Commentary

“Groovin’ with Mr. Bloe” was originally written by Bo Gentry, Paul Naumann and Kenny Laguna. It was first released as the B-side of Wind’s 1969 single “Make Believe”, and reissued under the band name Cool Heat in August 1970, after it’s success in Britain. According to Wikipedia, the B-side of the single was played on BBC radio by mistake, and was heard by Stephen James of Dick James Music. Wanting to release the song as a single in the UK, but able to obtain the rights, DJM decided to re-record the song with session musicians (using “Mr. Bloe” as the band name).

Released in March 1970, the re-recorded single was in the UK top 50 for 18 weeks, entering at #37 on 9 May 1970. It reached a peak of #2 on 27 June.

The Fall’s cover of “Groovin’ with Mr. Bloe” was recorded on 19 February 2003 at the BBC’s Maida Vale 4 studio for a John Peel session transmitted on 13 March 2003. The producer was Louise Kattenhorn, and the engineer was Mike Walter. Apart from Mark E. Smith the group at the time were Dave Milner (drums), Eleni Poulou (keyboards), Ben Pritchard (guitar), and Jim Watts (bass). It’s a short rendition, and runs straight into “Green Eyed Loco-Man“, with which it was often paired live.

The first documented live performance of the song is on 29 September 2003, at Centro Cultural de Belem, Lisbon, Portugal. Its final outing seems to have been on 3 September 2004, at Maria am Ostbanhof, Berlin (according to the gig setlist). The Track Record counts 13 performances.

Sources / Links

• Mackay, Tommy (2018). 40 Odd Years of The Fall. Place of publication unknown: Greg Moodie.
• Official Charts: Groovin’ With Mr. Bloe
• Pringle, Steve (2022). You Must Get Them All: The Fall on Record. [paperback edition]. Pontefract: Route Publishing Ltd. [Online store]
• The Track Record: “Groovin’ with Mr. Bloe”
• Wikipedia: Mr. Bloe