Personnel
Georgie Fame, drummer Red Reece, bassist Tex Makins and guitarist Colin Green were rehearsing with singer Clay Nicholls in 1961 when they were hired by Larry Parnes to back Billy Fury. Green and Fame (then Clive Powell) had first worked together in Colin Green's Beat Boys, who had accompanied Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran when in the UK. They were dismissed in February 1962 for being "too jazzy" for Fury, to be replaced by The Tornados, and Fame took over on vocals. Green left for a while, replaced first by Joe Moretti and then John McLaughlin who held the post until April 1963, when McLaughlin joined The Graham Bond Organisation and the band was without a guitarist until Green returned in October 1964. In that time Boots Slade had taken over on bass from Makins for some time while the latter toured with Johnny Halliday.
Reece remained a constant until he became ill in 1964 after the group's second album appeared: he was followed by Tommy Frost and Roy Mills then Jimmie Nicol, who quickly left to replace Ringo Starr on The Beatles' tour. Phil Seamen and Micky Waller helped out until Bill Eyden was taken on in September 1964. Eyden and Makins remained as the group's rhythm section until the group's last line-up, when they were replaced in December 1965 by Cliff Barton and Mitch Mitchell: the group was augmented by Ghanaian percussionist Neeomi "Speedy" Acquaye, who was with the band from May 1962 until shortly before it folded on the same day that Mitchell joined The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
The Blue Flames always featured saxophones: Mick Eve joined in 1962 and left in July 1964, having been joined by Johnny Marshall and then, in 1964, Peter Coe. Coe remained, eventually joined by Glenn Hughes and then by Eddie Thornton (trumpet), who had for some time appeared occasionally with the group.
History
The group were resident at a number of London clubs such as The Whiskey-A-Go-Go in Soho's Wardour Street, home of The Flamingo Club. The club's owner, Rik Gunnell, became the group's manager. In August 1963 the band took a weekly Friday night spot at "The Scene" on Great Windmill Street and they also performed at The Roaring Twenties club near Carnaby Street, run by Jamaican DJ Count Suckle. They were often playing several sets per night on the weekend and at Klooks Kleek, The Ricky Tick in Windsor and The Scene during the week.
They were influenced by the jazz of Jon Hendricks, Mose Allison and blues musicians such as Willie Mabon and by the ska music then heard in Jamaican cafes in and around Ladbroke Grove. The group's trumpeter Eddie Thornton was Jamaican. During their three-year residency at the Flamingo American soldiers who visited the club would play the latest jazz and blues releases from America: it was "Green Onions" by Booker T. & the M.G.'s that caused Fame to change to the Hammond organ.
The group recorded its debut album Rhythm And Blues At the Flamingo in September 1963. Produced by Ian Samwell and engineered by Glyn Johns, the album was released on the EMI Columbia label. It failed to appear on the charts, and first three singles, released in 1964, 'Do The Dog', 'Do Re Mi', and 'Bend A Little', also didn't go very far. In 1964 Fame and the band appeared on five episodes of ITV's Ready Steady Go!. The October 1964 follow-up album Fame At Last reached No. 15 on the UK chart. Their version of the song "Yeh, Yeh", a tune by Mongo Santamaria with lyrics by Jon Hendricks, released on 14 January 1965, spent two weeks at No. 1 on the UK singles chart and a total of 12 weeks on the chart. Fame also appeared on television in 1965 in the "New Musical Express Poll Winners' Concert" held at the Empire Pool, Wembley on 11 April 1965, playing "Yeh, Yeh" and Rufus Thomas' "Walking The Dog".
The follow-up "In The Meantime" (February 1965) only scraped the top twenty and the next two offerings were little heard. Then "Getaway", released on 21 July 1966, did very well reaching the top of the UK chart for a week and spending 11 weeks on the chart in all. The song, originally recorded with a view to using it as an television jingle for a petrol advertisement, was later used as the theme tune for a quiz show on Australian television. The two subsequent singles, "Sunny" and "Sitting in the Park" made number 13 and 12 respectively. At this point, after 1966's album Sweet Thing was released, Fame broke up the band, signed to CBS and went on to record solo, having been advised by his management to pursue an "all-round entertainment" career, somewhat as Manfred Mann's Paul Jones was then doing.
Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames were the only act from the UK invited to perform with the first Motown Review in the UK in the mid-1960s. The 'Tamla Motown Package Show' was a 21-date UK tour featuring, amongst others, The Supremes, Stevie Wonder and Martha Reeves & the Vandellas. Cat Stevens, who had released his first hit song "I Love My Dog", opened with Fame on 26 December 1966 for three weeks in the "Fame in '67 Show" at London's Saville Theatre.
In later years Fame was billed again with the Blue Flames: in the early 2000s he led a new line-up including his son.
Getaway
Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Take a look outside
Don't mind the weather girl
Let's take a ride
Getaway, we'll leave the city folk
They'll have to say
Don't have to pack a thing
Gotta go
Getaway
Take a look at that deep blue sea
Don't you think it looks great?
