Back in 1980 someone tipped me about a great record shop in Hartford, Connecticut called Capitol Record Shop. The shop was about 55 miles from my home, but the store was so good I used to make a weekly run up there to buy all the latest imports and 60’s re-issues. This place was a dream for a record freak like myself.

One day I was looking at the 60’s re-issues, I think I was looking at an Easybeats album when one of the clerks noticed and came over and asked me if I ever heard The Creation? I had never heard of them at the time, so he insisted I buy this UK bootleg of them called “If I Stay Too Long” which had a really cool day-glow color photo of the band on the cover. Well as soon as my needle touched the wax I was hooked, wow this group was incredible, kinda like the best of The Who, Kinks and The Move rolled into one. 

The next week I told the clerk I loved it and he turned me on to a whole new bunch of bands via a cassette he made for me, The Birds, The Eyes, The Action, The Misunderstood etc. I then bought the first 2 volumes of the then pricey ($20 a copy) “Chocolate Soup For Diabetics”, again a life changing experience. Around this time I first heard The Game from a song called “Help Me, Mummy’s Gone” on a low-fi compilation “Electric Sugar Cube Flashbacks.” This song was incredible, it was similar to The Creation but even more primitive. I had to have a copy of it so I wrote a bunch of shops in London in search of the thing. I finally found a copy for 25 pounds and bought it immediately. 

The record showed up with “Help Me, Mummy’s Gone” on the B‑side and a mysterious number called “The Addicted Man” on the A‑side. This track turned out to be another dynamite mod pop art slasher about some cat addicted to smack. “Help Me, Mummy’s Gone” sounded much better on the original 45, it sounds like The Creation being played in a nocturnal netherworld. Big fat power chords, amps feeding back and a pounding beat. The lyrics are extremely weird, they seem to be about some kid whose mother splits the home with a guy from down the road. During the 80’s the song was covered by Liverpool cavemen The Walking Seeds.

I later tracked down all 4 Game 45’s and “Help Me, Mummy’s Gone” turned up on the flipside of another monster Parlophone 45 called “It’s Shocking What They Call Me.” I later found out that “The Addicted Man” man release was cancelled due to the song’s negative review on UK show “Jukebox Jury”, it turned out the reviewer did not appreciate the song’s rather salty subject matter. I have seen recently that “The Addicted Man” issue now goes for over 500 UK pounds. Luckily there is a fine Game re-issue floating about called “It’s Shocking What They Call Us” which I recommend highly. 

Sadly The Game issued only the 4 singles, with 3 of the 4 being absolute classics!!!!