PEGGY MOUNT The Singles Discography

January 1968 Here Comes Peggy b/w Nit Picking Nancy Cover star : Unknown Peggy's first flop single was taken from her debut album. Unusually for its 1960s release, it was housed in a luxury colour sleeve showing some Peg fans sunbathing at Blackpool during her summer Panto season there. The B side was written by Des O'Connor. Recorded at the album sessions, "Nancy" features a nifty paper and comb backing from The O'Connor Sisters (Des O'Connor and Kenneth Connor). The original, in mono on Decca, fetches around 20. Rarer still is a 1988 reissue on Decca in stereo which came with free Mexico 86 stickers. Expect to pay at least 40 if the stickers are intact!

April 1968 Everyone Wants To Panto b/w Go-Go Gooseberry Jam Cover star : Anna Karen A stomper from the debut album which turned out to be another flop for Peggy. This Decca single was to feature a photo of Reg Varney breaking eggs over his face while seated on a child's swing. The record label scrapped the idea and replaced it with an equally fetching shot of Reg's co-star from On the Buses Anna Karen AKA Olive. The flipside is a classic with Peg moaning about bus fares going up, whilst clearly swigging from a bottle of scotch. Norman Wisdom and Peggy co-wrote the B-side which was recorded at a special session with Reg Varney on drums, Norman W on piano and Hattie Jaques on bass. This is hard to find with the Olive cover these days as many copies were also issued in a standard Decca company sleeve. Olive ensures your copy is worth 20.

Dec 1968 Sing A Song For Carol/Black Forest Gateaux Song Cover star : Peggy Mount Peg's first double A side single was recorded especially for the seasonal market, but proved to be her biggest flop to date. A mint copy of this Decca single in mono can now fetch anything up to 300 ! Swapping her electric sound for acoustic guitars, this folk coupling is a lost gem. The cover photo was the same shot used on the second album "Peggy Sings" but this time featuring a close-up of Peg with the word "Jazz" written on her forehead in lipstick. Hattie Jaques returned on bass for the single and helped to write "Black Forest" while Varney was back on drums and Peg handled guitar duty. Norman Wisdom was mysteriously absent from the session.

Feb 1969 Let's Camp/Grandad's Hernia Cover star : Joan Hickson One of the all-time great lost pop singles. After a series of flops, Peg had just signed from Decca to Pye in a special arrangement which saw Peg overturn her future rights to the label in return for a year's supply of Devonshire clotted cream. "Let's Camp" was taken from the second album, while the B-side "Hernia" was recorded at the album sessions. A big contrast to her previous single where the acoustic guitars have been put away to make way for Hendrix-style blues/rock. Collectors should try to find a second pressing of this single on Pye which mistakenly features the first mix of the single and has Peggy's voice booming over every other instrument. Incidentally, that's cover star Joan Hickson on lead guitar on "Hernia".

May 1970 Aggie..I'm Bursting b/w Bye Bye Love Cover stars : Peggy Mount and Hugh Lloyd Peggy vanished from the face of the earth after releasing the "Peggy Sings" album. She was eventually tracked down to a B&B in Combe Martin, Devon where she had been secretly hiding out for no apparent reason. In the meantime, her record company Pye decided to release "Aggie" along with a bizarre acoustic jam of the Everly Brothers hit "Bye Bye Love" which was hastily recorded back at the sessions for Grandad's Hernia. This single proved a surprise hit for Ms. Mount, scraping in at number 28. Copies of this are fairly common at village fetes and boot sales around the 50p mark.

Aug 1971 Ted's Drill /Shoplifting Susan Peg moved to EMI because she didn't approve of "Bye Bye Love" being released without her permission. Her first record for the new label was an outstanding comeback single. This version of "Ted's Drill" is an awesome three minute pop re-working of the original, more epic album version with special guest Donald Pleasence on castanets. Although this was promoted as a double A side, most attention was paid to "Ted's Drill". Controversially, the original stereo single on EMI came in a plain company sleeve - making it the only UK Peg single not to feature a colour sleeve. Another boot sale / charity shop regular.

March 1972 Agnes Murray b/w Jumping Off A Bookcase Pt 1&2 (alt. b/w Agnes Murray - album version) Cover star : Les Dawson To help promote the "Peggy Meets" album, Peg re-recorded this classic album track. Virtually a solo recording, this version features radically different drumming from Reg Varney and lots of science fiction sound effects from producer Patrick McGoohan. The flip-side, written by McGoohan, was strangely split over both sides of the single. Part 1 is a nice David Bowie-style acoustic track. Turn over to side B, switch the speed to 33 and you got a 9 minute German oompah number. Unfortunately, Paddy and Peggy decided this was too confusing and withdrew the single after a week, replacing the B-side with the album version of "Agnes Murray". As a result, the original issue is worth 150 while Pegophiles should also look out for a cheaper version of the single released in Germany on the Kerfuffel label which normally goes for 30.

