Last year, Cherry Red's RPM imprint closed up shop after almost 30 years and some 600+ releases. But a new imprint was announced to pick up where RPM left off: Strawberry. Its inaugural collection, Halcyon Days: '60s Mod, R&B, Brit Soul, and Freakbeat Nuggets has proved an auspicious debut for the imprint with big shoes to fill. The 3-CD collection traces the development of '60s British soul and R&B from the mod period to the first flowering of psychedelia featuring a blend of names
The RPM arm of the U.K.'s mighty Cherry Red empire has had a busy 2011, recently highlighted by the first-ever collection of the young Dusty Springfield's recordings with The Lana Sisters. The label's latest titles shed light on two largely-overlooked bands to come out of England in the 1960s, Ian and the Zodiacs and Katch 22. The Best of Ian and the Zodiacs: Wade in the Water and Major Catastrophe: The Katch 22 Story are both in stores now, and have much to offer fans of Merseybeat, mod,