For as long as people have collected Joe Meek — the maverick English producer responsible for some of the most far-sighted recordings of the early-mid 1960s — people have dreamed of the Tea Chest Tapes.


They were aptly named because, following Meek’s death on February 3, 1967, a tea chest is where his archive was stored. Lots of tea chests, in fact. Purchased for 300 pounds by Cliff Cooper, it was estimated that, therein, some 4,000 hours of music were spread over some 1,850 tapes.
Beyond that simple fact, however, nothing more was known. Tapes upon tapes upon tapes were known to have been cleared out of the apartment/studio where Meek lived and worked, but what were they? And who were they by?

The catalog of artists with whom Meek worked was vast. The roll call of musicians and bands that passed through his studio for a try-out, but with whom he chose not to work, is even vaster. If legend be believed, the cream of British '70s rock all took early steps in at Meek’s Holloway Road lair… according to some, even The Beatles tried out for him. Marc Bolan and David Bowie, too. But even if they didn't, Meek's catalog is fascinating enough in its released form. Peeling back the layers of that, alone, would be sufficient.



• the first extensive cd box set from joe meek’s tea chest tapes!
• 5Cds showcasing joe’s protégé, heinz
• Over 100 (yes, one hundred) previously unreleased recordings!
• Album, singles, sessions and outtakes, demos, unreleased songs and more.
• Sleevenotes by thunderbolt magazine editor rob bradford
• Restored and mastered by alan wilson and martin nichols at western star studios.



Following the release of a series of limited edition 10” eps, this is the first extensive cd box set showcasing joe meek’s legendary tea chest tapes. After his tenure in the hugely successful tornados, heinz was selected for solo stardom by joe meek, who invested more studio time and song writing effort in him than he did in any of his other artists. Backed by the producer’s crack team of session musicians, and recording material often penned by meek, geoff goddard or dave adams, heinz and his famous bleached blond quiff were propelled into the mid-1960s pop scene, scoring a series of hits and near misses along the way.


This 5cd set brings together an extraordinary wealth of album and single tracks, session recordings, instrumentals and backing tracks, alternate versions and demos, and even an interview and a live rehearsal recording, all taken from the legendary tape archive and carefully restored and compiled for your listening pleasure. Heard in remarkable sonic clarity, and at their original speed (where the released versions were often sped up), the material collected on ‘the white tornado’ sheds new light on both heinz himself and the songcraft and production genius that went into his career.


It really is no exaggeration to say meek was several years ahead of many large commercial studios in terms of the sheer power and recording quality heard throughout. Featuring sleevenotes by the late rob bradford (editor of the joe meek society’s thunderbolt magazine) and curator richard anderson, alongside previously unseen imagery and tape box photographs, this lavish set is a must hear, not only for fans of heinz and joe meek but for anybody with an interest in the history of british pop music and the fine art of studiocraft.


Track listing:


disc one tribute to eddie + versions 1 tribute to eddie 2 hush-a-bye baby 3 (sorry) i ran all the way home 4 summertime blues 5 don;t keep picking on me 6 cut across shorty 7 three steps to heaven 8 come on and dance 9 twenty flight rock 10 look for a star 11 my dreams 12 i remember 13 rumble in the night 14 just like eddie 15 tribute to eddie (original speed (no harmonica)) 16 hush-a-bye baby (guitar and vocal session) 17 (sorry) i ran all the way home (vocal session compilation) 18 summertime blues (original speed) 19 don;t keep picking on me (original speed (no bvs)) 20 cut across shorty (original speed) 21 three steps to heaven (original speed) 22 come on and dance (original speed) 23 twenty flight rock (original speed) 24 look for a star (vocal session) 25 my dreams (original speed) 26 rumble in the night (original speed (no bvs)) 27 just like eddie (guitar takes 3/4)



