England

1964

April The nucleus of the band is formed by Laine (b. Brian Frederick Hines, 29 October 1944, Tyseley, Birmingham, W. Midlands, UK), who has just disbanded his group Denny And The Diplomats, with Thomas (b. 29 December 1942, Stourport-on-Severn, Hereford & Worcs, UK.) and Pinder (b. 27 December 1941, Birmingham, W. Midlands, UK), who have both been playing in local outfits El Riot & The Rebels and The Krewcats, and have just returned from a year’s residence at Hamburg’s Top Ten club.
May (4) Rehearsals begin with the addition of drummer Edge (b. 30 March 1942, Rochester, Staffs, UK), who has previously been a member of Gerry Levene & The Avengers and bass player Clint Warwick (b. Albert Eccles, 25 June 1940, Birmingham, W. Midlands, UK), formerly a member of The Rainbows. The group quickly gains a residency at the Carlton Ballroom in Erdington, West Midlands, initially billed as The M&B Five, apparently in the hope of gaining sponsorship from local brewers Mitchell and Butler. Laine, who has pushed the band’s sound towards the blues and jazz of London based groups, decides soon afterwards to re-name the band after a Slim Harpo song titled “Moody Blue” and The M&B Five becomes The Moody Blues Five.
August The band attracts the attention of London manager Tony Secunda, who secures The Moody Blues (as they now call themselves), a residency at London’s Marquee club on Monday nights, where they replace Manfred Mann. Through their prestigious “live” work at the club, the band quickly attracts the attention of Decca Records which signs the group. Shortly afterwards The Moody Blues record their debut single, the Pinder-Laine composition “Lose Your Money” which the band performs on ITV’s Ready Steady Go!.
September (3) The group plays its first show at the Marquee in London.
(11) The Moody Blues appear at Birmingham’s Town Hall alongside The Spencer Davis Group and headliners Alexis Korner Incorporated.
October (4) The band plays at the Marquee in London.
(30) The Moody Blues appear at the Crawdaddy club in Richmond, Surrey.
November After “Lose Your Money” fails to chart, the group records a cover of Bessie Banks’s US R&B hit, “Go Now”, which has been given to the band by New York disc-jockey B. Mitchell Reed during a visit to the UK.
December (7) The group appears at the Marquee in London.

1965

January (8) The group begins a 24-date, twice-nightly tour with Chuck Berry at the Odeon Theatre, London, which will end 31 January at the Regal Theatre, Edmonton, London.
(28) “Go Now”, produced by Denny Cordell Alex Murray, tops the UK chart.
February The band quickly releases “I Don’t Want To Go On Without You”, a revival of a Drifters’ b-side as a follow up single, but it only reaches UK #33. Part of the single’s failure can be attributed to the simultaneous release of identical covers by The Searchers and The Escorts. (The group is unhappy with the recording because Thomas’s flute solo has been inexplicably erased from the final pressing.)
March (8) The Moody Blues make their first live broadcast on BBC Radio’s Joe Loss Pop Show.
April “Go Now” holds down anchor position in a unique US Top 10 in which 9 of the singles are from the UK.
(11) The group takes part in the annual New Musical Express poll winners concert at the Empire Pool, London, with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and The Animals among others.
May The band releases an EP, which features both sides of the group’s debut single plus the a-sides of the previous two releases.
(24) The Moody Blues take part in the British Song Festival at the Dome, Brighton, East Sussex.
June (5) The band guests on ITV’s Thank Your Lucky Stars, where it introduces its new single, the Pinder-Laine collaboration “From The Bottom Of My Heart”.
(15) The Moody Blues join The Rolling Stones for a 4-date tour of Scotland alongside The Hollies, The Cannon Brothers and The Checkmates. The tour begins at the Odean Theatre, Glasgow.
(16) The group performs at the Usher Hall, Edinburgh.
(17) The Moody Blues appear at the Caird Hall, Dundee.
(18) The final date takes place at the Capitol Theatre, Aberdeen. (While the Stones prepare for a short tour of Scandinavia, The Moody Blues return to London in order to fly to New York for their debut US appearance.)
(19) The group makes its US debut with The Kinks at the Academy of Music in New York.
July “From The Bottom Of My Heart” is released and climbs to UK #22 and US #93. The Moody Blues’ debut album Magnificent Moodies, which has been produced by Denny Cordell is released to coincide with the single but fails to chart. In the US the album is released as Go Now and features a different track listing. [Listen to True Story from the LP]
(24) The band performs at the Birdcage in Portsmouth, Hants.
August (1) The Moody Blues perform at the London Palladium with The Rolling Stones, The Fourmost, Steampacket and others.
(6) The group plays on the opening day of the fifth annual National Jazz & Blues Festival at the Richmond Athletic Ground, Richmond, Surrey.
September (6) The band signs a management contract with NEMS.
(21) The Moody Blues participate in Pop From Britain concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London, with Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames and The Fourmost.
(25) The group appears at the Birdcage in Portsmouth, Hants with St Louis Checks.
(30) The Moody Blues replace Unit 4 Plus 2 for 3 dates on The Rolling Stones UK tour. The first date takes place at the Gaumont Theatre, Hanley, Staffs. Also on the tour are The Spencer Davis Group, The End and The Habits.
October (1) The band appears at the ABC Theatre, Chester, Cheshire.
(2) The group’s final appearance takes place at the ABC Theatre, Wigan, Lancashire. Unit 4 Plus 2 return to the tour immediately afterwards.
November The Laine-Pinder composition “Everyday” only reaches UK #44, despite becoming a turntable hit on pirate radio.
December (3) The group supports The Beatles on their final UK tour, a 9-date twice-nightly package, which opens at Glasgow’s Odeon cinema and ends on December 12 at the Capitol Cinema, Cardiff, Wales.
(19) The Moody Blues appear on CBS TV’s Ed Sullivan Show.

