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The Foundations was a British Soul band, active from 1967 to 1970. BIOGRAPHY The group, made up of West Indians , Caucasians , and a Sri Lanka n, is best known for their two biggest hits, " Baby, Now That I've Found You " (a Number One written by Tony MacCaulay and Mike McCleod, Hit in the UK Singles Chart , and subsequently Top 10 in the U.S. ); and " Build Me Up Buttercup " (a chart topper in the Billboard Hot 100 ), co-written by MacCaulay with Michael D'Abo , at the time the lead vocalist with Manfred Mann . The make up of the group drew much interest and intrigue due to the size and structure of the group. Not only was there a diverse ethnic mix in the group but there was also diversity in ages and musical backgrounds. Here was a mix of youth and experience. The oldest member of the group was Mike Elliott who was 38 years old. The youngest was Tim Harris who at 18 was barely out of school. The Horn section that consisted of Mike Eliott, Eric Allendale , Pat Burke were all highly experienced musicians who came from professional Jazz and rock n roll backgrounds. Alan Warner the guitarist was also an experienced musican for his age, having played with numerous semi pro groups since age 16. Their origins are somewhat confusing and various different sources give slightly different accounts of their beginnings. One version is that they were originally called The Ramong Sound and there were two lead singers, Clem Curtis and Arthur Brown . Another is that they were called The Foundation Squad or Foundation Sound. Apparently Arthur Brown was only a temporary member and by the time The Foundations had signed to Pye Records he had left the group. They are also notable for being one of the few label acts to successfully imitate what became known as the Motown Sound . In terms of line-up and musical style, they anticipated the sound of the more successful Hot Chocolate . Although they were in a similar musical vein to the Love Affair who also topped the UK charts in 1968 with their version of Robert Knight 's "Everlasting Love". The Foundations signed to Pye, at the time one of only four big UK Record Companies (the others being EMI with its HMV , Columbia Records , and Parlophone labels; Decca ; and Philips who also owned Fontana ). Original vocalist Clem Curtis left in 1968 and moved to the U.S. for a Solo career on the Club circuit, encouraged by the likes of Wilson Pickett and Sam And Dave , playing Las Vegas with the Righteous Brothers . He was replaced by Colin Young. Mike Elliott the saxaphonist left around this time as well. The group's final hit was the less pop-oriented, more sophisticated "Born To Live and Born To Die". They split in 1970. Peter Macbeth the bass player left to join the group Bubastis with Bernie Living. A replacement for him was Steve Bingham. A while later Alan Warner left to form the progressive group Pluto . When Curtis returned to the UK , he formed a new version of the group with little success on record, but a lucrative spell on the 1960s nostalgia circuit. In fact, Curtis' re-formed Foundations have on several occasions re-recorded their old hits, but without Colin Young's distinctive voice. Although their later Pye hits were re-issued on stereo albums, surprisingly "Baby, Now That I've Found You" and "Build Me Up Buttercup", only appeared in mono or mono electronically created stereo. However, within the last ten years, genuine stereo versions of both tracks have appeared, but surprisingly the stereo version of "Baby, Now that I've Found You" actually features a very rare Colin Young vocal. "Build Me Up Buttercup" became a hit again in 1998 when it was featured in the ending credits of the Comedy Film , '' There's Something About Mary ''. The group's original recordings are now owned by Sanctuary Records , though it is said that the sound quality on 'Buttercup,' unlike the other hits, is quite poor sounding like a dub from the original single. PERSONNEL
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