The songwriting/production team of Phil Coulter and Bill Martin pumped out a whole bunch of songs for the Bay City Rollers, many of which sounded like early ’60s fodder for American teen idols (“Summerlove Sensation,” “Remember (Sha La La La La)” “Shang a Lang” and the biggie, “Saturday Night”).  One of these that’s managed to get stuck in my head since the mid-seventies is “Give It to Me Now,” with its “shim-sham-sham-a-ram” chorus. The Rollers’ version, which appeared on their 1974 debut LP Rollin’, is a steamy, slowed down take of a 1973 UK hit (#38) by Irishman Tony Kenny, billed simply as “Kenny,” who was a squealing David Essex lookalike/Suzi Quatro soundalike. The B-side to Kenny’s single was, coincidentally, a song called “Rollin’,” which the Rollers never recorded. Producer Micky Most oversaw the Kenny records, all written by Coulter and Martin.

After “Give It to Me Now,” Kenny would wash his hands of the affair, but a new group formerly known as Chuff, with Rick Driscoll on lead vocals, would step in as the new “Kenny” and record a handful of additional charting hits. One of these was a UK #3 called “The Bump,” which the Bay City Rollers also recorded as a B-side for their 1974 hit “All of Me Loves All of You.”

Kenny – “Give It to Me Now” (1973)

Bay City Rollers – “Give It to Me Now” (1974)

Kenny – “The Bump” (1973)

Bay City Rollers – “The Bump” (1974)