"Lazy Life" versions: William E. and Quentin E. Klopjaeger (ZA)

[Andreas Eibach]

Hi there,

I need a real specialist here.
From the start.

1969 was a good year for the Australian band Heart'N'Soul, who scored a big
hit with "Lazy Life".
Written by Gordon Haskell and AFAIK first released in 1967 by an obscure UK
(??) artist called "Willeam E"

-----------------------------------------
http://www.45cat.com/record/56181
-----------------------------------------

South African artist Billy Forrest (aka "Quentin E Klopjaeger") did a cover
of this, see here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001EU346C/ref=dm_dp_adp61?ie=UTF8&qid=1277158414&sr=1-56
and here:
http://www.poparchives.com.au/52/heart-n-soul/lazy-life

But who was this William E?
This youtube video author:

claims to know that William E was ANOTHER alias used by Billy Forrest.
I strongly doubt this, because their voices differ by miles.

So who was this "William E" really?

Plus, why would an alleged South African artist release under a UK Polydor
label?!

That must be a different person.
Thanks in advance for any insights.

Andreas

[BobbyM]

Post by Andreas Eibach
Hi there,
I need a real specialist here.
From the start.
1969 was a good year for the Australian band Heart'N'Soul, who scored a
big hit with "Lazy Life".
Written by Gordon Haskell and AFAIK first released in 1967 by an obscure
UK (??) artist called "Willeam E"
-----------------------------------------
http://www.45cat.com/record/56181
-----------------------------------------
South African artist Billy Forrest (aka "Quentin E Klopjaeger") did a
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001EU346C/ref=dm_dp_adp61?ie=UTF8&qid=1277158414&sr=1-56
http://www.poparchives.com.au/52/heart-n-soul/lazy-life
But who was this William E?
http://youtu.be/eWDAPFU19GI
claims to know that William E was ANOTHER alias used by Billy Forrest.
I strongly doubt this, because their voices differ by miles.
So who was this "William E" really?
Plus, why would an alleged South African artist release under a UK Polydor
label?!
That must be a different person.
Thanks in advance for any insights.
Andreas

Andreas, I think all the evidence is there in the links you've provided that
Billy Forrest & William E. are the same guy. Reportedly he was known as the
"Jonathan King of South Africa," meaning he recorded under a lot of aliases.
He had a number of releases on Polydor & he used the William E. name
occasionally through at least1972).

As best as I can trace the history of "Lazy Life"
-- written by Gordon Haskell of the UK band Fleur de Lys but apparently not
recorded.
-- Billy Forrest hears the song while on a trip to London. Forrest was a
friend of South African singer, Sharon Tandy, who was residing in England at
the time & she was often backed by Fleur De Lys.
-- Billy Forrest produces the recording of the song by the South African
band, The Gonks. However, after the backing track is recorded, the band
decided it didn't fit their image & abandons the song.
-- Forrest records vocals & releases the song as by "Quenin E. Klopjaeger &
the Gonks". Later South African releases will only credit "Quenin E.
Klopjaeger". I don't know the release date, but it didn't peak in South
Africa until June 1968 when it reached #1.
-- "Lazy Life" is released in the UK as by William E; I can't confirm if
it's the same recording as above or not. The best I can approximate the
release date is Jun-Aug'67 as Normie Rowe's single "But I Know/Sunshine
Secret" was the previous Polydor release & it was released in Rowe's native
Australia in June.

This link was mentioned in one of your references but didn't work. I'm
familiar with the site so found the link easily. Andreas, it's well worth
reading as it's about The Gonks & several members of the band talk about the
"Lazy Life" recording with Billy Forrest. Go here to read the article &
comments by the band members:
<http://www.garagehangover.com/?q=Gonks>

And, I'll stop with this one - from Radio London's website:
<http://www.radiolondon.co.uk/kneesflashes/happenings/julyaugsept09/julyaugsept02.html>

(quote from website)
'Lazy Life' (written by Gordon Haskell) was released in Australia in 1969 by
Heart & Soul on Festival FK 2949, along with an EP of the same title, on
Festival FX 11620. Neither is thought to have seen a UK release.

