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The Riot Squad only released seven singles on the U.K.’s Pye label between 1965 and 1967.  But thanks to the discovery of Joe Meek’s Tea Chest Tapes, the story of the band that might be best known for a short-lived collaboration with David Bowie can now be told in full.   I Take It That We’re Through: Anthology 1965-1967 arrives from Cherry Red’s Strawberry imprint on August 21, with 3 CDs and 83 tracks (40 of which are previously unreleased and another 14 of which are new to CD).

Ron Ryan (guitar), Graham Bonney (vocals), Bob Evans (saxophone), Mark Stevens (keyboards), Mike Martin (bass), and future member of The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Mitch Mitchell (drums), formed The Riot Squad in late 1964.  The group’s lineup was notoriously fluid; the band’s productions with Joe Meek featured Evans, Brian “Butch” Davies (piano), Len Tuckey (guitar), Derek “Del” Roll (drums), and Keith “Nero” Gladman (vocals) while the 1967 unit featured the young David Bowie alongside Evans, Roll, Rod Davies (guitar), Brian “Croak” Prebble (vocals), George Butcher (keyboards), and Caldwell Smythe (vocals).  Even the stalwart Evans had left the ranks before The Riot Squad finally called it a day in 1969.  Yet despite the many personnel shifts and the band’s lack of chart success, they left behind a rich legacy of R&B-influenced, mod-style rock-and-roll.

The original six-piece band was championed by Larry Page (The Kinks, The Troggs) who got them their deal with Pye.  Success seemed in the offing, with television appearances and tours as well as a presence on the popular pirate radio of the time.  The Riot Squad’s soulful leaning was in evidence on these early sides as well as on the newly-discovered acetate, included here, of Curtis Mayfield’s “The Monkey Time’ (a hit for U.S. vocalist Major Lance in 1963) and William Bell’s “Monkeying Around.”  (This acetate was performed following the departure of Ron Ryan from the group.)  The original lineup split for good in mid-1965, with Bob Evans assembling the next iteration of The Riot Squad from the northeast London band The Chevrons.  The new lineup would support such artists as John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, The Searchers, Small Faces, and even the U.S.’ Stevie Wonder.  Joe Meek took an interest in the new group, helming their 1966 single “Cry, Cry, Cry” with its band-written B-side, “How It Is Done,” and its two follow-ups under his Meeksville Productions banner.

Sessions with Meek yielded much of the treasures on this new collection, with roughly two full discs’ worth of largely-unheard material from Meek’s storied “Tea Chest Tapes.”  Various takes demonstrate the band and producer’s willingness to try different approaches to their repertoire in style, feel, and arrangement.  This set presents outtakes, alternate takes, alternate mixes, overdub sessions, and a host of stellar performances with another of Meek’s production clients, singer Glenda Collins.  The latter sessions were intended by Meek to comprise an album that never materialized before his lurid death in February 1967.  The album presents Collins and The Riot Squad on a number of familiar soul staples (“I (Who Have Nothing,” “Dancing in the Street,” “Can I Get a Witness,” “Mockingbird”) and more unexpected material (“You’re Nobody Until Somebody Loves You,” “Lover, Come Back to Me,” a vocal version of Meek’s Tornados hit “Telstar”). A number of recordings which only exist in the Tea Chest Tapes as discrete twin-track recordings are included here as “stereo balance” recordings, with the vocals placed in the center of the soundscape.

Just weeks after Meek’s death, Bob Evans invited rising star David Bowie to join The Riot Squad; Evans had been a fan since the Squad shared a bill in 1966 with Bowie and his then-band, The Buzz.  Bowie brought his sense of theatricality to the band, encouraging them to wear makeup and staging the songs in concert.  This set includes the four songs recorded by the band and Bowie: three Bowie originals and a cover of The Velvet Underground’s “Waiting for the Man.”  (Bowie’s “Toy Soldier” was clearly influenced by The Velvets’ “Venus in Furs.”)  Bowie ultimately performed with the band between March and May 1967.

The band pressed on, even recording an album with American producer Les Magid that sat unreleased until its 2013 premiere as a limited-edition vinyl release as Making Up for Lost Time.  (Naturally, it’s included here in full in its CD premiere.)  The Riot Squad’s final original member, Bob Evans, left the band in July 1968, enduring further personnel changes until disbanding for good in the summer of 1969.  The remaining members lasted long enough, however, for Mitch Mitchell and his bandmate Jimi Hendrix to jam with them at a Frankfurt gig!)

I Take It That We’re Through is the ultimate tribute to this group’s enjoyable blend of rock and soul.  Compilation producer Jon Harrington provides the detailed liner notes within the 28-page booklet, and Alec Palao has mastered all of the audio.  The Riot Squad’s 3CD anthology arrives from Cherry Red’s Strawberry imprint on August 21.  You’ll find the track listing and pre-order links below.  (As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.)

