Every New Zealand #1 single…
3
Saint Paul by Shane
Topped the NZ chart for 6 weeks from 26 September 1969.
Shane
Shane landed a gig hosting the NZ pop show C’mon. This led to a record contract with HMV. His first single for HMV was a cover of The Monkees’ ‘Cuddly Toy’. It made little impact. His second HMV single was a cover of the obscure Terry Knight song, ‘Saint Paul’, a Beatles pastiche. It was the longest-reigning NZ chart-topper of 1969.
Saint Paul
Terry Knight was born in Michigan. He fronted Terry Knight and the Pack. Their lounge cover of Ben E. King’s ‘I (Who Have Nothing)’ made the top 50.
Knight travelled to the UK in 1968, hoping for a contract with Apple Records. He attended recording sessions for The White Album, where he witnessed the band members sparring and Ringo Starr temporarily leaving the group. He wrote ‘Saint Paul’ about his fractured relationship with Paul, and his belief that the Beatles would soon break up.
It was only moderately successful, partly because of a cease-and-desist letter from The Beatles, due to the extended use of ‘Hey Jude’ (adapted here as “Hey Paul”) in the outro. This was resolved by giving Maclen Music (the U.S. division of Northern Songs) a writing credit. The song contributed to the Paul Is Dead theory in the late 1960s.
With a headful of ideas but only four tracks at his disposal, producer Peter Dawkins quickly ran out of tracks and was forced to have Shane record his vocal at the far end of the studio while squeezing as many HMV staff members into the other end of the studio as he could, as backing singers.
Grant Gillanders, Audioculture
My verdict
This Beatles pastiche is fun… once. But mostly it will remind you of much better Beatles songs, that you’ll want to listen to instead. Even by the standards of 1960s psychedelia, “I looked into the sky / Everything was high / Higher than it seemed to be to me” is a dopey opening line.
My problems are mostly with the songwriting – this is a well-performed version of a gimmicky song. Shane’s vocal is tender and pliable, while the arrangement is busy and fun.
The Aftermath
Shane’s musical career afterwards was beset by difficulties:
- his fiancée was killed in a car crash
- his record company tried to mold him into a ballad singer
- he formed a new band, Killa-Hz. He broke his pelvis when he fell off the stage during a performance.
Shane continues to perform, and also ran a tiling business.
Meanwhile, Terry Knight was murdered by his daughter’s meth-addicted boyfriend in 2004.
Read more
7 Comments
Leave a Reply
Read about the discographies of musical acts from the 1960s to the present day. Browse this site's review archives or enjoy these random selections:
I add new blog posts to this website every week. Browse the archives or enjoy these random selections:
Subscribe
Subscribe to receive new posts from Aphoristic Album Reviews.
I think your verdict is fair. “Saint Paul” is kind of clever but doesn’t hold up very well once you listen to the song more than once or twice.
It’s a tough kind of song to pull off – and I don’t think it manages.
Also worth noting that Terry Knight became the infamous manager-producer of Grand Funk Railroad after “Saint Paul”. The parting between Knight and Funk was quite acrimonious, ending with a lawsuit. For more information on Grand Funk, consult your school library!
I don’t know much about Grand Funk, just the cover od Locomotion. They didnt get played on the radio when I was growing up, and I don’t see their albums discussed much. But I probably should have mentioned that.
I never knew about the Beatles connection because I never heard the song. Wow that end… yea they just go with it.
Sad about Terry Knight…I never knew that about him.
I’ve had the flu…so that is why I’m so behind!
Certainly worth hearing once as a big Beatles fan, but it doesn’t quite work for me.
I got flu at the end of last year – it was pretty nasty.
Yes I loved this…it shows how much they influenced.
Yes it is nasty! I can’t shake it.