While The Strangeloves managed to produce one garage band classic, their story is probably more interesting than their actual music . . .
Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein and Richard Gottehrer were a trio of Brooklyn songwriter/producers who landed a #1 girl group hit with The Angels’ My Boyfriend’s Back.
When the British Invasion crested in the mid-1960s, they decided to get in on the act by recording as a group and billing themselves as an Australian outfit to cash in on the mystique being attached to foreign groups.
I Want Candy, with its crunching Bo Diddley beat, joyous chorus, and rambling lead guitar, was their great moment, reaching #11 in 1965.
Forced to put together a live act to support their disc, they made outrageous claims that they were three brothers (Giles, Miles and Niles Strange) who hailed from the non-existent town of Armstrong in Australia, where they had made a fortune as sheepherders who had developed a cross-breed.
The musicians in the initial touring group were bass player/vocalist John Shine, guitarist Jack Raczka, drummer Tom Kobus and sax player/vocalist Richie Lauro.
They also made the Top 40 with a couple of fairly gutsy follow-ups, Cara-Lin and Night Time, both of which were built around crunching claps, stomps and drums. Also recording an album and several non-hit singles, most of their material unashamedly plagiarised the Bo Diddley beats of I Want Candy with forgettable results.
They withdrew from performing and recording to concentrate on writing and producing for The McCoys, although The Strangeloves continued to release records until 1968.
Goldstein went on to produce records for War in the 1970s, and Gottehrer produced records by Blondie, The Go-Go’s and others.
Bob Feldman
Composer/producer
Jerry Goldstein
Composer/producer
Richard Gottehrer
Composer/producer
John Shine
Bass, vocals
Tom Kobus
Drums
Richie Lauro
Saxophone, vocals
Jack Raczka (Giles Strange)
Guitar
Joe Piazza (Miles Strange)
Drums, vocals
Ken Jones (Niles Strange)
Keyboards, vocals