1966

March (8) The group appears at the Montreux Golden Rose TV festival.
April Another Laine-Pinder track “Stop!” is lifted from the UK album and released as a US single, where it spends a week on the Hot 100 at #98. (The song incidentally, is later covered by singer Julie Grant but is not a success). Secunda leaves at this point to work with The Move and is replaced by The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein. However, he fails to lift the group’s flagging career and as a result The Moody Blues are forced to “drastically reduce their engagement fees.”
(2) The Moody Blues appear at the Club Continental, Eastbourne, East Sussex.
May (1) The band performs at the Oasis in Manchester.
(30) The group plays at the Pavilion in Bath, Avon.
June (4) Melody Maker announces that the group has undertaken a short tour of Belgium, including a TV appearance from the Casino at Knokke. The magazine also reports that the band is due to appear at the Paris Olympia on 12 June.
(15) The Moody Blues perform at the Bromel club, the Bromley Court Hotel, Kent.
(21) The band appears at a commerative ball at Oxford University.
(24) The group plays at London’s Ram Jam club. Warwick, who is disillusioned by the band’s drop in fortunes, leaves the group and quits the music business. After Klaus Voorman decides not to join, Rod Clark, a bass player from Great Yarmouth, who has played with Les Garcons and The Southerners takes Warwick’s place, although Pinder and Thomas’s former El Riot & The Rebels cohort John Lodge (b. 20 July 1943, Birmingham, W. Midlands, UK) is rumoured to have been offered the original slot.
July (9) Pinder and Laine’s “This Is My House (But Nobody Calls)” (the intended b-side of the band’s forthcoming UK single) is issued in the US hitting #119.
(14) The new line up performs at the Villa Marina in Coventry, W. Midlands.
(30) The group appears at the Riverside Dance Club in Douglas, the Isle of Man.
August (6) The Moody Blues begin a 9-day tour of Denmark.
September (3) Returning to the UK, the band appears at the Black Prince in Tenbury Wells.
(10) Melody Maker reports that The Moody Blues fly to Holland for a TV show and then the next day perform in Brussels.
(15) The band plays at the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, Holland.
(16) The Moody Blues perform at Midnight City in Birmingham with Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers.
(23) The group appears at Cardiff Capitol Theatre on a bill that includes Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers, The Scaffold and The Fourmost.
(28) The Moody Blues appear at the Flamingo in London in what is probably Denny Laine’s final show.
October Rod Clark leaves to join The Rockin’ Berries and John Lodge joins. Lodge, who has remained in higher education since the band’s split in February 1963, has subsequently played in local bands The Carpetbaggers and The John Bull Breed. Laine, meanwhile, anticipating Brian Wilson’s role in The Beach Boys decides to concentrate on writing and studio work.
(8) Record Mirror reports that Laine has officially left The Moody Blues. He will quickly emerge with an amplified backing group The Electric String Band – a predecessor and major influence on The Electric Light Orchestra.
(12) Decca releases the group’s first single in over a year, the French-flavoured “Boulevard De La Madelaine”, written by Pinder and Laine but it isn’t a hit. On the same day, Melody Maker reports that the band appears at the Flamingo in London. To fill Laine’s position in the band, the group turns to Justin Hayward (b. David Justin Hayward, 14 October 1946, Swindon, Wilts, UK), who has played in a number of Swindon bands – The Riversiders, The Rebels, The Whispers, The Shots and All Things Bright before joining Marty Wilde’s Wildcats for two days. He then joins Marty Wilde and his wife in The Marty Wilde Three, who record the singles “Since You’ve Gone” and “I Cried” for Decca Records and on 8 April 1966 plays alongside Wilde at a charity show at the London Palladium. Hayward leaves to sign a solo deal with Pye A&R chief Alan Freeman and manager Lonnie Donegan. This results in a one-off single “London Is Behind Me”, before Hayward signs to Parlophone, which releases a second single “I Can’t Face The World Without You”. When both singles fail, Hayward writes to Eric Burdon to inquire about a position in his New Animals. Burdon, with his band already signed-up, passes Hayward’s name onto Mike Pinder. The Moody Blues move to Belgium in November to perform some gigs and to avoid the UK taxman. The band continues to perform its old R&B repertoire despite Laine’s departure and the recent changes in the UK “music scene”.
December The group performs in France, where it’s still very popular.

