The Who - Ready Steady Who EP

The Who - Ready Steady Who EP
Authored By John Nicholson

This was the band’s first ever EP released 11th November 1966. 

Side one

1"Disguises"

2."Circles"

Side Two

1."Batman"

2."Bucket 'T'"

3."Barbara Ann"

The record consists of two original songs by Pete Townshend, as well as covers of the theme from the Batman TV series and Jan and Dean's "Bucket T". Also included is a cover of The Regents' "Barbara Ann", a song made famous by the Beach Boys. 

The original EP credits the song "Batman" to Jan Berry, Don Altfeld (misspelled as "Altfield") and Fred Weider. The song was actually written by Neal Hefti.

An abridged version of My Generation was recorded for the EP, but was not included. This version was later included as a bonus track on the 1995 remaster of A Quick One. The main difference between this version and the original is that it is heavily abridged and instead of the hail of feedback which ends the original, the band play a chaotic rendition of Edward Elgar's "Land of Hope and Glory." 

The EP was released on 11 November 1966 exclusively in the United Kingdom in mono only. It reached number one on the British EP chart, a position it would hold for four non-consecutive weeks on 17 December 1966, and once again on 7 January 1967.

It’s worth pausing to reflect that the UK had a specific EP chart from the early to late 60s to accommodate the amount of Extended Plays that were released. Always in a picture sleeve, fans loved them as you got up to 10 or 12 minutes of music on them at a time when LPs were extensive.  

As the EP was not issued in the United States at the time, the tracks were long considered rare collectables. Although the tracks "Disguises" and "Bucket 'T'" saw a release on the 1968 compilation album Magic Bus: The Who on Tour, the remainder of the tracks would not see official US releases until the deluxe edition of A Quick One and Two's Missing.

"Bucket 'T'" was released as a single in several European countries. It fared well especially in Sweden, where it stayed on the charts for seven weeks, and peaked at number one for a week in February 1967.

An original copy released on Reaction ‎– 592 001 with a clean sleeve can sell for £40.00



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