disc two tribute to eddie sessions 1 tribute to eddie (demo) 2 tribute to eddie (backing with guide) 3 tribute to eddie (backing take 13) 4 hush-a-bye baby (backing session + guide) 5 (sorry) i ran all the way home (backing take 5) 6 (sorry) i ran all the way home (vocal session) 7 (sorry) i ran all the way home (acapella fragment) 8 summertime blues (backing take 2) 9 dont keep picking on me (demo) 10 don;t keep picking on me (demo fragment) 11 don;t keep picking on me (backing take 2) 12 cut across shorty (backing track take 6) 13 cut across shorty (original speed (no sax/piano)) 14 come on and dance (no bvs) 15 look for a star (no bvs) 16 my dreams (backing session) 17 my dreams (vocal session take 3) 18 i remember (backing take 2) 19 rumble in the night (backing at original speed) 20 just like eddie (demo) 21 just like eddie (backing take 4 with guide) 22 bring me buddy holly (demo) 23 live medley rehearsal (take 2)



disc three the singles pt 1 1 interview 2 dreams do come true 3 been invited to a party (early rough mix) 4 don;t you knock at my door (master) 5 i get up in the morning (original speed) 6 talkin; like a man (original speed) 7 that lucky old sun (+ session intro) 8 lonely river 9 live it up (original speed) 10 don;t you understand (alternate vocal) 11 country boy 12 long tall jack 13 you were there (original speed) 14 no matter what they say (backing take 3) 15 please little girl 16 for loving me this way 17 questions i can;t answer 18 the beating of my heart 19 digging my potatoes (original speed) 20 she ain;t coming back 21 end of the world (piano take 11) 22 you make me feel so good (pre-overdubs) 23 heart full of sorrow 24 dont worry baby (original speed alt. Mix) 25 don;t think twice, it;s alright 26 big fat spider (guitar takes 2/3) 27 movin; in (original speed) 28 i;m not a bad guy (guitar take 3)


disc four the singles pt 2 1 dreams do come true (backing session) 2 dreams do come true (no orchestra/alternate bvs) 3 i get up in the morning (vocal take 4) 4 talkin' like a man (vocal take 2) 5 that lucky old sun (take 6) 6 lonely river (backing take 4) 7 live it up (vocal take 1) 8 country boy (backing take 6) 9 long tall jack (backing take 2) 10 you were there (backing take 2) 11 you were there (vocal take 3) 12 please little girl (backing and early vocal) 13 for loving me this way (backing take 7 with guide) 14 questions i can;t answer (backing take 10) 15 the beating of my heart (rehearsal) 16 the beating of my heart (original speed) 17 digging my potatoes backing take 3) 18 she ain;t coming back (original speed) 19 you make me feel so good (backing take 3) 20 heart full of sorrow (backing take 4) 21 don;t worry baby (writing session) 22 dont worry baby (backing take 2 with guide) 23 dont think twice, it;s alright (backing take 4) 24 big fat spider (backing take 11) 25 movin; in (backing take 1) 26 movin in (guitar and bvs take 7) 27 i;m not a bad guy (backing take 5)

disc five demos and curios 1 been invited to a party (demo) 2 don;t worry baby (demo) 3 for loving me this way (demo) 4 heart full of sorrow (demo) 5 the beating of my heart (writing/demo session) 6 you make me feel so good (demo 1) 7 you make me feel so good (demo 2) 8 you were there (demo) 9 big fat spider (demo) 10 fever (demo) 11 live it up (demo) 12 lonely river (demo) 13 long tall jack (demo) 14 no matter what they say (demo fragment) 15 come on let;s go (vocal take 5) 16 forget me not (vocal take 8) 17 easy to dream (backing) 18 easy to dream (take 3) 19 big johnny rhythm (backing take 11) 20 johnny my johnny 21 little ship (backing take 7) 22 little ship (guitar take 31) 23 i got a woman (take 4) 24 oh little one (take 3) 25 tell me 26 voices on the wind (take 7)


cherry red records. Casing sealed but with small dent on the bottom. Another ducoso collectable.