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The 1976 release of the self-titled album Fast Buck on notorious music manager Don Arden’s Jet Records label heralded the release of a powerful new hard rock band. Ed Hamilton (lead vocals/guitar), Andy Locke (lead guitar/vocals), Mike Baron (drums/vocals), and Dave Kerr-Clemenson (bass/vocals) all had experience in other groups – Hamilton in The Outlaws and The Nightshift, Locke and Kerr-Clemenson with Edison Lighthouse and Merlin Q, and Baron with Worth. Fast Buck appeared on bills alongside artists including The Pretty Things, Kevin Ayers, Widowmaker, Thin Lizzy, and Jet’s biggest act, Electric Light Orchestra.  Fast Buck was released in the U.K. as well as in the U.S. and Canada via Jet’s United Artists distribution deal, and all told, it sold over 40,000 copies on LP.  Arden, however, chose not to proceed with a follow-up effort. In fall 2019, it was reissued for the first time on CD as part of a 4-disc box set from Cherry Red’s Lemon Records imprint.

Night Games: The Complete Recordings gives this all-but-unknown group a long-delayed moment in the sun. That first album opens the first disc of the box (including the band’s sole A-side, “Sometime Man”) but proves to be just the tip of the iceberg of Fast Buck’s discography. Nine further tracks round out the first disc here, though there’s no indication in the booklet as to their provenance. What the liner notes by Ed Hamilton do tell us, however, is that Fast Buck initially persevered after being dropped by Jet. Hamilton and Kerr-Clemenson opened an eight-track recording facility in Chiswick. At Fast Buck Studios, the band reconvened to record their own material in between overseeing gigs from other artists ranging from Jon Pertwee to Sheena Easton.

43 studio recordings, including demos and alternate versions, fill the second and third discs of the collection. The group’s sessions at their own facility most notably yielded Hamilton’s “Night Games.” In 1981, it became a U.K. top ten hit for Graham Bonnet who also recorded Locke and Kerr-Clemenson’s “I’m a Lover.” The original Fast Buck versions of both songs are on the box set, the former in both full-length and edited versions. Fast Buck placed their new material with other top artists, too. Bill Medley and Gladys Knight recorded Hamilton’s “Lovin’ on Borrowed Time” for the 1986 Sylvester Stallone film vehicle Cobra; two distinct band versions of the track appear here. Also featured is a 1985 Rock City Records single from Billy Bremner and Fast Buck: “Endless Sleep” b/w “Mona-Lott.” The fourth and final disc of Night Games has highlights from two live performances as well as an interview. These tracks showcase the band at its most visceral, feeding off the energy of an enthusiastic crowd.

All of the music has been remastered from Ed Hamilton’s original tapes by Oli Hemingway. In his liner notes, Hamilton mentions that he took the original tapes with them in exchange for having received no royalties from Jet Records. His essay fills the 16-page booklet, and is filled with entertaining remembrances, though one wishes that a historical essay had supplemented his personal account of the band’s unusual career trajectory.

Housed in a compact clamshell case, Fast Buck’s Night Games: The Complete Recordings is a surprising treat from the heavy rockers.  It’s available at the links below from Cherry Red’s Lemon Recordings!

Fast Buck, Night Games: The Complete Recordings (Cherry Red/Lemon CDLEMBOX 238, 2019) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

Fast Buck (Jet Records JETLP16, 1976)

1. UNDERSTANDING IS THE WORD
2. I’VE GOT TO BE STRONG
3. ROCK AND ROLL STAR (also released as B-side of Jet single JET 776, 1976)
4. ROCKIN’ CHAIR RIDE
5. UNDER IT ALL
6. THE MIRROR
7. PRACTICALLY 5TH AVENUE
8. HARD ON THE BOULEVARD
9. SOMETIME MAN (also released as A-side of Jet single JET 776, 1976)
10. COME TO THE COUNTRY

BONUS TRACKS

11. MOVIE MADNESS
12. DON’T ROLL THE DICE
13. THE ANCIENT MARINER
14. ROCK AND ROLL QUEEN
15. REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE
16. GYPSY LADY
17. I’M A LOVER
18. NIGHT GAMES (Edited Version)
19. STANDING ON BROKEN GLASS

CD 2: STUDIO RECORDINGS
1. THE BALLAD OF JESSE JAMES
2. STAYIN’ ON HERE
3. LOVIN’ ON BORROWED TIME (Country Version)
4. OH LORD MAKE MY LAST GIG IN NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
5. SAD EYED LADY
6. AFTER THE NIGHT HAS GONE
7. NEW YORK CITY
8. MYSTERY TRAIN
9. THE BALLAD OF WILLIAM MURDOCH
10. LONG HARD ROAD
11. THE TRAVELLIN’ GAME
12. ROUTE 66 (Fast Buck Studios Test Track)
13. ROCK AND ROLL QUEEN (Demo)
14. SOMETIME MAN – VERSION 1 (Mono Demo)
15. UNDERSTANDING IS THE WORD (Mono Demo)
16. ENDLESS SLEEP -Billy Bremner & Fast Buck
17. MONA-LOTT – Billy Bremner & Fast Buck
18. NEW YORK CITY (Demo)
19. I WANNA MAKE OUT WITH YOU
20. THE ANCIENT MARINER (Demo)
21. HI-HO SILVER LINING

CD 3: STUDIO RECORDINGS
1. LOST WEEKEND
2. STAGEDOOR JENNY
3. I’M GOIN’ HOME
4. LEATHER LADY
5. REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (Demo)
6. LOVE ON THE RUN
7. MY GIRL
8. ALL OUT OF FAVOUR
9. NEW YORK CITY (Out-take)
10. SAD EYED LADY (Out-take)
11. FREELANCE
12. CAUGHT IN A CROSSFIRE
13. SOMETIME MAN (Re-mix)
14. MYSTERY TRAIN (Out-Take)
15. LOVING ON BORROWED TIME (Ballad Version)
16. LADY RIDER (Demo)
17. I’M JUST CRAZY FOR YOUR LOVE
18. IF YOU LIKE THE BLUES
19. NIGHT GAMES (Full Length Version)
20. MAKE ME FLY – VERSION 1 (Demo)
21. SOMETIME MAN (Demo)
22. MAKE ME FLY – VERSION 2 (Demo)

CD 4: LIVE RECORDINGS

LIVE AT HEMEL HEMPSTEAD PAVILION
1. PRACTICALLY 5TH AVENUE
2. ROCK AND ROLL STAR
3. THE MIRROR
4. HARD ON THE BOULEVARD
5. UNDER IT ALL
6. STEAMROLLER BLUES
7. COME TO THE COUNTRY
8. MOSES
9. ROCK AND ROLL QUEEN
10. BOTTLE OF RED WINE (Excerpt)

ASSORTED LIVE TRACKS FROM THE RED LION BRENTFORD

11. FOOL FOR YOU BABY
12. I’VE GOT TO BE STRONG
13. UNDER IT ALL
14. GRAPHIC-ED
15. TEQUILA LADY
16. GOIN’ DOWN TO BRIGHTON
17. M4
18. RADIO HALLAM INTERVIEW