“Give It to Me Now” (1973) – Kenny * Written and produced by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter * UK 45: “Give It to Me Now” / “Rollin'” (RAK)
The songwriting and production team of Phil Coulter and Bill Martin pumped out a whole bevy of songs for the Bay City Rollers. Many of these sounded like early ’60s fodder for American teen idols, e.g., “Summerlove Sensation,” “Remember (Sha La La La La),” “Shang a Lang,” and the biggie, “Saturday Night.” Coulter and Martin’s “Give It to Me Now,” with its “shim-sham-sham-a-ram” chorus, showed up in a steamy, slowed-down version on the Rollers’ 1974 debut LP Rollin’. Irishman Tom Kenny (“Kenny”), who had a face like David Essex and a voice like Suzi Quatro, recorded it first, though, as a 1973 A-side. The B-side, coincidentally, contained a song called “Rollin’,” which the Bay City Rollers never recorded. After “Give It to Me Now,” Kenny moved on with his life, but a new group formerly known as Chuff, with Rick Driscoll on lead vocals, stepped in as the new “Kenny” and recorded a handful of additional charting hits. One of these was a UK #3 called “The Bump,” which the Rollers also recorded as a B-side for their 1974 hit “All of Me Loves All of You.”