Complete 60s recordings by legendary British R&B band. Includes their three highly collectable albums and all single/EP releases. Features six tracks previously unissued on CD. One of the leading bands on the thriving London-based R&B scene of the mid-60s, Downliners Sect – led by the deerstalker-wearing Don Craine – were briefly stars in Scandinavia (their single ‘Little Egypt’ reached the Top Three in Sweden in April 1965) but somehow never quite achieved the global success of some of their Thames Delta contemporaries. The first-ever complete anthology of their work in the 60s (the original band would reform in 1977 at the height of punk), ‘Sect Maniacs’ is a three-CD clamshell box set that revolves around their trio of albums for EMI Columbia but also includes their various non-LP singles, two acetate-only early demos, the highly sought after private pressing EP ‘Nite At Gt. Newport Street’ and a trio of psychedelic blues-flavoured 1968 tracks that only appeared at the time in Sweden on obscure various artists jukebox EPs. Also included are six tracks making their first appearance on CD – a cancelled early 1964 EP and alternative versions of ‘All Night Worker’ and ‘Outside’ that were only issued at the time in Sweden. Sect Maniacs features a new essay on the band, some fabulous photos and remastered sound quality. It’s the definitive anthology of one of the mid-60s British R&B scene’s most engaging, uncompromising grassroots talents.