January (14) Decca releases another Pinder-Laine collaboration “Life’s Not Life”, which is withdrawn shortly afterwards.
February (18) The group appears at the Plaza Ballroom in Birmingham with the Traction and The Attack.
March (7) The Moody Blues play at Birmingham’s Ringway Club.
(20) The band appears at the Broadway Club, Dudley Zoo.
(22) The Moody Blues play at Middle Earth in London.
(27) The band plays two shows in the West Midlands. The first is at the Mackadown, Kitts Green with The Monopoly. The second is at the Belfry, Wishaw with The Gods and Exception.
(30) The group drops the old repertoire (and suits) in favour of a new musical style. The band records Hayward’s “Fly Me High” and Pinder’s “Really Haven’t Got The Time” with new producer Tony Clarke as a prospective single.
April The band signs up (along with The Supremes and Ray Charles) to promote Coca-Cola in the teen market. The company’s $10 million campaign requires each artist to record a radio jingle in their own style but featuring the slogan Things Go Better With Coke. The band embarks on a gruelling tour of the Northern club circuit, including a spot at Newcastle’s Cavendish club.
(14) Denny Laine releases his debut single with The Electric String Band “Say You Don’t Mind” which fails to chart; although ex-Zombies singer Colin Blunstone will later score a top 20 hit with it in 1972.
May (5) The Moody Blues release their first single with the new line-up, “Fly Me High” which is not a success despite being a popular radio hit. The band embarks on a brief tour of Scandinavia.
(19) The band shares a double bill with former group leader Denny Laine at London club, Tiles.
(27) Plans are unveiled for the group to appear on a US colour TV special as “Fly Me High” is given an American release.
June (10) They play the Fete and Donkey Derby in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands with The Ugly’s and The Bobcats.
(12) The Moody Blues appear at Christ College, Cambridge with The Who and The Herd.
(22) The band appears at Middle Earth with Pink Floyd.
(29) The group records Hayward’s “Leave This Man Alone”.
July (9) The band plays at the Roundhouse with Pink Floyd and The Outer Limits.
(17) The Moody Blues record Pinder’s ambitious “Love & Beauty”, which is the first track to feature the band’s characteristic symphonic sound, created with the use of the mellotron. Shortly afterwards the band introduces its new style at the Glastonbury Festival and is an immediate success.
(29) The group performs at the London club, the Upper Cut with The Maze.
August The Moody Blues embark on a “summer” tour of France. The group appears at the Midem Music Festival in Cannes performing most of the songs that will subsequently appear on its forthcoming album.
September (7) The group opens for The Pink Floyd at the Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London.
(22) The Moody Blues release Pinder’s “Love & Beauty” as a single, but it isn’t a hit.
October (8) Signed to Decca’s new progressive label, Deram, the band begins work on its first album in over two years, recording Hayward’s epic “Nights In White Satin”. The group were originally invited to record a stereo version of Dvorak’s New World Symphony with classical backing from The London Festival Orchestra, conducted by Peter Knight, but is allowed to record its stage show, loosely based around a day in the life of a fictional character, instead.