The version played on Caroline was a 1967 release by South African William
E – born William Charles Boardman. He also recorded under numerous names,
including Quentin E. Klopjaeger, Billy Forrest and The Dream Merchants.
'Lazy Life' appears to have been released in South Africa under the Quentin
E. Klopjaeger name, as were covers of 'Dandy' and '98.6'.

Pirate Radio Hall of Fame has more than one recording confirming that the
track, credited to William E, was played on Caroline South. Tom Edwards,
sitting in for Johnnie Walker on the 9-midnight show played it on 11th
August 1967. No chart placing is given in either recording, and there's no
evidence of the track having been picked as a Sure Shot. (The chart covering
that date currently in the Stonewashed Collection is incomplete.) Jon Myer
believes that as the two Carolines had similar playlists at that time, 'Lazy
Life' was likely to have been heard on both stations.
(end quote from website)

[Andreas Eibach]

Post by BobbyM
Andreas, I think all the evidence is there in the links you've provided
that Billy Forrest & William E. are the same guy. Reportedly he was known
as the "Jonathan King of South Africa," meaning he recorded under a lot of
aliases. He had a number of releases on Polydor & he used the William E.
name occasionally through at least1972).
As best as I can trace the history of "Lazy Life"
-- written by Gordon Haskell of the UK band Fleur de Lys but apparently
not recorded.
-- Billy Forrest hears the song while on a trip to London. Forrest was a
friend of South African singer, Sharon Tandy, who was residing in England
at the time & she was often backed by Fleur De Lys.
-- Billy Forrest produces the recording of the song by the South African
band, The Gonks. However, after the backing track is recorded, the band
decided it didn't fit their image & abandons the song.
-- Forrest records vocals & releases the song as by "Quenin E. Klopjaeger
& the Gonks". Later South African releases will only credit "Quenin E.
Klopjaeger". I don't know the release date, but it didn't peak in South
Africa until June 1968 when it reached #1.
-- "Lazy Life" is released in the UK as by William E; I can't confirm if
it's the same recording as above or not. The best I can approximate the
release date is Jun-Aug'67 as Normie Rowe's single "But I Know/Sunshine
Secret" was the previous Polydor release & it was released in Rowe's
native Australia in June.
This link was mentioned in one of your references but didn't work. I'm
familiar with the site so found the link easily. Andreas, it's well worth
reading as it's about The Gonks & several members of the band talk about
the "Lazy Life" recording with Billy Forrest. Go here to read the article
<http://www.garagehangover.com/?q=Gonks>
<http://www.radiolondon.co.uk/kneesflashes/happenings/julyaugsept09/julyaugsept02.html>
(quote from website)
'Lazy Life' (written by Gordon Haskell) was released in Australia in 1969
by Heart & Soul on Festival FK 2949, along with an EP of the same title,
on Festival FX 11620. Neither is thought to have seen a UK release.
The version played on Caroline was a 1967 release by South African William
E – born William Charles Boardman. He also recorded under numerous names,
including Quentin E. Klopjaeger, Billy Forrest and The Dream Merchants.
'Lazy Life' appears to have been released in South Africa under the
Quentin E. Klopjaeger name, as were covers of 'Dandy' and '98.6'.
Pirate Radio Hall of Fame has more than one recording confirming that the
track, credited to William E, was played on Caroline South. Tom Edwards,
sitting in for Johnnie Walker on the 9-midnight show played it on 11th
August 1967. No chart placing is given in either recording, and there's no
evidence of the track having been picked as a Sure Shot. (The chart
covering that date currently in the Stonewashed Collection is incomplete.)
Jon Myer believes that as the two Carolines had similar playlists at that
time, 'Lazy Life' was likely to have been heard on both stations.
(end quote from website)

Billy,

thank you VERY much for your elaborate answer. I really did not expect it in
this detail.
It always proves that the good guys are still in this group, they just hide
away until a non-nonsense post comes up here ;-)

Well, you'll be able to hear yourself, since I will prepare two samples now:

William E version: [FULL file!! - this file is available nowhere, so the
collectors might read this and grab this too, I'm almost sure :P]
http://www.4shared.com/audio/VhTiuvEq/William_E_-_Lazy_Life__1967_ul.html

Quentin E Klopjaeger version (this is a 1min clip, in respect to Amazon,
where it's still available for buying, unlike the former version)
http://www.4shared.com/audio/ncaiVnox/Quentin_E_KlopjaegerSOUTH_AFRI.html

That's by far not the same voices, is it?!

