Follow The Bouncing Ball - Sillä lailla pallo pomppii

This was a tough song to get by - I mean the original version of course. Our old friends Jouko & Kosti recorded "Sillä lailla pallo pomppii" (That's the way the ball bounces) in 1971. It was the flip side of "Sisäinen kauneus" (see entry here), and was a modest hit for the boys. The original was recorded by another duo - Steve & Albert and was titled "Follow The Bouncing Ball". The song wasn't a hit and in fact I hadn't heard it until a couple of days ago. which is a shame, becouse the song is an irresistibly catchy pop piece. No wonder it caught the ear of some Finnish recording business people. The "Steve" was Steve Rowland and the "Albert" was Albert Hammond. Steve was an US actor and musician that found his way via Spain into UK in the 60's and ended up producing thirteen Top Ten hits for Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich. He also discovered Peter Frampton and The Herd, and with "Way Of Life" had UK Singles Chart hit with his own group, The Family Dogg, in which Albert was also a member. Steve and Albert had already been singing together in Spain and before Family Dogg they even tried as a duo. And that's when "Follow The Bouncing Ball" was recorded. In later years Albert Hammond made a very succesful career as a solo singer and songwriter. I guess we will meet him in the future Finnpicks ...

Here's the pair: