The Flying Machine was a British pop band who are perhaps best-known for their 1969 American #5 hit, "Smile a Little Smile for Me" (and is not to be confused with the American band of a similar name, The Flying Machine, with James Taylor). The Flying Machine first rose out of the ashes of British band Pinkerton's Assorted Colours. Pinkerton's (as they were often known, for short) had scored a major UK hit with "Mirror Mirror" in 1966 and continued recording over the next few years. However, by 1969, singer/guitarist Tony Newman, singer/autoharpist/original frontman Sam Kempe,[1] and bassist Stuart Colman from Pinkerton's had teamed up with lead guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Wilkinson to form a new iteration of the group and, with Newman now assuming lead vocal/frontman duties, took the name The Flying Machine. They are best known for their major hit single in 1969, "Smile a Little Smile For Me", which peaked at number 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart (on Kapp Records' Congress record label) Their first record which was self-titled was released by Janus Records in 1969. By 12 December that year they had sold a million copies of the record, and it was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. The song was written by Tony Macaulay and Geoff Stephens. Despite originating from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, the record had no presence at all on the UK Singles Chart, despite its initial release there on Pye Records. A follow-up single, a cover version of "Baby Make It Soon", first recorded by Marmalade, achieved the U.S. Hot 100 the following year, but the group reportedly grew frustrated with their pop-oriented style. A final single, "The Devil Has Possession Of Your Mind", suggested a change of direction, but the Flying Machine split up following its release. Bassist Colman went on to a successful career as a session musician, record producer and BBC Radio disc jockey. Footage is from "The Phantom Planet" (1961) (source Wikipedia)

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