Not a cloud you can see in the sky
And the sun won't wait
I believe that the time is right
Don't ever slip away
Instead of dreaming about tomorrow
You can live today
If we get away
I know a little place
Not far from town
Gotta go, a kind of pretty place
Three up, two down
Getaway, I think if ever you
Decide to say
Well I know it's gonna be because
We got away
Got away
Get away
Gotta go
Get away
Got away
Get away
Gotta go
Get away
Gotta go
I know a little place
Not far from town
Gotta go, a kind of pretty place
Three up, two down
Getaway, I think if ever you
Decide to say
Well I know it's gonna be because
We got away
Got away
Yes, we got away good
Get away
Got away good
Gotta go
We went and got away good, gotta get away
Get away
Gotta got away
Got away
Gotta go, gotta get away
Get away
Go, get away and go
Gotta go
Gotta go, get away gotta get away and go
Get away
Go go go
Got away
Go, get away and go
Get away
Georgie Fame's song "Getaway" is about leaving the stresses of city life behind and taking a spontaneous trip to enjoy the beauty of the world around us. The song opens with the line "Gotta go, I hope you're ready 'cause" which shows a sense of urgency to get away and leave everything behind. The lyrics encourage the listener to take a look outside, disregard the weather and simply take a ride to wherever they please. The chorus repeats the phrase "getaway" several times and it suggests an almost rebellious attitude towards society's norms.
The second verse of the song describes the beauty of the deep blue sea and encourages the listener to live in the present moment, instead of continually dreaming of tomorrow. The lyrics suggest that the best things in life can be found in the simplest of pleasures. The third verse describes a little place, not far from town, that is described as a kind of pretty place. Georgie Fame sings the phrase "three up, two down" which describes a typical British terraced house that is common in urban areas. The final chorus repeats the phrase "got away" twice, suggesting a carefree and liberated feeling as they escape the stresses of everyday life.
Overall, "Getaway" is a song about the joys of being spontaneous and taking time out to appreciate the simple things in life. It encourages the listener to leave behind the mundane and the stresses of everyday life, and embrace the beauty of the world around us.
Line by Line Meaning
Gotta go, I hope you're ready 'cause
We need to leave now, so I hope you're prepared for the trip.
Take a look outside
Take a moment to check out the view before we head out.
Don't mind the weather girl
Don't let the current weather conditions discourage you from going.
Let's take a ride
We'll be driving to our destination.
Getaway, we'll leave the city folk
We'll escape from the city and the people there.
They'll have to say
Others will notice that we're gone.
Don't have to pack a thing
Don't worry about packing anything, just come as you are.
Just get away
Our only goal is to leave the city and go on this trip.
Take a look at that deep blue sea
Take a moment to admire the beautiful ocean view.
Don't you think it looks great?
Don't you agree that the view is breathtaking?
Not a cloud you can see in the sky
The sky is clear with no clouds in sight.
And the sun won't wait
We have to enjoy the day while we can.
I believe that the time is right
I think this is the perfect moment for us to take this trip.
Don't ever slip away
Don't waste this opportunity to escape and relax.
Instead of dreaming about tomorrow
Stop worrying about the future and live in the moment.
You can live today
Focus on enjoying the present moment and the experiences we're having.
If we get away
This will only be possible if we leave the city and take this trip.
I know a little place
I know of a nice location to go to.
Not far from town
The place is located nearby.
Gotta go, a kind of pretty place
We need to leave now to get to this beautiful location.
Three up, two down
The place has three floors with two levels each.
Getaway, I think if ever you
If you ever need to 'getaway', I think this trip would be perfect for you.
Decide to say
If you decide to come along on this trip.
Well I know it's gonna be because
I'm confident that you'll only decide to go because of this trip.
We got away
We successfully left the city and went on our trip.
Got away
We successfully went on our trip and escaped the city.
Gotta go
We have to leave now to go on this trip.
Yes, we got away good
We successfully escaped the city and had a great trip.
Gotta got away
We have to leave the city now to get away from it all.
Go, get away and go
Let's go on this trip to escape and relax.
Gotta go, gotta get away
We have to leave now to get away from the city and go on this trip.
Go go go
Let's go on this trip and escape from everything in the city.
Go, get away and go
Let's leave the city and go on this getaway trip.
Got away
We successfully went on our trip and escaped the city.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HARRY LEIGHTON, ORLANDO POWELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@tjamodio5254
Skiffle meets rock& roll meets jazz..... priceless!!!
@alanoneill3065
good call
@tjamodio5254
@@alanoneill3065Glad you agree😀
@philoh6985
Georgie Fame and Alan Price were my idols during my teenage years in the 60s... such gifted musicians. Thanks for posting and memories from Singapore.
@JayMSinger
I totally concur. When I saw Price playing a Continental I wanted one badly! Wow! A portable keyboard! The first solo I learned was his take on "Rising Sun".
@mikec3777
Saw Alan Price Set in 1967 at a club where I was a member. The manager said Alan had arrived early that afternoon and had played the club's piano most of the afternoon, jazz classical, all sorts. Needless to say his set was great and he joined us for a drink afterwards.
@petegarnett7731
Georgie must be about the only musician who had a tribute song to him during his lifetime-- Blossom Dearie's "Sweet Georgie Fame" recent generations discovering the Animals seem to be amazed at the keyboard player on House of the Rising Sun. They missed the era when Pop was Music.
@davidgoldsmith8651
Wikipedia: "Fame wrote and recorded "Get Away" after being commissioned to write "a happy piece of music" as a jingle for an advertising campaign for National Benzole petrol. The song was pressed as a promotional one-sided single to be given away "to people who bought four gallons of petrol", according to Fame.
Georgie Fame played a very memorable free summertime gig in London's Golders Hill Park some years ago, when he explained all that ... and adding that he ran right up to the deadline to come up with something for the petrol company.
@ianmckenney9080
What a tight horn section 😉. Great performance!
@_VARIABLE_KONSTANTE_
Can you name them ?