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The Foundations
British soul band (1966–1970)
The Foundations were a British soul band primarily active between 1967 and 1970. The group's background was West Indian, White British, and Sri Lankan.
Their 1967 debut single "Baby Now That I've Found You" reached number one in the UK and Canada, and number eleven in the US. Their 1968 single "Build Me Up Buttercup" reached number two in the UK and number three on the US Billboard Hot 100.
The group was the first multi-racial group to have a number one hit in the UK in the 1960s.
The Foundations attracted much interest because of the size and structure of the group, with members of diverse ethnic backgrounds, ages, and musical backgrounds. The oldest member of the group (at 38) was Mike Elliott, and the youngest was Tim Harris, who at 18 was barely out of school. The West Indian horn section consisted of Jamaican-born Elliott and Pat Burke, both saxophonists, and Dominican-born Eric Allandale on trombone. They were all highly experienced musicians who came from professional jazz and rock-and-roll backgrounds.
The origins of the Foundations go back to an R&B and ska outfit called the Ramong Sound, aka Ramongs. The band had two lead singers, Raymond Morrison (aka Ramong Morrison) and Clem Curtis. Curtis had come to the group by way of his guitar-playing uncle, who was impressed by his nephew's voice and told him that there was a band called the Ramongs looking for singers. Curtis auditioned and joined the band, and rose from being a backing singer to sharing the lead with Raymond Morrison.
The Foundations were a British soul band, active from 1967 to 1970. The evolved out of a group called The Ramong Sound aka The Ramongs which was headed by Raymond Morrison. They were an eight man multi-racial group made up of three white Londoners, four West Indians and a Sri Lankan. For approximately one and a half months Arthur Brown was in the group. They were originally discovered by Ron Fairway and were briefly managed by Fairway and until Fairway was ousted leaving Class in charge.
They had a number 1 hit with their first release, "Baby, Now That I've Found You", They followed up with "Back On My Feet Again" which went to number 18 and "Any Old Time (You're Lonely Or Sad)" which got to number 48.
The original lead singer and another member, tenor sax player left in 1968. The Foundations had two more big hits with Curtis's replacement, lead
Also known as: A Foundations Production, Buttercup Foundation, Foundation, Foundations, Los Foundations
From Discogs (free to use). Their entry
Liner notes
The Foundations, the records, oldest first
From the Foundations
1967 album
Build Me Up Buttercup
1968 album
Digging The Foundations
1969 album
Records from MusicBrainz; covers from the Cover Art Archive.
"Build Me Up Buttercup" is a song written by Mike d'Abo and Tony Macaulay, and released by The Foundations in 1968 with Colin Young singing lead vocals. Young had replaced Clem Curtis during 1968, and this was the first Foundations hit on which he sang.
In popular culture
"Build Me Up Buttercup" is featured in the 1998 romantic comedy film There's Something About Mary, the pilot episode "Truth Be Told" from the first season of the ABC TV spy drama series Alias, and the episode "Art Imitates Art" from the fourth season of the CBS TV detective series Elementary. This song was played during the final scene of the second to last episode of Fuller House. The track also features in the 2020 film The Kissing Booth 2, as well as in a series of 2020–21 Geico commercials.
