Reaction: Circles & "The Cat"

THE WHO SUBSTITUTE - CIRCLES - INSTANT PARTY exists as a Decca Contract press, so as we're really tired of seeing misinformation, here we'll explain the mess. First myth to explode: INSTANT PARTY and CIRCLES (on Reaction) are the exact same song. Instant Party was retitled mysteriously in error or to hide it, maybe music historians know. We know the vinyl story. The song that plays CIRCLES was issued on Reaction and then as Decca had a DIFFERENT VERSION they then released theirs on the B of 'A Legal Matter', similarly mistitling it 'Instant Party'. The Brunswick issue is just one version so on to the REACTION Releases. Maybe Reaction renamed it when Brunswick issued their version? Reaction issued 4 March 1966, Brunswick issued 7 March 1966. There is the earlier confusing & unlikely Feb 1966 unissued "Circles"/"Instant Party" on Brunswick 05951 that can not exist as both are the same song, unless it was a typo meaning another track was intended instead. We have been told by someone quoting what can be found online elsewhere the 2002 re-release of "My Generation" contains the allegedly intended B-side to the cancelled "IP"/"C" Brunswick, a jokey throwaway out-take randomly titled likely decades later "Instant Party Mixture" just to put a spin on unknown history. You hear the song, no way a conservative Record Company would release such a track on a 45 or ever knowingly master such a track in 1965. It's hardly the image the Who wanted to publicly release either, be it a fun track today. No way, no how, no where. Well we don't publish guesswork, we were interested in stating the several versions on vinyl, the story of the song & the legal aggro is easily found in many other places & we aren't interested in that aspect here. Until someone turns up a vinyl test press demo of that cancelled Brunswick, we care nothing for the guesswork or apparent after-the-fact creations of others! This is the same nonsense that has us writing this stuff in the first place! Self-appointed "Experts" are responsible for so much misinformation, look at our Contract Pressings pages for why. The RAREST one is the one with the actual WORD printed "CIRCLES" on the B side. It plays the song we know as Circles. we're not yet sure if it was the FIRST but to be confirmed or not though stamper codes (sorry..) would perhaps define it. This rarely turns up & makes £50-100+. Why it got Decca Contracts as did the other 2 makes little sense beyond little care being taken to keep the title consistent. Other non Circles-labeled copies are still £25 if Mint, but £10 will buy a respectable one. As an aside, this classic 45 is one of the most often found with writing or damage on the label, for a big hit finding a clean label is not easy. The next versions appear from seeing equally as many of the Decca Contract Pressings, ignore the WITHDRAWN note you may find in RC temporarily withdrawn means Nothing. The Second version is the one titled INSTANT PARTY which plays the song Circles. The 3rd version is the strangely titled 'The Who Orchestra' with "Waltz For a Pig" a pretty mediocre instrumental out-take type filler track actually by the Graham Bond Organisation. If you want to see ALL 12 variants of this 45, there may be other Contracts, here they are as we've seen & found 1] CIRCLES: Polydor dark blue; Decca dark blue, Decca Dark Blue test press Solid Centre; Decca light blue. 2] INSTANT PARTY: Polydor dark blue; Polydor Light Blue, Decca dark blue, Decca light blue. 3] WALTZ: Polydor dark blue; Polydor Light Blue, Decca dark blue, Decca light blue. Immediate cashed in with the Fleur De Lys covering 'Circles' & calling it the right title, just to get buyers asking for 'Circles' in record shops, unaware of the artist after hearing it somewhere. ANOTHER REACTION "CAT" MYSTERY... This will be known to readers of Record Collector in the early-mid 1980s where a certain record shop offered a fortune (in those days) for the 60s stuff that is now big £££ but was still pretty unknown. There was always one, CAT Run Run Run on Reaction that we could never find any info about. BUT IT DOES ACTUALLY "EXIST"!!! Because we had it & sold it! The story is a very early Rock & Roll Shop in NW1 that now runs a CD company used to be run by an Irish guy who recorded in a Pye label group in 1964 who later developed a USA mid Atlantic accent from his R&R interests. He had this acetate & obviously played it to wind up the BEAT collectors and he never told them the real label details. He would likely have said in his Rockabilly twang "Oh it's by some CAT on REACTION" on being asked who it was. A "Cat" being a term for a Guy in Rockabilly parlance. The song was the Who's LP track so the title was known. Now come the time the Shop closed down, the vinegary guy running it wasn't too into the records so we got it pretty cheap together with loads of other acetates inc Boz "Make Love" on Emidisc, his best track, Teatime Four, duff name but early Boz, Maze unreleaseds & other 60s goodies. The acetate was on ADVISION green on white & there was a matching B side track too. The artist credited was... PAUL DEAN aka Paul Nicholas. No group name but he was "the CAT on REACTION" under the OSCAR name too as well as the Paul Dean one. The music? It was the Who track, but a little disappointingly pop styled version & done without much feeling, unlike the Who cut, which must have come first surely? No producer is credited, Advision is used by Polydor group labels & it was likely produced by the same as the Paul Dean issued 45 which is not a great 45. The potential B side acetate was some forgettable pop nothing. It actually sold to a regular at the time who remembers the owner winding him up about it all the time, never saying who it was & never offfering to sell at any price, so he was likely a little pleased to close the deal. If we can find the old list from somewhere, we'll add a scan in. This is the only source of the knowledge of this alleged CAT on REACTION record confirmed by the one who bought it from us, otherwise what you end up believing are totally baseless rumours get added to the truth in a story that needs telling properly. Interestingly the YouTube Who version actually still misquotes this CAT info & a 2003 forum asks about it is all you'll find online until our page.