The illustrated Hello: Mary Wilson, Di and Flo

For some reason, Betty didn't get a greeting when the Beloved greeted The Surpemes. Or Barbara.

They were once called the much-less alluring Primettes. First they became The Supremes, and then - Berry Gordy decided his girlfriend was the most supreme of the Suremes, and the became Diana Ross and The Supremes. Primus inter pares.

They still hold the American record for 'most successful vocal act in terms of number one singles', which is quite specific but still quite impressive, although the ease with which acts can get to number one these days means it's probably only going to be a few weeks before Tom Cruise's daughter and Billy Graham's niece get together, throwtogether a baker's dozen of autotuned downloads and change history.

Still, The Supremes, eh? Brilliant:



The Supremes by Bad Dreams Fancy Dress. Oh... the actual Supremes?



[Buy: The Supremes: A Saga of Motown Dreams, Success, and Betrayal by Mark Ribowsky
Meet The Supremes


[Part of The Illustrated Hello, the feature that would never end]

Bookmarks: Some stuff to read on the internet: El Records

Whoever would have thought there'd be a picture of Bad Dream Fancy Dress in the broadsheets today? It's alongside Rob Fitzpatrick's hymn to El Records in The Guardian:

And now Alway has reinvented El, turning it into a daring and stylish reissue label that is driven by his desires to save and promote great forgotten music.

"I originally came to the record industry as an enthusiast," says Alway, sitting in his sunny front room in Richmond, south-west London. "And part of what enthused me was mystery. I imagined in my green innocence that other people felt the same way."