Back at the tail end of the 1990s, a veritable lifetime ago it seems, Todd Fletcher, working with popster Ellis Clark, perhaps best known to Pure Pop Radio followers as a member of Epicycle, fashioned a lovely, genre-defining album of luscious, melodic, classic harmony-filled soft pop under the perhaps unlikely name June and the Exit Wounds.
The 1999 album, titled “a little more Haven Hamilton, please,” delivers a whole lot of joy with its aural allusions to, most especially, Todd Rundgren’s Something/Anything? phase and the Beach Boys and the Big Dish and Danny Wilson and, likely, countless other masters of melodic excellence. The first song, the very Rundgren-esque soft popper “How Much I Really Loved You,” tells you all you need to know. It’s gorgeous through and through.
As is the entire album. Back in 1999, when “a little more Haven Hamilton, please” was released by Parasol Records, Pure Pop Radio received a number of vinyl copies, which was accompanied by a vinyl EP that contains two demos of songs not on the album. I recently discovered these in our archives; one of them can be yours.
No soft pop collection is complete without this album. On vinyl, it’s quite a catch. To enter, simply fill out the form below–be sure to include your email address and type “June” in the Comment field–and send it on its way.
Entries must be received by this Friday, August 4 at 6 pm ET. One entry per person. Only US residents, this time around. Good luck!
We’ve got a Bond, you and I…well, we’ve got two copies of Curry Cuts’ smashing CD compilation, Songs, Bond Songs: The Music of 007, to give away. And you could be one of the winners!
We’ll pick two winners from entries received by next Tuesday, July 4, at 5 pm ET. Each winner will snag a Bond compilation CD and a sticker that depicts the cover. It’s easy to win–simply fill out the form below and type the answer to the following question in the Comment field: What is James Bond’s drink of choice? You must answer this question to enter.
Our 11-day-long Eight Days a Weekling marathon, celebrating the release (today!) of Studio 2, the latest beat-o-riffic album from New Jersey’s fabulous foursome, the Weeklings, has come to a close.
During the last 11 days, we’ve brought you command performances of Lefty’s 1997 appearance on the old, weekly Pure Pop Radio show, during which he performed live in the studio, and Lefty and Zeek’s appearance on Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation, during which the duo chronicled their adventures recording Studio 2 in London’s famous Abbey Road studios. And don’t forget those Weeklings Double Shots that were rocking the airwaves every hour during the marathon!
We also ran a contest: Up for grabs were two Weeklings Prize Packs, containing the Studio 2 CD and the cassette version that features three, count ’em, three extra tracks–covers of the Beatles’ “It Won’t Be Long,” “All I’ve Got to Do,” and a screaming version of “I’m Down” that will leave you absolutely, positively breathless!
We’re pleased as Merseybeat punch to announce that James Rosen and Patricia Rossi are the winners of our latest contest. James and Patricia will each be receiving a Weeklings Prize Pack in the mail. Congratulations!
Thanks to everyone who entered. And extra-special thanks to the Weeklings–Glen “Lefty” Burtnik, Bob “Zeek” Burger, John “Rocky” Merjave, and Joe “Smokestack” Bellia–for making such great music. More contests are coming soon. Keep enjoying Pure Pop Radio, your original 24-hour source for the greatest melodic pop music in the universe! Listen online or on the go! And keep coming back to these pages for reviews of the latest and archival releases, articles, columns, and station updates.
You could be the one, and you too! Enter below to win a Wonderful Weeklings Prize Pack, featuring the new Weeklings album, Studio 2, on both CD and cassette.
It’s easy to enter. We’ve got two Wonderful Weeklings Prize Packs to give away. For this contest only, you can enter as many times as you want. Simply fill in the form below and be sure to type “Weeklings” in the Comment box and include your email address so we can get in touch with you if you’re one of the two winners. Enter by Thursday, November 17 at 12 noon ET. Good luck!
* Friday, November 11, approximately 11:45 am ET:
