Pinkerton's Assorted Colours
Formerly The Liberators, Pinkerton's Assorted Colours hailed from
Rugby and took their debut single Mirror Mirror to Number
9 in 1966.
Unfortunately their follow-up disc (Don't Stop Loving Me
Baby) stalled at Number 50 for one week. Four subsequent
singles between 1966 and 1968 did not trouble the charts at all.
 All
their recordings shimmered with the amplified autoharp of Sam
'Pinkerton' Kempe and, although The Downliners Sect had used one
occasionally, it was this innovation that was the group's main
contribution to the rich tapestry of British Beat music.
Despite their outlandish name, garish suits and publicity
stunts such as pouring red dye in the fountains at Trafalgar
Square, their success was limited.
In 1969 they re-formed as The Flying Machine and had a Top 10
hit in the USA with Smile A Little Smile For Me, though
it never made the British charts.
The group split up in the early 70s and Barrie Bernard formed
Jigsaw who had a worldwide smash hit with Sky High in
1974. The song was used as the theme to the Australian-produced
martial arts film, The Man from Hong Kong.
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