Feb 1973

Seriocomic b/w Bag Of Pegs

Cover star : Bernard Bresslaw Nearly a year after her last release, Peg had jumped ship to Parlophone to launch her fully fledged excursion into heavy psychedelia. The album in question - "And The Mounties" - was a revelation. The album was a studio marvel created in the most haphazard manner where drum tracks laid down with no regard to the actual song's timing while other songs featured enormous harmony vocals - deliberately changing pitch continuously. "Seriocomic" was and still is one of Peg's best loved singles. Recorded deliberately as a single with a manic back-beat and a sublime shared lead vocal from Syd Barrett, it was the obvious choice to kick off Peg's new direction. Peggy plays the Farfisa organ while Varney lays the beat with Fleetwood Mac' s John McVie on bass. Bernard Bresslaw makes a surprise appearance on backing vocals and guiro. The B side, another 33rpm experiment, is a long, slightly tedious, studio jam with Peg singing I got a bag-oPegs, it's attached to me legs, I'm a Peg Leg.. Look out for the different matrix numbers in the run out groove. 303-01 means you've got the slightly rarer second Parlophone pressing and you should expect to sell it for around 20.

Dec 1973

Caesar Romero b/w Sliding To The Tea Shop

Cover star : Caesar Romero Peg teamed up with ex-Byrd Gene Clark to write and record the two tracks here. They paved the way for the folk-rock sound Peggy later explored with the initial Bananas and Gange sessions with Ray Davies. "Tea Shop" was originally planned as the single but the response to "Caesar" from the John Peel session convinced Peg to rush release that as the single instead. Henry Fonda had a hand in some of the song-writing and produced both songs. A few collectable versions of the single exist. The original Parlophone pressing with a picture of Caesar Romero on the front now goes for 70. Due to a copyright row, the sleeve was later replaced with a shot of Peggy Mount posing as "The Joker" which itself is worth 25. Rarest of all is an export version which sold in South Africa and featured "Tea Shop" on the A-side. A mint copy of this would set you back 120.

March 1975

Portapeggy E.P.

1 Never Mind The Eccles Cakes (Here's Peggy Mount) / 2 Goulash Surprise 3 Sorting Through Other People's Rubbish / 4 Portapeggy Cover star : Peggy Mount Fresh from her disastrous Peel session and unfazed by the lack of record company interest in early 1975, Peggy managed to scrape together enough cash to release an E.P. "Portapeggy" was basically a collection of work in progress demos recorded solo at home for a new avant-garde folk album she was planning. These four songs were the only tracks recorded for the album before Peg scrapped the idea in favour of another Syd Barrett collaboration. Most copies of this single were melted down and turned into ashtrays by Boots when they decided to stop selling records in their stores in the late 80s. This has rendered a clean copy on the Mount Music label a prized rarity now valued in the region of 250.

Jan 1977

Peggy Surger/Rebel Peggy

Cover stars : Sid James & Hattie Jacques Peggy's late 70s label Contour was having second thoughts about Peggy when the "South Africa" album failed to sell. The label really did not want to be left with any more unwanted Peg product, but she convinced bosses to try a single. The 45 - a rare double A side - actually proved fairly popular with radio stations in places like the Irish Republic, Denmark and Iceland. To help promote the single, Peg managed to secure an appearance on the children's TV series "Magpie" and reluctantly played the track while being hit by custard pies. In typical 70s fashion, this came out as a purple vinyl release which Pegophiles will happily pay 100 for.

May 1978

Fly Trap Fanatic b/w A Pair Of Fluffy Slippers

Cover star : Jeff Lynne This single was recorded as a US only release with E.L.O. but disappeared without a trace upon its release. Peggy hooked up with Jeff Lynne after the bearded Brummie spotted her on the log flume at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. Lynne, a self-confessed Peg nut, offered two new E.L.O. songs for her to record but Peggy changed the titles and lyrics (the songs as recorded by E.L.O. are Sweet Talkin' Woman and Birmingham Blues.) Years later Peg would collaborate with the band again on a full album. This single was credited as "E.L.O. with Peggy Mount" and a mauve copy on the Jet label is now worth 160.

