The Left Banke

[jon]

Anyone heard of/familiar with this 60s American group? I heard a track of theirs, "Pretty Ballerina", on Sounds of the Sixties last Saturday and absolutely loved it but it seems to be very difficult to get any of their music in the UK - I did find a various artists' compilation of 1967 songs on Amazon which contained "Pretty Ballerina" but it cost £25 - too much for just for one song. Their other hit song, which I've not heard, is "Walk Away Renee". It's annoying when you hear a song on a radio programme but can't find it anywhere.

[Marian]

I'd not heard of them, but they do have a fan page Jon, although it hasn't been updated for a couple of years. http://leftbanke.thefondfarewells.com/

[Lena & Harry Smith]

Can't say we recall The Left Banke, but know the song "Walk Away Renee " very well, heard continuously on the radio by one of our favourite American groups "The Four Tops. "

[jon]

Many thanks, Marian, for the link to The Left Banke page - it's got lots of info plus a link to another site which has snippets of all the tracks from their two albums!

Lena/Harry - I feel a bit of a fool for saying I didn't know "Walk Away Renee". Having now listened to it, of course I do know it - it was, as you say, recorded by The Four Tops, who had a big hit with it in the UK. I guess my assumed ignorance of the song was down to the fact that The Left Banke themselves never had a hit with it, or with any of their other songs, in the UK.

[Lena & Harry Smith]

Jon, there are often song titles that we hear of sometimes and don't immediately ring a bell until we play them.
We have listened to Left Banke's version of Walk Away Renee but not a patch on the Four Tops.

[paul jh]

Walk Away Renee was a huge hit by the Left Banke in the US. It's still played on oldies stations. The Four Tops version wasn't popular. It was always a challenge to understand the lyrics of the Left Banke version, so hearing the Four Tops version on Radio 2 helped.