Biography
In December 1962 the Scottish outfit later known as My Dear Watson assembled in Buckie, Banffshire, initially operating as Johnny And The Copycats. Under that earlier billing they entered the studio in 1963 to cut a buoyant interpretation of the Coasters’ ‘I’m A Hog For You’. Local promoter Albert Bonici, the Beatles’ Scottish agent, took the act—now billed simply as the Copy Cats—under his wing and established them as a major draw along the Moray Firth shoreline. Rather than base themselves in Glasgow or Edinburgh, the musicians relocated to London in 1967. There they adopted the name My Dear Watson and placed themselves in the hands of Easybeats principals George Young and Harry Vanda. The duo supervised two singles for Parlophone Records. The opening release, ‘The Shame Just Drained’, was a Vanda/Young composition, whereas the second, ‘Stop! Stop! There I’ll Be’, was penned by My Dear Watson frontman Johnny Stewart in deliberate homage to the Easybeats sound. Though the energetic single earned widespread artistic praise, it failed to register commercially. Before quitting Britain for work on the Continent, My Dear Watson appeared on the Easybeats’ 1968 album Vigil. Recording resumed in 1970 with ‘Have You Seen Your Saviour?’, a graceful country-rock number styled after the Flying Burrito Brothers; the track met with no commercial response, and the band dissolved shortly afterward.
Albums
