Gimme Dat Ding - FRANKIE DAVIDSON (1970) - Pop Archives - Sources of Australian Pop Records from the 50s, 60s and 70s

MAPLE LACE
Gimme Dat Ding
(Albert Hammond - Mike Hazlewood)
Australia 1970
#6 Sydney

Co-charted in Sydney with the original version by The Pipkins.

Single on Caesar's International, a label that was run briefly by Caesar's discotheque in Sydney.

Maple Lace was not the same band as Caesar's residents The R.J. Taylor Band (as some have speculated), but a busy live band in its own right at major Sydney venues, including regular gigs backing Johnny Farnham.

Co-produced by John Francis: see John J. Francis - Play Mumma, Sing Me A Song

Reference: Caesar's International label history and discography at Milesago.

Thanks to John Newth, Maple Leaf's drummer, for clarification.

THE PIPKINS
Gimme Dat Ding
(Albert Hammond - Mike Hazlewood)
UK 1970
Original version
#6 UK #9 USA #6 Sydney #1 NZ

Co-charted in Sydney with Australian version by Maple Lace.

The Pipkins were British duo, Tony Burrows and Roger Greenaway, originally known as One & One from 1964. Until then, they had both been in The Kestrels, a band formed in 1956 and known previously as The Hi Fi's and Belltones before becoming The Kestrels in 1958. Roger Cook, Greenaway's long-time collaborator, was also a Kestrel for a time.

Tony Burrows was one of the most recorded session singers in Britain during the late 60s and early 70s, and in 1970 he had four hits under four different band names. His credits as lead singer include Let's Go To San Francisco by The Flowerpot Men (1967), Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) by Edison Lighthouse (1970), My Baby Loves Lovin' by White Plains (1970), United We Stand by Brotherhood of Man (1970) and Beach Baby by First Class (1974). He recorded the original version of Melanie Makes Me Smile, covered in Australia by The Strangers.

Tony Burrows also sang on early albums by Elton John and did session work with Cliff Richards in the 70s.

Further reading on Tony Burrows: Alwyn J. Turner's Tony Burrows page at Glitter Suits & Platform Boots. Interview with Tony Burrows at Pop Entertainment.com. Hiroshi Asada's comprehensive Voice of Tony Burrows website includes a family tree that shows the personnel of the numerous bands that Burrows has been involved with.

Roger Greenaway is perhaps best known for his collaboration with Roger Cook, with whom he wrote numerous hit songs, beginning with The Fortunes' You've Got Your Troubles (1965). The Australian hit Everything Is Out Of Season by Johnny Farnham is a Greenaway-Cook composition.

Further reading on Greenaway & Cook: See Hiroshi Asada's Cook & Greenaway Song List for the extent of their output. Cook's official site at RogerCook.com. The Everything Is Out Of Season page at this site has a brief outline of their career.

Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood, writers of Gimme Dat Ding, also wrote Leapy Lee's Little Arrows (1968), The Hollies' The Air That I Breathe (1974), and the unclassifiable I'm A Train by Colours of Love (1968), also a charting release by Albert Hammond in 1974 (Look at me I'm a train on a track, I'm a train, I'm a train, I'm a chucka-train, yeah... Been a hard day, Yes it has been a hard day...)

Albert Hammond had several successful records of his own in the early 70s: Down By The River (1972), It Never Rains In Southern California (1972) and The Free Electric Band (1973). An obscure composition of his, not always listed in his discographies, is That's A Hoe Down, a minor hit in Australia by Lynne Randell (1967).

Further reading on Albert Hammond & Mike Hazelwood: 1. AlertHammond.net. 2. Albert Hammond at All Music Guide. 3. Mike Hazelwood at Wikipedia (short entry)

Thanks to Fred Clemens for clarification.