1968

January Extracted from the album, Hayward’s “Nights In White Satin” climbs to UK #19 as parent album reaches #27.
(12) Laine meanwhile, disbands The Electric String Band after his second solo single “Too Much In Love” and moves to Spain to study flamenco guitar.
(19) The Moody Blues play at the Punch Bowl, Lapworth, West Midlands.
(20) The group travels to France to appear at the Midem Music Festival in Cannes, later that week.
February (3) The Moody Blues begin a UK tour at the Nelson Imperial, Lancashire. The tour will conclude at Reading University on March 15.
(10) In the US “Nights In White Satin” only reaches #103.
March (13) The group appears at Birmingham Town Hall with The Spencer Davis Group, Manfred Mann, Don Partridge and Piccadilly Line.
(22) The Moody Blues perform at Middle Earth, Covent Garden, London.
May (4) Days Of Future Past enters the US chart at #3 and earns the group its first gold disk, during a chart run of 102 weeks.
June Hayward’s “Voices In The Sky” is lifted from the band’s forthcoming album and reaches UK #27.
(29) The Moody Blues make a rare concert appearance at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall.
August The group’s third album, In Search Of The Lost Chord, another concept album, climbs to UK #5. (The band is performing in the former Czechoslovakia at the time and when the Russian army moves in are quickly asked to leave the country by the British Consulate.)
September Hayward’s “Tuesday Afternoon” is taken from Days Of Future Past and belatedly released as a US single, where it hits #24. In Search Of A Lost Chord, rises to US #23 and earns a second gold disk.
October (11) The group records non-album track “A Simple Game”, written by Mike Pinder.
(21-24) The band is supported by Chicago at the Fillmore West, San Francisco.
(25-26) The group flies to New York City to appear at the Fillmore East with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and Rhinoceros.
November (1) Having supported Cream during their final US tour, the group appears at Madison Square Gardens, New York, for Cream’s final US date. “Ride My See Saw”, written by Lodge, is extracted from the new album and makes US #61.
December “Ride My See Saw” hits UK #42. The single’s b-side “A Simple Game” is later a UK #3 for The Four Tops with Clarke producing. (The Four Tops will also cover another Mike Pinder song, “So Deep Within You” from The Moody Blues’ next album). The band performs its last US dates in Vancouver, Canada.

1969

March (11) The group appears at the Grand Gala Du Disque, Amsterdam, Holland on a bill including Gladys Knight & The Pips.
April Hayward’s “Never Comes The Day” is released as a single but fails to chart.
May On The Threshold Of A Dream tops the UK chart for 2 weeks and climbs to US #20 during a 136-week chart run, the Moody Blues’ third gold disk.
July “Never Comes The Day” reaches US #91. Denny Laine meanwhile returns from Spain and joins ex-Move member Trevor Burton in Balls.
August (30) The Moody Blues play on the opening day of the Isle Of Wight Festival.
October Hayward and Thomas’s “Watching And Waiting” is the first single to be released on the group’s own Threshold label.
December The Moody Blues’ new album To Our Children’s Children’s Children hits UK #2 as the band moves to Cobham, Surrey to open the first Threshold record store.
(12) The band performs at the Royal Albert Hall, London, during a UK tour. The concert is recorded (and released as part of Caught Live Plus 5 in June 1977).

