Alan Taylor reckons MUNGO JERRY are like HP sauce in that they have both been a large part of our lives since childhood. I was only talking to RAY DORSET about this the other day and the publicity that,'IN THE SUMMERTIME' is currently receiving because it is also timeless and fondly remembered.

So with this in mind I have been exploring MUNGO JERRY material old and new for a few weeks and have some thoughts, comments and opinions about the role of some of the main players who have passed through the ranks.

RAY DORSET is now MUNGO JERRY! Of that I am certain.

Has he always been? Or was he just the singer in the band?

Ray was the front man and creative force of THE GOOD EARTH, either the three piece of Ray, COLIN EARL & JOE RUSH, or the four man band it became. However it was after the introduction of PAUL KING, the dynamics changed not just the name.

It is only recently that I noticed that most publicity photographs had Paul in the middle or at the front. Ray tended to be at the back or side, indeed if you did not know the group and were asked to list the band in importance after studying a photograph Ray would come in third behind Paul & Colin. Considering Ray stands out in a crowd visually, this really shows how much aura the group had at the beginning and how the more forceful personalities of Paul & Colin promoted themselves to the forefront

When it comes to the music and stage show, Ray is without doubt the leader. When the band auditioned for PYE, Ray would have got the gig alone as a front man with his songs and looks, although wandering Joe’s percussion and Colin’s boogie-woogie piano helped. It was the introduction of Paul that changed the focus and gave the instant appeal that went a long way of visually catapulting the band to stardom. Without Ray there would have been no, 'IN THE SUMMERTIME' as he was the 'MIGHTY MAN', but the visual impact of a band of hippy renegades sure did help.

Ray tells of how Colin was limited in his piano style, but he could play the boogie and in the early days it was enough, the album 'BOOT POWER' showed that Ray wanted to move in a way that Colin either wouldn’t or couldn’t. I now feel that Colin’s best work was on the first 'MUNGO JERRY' & KING EARL BOOGIE BAND's albums, plus the rock'n Roll LP that he did with the SAVOY BROWN guys for Decca under the name of 'WARREN PHILLIPS & THE ROCKETS titled 'THE WORLD OF ROCK'N ROLL'. Many things since featuring Colin have just been a repeat of the same style over and over again.

PAUL KING was a decent songwriter and although not overly commercial as a hit maker, his output added to the blend, his clever use of lyrics helped Ray at times get away with his more simple use of words on certain songs. Ray has of course over the years written some great lyrics and with some astute observations in the early hit making days for someone so young, but he could also repeat a lyric over and over.

MIKE COLE is now gigging and recording again with Ray and for many years it was felt that it didn’t matter if it was him or JOHN GODFREY on bass. Mike apart from his bass playing and the use of the double bass both on pictures and in the studio looked quite the part in that visual image created. He was actually a good looking young guy who has since accepted the advance of age whereas Ray has fought for his image by working hard in maintaining his looks.

JOHN GODFREY fitted in easily once the band were established, what he lacked in charisma was made up by the fact that not only could he play bass, he could also arrange material and play the organ. The fact that he played the electric piano and organ and it was not just Mr Earl’s traditional piano on the 'ARMY' album, may have been an indication of what was to follow.

During the PYE era, four LP’s were released by Dawn of MUNGO JERRY, plus two solo albums of Mr Dorset and Mr King. If you listen to both of these solo albums, it is Paul’s rather than Ray’s that lend to the MUNGO sound of the day. Was Ray ready to move on or was he just more creative? Paul’s solo album,'BEEN IN THE PEN TOO LONG' was more whimsical and made one wonder why one of his worst efforts in my opinion,'BLACK BUBONIC PLAGUE' was chosen as a track on some European versions of the,'ELECTRONICALLY TESTED' LP. Paul had actually championed to have it released as a single.

Having played the LP’s,'MUNGO JERRY','ELECTRONICALLY TESTED','YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE IN THE ARMY'and 'BOOT POWER' a few times in the last couple of months, in the car, as background and up front at volume, it is easy to see why MUNGO were successful and by the end of the original band limited in a rock press critics perspective.

When the band was banging out the early hits and maxi-single fillers, it may have helped if the 'MUNGO JERRY' first LP was followed by the 'ARMY' album, with 'TESTED' and 'BOOT POWER' being albums three and four. The band would have been seen to be growing musically and also expanding. As it was,'ARMY' took the sound backwards from what Ray had achieved as songwriter with,'ELECTRONICALLY TESTED'.

