The Rudies - My Sweet Lord / Devil's Lead Soup - HSRSS-0044

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Reissue of the rare original Reggae killer single

by the legendary

THE RUDIES

“MY SWEET LORD”

/

“DEVIL’S LEAD SOUP”

7" VINYL 45 RPM

PRESALE ONLY - OFFICIAL RELEASE: October 16, 2026

Catalogue number: HSRSS-0044

ABOUT THIS RELEASE:

This 7‑inch single is the first reissue ever of the very rare 1971 instrumental Beatles’ cover by legendary group THE RUDIES “MY SWEET LORD” along with the absolutely terrific instrumental “DEVIL’S LEAD SOUP” on the flip.

The single was issued once in the UK in 1971 on very collectible SPINNING WHEEL label, a Trojan sublabel. Sadly, that is the last single ever recorded by the Rudies under that name.

This is the first ever reissue on 7‑inch vinyl since its 1971 release.

THE RUDIES

The RUDIES were, with the Cimarons, one of the most successful British Reggae bands in the U.K.  in the late 1960s… Founded by drummer Danny Bowen Smith, it comprised singer Alfred Peters aka Freddie Notes, keyboard player Sonny Binns, Errol Denver on the guitar and Trevor Ardley White on bass guitar.

They were very prolific and recorded many tracks undercover for British producers Joe Mansano, Robert Thomson (aka Dandy) and Joe Sinclair for the leading British labels Trojan, Pama and Melodisc.

Under their own name, The Rudies (aka Freddie Notes & The Rudies, Sonny Binns & The Rudies, Rico & The Rudies), recorded about 50 singles between 1968 and 1971, mostly for the Trojan sublabels and a few singles for the Fab and Pama labels such as the huge hit “Red Red Wine” with Tony Tribe. They also released three albums with Trojan at that time.

In 1970, The Rudies released a Reggae cover of “Montego Bay”, a huge pop song hit by American singer Bobby Bloom, that peaked at 34 in the U.K. charts.

Most importantly, The Rudies recorded many great collectible Boss tracks such as the very expensive “Brixton Rocket” on Fab, “Skaville To Rainbow city”, “7-11”,  “Shanghai”, “Guns Of Navarone”, “Rudexous”, “Near East”, “Go”, “Peace”, “Rocco”, “Jumping The Gun”, “Train To Vietnam”, “La Mer”, “Boss Sound”, the exceptional “Devil’s Lead Soup” and many more!

Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever and Freddie Notes started a solo career in 1971. He was replaced by Glenroy Oakley and the band was subsequently renamed THE GREYHOUND.

The new band had a handful of hits including the top 10 “Black And White in 1971. They folded in 1974, Sonny Binns went with THE CIMARONS whilst the others joined DANSAK.

But that’s another story…

A SIDE:

Title: "MY SWEET LORD"

Artist: THE RUDIES

Year: 1971

Genre: Early Reggae Instrumental

Written by George Harrison

This gorgeous organ instrumental track by the Rudies is in fact the stripped-down Reggae version of the eponymous song by George Harrisson.  This Harrisson track was very popular among Jamaican musicians who covered it several times (including a cool cover by Fitzroy Sterling on Pama) but in our humble opinion none reach the musical excellence of the Rudies’ instrumental… Beautiful track indeed.  It was released as the A side of the 1971 Spinning Wheel single.

B SIDE: 

Title: "DEVIL’S LEAD SOUP" - Artist: THE RUDIES

Year: 1971

Genre: Boss Reggae instrumental

 The strangely titled DEVIL’S LEAD SOUP track was released on the B side of the original 1971 Spinning Wheel single.  This exceptional track is one of the very best instrumental ever recorded by the Rudies, who recorded many great instrumentals indeed… Great riddim, gorgeous deep organ, it is instrumental Boss Reggae at its very best. A terrific must-have track!