The Hipster Image
One of Colin Coopers little known side projects was the The Hipster image.
Hipster Image was formed with Eric Lee a renowned keyboard player from the potteries area. Colin was 23 at the time and still working as a Metallurgist. All the other members of the band had other careers and day jobs including teachers, lecturers and of course metallurgy.
They played regularly at the iconic Northern Soul venue The Place in Stoke which was part of the Northern Soul scene along with Wigan Casino and Twisted Wheel in Manchester. Incidentally, The DJ at The Place would soon become Colin’s sister in law and the mother of Dominic Owen who would go on to produce and master Colin’s music.
They were described as a hot mod band of the mid-’60s discovered by Animals managers Mike Jeffries and, in their one single, produced by Alan Price, Hipster Image managed to become a major band on the London club scene without ever charting a record. They were already established around Keele University when the group got to put two soul numbers onto a sponsored flexidisc record issued at the university, which got them noticed by Jeffries and into a recording studio in London. Typical of Decca’s judgement, the B-side, “Make Her Mine,” was the better of the two songs and a popular club single. Their four surviving songs have since emerged on CD, and “Make Her Mine” is an acknowledged classic.
Alongside names like The Gass, The Quik, The Loose Ends, The Meddy Evils, The Richard Kent Style et al, The Hipster Image are legendary among mod/U.K. 60′s record collectors for not only the extreme financial value of their discs, but the great music contained within.
From Anorak Thing Blog
“Can’t Let Her Go” is a somber mod/jazz type record. The vocals are mellow and there’s so cool sax on the intro and the guitars/piano perfectly accent the lead singers double tracked phrasing . The vocalist on the bridge has one of the lowest baritone and reminds me of Mick Talbot! Lots of mod folks prefer the faster paced flip side, “Make Her Mine” because it’s far more uptempo and therefore much more dance floor friendly. Accented by a driving sax lick and some cool percussion (cowbell?) and a jazzy laid back style of vocal delivery. Either way it’s hard for me to pick a favorite as they’re both great tunes. Sadly The Hipster Image did not make another record.
Hipster Image tracks are regularly licensed to classic northern soul and mod compilations. Most recently released on the Mod 45′s vinyl box set along with The Birds, Small Faces, The Poets, The Eyes and The Quik.
