S.O.D. "Handbags and Gladrags" by Chris Farlowe

6/22/2016     What kind of skeletons are hiding in the closet?  Part of the story behind this song brings that phrase to life.  Mike d'Abo, at that time the lead singer for Manfred Man, wrote the 1967 British R&B/blue-eyed soul tune that has had right around 25 versions recorded. This includes Rod Stewart, The Stereophonics, Manfred Mann, Mike d'Abo, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the hard rock/metal group Waysted, and a bunch more.  

     Musician, composer, bandleader and broadcaster George Webley created the three different timed versions that would be the theme for the television series, The Office.  One version is instrumental and the two vocal pieces feature Waysted lead singer Fin Muir.   Unfortunately, George passed on to Music Heaven in 2011.  

     So about the closet part.  In 2004 the original demo tape of d'Abo's original version was found in a closet belonging to Mo Foster.  Foster is a musician, composer and author who somehow ended up with unreleased material from the 60s and 70s composed by d'Abo.  These compositions were released a bit later, entitled "Missing Gems and Treasured Friends."  

     Basically the story in the song is telling a teenage girl that there is more to life then being trendy. That there are much deeper values.  We'll go with Farlowe's version since he was the first to record it. The version with Rod Stewart teaming up with the Stereophonics is also worth a listen.