BABY WHY?"

It is possibly inevitable that when somebody mentions skiffle music, thoughts immediately turn to the late Lonnie Donegan. It is easy now to forget that Donegan had many rivals and some of the songs we now associate with the king of skiffle were actually introduced by others. Skiffle- with its image of washboards and bass instruments fashioned from tea chests, is also now sometimes dismissed as a crude forerunner to British rock and roll. In fact, despite its rustic image, a lot of early skiffle was also quite sophisticated and was played by skillful jazz musicians. One of the most competent outfits came together as the Vipers under the leadership of Wally Whyton. This was at about the same time that Lonnie Donegan left the Chris Barber band to start his lifetime of skiffle.

The Vipers began playing together as amateurs. Whyton worked in advertising, Martin (guitar) was a coffee bar manager, and Van der Bosch (guitar/ banjo) a wire salesman. Tolhurst (bass) repaired brass instruments for his living and Pilgrim (percussion/ washboard) was a journalist.

However, there were many changes during the group's short lifetime and it is known that Tommy Steele, along with future Shadows- Bruce Welch and Hank Marvin can be counted among its ranks at least for a short period while the group held a residency at London's '2 "I"s' coffee bar.

The Vipers biggest problem became keeping their material from Donegan, and after Lonnie had achieved higher chart placings with the Vipers' first two hits there was no love lost between the two outfits. Unlike Lonnie, The Vipers gradually shifted away from skiffle and moved their ground closer to rock and roll- even covering Eddie Cochran material. However, by the end of 1957, the Vipers were already in steep decline while Lonnie Donegan went on to become acknowledged 'king' of the skiffle genre- a fact that frustrated Whyton. However, Wally Whyton went on to have a long and successful career in broadcasting and became a familiar commentator on BBC programmes that dealt with folk and country music.

RECORD DETAILS:- 

THE VIPERS

UK PARLOPHONE R 4393   10" 78rpm  SHELLAC

A SIDE:-  NO OTHER BABY (BISHOP, WATSON) 

B SIDE:-  BABY WHY?

Condition =  E-/V+

 

A GREAT BRITISH SONG WRITTEN AT THE TIME WHEN MOST UK ACTS WERE COVERING SONGS FROM THE STATES!

 

DON'T MISS OUT !

DON'T LEAVE IT TOO LATE - BID NOW!

 

 

10" 78 RPM RECORDS NEED CAREFULLY PACKING, AND I CLAIM TO HAVE THE BEST PACKAGING IN THE WORLD FOR DISPATCHING THEM!!

 

THE GREG'S GREAT'S SYSTEM CONSISTS OF A SPECIALLY DESIGNED INNER BOX MADE OUT OF 1" THICK POLYSTYRENE, WHICH THEN GOES INSIDE A DOUBLE CORREGATED STIFF OUTER CARDBOARD CARTON. THE BOXES CAN TAKE UP TO 21 RECORDS,

 

USUALLY FOR MAILING OVERSEAS, I RECOMMEND NO MORE THAN 7 IN A BOX, OTHERWISE IT GOES OVER THE AIRMAIL SMALL PACKET MAXIMUM WEIGHT OF 2Kgs WHICH CAUSES A LARGE HIKE IN POSTAL RATES.

 

I SEND OUT ON AVERAGE ABOUT 30 PARCELS A WEEK AND DISPATCH IS NORMALLY ONLY DONE ONCE A WEEK