Tages (commonly referred to as Don't Turn Your Back) is the first seven-inch extended play by Swedish rock group Tages, a release which features four songs, two of which showcase the early songwriting talent of the band. It was initially released on 4 June 1965 in 1000 copies on Platina Records.[1]
During the spring of 1965, Tages had become one of the biggest groups in Sweden, having released two singles that both reached the top-five on Kvällstoppen and Tio i Topp.[2][3] However, the group had received criticism for these releases; the first of which "Sleep Little Girl", was negatively received while the other one "I Should Be Glad" was considered too lightweight.[4] Additionally, the group's label Platina Records did not have a designated studio, instead, these singles had been recorded at a youth center and at Metronome Studios respectively.[5] These facilities were not equipped with the necessary equipment for proper recording, which, combined with the fact that the group never used a producer who they liked resulted in an inferior sound than they were looking for.[4]
This changed around April 1965 however. Platina signed a contract with EMI Records which lent them their studio on Sandhamnsgatan in Gärdet, Stockholm.[4] This led to Tages booking studio time during their first tour in Stockholm in early May 1965.[6] They had been working on several compositions, while also starting experimenting with other instruments. Rhythm guitarist Danne Larsson had been learning the piano and as a result, he was played the organ on a few of the EP's tracks.[7] The group entered the studio on 4 May to record "Forget Him", while the following session held during the night between 5–6 May produced such songs as "Don't Turn Your Back", "Donna" and "Hound Dog".[8] Two of these tracks, "Forget Him" and "Don't Turn Your Back" were original compositions, while the other two were covers.[8]
The first songs released from these sessions came in the form of a single, where the songs "Don't Turn Your Back" and "Hound Dog" were used as an A- and B-side respectively. This, their third single, was released around a week after recording on 14 May,[8] reaching number two on both Kvällstoppen and Tio i Topp.[2][3] The popularity of the group was now a sealed fact and the group had begun to process requests for summer performances,[9] becoming the most requested band during that summer.[10] To capitalize this success and to tease the public on about what was going to happen during the summer, Platina Records decided to release the EP on 4 June 1965.[4] It proved to be the final release by the band produced by Rune Wallebom; they met Anders Henriksson during their summer tour, upon which he would produce the rest of their material.[4] The EP features lead vocals from four members of the group.
↑ 2.02.1Hallberg, Eric (1993). Eric Hallberg presenterar Kvällstoppen i P 3: Sveriges radios topplista över veckans 20 mest sålda skivor 10. 7. 1962 - 19. 8. 1975. Drift Musik. ISBN978-9163021404.
↑ 3.03.1Hallberg, Eric; Henningsson, Ulf (1998). Eric Hallberg, Ulf Henningsson presenterar Tio i topp med de utslagna på försök: 1961 - 74. Premium. ISBN919727125X.
