Soon after his high profile 1980 drug bust, Papa John Phillips reformed the Mamas and the Papas with daughter Mackenzie, Denny Doherty and Spanky McFarlane (from Spanky & Our Gang). Both Phillips’ were still in rehab, at the time, where they were working as drug counsellors. John and Mackenzie made this appearance on Canadian magazine program, That’s Life, during their 1983 tour, to talk about rebuilding their lives after drugs in an interview seems that seems remarkably candid compared to the execrable confessional talk show culture we have today.
 

 
The new Mamas and the Papas toured and recorded for eight years. Initially, their band included Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson and keyboard player Arthur Stead, who’s next gig was playing with Public Image Limited! A new collection of unreleased songs from that period, Many Mamas Many Papas has just been released as part of the “Papa John Presents” series of archival releases, and proves that Phillips was still capable of churning out catchy songs with a sting in the tail long after his 60s heyday. Among them is Kokomo, almost unrecognisable in its original form from the later Beach Boys version – rewritten by Mike Love as a boozy paean to Spring break.

In light of recent revelations, Fairy Tale Girl is a poignant (even, prescient) song about daughter Mackenzie, written in the early 70s around the time she starred in American Graffiti. But then, Papa John has been a magnet for outrageous claims for years. Here, he tells Larry King about the night Roman Polanski accused him of murdering Sharon Tate!