Daytime (Hedgehoppers Anonymous)

19 SEPTEMBER 1966


English band Hedgehoppers Anonymous' fourth single 'Daytime' was released in August 1966. It never charted, unlike 'Good News Week', their debut from 1965 which had peaked at #5 in the UK. That proved to be their only hit.

The band had formed while the five members were working as RAF ground crew, and the name 'Hedgehoppers' was taken from the 'V' bombers that were famous for flying low to avoid radar detection. The Anonymous part came because they were still RAF personnel and had not received proper authority to record their first release. 

There were at least five different versions of 'Daytime' released in 1966. The original appears to have been from French band Les 5 Gentlemen's 'Dis-Nous Dylan' (poking fun at Dylan and Donovan). They also released an Italian version ('Dimme Dylan'). There was heavier cover by The Darwin's Theory, and this one from Hedgehoppers Anonymous, both of which had the rewritten lyrics. Les 5 Gentlemen then used the Hedgehopper's English lyrics for their own English-language cover.

This song wasn't too bad, with fuzz guitar and psychedelic undertones, but only made it as a minor hit in Scandinavia. Much like the protagonist in the song, struggling to get his way with a woman - 'She just takes me halfway there/ I tried and tried and tired/ I didn't get anywhere', the Hedgehoppers career didn't get anywhere and after one more failed release they disbanded at the start of 1967.

Daytime (Hedgehoppers Anonymous)