Australian singles charts:
In the Summertime by The Mixtures entered the Kent charts on 3 August 1970 and went to #1. It was #2 on the Top 100 of 1970.
In the Summertime by Mungo Jerry entered the Kent charts on 20 July 1970 and was also a #1 hit. It was #16 in the Top 100 of 1970.
In the Summertime by The Idle Race entered the Kent charts on 10 August 1970 and peaked at #58.
Songwriter:
Ray Dorset
Record labels of Australian releases:
The Mixtures – Fable
Mungo Jerry – Astor
The Idle Race – Liberty
THE MIXTURES
Wikipedia:
Melbourne band The Mixtures originally signed to EMI, then to CBS Records in 1969, then to Fable Records in 1970.
The Mixtures recorded a cover of Mungo Jerry’s In the Summertime and, as a result of the 1970 radio ban during which many Australian radio stations refused to play Australian and British music released by major labels, received much more airplay than had initially been expected for a group on a small record label (Fable). The single went to #1 in Australia for six weeks.
Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mixtures
MUNGO JERRY
Songfacts:
This buoyant tune was written by Ray Dorset, who was the group’s lead singer and guitarist. He penned the song in 1968 when he was working for Timex in the UK – his band was just getting started and music was more of a hobby at the time. Dorest says that the famous melody just popped into his head one day, and the next day he wrote the lyrics very quickly.
Read more: www.songfacts.com/facts/mungo-jerry/in-the-summertime
THE IDLE RACE
Wikipedia:
The Idle Race was a British rock group from Birmingham in the late 1960s and early 1970s which had a cult following but never enjoyed mass commercial success. In addition to being the springboard for Jeff Lynne, the band holds a place of significance in British Midlands’ pop-rock history as a link between The Move, Electric Light Orchestra, the Steve Gibbons Band and Mike Sheridan & The Nightriders.
Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Idle_Race
Radio interview:
Hear Mick Flinn of The Mixtures talk to John Broughton on Casey FM in 2017 about In the Summertime, The Pushbike Song and about the band in general. You’ll love the story about Mick’s association with Ray Dorset of Mungo Jerry, which wasn’t friendly at first!
The Mixtures and Mungo Jerry versions of In the Summertime are also on our Spotify playlist Bang a Gong – the 70s
Find more songs to enjoy: Bang a Gong song finder
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