Jan 1982

I Kicked Her Flying b/w I Know Janet Street Porter

Cover star : Janet Street Porter "Flying" was Peg's first single in nearly four years and remains one of her finest two minutes. It is actually a live recording, captured in sound-check, from the same day as the "In Person" album was recorded. The flip-side (written by Ms. Porter) was also part of the set at the "In Person" concert, but left off the album. Peggy released this as her first single for RCA Camden in a picture sleeve with an extreme close-up of J.S.P. on the cover. As a popular single this is worth around 15 in mint condition. There's also a 1986 reissue on the Old Gold label which is only worth around 3.

Sep 1987

Dirty Wellies b/w Caesar Romero in Reverse

Cover star : Paul Daniels Peg did little music in the mid 80s but returned in 1987 with a glam rock image. This lead off single fared badly in most countries although it did sell well in Germany - the home of Euro rock. Peg went on Blue Peter to promote this single and even managed to get a bit part in Grange Hill as the school cook. "Dirty Wellies" is a blatant rip-off on "Get It On" by T-Rex but it still sounds pretty darn good with it's "I got mud, I got mud" refrain. The flip, "Caesar Romero In Reverse" is just that - the original record simply played backwards with a few added snippets of Romero as "The Joker" in Batman added to poor effect. "Wellies" was released on the budget Ronco label as a 7". It also became Peg's only 12" single, sporting a 9 minute mix of the A-side. Currently valued at 25 by Pegophiles if complete with its horrific Paul Daniels sleeve.

Sep 1992 Cheap Chat Woman EP 1 Cheap Chat Woman / 2 Bread And Butter 3 Veg. Soup And Roll / 4 Scone Mix Cover star : June Brown The first single taken from "A Fistful of Peggy". A bit of a comeback for Peg, heralded by the heavy rockabilly sound. The three b-sides are all Mount/Eno tunes from the album sessions. They didn't make it onto the final album because Peggy felt it was in danger of becoming a 'food concept album'. Of interest is an Italian pressing which had Bread and Butter as the A-side on the "Bella" label which will set you back 40.

May 1993 Faggots EP 1 Faggots ! 2 I Remember Rummage Sales 3 Jumpers "Faggots" was the single from the aborted collaboration with former Pixies front man Black Francis. The original plan was to record a complete album, tentatively titled "Whoops, There Go Me Trousers !". However, it soon became obvious that the LP would never happen due to constant fist-fights between the pair in the recording studio. Things came to a head when Peggy tied Francis to a chair with a roll of sellotape. While Peggy handled bass duties, Black Francis played guitar and Reg Varney was back after a long absence on drums. Produced by David Soul. This was Peg's second single for the Ronco offshoot label "Kagoul". Two UK editions of this single exist. Lionel Blair withdrew his agreement to be the cover star when he saw the finished sleeve. A few hundred had already hit the shops and are now worth around 60 with the Lionel sleeve. The remaining copies were sent out in a new sleeve with Peggy mimicking Lionel's pose. These can still be found at 7.

May 1993 Ddiolch 'ch Achos 'r Beroriaeth EP 1 Ddiolch 'ch Achos 'r Beroriaeth (Thank You For The Music) 2 Mull Chan Kintyre (Mull Of Kintyre) 3 Ddiolch 'ch achos yn bod chyfaill (Thank You For Being A Friend) 4 Gwisga t chria ata Argentina (Don't Cry For Me Argentina) This EP of cover versions, all sung in very poor Welsh, includes a breathtakingly ugly version of the Golden Girls theme-tune. It was recorded in collaboration with Diana Ross when Peggy hooked up with her at a railway station cafe in the Snowdonia region of North Wales and performed an impromptu acoustic gig. Thankfully, the cafe owner was there to record it on the shop's ageing radio-cassette machine - even if he did have to tape over his old Five Star album in the process. Later released as a limited edition of 200 white vinyl copies on Kagoul (80), it originally came free as a flexi-disc with the "This Is Snowdonia" tourist magazine, now worth 10.

Jun 1993

Imagiopeg / Hello Sailor ! (live)

Cover star : Rod Hull Classic psychedelic rock song from Peggy, played at an almost perverted breakneck speed. The distinctive backing vocals were apparently recorded as Peg lay in a bath full of cold baked beans. This single was another UK only release, sold exclusively at her gigs by the fan club. This single has been bootlegged but the original can be identified by the inscription "world scone mad" in the run-off. One of the most sought after releases - this single features the 4 track demo version of "Imagiopeg" - recorded at the sessions for her album "Peggy Monroe Heaven". The B-side was taken from a gig at Hull Mechanics Club. "Imagiopeg" on the Rough Trade label currently changes hands for 70.

