Luna Collins makes lemonade with Strangers In A Strange Land and Vince Melouney on their memorable cover of the psychedelic Bee Gees’ Lemons Never Forget — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
Yes, The Bee Gees. Before the brothers Gibb were Stayin’ Alive as ’70s disco kings, they had a psychedelic period in the late ’60s that was equally brilliant and intriguing. It’s this era that Manchester singer-songwriter Collins, the duo Strangers In A Strange Land and lead guitarist Melouney celebrate with their take on the 1968 gem Lemons Never Forget.
“My thoughts about covering the song went back quite a few years, but I decided to ask Vince if he would be interested in playing on a remake featuring my great musical friends, Strangers In A Strange Land,” recalls Collins. “I was absolutely thrilled when Vince said he was also thinking about re-recording a version of Lemons Never Forget. He immediately sent me his already-recorded guitar work, and we began the journey of putting the single together.”
On the song, Collins shares vocal duties with Paul Kopf, while Alec Palao contributes bass and keys. Working from various parts of the world — Manchester and Somerset as well as the San Francisco Bay Area — proved to be somewhat challenging. “The time differences made communication tricky, but we managed to lay down all the components and voila!” says Collins.
The result is both sweet and zingy, and also sweetly psychedelic. The vocal harmonies performed by Collins and Kopf pay tribute to those of the Gibbs, while Melouney’s guitars are powerful and set the groovy mood for the song. “We are all very pleased with this project and can’t wait for everyone to hear our labour of love,” says Collins.
Collins grew up in San Francisco and experienced the resounding cultural changes of the Summer of Love in the late 1960s. She listened to the radio non-stop, awaiting each new Everly Brothers and Motown tune, but when The Beatles hit The Ed Sullivan Show, she knew what she wanted to do. So, she moved to the U.K. at 17, and found herself in pub bands, singing and playing keys with no great success — but she had loads of fun.
Back in the U.S., she and her band The Relay took advantage of the punk and New Wave movements. They eventually disbanded, but Collins soldiered on, continuing to write and spend time in Celtic and folk bands. In her 60s, she moved back to England and began the journey of putting together new original material to share.
Watch the video for Lemons Never Forget above, hear more from Luna Collins below, and follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
