THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Kursaal Flyers were an integral element of the Thames Delta music scene emerging from the late ’60s clubs into the bright lights of the 1970s pop world. Alongside contemporaries, and in some cases old schoolmates, in bands such as Dr. Feelgood and Eddie & The Hot Rods, Kursaal Flyers (named after a Southend amusement park carnival float) were a regular fixture on the pub rock and college circuit of ’70s Britain.
Their sound was more diverse than their R&B contemporaries. Being influenced by American Country Rock, the band included banjo and pedal steel guitar as fixtures in their musical oeuvre. They toured Europe with The Flying Burrito Brothers. The Kursaals were also notable for a wry observational sense of humour which the band’s songwriters, Will Birch and Graeme Douglas, regularly injected into the material. Complemented by the chameleon-like vocal styles employed by front man Paul Shuttleworth.
Little Does She Know is a four-disc box that collects their complete output. Disc 1 contains the two complete albums made for Jonathan King’s UK Records label in 1975, Chocs Away and The Great Artiste. Disc 2 has their first CBS album from 1976, Golden Mile, produced by Mike Batt, including both versions of their hit single Little Does She Know, the single edit, and the ‘kitchen sink’ LP version which come on like the 1812 Overture involving as they do the London Symphony Orchestra. Disc 3 has their live album recorded at The Marquee, Five Live Kursaals released in 1977. As live albums tend to do, these recordings highlight how the band truly were on stage, a highly energetic rock band with a raw sound belying their country roots. Disc 4 is their third studio LP, A Former Tour De Force Is Forced To Tour recorded in 1988 and exhibits a very strong country rock groove, which would not be out of place if released to today’s Americana market.”
