The Ugly Ones
A song with a long shelf life, "The Ugly Ones" is a slightly oblique number. Its comedic elements can distract from the serious subject matter, the way in which commercialism and media concern themselves only with glamour and beauty, and thereby set the standards by which society is supposed to measure itself, and the value of individual people. The 1979 re-make has Roy Bailey singing, and more complex guitar timings, but the 1992 recording has Leon restored to lead vocal.
"He grapples and gropes and growls about our dwarfish sexual revolution and pleads for the second largest group of oppressed people in the country - 'What shall we do with the ugly ones. The ones with nothing to sell.'" - Adrian Mitchell (1966 sleevenotes)
Recordings
Version 1 (1966)
Version 2 (1970)
Version 3 (1975)
Version 4 (1979) With Roy Bailey on vocals and Martin Carthy on guitar. (Leon does not perform)
Version 5 (1992)
Version 2 (1970)
Version 3 (1975)
Version 4 (1979) With Roy Bailey on vocals and Martin Carthy on guitar. (Leon does not perform)
- If I Knew Who The Enemy Was
- What You Do With What You've Got Roy Bailey album
Version 5 (1992)