-Andreas

[BobbyM]

Post by Andreas Eibach

Post by BobbyM
Andreas, I think all the evidence is there in the links you've provided
that Billy Forrest & William E. are the same guy. Reportedly he was
known as the "Jonathan King of South Africa," meaning he recorded under a
lot of aliases. He had a number of releases on Polydor & he used the
William E. name occasionally through at least1972).
As best as I can trace the history of "Lazy Life"
-- written by Gordon Haskell of the UK band Fleur de Lys but apparently
not recorded.
-- Billy Forrest hears the song while on a trip to London. Forrest was a
friend of South African singer, Sharon Tandy, who was residing in England
at the time & she was often backed by Fleur De Lys.
-- Billy Forrest produces the recording of the song by the South African
band, The Gonks. However, after the backing track is recorded, the band
decided it didn't fit their image & abandons the song.
-- Forrest records vocals & releases the song as by "Quenin E. Klopjaeger
& the Gonks". Later South African releases will only credit "Quenin E.
Klopjaeger". I don't know the release date, but it didn't peak in South
Africa until June 1968 when it reached #1.
-- "Lazy Life" is released in the UK as by William E; I can't confirm if
it's the same recording as above or not. The best I can approximate the
release date is Jun-Aug'67 as Normie Rowe's single "But I Know/Sunshine
Secret" was the previous Polydor release & it was released in Rowe's
native Australia in June.
This link was mentioned in one of your references but didn't work. I'm
familiar with the site so found the link easily. Andreas, it's well
worth reading as it's about The Gonks & several members of the band talk
about the "Lazy Life" recording with Billy Forrest. Go here to read the
<http://www.garagehangover.com/?q=Gonks>
<http://www.radiolondon.co.uk/kneesflashes/happenings/julyaugsept09/julyaugsept02.html>
(quote from website)
'Lazy Life' (written by Gordon Haskell) was released in Australia in 1969
by Heart & Soul on Festival FK 2949, along with an EP of the same title,
on Festival FX 11620. Neither is thought to have seen a UK release.
The version played on Caroline was a 1967 release by South African
William E – born William Charles Boardman. He also recorded under
numerous names, including Quentin E. Klopjaeger, Billy Forrest and The
Dream Merchants. 'Lazy Life' appears to have been released in South
Africa under the Quentin E. Klopjaeger name, as were covers of 'Dandy'
and '98.6'.
Pirate Radio Hall of Fame has more than one recording confirming that the
track, credited to William E, was played on Caroline South. Tom Edwards,
sitting in for Johnnie Walker on the 9-midnight show played it on 11th
August 1967. No chart placing is given in either recording, and there's
no evidence of the track having been picked as a Sure Shot. (The chart
covering that date currently in the Stonewashed Collection is
incomplete.) Jon Myer believes that as the two Carolines had similar
playlists at that time, 'Lazy Life' was likely to have been heard on both
stations.
(end quote from website)

Billy,
thank you VERY much for your elaborate answer. I really did not expect it
in this detail.
It always proves that the good guys are still in this group, they just
hide away until a non-nonsense post comes up here ;-)
William E version: [FULL file!! - this file is available nowhere, so the
collectors might read this and grab this too, I'm almost sure :P]
http://www.4shared.com/audio/VhTiuvEq/William_E_-_Lazy_Life__1967_ul.html
Quentin E Klopjaeger version (this is a 1min clip, in respect to Amazon,
where it's still available for buying, unlike the former version)
http://www.4shared.com/audio/ncaiVnox/Quentin_E_KlopjaegerSOUTH_AFRI.html
That's by far not the same voices, is it?!
-Andreas

Andreas, it's definitely the same vocalist on both cuts. And from what I've
compared, I believe they may be the same version, only one is mixed with
more bass than the other. It's really difficult to tell with the full
version of one & only a minute of the other. It would probably be easier to
compare the two if I could listen to the bridge & ending of both.