Oct 1995

Last Night I Was Sick Over Bobby Davro

Cover star : Davro One of Peg's rarest releases. This was a one-sided radio promo 7 in a colour sleeve featuring the great man himself. When radio stations politely declined to playlist the song from the Surfer album her label at the time (Rough Trade) decided against releasing it as an official single. They also scrapped plans for any other singles from the album, blaming Peggy for it's lack of promotion due to the diva refusing to make an appearance on This Morning with Richard & Judy, miming the song on Fred's weather map. The fact that you'll need 90 to buy a copy of this promo goes to show how scarce it is. Even rarer is a short run of the promo single in a blue wash sleeve, rather than the yellow. This only ever seems to come up for sale in Monaco.

July 1999 Tricksters EP 1 Tricksters 2 No More Hairspray Anymore 3 Have You Swiped My Reward Card, Sandra? 4 The Jigsaw Song 5 Here Goes Peggy (Again) Cover star : Molly Sugden This 7" EP was issued on Pickwick. The sleeve design originally had a lovely snapshot of Peg stroking a giraffe but the record label wanted a return to her cover stars instead. "Tricksters" was the first single from the album "Fried Onion Rings Forever" - produced by Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly while the B-sides were laid down in one afternoon, direct to mono by the old trio of Peg, Norm and Reg with Paul Heiny back at the controls! The B-sides were mixed fairly badly - by Shakin' Stevens. One of Peg's most common singles pay no more than 4.

May 2000

Knee Deep In Dungarees / Seaside Rain

Cover star : Val Lehman Voted by fans as Peggy's finest double A-side, this wonderful pop single was recorded at the end of the "Onion Rings Forever" tour. It was written by Peg and Rainbow's Geoffrey Hayes in various soundchecks, assisted by large portions of flapjack and copious amounts of pasteurised milk. The lyric on the A side recalled Geoff's early days in the children's TV show, while Peg gave a charming account of walking around Scarborough gift shops in the pouring rain on the flipside. The single was recorded at a special session by David Ogden Stiers (M*A*S*H*) and also features Paul Shane on drums and vocals and Peg's old panto pal Christopher Lillicrap on guitar and vocals. Another Pickwick single, the most sought-after versions came with a free "Peggy Mount 1976 Annual and retail for 35 as a set.

April 2001 Carry On...I'm Not Fussed EP 1 Carry On...I'm Not Fussed 2 Theme From Hi-De-Hi 3 Theme From Rentaghost Cover star : Peter Butterworth A taster for Peg's final studio album "Safeways, Here We Come", this includes two hilarious B sides. Both were recorded as sessions for the album came to a close. Peg and guest vocalist Morrissey apparently recorded their parts for the "Rentaghost" cover version while watching repeats of "All Creatures Great And Small" on UK Gold. Incidentally, that's old pal Paul Shane doing lead vocals on the "Hi-De-Hi" track. The single came out as a 7" on Decca in both a plain early 60s-style company sleeve (5) and the rarer colour sleeve (17).

February 2002 Lovely Llama b/w I Saw John Craven In Telford Cover star : Buster "Lovely Llama was released on Decca as a tribute to Peggy who'd been recording new songs at soundchecks during her final tour in 2001. Llama was one of the catchiest pop songs she'd ever written, featuring Paul Shane on drums, Peggy on vocals and organ, Christopher Lillicrap on guitar and on bass. The standard Decca issue is still worth 10 while a more limited Scandinavian pressing exists on 12" complete with an extra track No Brown Sauce In Luxembourg (Hep Records, 20). Llama and the b-side John Craven were co-written by Lillicrap and recorded at Haven Holiday Park in Cleethorpes.

August 2002

Tee-Hee, Kiki Dee b/w Pastry Days / They Do It With Mothballs

Cover star : John Nettles The final, posthumous, single release on Decca, Kiki Dee had Eurovision classic written all over it. This track and its two B sides were also soundcheck recordings, made at Peggy's last gig at Llangollen Town Hall. The wonderful Floella Benjamin sings joint lead vocals on Kiki Dee with a backing band that featured a mini Treasure Hunt reunion with Anneka Rice on bass, Kenneth Kendall on guitar and Wincey Willis on tambourine. Geoffrey Hayes is back on keyboards, while old friend Mark Curry adds synth bass to Paul Shane's hectic backbeat. Pastry Days was written by Peg and Ray Davies and could have formed part of a new musical with the same name, celebrating TV cooks pre-1988. David Hasselhoff dropped by on electric guitar to guest on his composition Mothballs. The single was released on silver vinyl in the UK and regularly changes hands on eBay for 12-15. Most collectors will want to track down a German edition of the single on the Schlager Lout label. This version, worth 30, features Mothballs as the lead track (co-crediting Hasselhoff) and a different sleeve featuring the same Sue Pollard shot used for Peggy's live album Lard.