Interview with Barbara Harris, Lead Singer of The Toys

BAKER STREET | INTERVIEW

by Eric J Baker

A distinct pleasure of being obsessed with music: Falling in love with an album that should be considered a classic but has been overlooked. You get to feel superior because you are a finder of lost treasure… and outraged at everyone else’s foolishness and bad taste. We can admit that righteous indignation is kinda fun, can’t we? And if you want to see enough indignation to clear a room, ask me about The Toys’ one and only album from 1966.

The Toys, by height: June Montiero, Barbara Parritt, and Barbara Harris.

For lack of a more enlightened term, The Toys were a mid-1960s “girl group” comprised of June Montiero, Barbara Parritt, and lead vocalist Barbara Harris and are best known for the 1965 smash hit single, “A Lover’s Concerto.” The accompanying album is the Magical Mystery Tour of girl-group records, but more on that in a minute. First, we must discuss The Song.