In a whirl, see a girl with a smile in her eyes (Manfred Mann)

The 1966 Yardbirds (Keith Relf is
at the back second from right) 

The previous post reminded me of another great pop single that had a couple of killer versions that I could never tell apart.

Ha! Ha! Said The Clown was a hit for Manfred Mann in 1966 (reached #4 in the UK hit parade).

And then there's The Yardbirds version, except it's not The Yardbirds from 1967. Confused?

For some bizarre reason lead singer Keith Relf and a bunch of session musicians (but billed as The Yardbirds) decided to record a copy cat version of the song a year later! I wonder why? It's certainly not their style of blues drenched guitar wig out. It's quite a stoopid song really - all about a girl the singer likes but it turns out she's married to the clown (which is presumably why he's laughing).

Whatever the reason it wasn't as successful as the Manfred Mann one but it is the version I have on a single.

I do have a soft spot for Manfred Mann, however, because Klaus Voormann replaced Jack Bruce on bass. Yeh Klaus!!