The Riot Squad, I Take It That We’re Through: Anthology 1965-1967 (Cherry Red/Strawberry CR3JAM62, 2026) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

THE SINGLES

1. Anytime (Pye 7N 15752, 1965)
2. Jump (Pye 7N 15752, 1965)
3. I Wanna Talk About My Baby (Pye 7N 15817, 1965)
4. Gonna Make You Mine (Pye 7N 15817, 1965)
5. Nevertheless (I Love You) (Pye 7N 15869, 1965)
6. Not A Great Talker (Pye 7N 15869, 1965)
7. Cry, Cry, Cry (Pye 7N 17041, 1966)
8. How It Is Done (Pye 7N 17041, 1966)
9. I Take It That We’re Through (Pye 7N 17092, 1966)
10. Working Man (Pye 7N 17092, 1966)
11. It’s Never Too Late To Forgive (Pye 7N 17130, 1966)
12. Try To Realise (Pye 7N 17130, 1966)
13. Gotta Be A First Time (Pye 7N 17237, 1967)
14. Bitter Sweet Love (Pye 7N 17237, 1967)

1965 Acetate (previously unreleased)

15. The Monkey Time (Acetate)
16. Monkeying Around (Acetate)

Joe Meek Tea Chest Tapes Sessions (all tracks previously unreleased except Track 26)

17. Who’s Fooling Who
18. I Beg To Heaven (John Drysdale & The Riot Squad)
19. Walking On Ice (Take 1)
20. It’s Never Too Late To Forgive (Folk Rock Version) (Take 6)
21. Cry, Cry, Cry (Original Speed) (Take 10)
22. Cry, Cry, Cry (Original Speed With Vocal Overdub) (Take 2)
23. Try To Realise (Early Version) (Take 2)
24. Try To Realise (Take 9)
25. If I Didn’t Love Her So (Take 7)
26. Who’s Fooling Who (Take 3) (Stereo Balance) (from Too Far Out, Cherry Red TCT3BX14, 2025)
27. Gotta Be A First Time (Early Version) (Stereo Balance)
28. That’s Tough (Stereo Balance)
29. Gotta Be A First Time (Early Version Take 4)

CD 2

Joe Meek Tea Chest Tapes Sessions (continued) (all tracks previously unreleased except Tracks 11, 13, & 17)

1. If I Didn’t Love Her So *
2. Gotta Be A First Time (Stereo Overdub)
3. Bitter Sweet Love (Overdub Session, Take 3) *
4. It’s Never Too Late To Forgive (Folk Rock Version, Take 10) *
5. Walking On Ice (Take 4) *
6. Walking On Ice (Take 8) *
7. Wanna Lover (Take 3) *
8. How It Is Done (Take 2) *
9. How It Is Done (Take 7) *
10. Working Man (Take 1) *
11. Working Man (Take 3) * (from Too Far Out, Cherry Red TCT3BX14, 2025)
12. I Beg To Heaven (Take 10) *
13. I Take It That We’re Through (Alternative Early Version) Take 3 (from Too Far Out, Cherry Red TCT3BX14, 2025)
14. I Take It That We’re Through (Alternative Early Version) Take 5
15. Rhythm (Underdub) Take 8
16. Comin’ Home Baby Take 8
17. Outrage Take 7 (from Get Ready for the Countdown, Strawberry CR3JAMBX42, 2025)
18. Gotta Be A First Time (Vocal Take 9, Final Lyrics)
19. Try To Realise (Flute Version)
20. It’s Never Too Late To Forgive (Alternative Overdub) Take 18
21. I Take It That We’re Through (Early Version)
22. I Take It That We’re Through (Overdub) Take 5
23. I Take It That We’re Through (Overdub) Take 25
24. I Think I’m Falling In Love Take 6 – Flip & The Riot Squad
25. Hush-A-Bye (Take 3) – Flip & The Riot Squad
26. Try To Realise (Backing Track Without Flute) Take 8
27. Unknown Backing Track With Flute Take 4

* Stereo Balance

CD 3

Glenda, Nero, and The Riots – It’s a Riot! Sessions (from the Tea Chest Tapes)

Tracks 1, 4, 7 & 11 previously unreleased
Tracks 2, 5 & 8 previously unreleased on CD

1. You’ve Been Cheatin’ Take 2*
2. I (Who Have Nothing) Take 2*+ (from It’s a Riot!, Cherry Red TCT 10-7, 2023)
3. Can I Get A Witness Take 2 *+ (from Baby It Hurts, Cherry Red TCTBX6, 2023)
4. Everybody Loves A Good Time Take 3
5. You’re Nobody Until Somebody Loves You Take 2 *+ (from It’s a Riot!, Cherry Red TCT 10-7, 2023)
6. Magic Star *+ (from Baby It Hurts, Cherry Red TCTBX6, 2023)
7. One Way Love Take 2 + Edit Piece) *
8. Dancing In The Street Take 2*+ (from It’s a Riot!, Cherry Red TCT 10-7, 2023)
9. Mockingbird Take 5 *+ (from It’s a Riot!, Cherry Red TCT 10-7, 2023)
10. Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um Take 6 * (from Too Far Out, Cherry Red TCT3BX14, 2025)
11. In The Midnight Hour
12. Lover Come Back To Me Take 3 *+ (from Baby It Hurts, Cherry Red TCTBX6, 2023)

Demos featuring David Bowie (Acid Jazz AJX329S, 2013)

13. Toy Soldier
14. I’m Waiting For My Man
15. Silly Boy Blue
16. Silver Tree Top School For Boys

Making Up for Lost Time (all tracks previously unreleased on CD)

17. Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
18. Say You Don’t Mind
19. Hours And Hours
20. The Vicar’s Daughter
21. Old Black Car
22. Everything Is Gonna Be Alright
23. Making Time
24. Morning Dew
25. Little Tin Soldier
26. Like A Rolling Stone
27. Freaking Out (Steppin’ Out)

* Stereo Balance
+ Glenda Collins & The Riot Squad