The Townsmen - Funny How Love Can Be - 1966 Canada Garage Rock RARE 7" 45

The Townsmen - Funny How Love Can Be 45 b/w Heaven I The Middle Of Town

7" 45
Regency Records/Phonodisc
ORIGINAL Canadian pressing on REGENCY Records
CAT# R-970

name written on label ( see our actual pic)


Record is VG++ very light scuffs only ( listen)
Original Cover VG+


Side A

Funny How Love Can Be



Side B

Heaven I The Middle Of Town



After The Esquires had run their course, guitarist Andy Legault and drummer Paul Huot were looking to put together a new act, and got in touch with members of The Darnels, a dance band toiling away on the Ottawa circuit. It was a collective invitation, and frontman Frank Morrison, guitarist David Milliken, and bassist Wayne Leslie all hopped on board.

Settling on the name The Townsmen, they rehearsed for several months, and then took a gig at a local hot spot called The Coral Reef, playing a mix of Esquires tunes, covers of popular American and British hits, and mixing in some of their own original material. The engagement lasted for five solid weeks and while there, Sandy Gardner, former manager of The Esquires and The Staccatos (which evolved into 5 Man Electrical Band) was invited to come see them play. He agreed to manage them, and shortly after that he landed them a deal with Regency Records.

Their first single was one of several tunes written specifically for them by The Staccatos' Les Emmerson and Vern Craig. "I'm Such a Dreamer" was backed by a cover of The Sorrows' 1965 hit "Take A Heart." The single was released in '66 in the middle of a string of shows opening for The Staccatos on some Ontario dates. Setting a standard for multi-part harmonies with a British flavour, the single peaked at #18 on the chart, getting significant airplay in several markets across the country.

A cross-Canada tour ensued, where they opened for the likes of The McCoys, The Young Rascals, and Gary Lewis & The Playboys, and by year's end a second single, "Funny How Love Can Be" b/w "Heaven In The Middle of Town" followed into the top 20.