If you also jumble up the songs on the two solo albums, that could have been one hell of a creation, but by even just including Ray’s,'COLD BLUE EXCURSION' as the fifth MUNGO JERRY LP and not the attempt of the money making 'LONG LEGGED WOMAN' compilation, I am in no doubt that the band would have been held in a far higher regard by the media.

During the preparation of the book,'BEYOND THE SUMMERTIME', that I co-wrote with JOHN VAN DER KISTE, I held many conversations with PAUL KING and COLIN EARL, and received from both, lots of written notes also. Some of their observations Ray disagreed with, and the air was slightly cool for a long time afterwards. Since then Paul has gone up in Ray’s estimation to the extent that Ray is now looking after Paul’s publishing, Paul could see where he had gone wrong and accepted that Ray was and is the main man. All he wanted was a fairer crack of the whip with his material, but accepted that if he had got it he would probably of tried to remove Ray quicker as his ego at the time took control over his logic. Colin seemed to be disappointed with Ray, maybe he thought he should have had more credit for his part in the material and image and that Ray was riding a cloud that in part belonged to him. Maybe Ray appearing in festivals and on TV worldwide in later years without him hit a raw nerve. Colin’s opinion of Ray has deteriorated even further with the passing of time both in print and on TV.

From the Polydor days onwards, Ray has been a solo artist gigging and recording as MUNGO JERRY. He controls what the band does and at times sounds better, the nearer to a duo or trio on stage. The more simple a line-up, the better the groove sounds. Ray is neither a lead or rhythm guitarist as he does both and uses the instrument to add bass all at the same time. By adding simple percussion in the style now of GARRY PULLEN, and in the early days JOE RUSH, it completes his sound. That’s why I personally think the duo of Ray and MICK FRAMPTON was the best, and nearest to that elusive sound that many fans yearn for. Mick kept it simple and also added what no one else has ever achieved by adding backing vocals in a call and respond mouth percussion sort of way. He was that groovy scrap yard working overtime in the background.

The current UK band is as good as anything Ray has had behind him since the demise of the'SNAKEBITE' line-up. But nothing band wise could follow the DAISLEY/MIDDLETON sound of the 70’s, after the initial MUNGO JERRY break up. Over the years some members of the band have seemed to think that they had an importance above and beyond what they were brought in to do, LES CALVERT and the WREN BROTHERS’s spring to mind straight away. Ray always allows the band solos during the set as he introduces them, and it is a nice touch, if somewhat repetitive the third or fourth time he tells us their names. Maybe the solos without all the introductions would be the answer. It certainly adds to the groove of the gig.

The question is as the years catch up on him, what does Ray do next? For me he has finally found himself as an artist and moves from stage to stage with different combinations creating his own brand of MUNGO JERRY sounds. Blues, boogie, rhythm and rockabilly-skiffle, all stem from his pen, voice and guitar. By keeping it simple he is now keeping it fresh and he lives up to his own title of 'King of the Groove'.

As a contrast to his plug-in and play routine, Ray is also currently working with some celebrated players in Europe and at times playing a big band sound, which he also seems to revel in as he has to worry less about what is going on around him as these guys can step forward or move into the background to allow Ray the space he needs. Around the time of the,'OPEN UP' maxi-single, the saxophone was introduced into the band and it worked, as it gave Ray a harder edge. I have since heard ALAN JOHNSON play the sax on stage during the set and would love to see it re-introduced. Alan is a talented guitarist but at times his style can be wasted when Ray just needs the rhythm he creates with a single guitar. TIM GREEN used to solve this by playing the songs melodies as a lead guitar part. The way the guitar is played by Ray is both simple, captivating and at times raunchy and would blend with the extra keyboard and organ sounds he would like to add.

Do I yearn for a get together of the original band? No, that time has come and gone. But I would like to see Ray and Paul don a stage together at least one more time as I think personalities aside they could cut some mustard and recreate a time gone by. Ray tells me he feels guilty about the way MIKE COLE was thrown out of the band and regrets the fact that Mike missed out on what would have been his most celebrated time in the music business. They enjoy working together again and I think this is about as far as it will get as regards to a reunion. We all move on in life and maybe the memories are better left as they are.

Derek Wadeson, August 2010.