1970

January The group’s new album is released in the US and makes #14 becoming the band’s fourth gold disk
March (20-21) The band is supported by Argent and Lee Michaels at New York’s Fillmore East.
April (2/11)The Moody Blues are supported by Richie Havens at the Berkeley Community Theatre, California.
May Hayward’s dramatic “Question” hits UK #2, held from the top by the England World Cup Squad’s “Back Home”. Laine, who has recently joined Ginger Baker’s Airforce sings lead vocal on their cover of Bob Dylan’s “Man Of Constant Sorrow” which hits US #85 on 30 May.
June “Question” reaches US #21.
August The Moody Blues’ new album A Question Of Balance, written and recorded in 5 weeks, hits UK #1 for 3 weeks.
(30) The group plays on the final day of the second Isle Of Wight Festival.
September A Question Of Balance makes US #3 and earns the band its fifth gold disk.
October (30) The band performs at London’s Royal Festival Hall.
December (3) The Moody Blues embark on a US tour making their Carnegie Hall, New York debut on 14 December.

1971
August Laine joins Paul McCartney’s Wings.

1974
February After two further albums, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1971) and Seventh Sojourn (1972), which both earn a gold disk, and a 9-month world tour, The Moody Blues decide to split for the time being to concentrate on solo projects. (Hayward’s solo career will be the most enduring and successful).

1978

June The band re-unites for a new album, Octave which hits UK #6 and US #13, and becomes the Moody Blues’ first platinum disk. However, during the recording of the album, producer Tony Clarke leaves followed soon afterwards by Mike Pinder; both have been closely identified with the development of the band’s symphonic sound. Pinder is replaced by ex-Refugee member Patrick Moraz, who remains with The Moody Blues into the 1980s, and helps them to become one of the top selling bands of the decade. Pinder meanwhile, remains in the US and emerges in 1995 with second solo effort Among The Stars.

Sources:

Portsmouth’s Birdcage dates by Dave Allen.
Machine, August 1965, by Johnny Black, Mojo Magazine, August 1995.
Call Up The Groups - The Golden Age Of British Beat (1962-1967), by Alan Clayson, Blandford Press, 1985.
Denny Laine, by Alan Clayson, Record Collector, #191, July 1995.
Time Machine, October 1966, by Fred Dellar, Mojo Magazine October 1996.
Collectable 45s of the Swinging ‘60s, by Pete Dickerson and Mike Gordon, The Vintage Record Centre, 1984.
Art Of Rock - Posters From Presley To Punk, by Paul D Grushkin, Artabras, Cross River Press Ltd, 1987.
The Castle - Love #2, by David Peter Housden, 1993.
The Castle - Love #9, by David Peter Housden, 1995.
The Moody Blues UK Singles & UK Albums, by Tim Joseph, Record Collector, #81 & 82, April & May 1986.
Karnbach, James and Bernson, Carol. The Complete Recording Guide To The Rolling Stones. Aurum Press, 1997, pages 111, 112 and 115.
Pink Floyd In The Flesh book, page 43.
The Moody Blues, by John Reed, Record Collector, November 1996, #207, pages 64-71.
Book Of Rock Stars, 2nd Edition, by Dafydd Rees and Luke Crampton, Guinness Publishing Ltd, 1991.
Sleeve notes to album This Is The Moody Blues, by John Tracy, 1989.
Joel Whitburn’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 1959-1985, by Joel Whitburn, Billboard Record Research Inc, 1985.
Joel Whitburn’s Pop Annual 1955-1994, by Joel Whitburn, Billboard Record Research Inc, 1995.
Birmingham Evening Mail 1967-1968.
Disc, May 27, 1967, page 4.
Melody Maker, March 5, 1966, pages 5; April 2, 1966, page 13; June 4, 1966, page 5; June 11, 1966, page 13; June 25, 1966, page 13; May 20, 1967, page 5; July 29, 1967, page 12; January 6, 1968, page 3 and March 23, 1968, page 14.
NME, week ending January 20, 1968.

Thanks to Tony Brown for corrections.

Copyright © Nick Warburton, 2009 All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior permission from the author.

