The Blue Men

The Blue Men were a short-lived group that got the billing on one of producer Joe Meek's strangest recordings, the I Hear a New World album, which simulated the sound of extraterrestrial life with then-futuristic special effects and campy music. They grew out of a skiffle group, the West Five, and were contributing musicians on I Hear a New World, which owed more to Meek's eccentric vision than the musicians' performances. Nonetheless, when the I Hear a New World, Pt. 1 EP came out in 1960, it was credited to the Blue Men. Very few copies of this four-song release were issued, and the rest of the songs that would have comprised the I Hear a New World LP were not put out, although everything that would have been on it (including the four songs from the EP) finally emerged on the I Hear a New World CD in the '90s. The Blue Men also served as the backing group on a 1960 single by Peter Jay & the Blue Men, "Just Too Late"/"Friendship," and released another Meek-produced single in 1960 under the name Rodd, Ken & the Cavaliers.
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