The “Golden Hits Of The 70s” 

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EDISON LIGHTHOUSE

LOVE GROWS (WHERE MY ROSEMARY GOES)

(Tony Macaulay, Barry Mason)

Bell 858

No. 5   March 28, 1970

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“I never figured on being a musician,’ said Tony Bur­rows, lead singer for Edison Lighthouse, the Brother­

hood of Man, and three other One-Hit Wonders–the man who fronted more One-Hit Wonder acts than

anyone.  In an exclusive interview, Burrows says, “I just fell into music.  I was old enough to do National

Ser­vice in the Army.  I was 16; which I did with David “Roger” Greenaway, John “Roger” Cook [both halves

of DAVID & JONATHAN fame], Jeff Williams [and Roger Maggs, who dropped out of the group in ’63].  We

were all in the same ranks; all knew each other from school days and we just got together in the army and

[begin­ning in 1958] started singing as a vocal group.  We entered a couple of talent contests, in which we

won.  We got on television; all while in the army.  And it all developed from there.  It was never a conscious

deci­sion….“

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Tony (b. April 14, 1942, Exeter, England), Jeff, and the two Rogers recorded for Donegal and Pye as the

Kesters; there were no major hits.  One of their publicly passed-over sides was the Beatles’ “There’s a

Place,’ a tune Burrows claims was given to them by the Fab Four.  “We toured with the Beatles in England

till about ’65.  It was the most extraordinary time; the likes not seen before or since.  We’d go on directly

before them on the bill and it wasn’t a good place to be, ’cause they were all waiting for the Beatles.. . . It

was a great time to be alive; all was absolutely mad…. That time is locked in my memory…”

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With the break up of the Kestrels in the mid-’60s, Burrows recorded a solo LP as Tony Bond (ala James

Bond, which due to problems with the producer was withheld from release until 1965) and soon after

joined the Ivy League.  The League’s back-up for touring was the Jaybirds, later relabeled TEN YEARS

AFTER.  Later, as a member of the psychedelic Flowerpot Men, Burrows had a British hit in 1967 with

“Let’s Go to San Francisco.”  Flowerpot follow-ups failed to suffi­ciently freak people.  With a decade of

barrooms and ballrooms behind him, Tony called it quits and returned to what promised to be a sedate life

with his wife and daughter.  But writer/producer Tony Macaulay–composer of the FLYING MACHINE’s

“Smile a Little Smile for Me” and the Fifth Dimensions'”(Last Night) I Didn’t Get to Sleep Alone”-needed a

session singer to bring to life a bubblegummy tune called “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes),’ so he

approached Burrows.

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“Love Grows” was dashed off in 40 minutes in his London apartment, with Macaulay playing guitar, said

co-author Barry Mason-creator of “Delilah,” “Here It Comes, Again,” “Kiss Me Goodbye”–to liner-note

writer Gordon Pogoda.

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“Love Grows” and the Edison Lighthouse name were on the charts, Macaulay faced the same problem that

had plagued every packager of studio groups:  finding a band that would tour under the moniker for the

label.  After auditioning 35 or more acts, Macaulay settled on guitarist Ray Dorsey (b. Feb. 22, 1949,

Berkshire), guitarist Stuart Edwards (b. May 18, 1949, Kent), bassist David Taylor (b. Oct. 7, 1950, High

Wycombe), and drummer George Weyman (b. May 18, 1949, Kent).  Together, these musicians had been

appearing as the Greenfield Hammer.  A few more Edison Lighthouse 45s were issued, but after the mild

success of “It’s Up to You Petula” (#72, 1971), the Edi­son Lighthouse name was retired; Dorsey and the rest

of his crew reverted to being Greenfield.

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For Tony Burrows, Edison Lighthouse was only one of many such studio-created groups for which he pro

­vided the lead voice.  Tony worked with the Brother­hood of Man (“United We Stand”), WHITE PLAINS

(“My Baby Loves Lovin”‘), and the PIPKINS (“Gimme Dat Ding”) for their 1970 hits.

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“Things got especially confusing this one night, when I went on ‘Top of the Pops’ as three of the groups.

With ‘Top of the Pops,’ if you had a hit, they’d contact the record companies and say ‘Can I have you on the

show?’  So, I got three invites this one week.  Now, they weren’t aware that I was actually singing lead on

three different group records that were on the charts at the same time…. Between each song, I’d change

clothes right there off to the side of the set.  After the program, the producer came over to me and said,

‘Tony, the word has come from above that you are not to be used any­ more.’  I said, ‘What are you talking

about?’  He said, ‘The word is that people are going to think that this is a con.’  Quite honestly, I released

some solo records after that–this hurt–and I couldn’t get a play on the BBC for two years.  This was

frustrating.  It was never as bla­tant as ‘We ban you; you’re not to be used, ever,’ but records with my name

didn’t appear to be getting played.”

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Macaulay was so impressed with Burrows’ vocal abilities and at the singer’s insistence that he signed him

to a solo contract with Bell Records.  Two years’ worth of 45s issued under Tony’s own name did so poorly

that in 1974, Burrows returned to working sessions.  His only Billboard Stateside charting as Tony

Burrows, “Melanie Makes Me Smile,” peaked at number 87 in 1970.

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“I finally got to record one solo album, as Tony Bur­rows, but it was never released.  That was about the

time that the BBC was blackballing me.  It was finished, but it has yet to see the light of day.  The Lost Tony

Burrows Album, I would love to see that freed, someday.”

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As a member of the FIRST CLASS, yet another pseudo-group of studio players, Burrows mounted the

charts for a final Stateside time when the Beach Boys-esque “Beach Baby” nearly topped the Billboard pop

charts, in 1974.

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“Not as White Plains, Edison Lighthouse, or any other ’70s group have I ever toured the United States.

… I would have liked to.  Fact, I never toured England with any of those groups.  At times I’ve felt bad,

partic­ularly with Edison Lighthouse, because that decision to tour or not was taken away from me.  ‘Love

Grows’ was suppose to be a solo record–my record–but the pro­ducer and writer Tony Macaulay was

coming off a bad experience with a solo artist. … I agreed only to do tele­vision appearances, but never work

live with a band.  And he agreed.  And made it a group record.  That one bites at me, a bit.”

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Three other Lighthouse 45s were issued in the U.S.; none charted though it is noteworthy to mention that

for 15 years, Burrows never knew of the existence of his act’s immediate follow-up, “She Works in a

Woman’s Way.” “Ehh, you learn something new every day,” he said to his informant, Goldmine’s Guy Aoki.

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The seemingly tireless Tony Burrows continued to do demos for Vanity Fair and PAPER LACE and session

work for artists like Elton John, Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, Alan Price, Cliff Richard, Chris

Sped­ding, and KIKI DEE.  Tony’s voice is also heard on the ini­tial “I’ Like to Teach the World to Sing”

Coca Cola commercial.

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Of note, the accompanying female voices on “Love Grows” were those of the recording act Sue & Sunny,

(a.k.a. Sandra Stevens and Heather Winkland), the girls likewise revisited and heard on the Brotherhood

of Man’s “United We Stand.”

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‘I’m still at it, writing, producing, and singing com­mercials and doing voice-overs,” said Burrows.  I do

have a band [more so than not called Fraud Squad] that’s name keeps a-changing; though there is talk of

putting it together as White Plains.  I’m not sure, I may be a little too long in the tooth for it.”