Email: Warchive@aol.com

Visit: www.nickwarburton.com

1967
August Canadian singer/songwriter and guitarist Mike Rosen is living in London and meets Norwegian singer/songwriter and guitarist Georg Hultgreen (b. Prince Georg Johan Tchegodaieff, Trondheim, Norway) in a restaurant in Bayswater called Bangers, where he is playing Gordon Lightfoot songs on his 12-string guitar. Hultgreen is the son of Russian prince Pavel Tchegodaieff and Finnish sculptress Johanna Kajanus. They suggest forming a group and round up players from the folk-rock scene. Australian singer/guitarist Trevor Lucas (b. 25 December 1943, Melbourne, Australia; d. 4 February 1989) is recruited after the pair see him perform at the Cambridge Folk Festival and he recommends fellow Australian Kerrilee Male (Newsome) as a singer. Lucas has recorded several albums in Australia before moving the UK in 1965 while Male has previously been a member of Dave’s Place Group with Dave Guard from The Kingston Trio. The final piece in the jigsaw is English drummer Gerry Conway (b. 11 September 1947, King’s Lynn, Norfolk), who was previously a member of Alexis Korner’s backing group. Rosen’s friend, Joni Mitchell names the band, Eclection because in her words, they were such an eclectic bunch.
October (16) Band members, Trevor Lucas and Kerrilee Male appear at the Royal Festival Hall for a folk festival, which features a number of artists, including future Eclection singer Dorris Henderson.
December (1) Eclection appear at Middle Earth in London, opening for visiting US act, The Electric Prunes.

1968
April (30) Eclection appear on BBC Radio 1’s Top Gear performing Mark Time, In Her Mind, In The Early Days, Morning of Yesterday and Confusion, which is broadcast on 12 May.
June Eclection hold a press reception at London’s Revolution club.
(21) The group’s debut single, Rosen’s Nevertheless backed by the non-album single, Hultgreen’s Mark Time is released but does not chart. Around this time, Eclection appear at the Paradiso club in Amsterdam and appear on Dutch TV.
(28) Eclection perform seven songs from their forthcoming album on BBC 2’s Colour Me Pop, including In The Early Days, Morning of Yesterday, Nevertheless, Mark Time and Another Time, Another Place.
July (23) Eclection record a second John Peel session for BBC radio, recording Another Time, Another Place, Nevertheless, St Georg & The Dragon and Will You Be The Same? The show is broadcast on 28 July.
August (24) The band joins Ten Years After, Family, Peter Sarstedt, Fleetwood Mac, Stefan Grossman, Roy Harper, Fairport Convention and The Deviants for a show in Hyde Park, London.
(30) Eclection’s eponymous debut album, produced by Australian Ossie Byrne, is released in the UK to critical acclaim.
September (1) The group appears on John Peel’s Top Gear with Tim Hardin, Fairport Convention and Fleetwood Mac.
(4) The band makes its debut at the Marquee in London, supporting by Keef Hartley.
(11) The Eclection return the following week to the Marquee with Gordon Smith the opening act.
(15) The band plays at the Bird Cage, Harlow.
(25) They appear at Eel Pie Island, Twickenham, Middlesex with Village in support.
(29) The band performs at Fairfield Hall, Croydon, Surrey with Jethro Tull, David Ackles, The Alan Price Set, Spooky Tooth, The Nice and Julie Driscoll & The Brian Auger Trinity.
October (5) Eclection travel to Birmingham and appear at Mothers with Ron Greesin.
(11) The group’s second single, a cover of US folk-rock band, Kaleidoscope’s Please, which is another non-album track, is released but fails to chart. The group plays a show at the Factory in Birmingham.
(12) They appear at Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex with Proteus.
(16) The band is guest group on BBC 1’s Friday Play where they perform their latest single. American singer Dorris Henderson (b. 1933, Lakeland, Florida; d. 3 March 2005) replaces Kerrilee Male, who leaves after recording their second single. Male holidays in Rome, Italy while trying to decide on her future plans and eventually returns to Australia.
(23) Eclection play at the Marquee in London supported by Pegasus.
November Eclection’s latest single Please is re-released with Dorris Henderson’s lead vocal replacing Male’s.
(6) The band appears at the Marquee in London, supported by East of Eden.
(8) The group performs at the Student’s Union, Battersea, London.
(19) Eclection record a John Peel session with producer Bernie Andrews at the BBC’s Piccadilly Studio 1, which comprises Please and three new songs: If I Love Her, Days Left Behind and Time For Love. The session log lists Kerry Male as female singer rather than Dorris Henderson and the show is broadcast on 18 December.
December (1) The Beach Boys kick off a 10-day UK tour at the London Palladium with Eclection in support.
(8) As part of the tour, they appear at the Astoria, Finsbury Park, London.
(14) Eclection appear at Mothers in Birmingham with Ron Greesin.
(28) The band plays at Leyton Baths Hall, Leyton, Essex.

