Carstairs, The [1973] - Girl Have Pity [South Union #SU 0210144]
Apparently, this was recorded at the same session as the classic
'It Really Hurts Me Girl' released on Red Coach in 1973, which was a record discovered by
Ian Levine
and played at the
Blackpool Mecca, Highland Room
around 1974/75 which changed Northern Soul which up until then had
predominantly been 60s soul only.
This is a marvellous piece of music, written by Gene Redd Sr.,
George Clinton, Jimmy Crosby & Terry Lane and originally
recorded by The Fantastic Four on the legendary Ric-Tic label (RT-119) in
1966. Gene Redd Jr. owned Red Coach records which is perhaps
why he decided to record his father's song with The Carstairs whose only
other recording was on another legendary label Okeh with
'He Who Picks A Rose' (previously recorded by
The Temptations
(1968) and
Edwin Starr
(1969) and later by
Rare Earth
(1976) and a previously unreleased version by
Jimmy Ruffin was released 2001) with a cover of The Beatles' Yesterday on the
flip. The B side to 'It Really Hurts Me Girl' is another soul
harmony song
'The Story Of Our Love'.
The Carstairs verson of 'Girl Have Pity' has never officially been
released, it was pressed on bootleg 45 on South Union with
Al Jones - Let Your Heart Be Your Guide
on the flip side, a superb soul harmony / crossover tune. I
believe that this is the only vinyl pressing. The only other way to
obtain it is via Old Schoool Harmony Volume 1 CD released around 1995, I 'suspect' that this is where the
bootleg was 'ripped' from, the compilation also has 'The Story Of Our
Love' on it.
The Fantasic Four [1966] - Girl Have Pity [Ric-Tic #RT-119]
The original version recorded in 1966.
Steve Mancha [2014] - Girl Have Pity [Hayley #NR 018]
Another, previously unreleased, version was issued on Hayley by Steve
Mancha (real name Clyde Wilson) in 2014.
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