the fountain is red, the fountain is white

automatic K 17330.

Two sides from Jackie Leven's sublime 1979 45 on Automatic Records.

With their acid drenched mystical roots digging deep into the previous decade, Doll By Doll were never going to be an easy sell, despite their punk affinities. The almost biblical lyricism of "The Fountain is Red, The Fountain is White" preempts Jackie's slide into heroin addiction by a good five years. Listen to the Pete Perrett - of the Only Ones - style guitar on the close to "Palace Of Love", and you get a fix on where their corner of the market lay in 1979. The original 45 edit lifted from the album, "Remember", never quite struck the right chord, losing - as it did - all the power of the intro and fading out way too early.

From Wiki:

"Born in 1950 into a Romany (Roma) family, Jackie Leven spent his childhood and teenage years clearly marked out as an outsider in the clannish, insular world that was Fife, Scotland at that time. Although Scottish himself, neither of his parents were from the area - his father was an Irish Cockney, his mother was from a large Northumberland (Geordie) family, and adapting to existing cultural norms was a hard, if not formidable task for such incomers."

Side A (full album version) produced by Bill Price and Doll By Doll. Side B produced by Lobby Loyde and Doll By Doll. Both sides written by Jackie Leven. Don't concern yourself needlessly. I'm not about to pull a Daniel Johnston number on y'all.

See Art Decade here for more.

▼ DOLL BY DOLL: THE PALACE OF LOVE from "The Palace Of Love b/w The Fountain Is Red, The Fountain Is White" 45 (Automatic) 1979 (UK)

▼ DOLL BY DOLL: THE FOUNTAIN IS RED, THE FOUNTAIN IS WHITE from "The Palace Of Love b/w The Fountain Is Red, The Fountain Is White" 45 (Automatic) 1979 (UK)

PURCHASE REMEMBER REMASTERED
COOKING VINYL