The Fair Sect Plus One: I Love How You Love Me (1967)

Occasionally at the Herald, when I had written something about a Sixties rock band in New Zealand or a story about clubs of that era, one of the subs Trevor would come over for a chat. He was a man of few words most of the time but in these instances he'd have some wry observation or tightly delivered anecdote which made it clear he had been there at the time.

Once, in passing in some article I mentioned the Fair Sect, an all-woman band who had played in Auckland clubs like the Galaxie and Tabla. I had never seen them but can vividly recall the time and place when I first heard their striking version of I Love How You Love Me.

It was probably the bagpipes that got me.

Trevor came over and said, "I was the Plus One."

I had no idea what he was talking about but he explained the Fair Sect had added "Plus One" to their name when they got in a male drummer. He was that man.

I was impressed and we chatted about that until he got bored by it.

I had no reason to doubt him, and in a way still don't. But my best information subsequently unearthed was that the Plus One had been Ian McIntosh who was recruited when singer/drummer Norma Stacey (who played standing up like Maurice Greer and Mo Tucker) needed to get out front.

They had any number of line-up changes -- which means Trevor might have sat in -- and lasted longer than I thought. I had them down for a couple of singles but their full story is told here.

But this sultry and slightly dramatic but romantic single is pure killer the whole way --recording drummer Ian McIntosh’s brother-in-law Davy Bryan on the pipes -- and they do great credit to this song in a version which was originally a dreamy Phil Spector production for the Paris Sisters in '61.

It was probably the bagpipes that got me. 

For more oddities, one-offs or songs with an interesting backstory and check the massive back-catalogue at From the Vaults.