Candy Wrapped in a Sweater

Fake Australian accents, Rock and Roll Hoochie Koos, and the declaration of War.

In 1982, British New Wave group Bow Wow Wow scored a Top 10 U.K. hit with “I Want Candy”.

Though it only reached #60 on the U.S. charts, it remains an enduring time capsule of the era. A quick look at Spotify shows 42 million streams.

But the original, from 1965, was a far bigger hit in the U.S. for the Strangeloves. Today, it has only 5 million Spotify streams. But at the time of its release, it scaled to #11 on the U.S. charts and #7 in Canada. (Notably, it was not a hit in the U.K.).

The Brothers Strange

Well, it’s true that the Strangeloves landed the bigger hit. But it’s also true that the Strangeloves were not actually a real band. Like so many of the beloved records of the era, this one was a studio concoction. But in this case, the artists were invented completely out of thin air, right down to their imagined identities.

On paper, the Strangeloves were a trio of brothers–Giles, Miles and Niles Strange.

According to the liner notes of their one and only LP–the brothers Strange “hail from the backlands of Australia, a wild and uncivilized area of the continent from whence the trio acquired its earthy, hip swiveling rhythms so evident in the group’s potent recording of ‘I Want Candy’.”

Literally not one part of this description is true, right down to the fact that the “earthy, hip swiveling rhythm” featured on the hit tune was, of course, the famous and elemental “Bo Diddley Beat”.

Also, the Strangeloves were actually a New York-based American songwriting and production team that included Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein, and Richard Gottehrer. And in addition to inventing the Strangeloves and appearing on the album’s cover, these guys went on to compile some pretty heavyweight resumes.

But let’s back up a bit.

Bob & Jerry

Bob and Jerry began collaborating in 1959. By the early ‘60s, they were recording as Bob & Jerry while churning out girl group style fodder for also-rans like Bobbi and the Beaus, the Kittens, and Ezra and the Iveys. Re: Ezra and the Iveys—If you can tell me why Superman sounds like Alvin & the Chipmunks here, bully for you.

Anyway, Bob & Jerry found greater success upon teaming up with Gottehrer in 1962. Together, they formed FGG productions and landed a hit the following year with the Angels’ “My Boyfriends’ Back”.

Then in 1964, the Beatles crossed the pond, the British Invasion began, and girl groups were out. Bob, Jerry and Richard decided to form their own British beat group to keep up with the competition. 

British Imitiation

They quickly ran into a wall when they realized that none were capable of faking a convincing British accent. When they resolved that nobody they knew had ever actually been to the Outback, they resolved that they could far more convincingly fake Australian accents.

Thus, they invented the Strange brothers from Down Under, formed the Strangeloves, and hit the studio.

The session was co-produced by Bert Berns of Bang Records.

Released in 1965, “I Want Candy” became a hit in the U.S. and provided the title to the band’s lone full-length record. The album would launch a few more minor chart entries, including “Cara-Lin and “Night-Time”, the latter of which became a garage rock classic by way of its inclusion of the groundbreaking Nuggets box set. 

But it was the success of  “I Want Candy” that pressed the Strangeloves into touring duty.

Tour-ture

Though responsible for much of the studio work heard on the album, the trio found they were less suited for live performance. They replaced themselves with session musicians after a brief attempt at touring. However, this short time on the road did have one notable highlight. 

This highlight now requires us to go on a brief tangent about the song “Hang on Sloopy”. The Strangeloves had included a cover of the song on their debut album. Like “I Want Candy”, the original version of “Hang on Sloopy” was co-written by Bert Berns. 

Originally called “My Girl Sloopy”, Berns gave it to the Vibrations, and the R&B combo landed a #26 hit on the charts in 1964.

It also quickly found its way into the repertoires of countless garage rock and British beat bands.

The Strangeloves intended to release their version of “Hang on Sloopy” as a follow-up single. Then, they caught wind that the guys from the Dave Clark 5 were planning on recording their own version. They resolved that it would be a sizable hit for the first band to get it to market. But they were still enjoying the swell from “I Want Candy” and were hesitant to steal their own thunder.

What to do?

The Real McCoy

While passing through Ohio, they were supported by a local band called Ricky Z and the Raiders. Ricky Z was actually a magnetic young singer named Rick Zehringer. The Strangeloves saw an opportunity in their opening act. They took Ricky and the Raiders into the studio to record “Sloopy”.

To avoid confusion with the already successful Paul Revere & the Raiders, Ricky reverted to a band name he’d used as a teen–The McCoys. Taking on the stage name Rick Derringer, he led his McCoys in recording the definitive version of this garage essential.

The McCoys scored a #1 hit for the Strangeloves production team. Derringer launched a career that would take him to solo stardom with 1970’s “Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo”. Derringer would also enjoy a long and fruitful association with a pair of actual brothers—Johnny and Edgar Winter.

Life After Love

The Strangeloves would never release another record after 1965, but the guys from the “group” remained heavy hitters. 

In 1969, Goldstein attended a performance by a band called the Nightshift at a place called the Rag Doll in North Hollywood. He was impressed by the local band’s effortless blend of jazz, funk, rock, and R&B and suggested they team up with Animals singer Eric Burdon. Taking on the name War and hitting the studio with the British Invasion vet, they launched a Hall of Fame-bound career with “Spill the Wine”--which peaked at #3 in 1970.

Gottehrer went on to become a towering figure in the New York punk scene in the late ‘70s. He contributed production to records by Blondie, Richard Hell & the Voidoids, and the Fleshtones. Then, he and the legendary Seymour Stein co-founded Sire records–future home to Madonna, the Ramones, and the Talking Heads. 

…which brings us to the early ‘80s, and Bow Wow Wow. The story of this band is itself quite colorful. It’s way too long and scandalous to tell here, but just know that it includes a defection from Adam and the Ants, a pre-fame Boy George, Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren, a provocative under-aged singer named Annabelle Lwin, and for our purposes, this MTV video, which was in constant rotation in the summer of ‘82.