Moin,
inzwischen habe ich eine Seite im Netz über den australischen Sänger Merv Benton gefunden:
http://www.rockabillyhall.com/MervBenton.html
Weil es zu komisch ist, zitiere ich mal aus diesem Text:
"For his third disc 'Be Sweet' c/w 'You're The Dog' released in August 1964, Merv Benton sang vocals over a track originally recorded in Germany. However, Merv tells the story better:
The original recording was a German pressing that came to W&G through one of their many affiliations. The original song title was 'Shake Hands' sung by Hans somebody. Due to the constant criticism by DJ's of the sound quality that came out on W&G pressings and due to the success of Johnny Chester's 'Teeny on which the vocals also were recorded over a German backing tape, W&G requested that we follow suit. I'm reasonably sure tat it also had something to do with publishing rights and the income that could be generated.
Noel Watson wrote the words to 'Be Sweet' and 'You're A Dog'. What to say about this record? By no means is it in any way my favourite recording. Today I find the words offensive and male chauvinistic. Did I feel that way at the time, I have no idea? I don't believe nor do I recall that I ever sang this song live. The song did receive strong airplay, particularly from Barry Ferber at the time. So while everyone liked the sound, I didn't like the words, not does Noel.
Noel Watson recalls that 'Be Sweet' came about with a deal with Ron Tudor who was the A&R man at W&G: Tudor had obtained a series of backing tracks from Germany and he needed English lyrics for them. Here was a flat fee of 'two quid' to use the backing track and away you go. We all have our crosses to bear, and 'Be Sweet' is one of mine."
Offenbar sind also die Bänder von Shake Hands nach Australien gelangt und von Merv Benton auf englisch besungen worden...
