Acid Jazz’s RARE MOD series is a collection of vinyl EPs, compilation albums and books that shines a light on the forgotten side of the British mod scene. Unheard masters, never viewed photos, dusty acetates and incisive prose; this series is a veritable treasure trove for collectors of all things mod.

The success of the RARE MOD series has surpassed all expectations with more and more gems being unearthed.

One such album is Live ’65 from Kenny Bernard & The Wranglers, which is an extraordinary historical document that turned up at a car boot sale a couple of years back.

The office phone rang one winter afternoon. On the line was broadcaster Mark Lamarr – obsessive record collector and all round good guy. “I’ve turned up an extremely rare acetate… a white label of Kenny Bernard at The Ad Lib Club – would be perfect for a RARE MOD special release…” Cue a frantic scramble to acquire the acetate from the record dealer (here, RARE MOD curator and collector Damian Jones stepped in) – we tracked down Kenny, living up in East Anglia, who revealed an amazing tale, and one that certainly needs repeating.

Childhood friend of Bill Wyman, bandleader to a young David Bowie (he played sax for the Wranglers at half a dozen mid sixties gigs) and one of a handful of black-British soul singers working the mod circuit, Trinidad born but South London raised Kenny was initially amazed we had located the acetate. An early manager stole the recordings and was never seen again. He gladly gave his consent for RARE MOD to release this timeless gem, recorded at The Ad Lib in Leicester Square some time in late 1965.