1969
January (23) Eclection play at the Speakeasy in London.
(25) The group performs at Lanchester Arts Festival in Coventry with Family.
(28) The band is supported by Milkwood at Klook’s Kleek, West Hampstead.
February (7) Eclection play at Mothers in Birmingham.
(28) The band appears at the Fishmonger’s Arms, Wood Green.
April (6) After Eclection shares the bill with Fairport Convention at Mothers in Birmingham, Mike Rosen leaves. The remaining members recruit top jazz guitarist Gary Boyle (b. 24 November 1941, Patna, Behar, India) from The Brian Auger Trinity and vibes player John “Poli” Palmer (b. 25 May 1943, Evesham, Worcestershire), formely a member of Blossom Toes.
(21) Eclection’s new line up records another BBC John Peel session with producer Bernie Andrews at the Playhouse Theatre. The session comprises a cover of Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now, three new numbers written by Hultgreen: Earth, Restitution and Put On Your Face and the uncredited Charity. The show is broadcast on 27 April.
(23) The revised line up appears at the Pavilion in Hemel Hempstead.
(25) The group returns to Birmingham to play a show at Mothers.
(26) Eclection perform at Portsmouth College of Education with Harmony Grass.
May (11) Eclection play at Mothers in Birmingham with Fairport Convention.
(14) The band appears at East Ham Town Hall with The Gods.
(20) The group plays at the Speakeasy in London.
(29) Sharing the bill with Yes, King Crimson, Bridget St John and Principal Edwards, Eclection appear at the Van Dyke Club in Plymouth, Devon. When Julie Driscoll leaves his band, Brian Auger contacts Gary Boyle and asks him to rejoin. The guitarist leaves just before a prestigious show at the Albert Hall the following week.
June (5) Stripped down to a quintet, Eclection appear at the Albert Hall supporting American singer/songwriter Richie Havens. A third single, Rosen’s Confusion, taken from the band’s album is set for release and then delayed.
July (6) Eclection play at Mothers in Birmingham with Fairport Convention.
(7) The band returns to the Marquee in London supported by Grail.
(21) The group plays another show at the Marquee, once again supported by Grail.
(25) Eclection join Roy Harper and The Liverpool Scene for a show at the Lyceum on the Strand in London.
(26) The band appears alongside Family at the Dunstable Civic Hall.
August (3) The group plays at the Country Club in Belsize Park, London.
(4) The band performs at the Marquee in London, supported by Cressida.
(17) They play at the Nottingham Boat Club.
(24) Eclection appear at the Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London with Quintessence, Stray and Mariupilami.
(25) The group performs another show at the Marquee in London.
(29-31) Eclection appear at the Isle of Wight Festival, which features The Pretty Things, Mighty Baby, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, The Nice, Gypsy, Blonde on Blonde, Blodwyn Pig, Edgar Broughton Band, Aynsley Dunbar, Marsha Hunt and White Trash, Family, Free, The Who, Fat Matress, Joe Cocker, The Moody Blues, The Liverpool Scene, Third Ear Band, Indo Jazz Fusions, Gary Farr, Tom Paxton, Pentangle, Julie Felix, Richie Havens, The Band and Bob Dylan. Soon after their appearance, Hultgreen leaves the band. He subsequently adopts his mother’s maiden name Kajanus and forms the group, Sailor, which scores with a UK #2 hit with A Glass of Champagne in 1975 and a UK #7 hit with Girls, Girls, Girls in 1977, both penned by Kajanus.
September After getting married and visiting his wife’s parents in New York, sailing on the QE2, former member Mike Rosen returns to the UK and joins James Litherland’s Brotherhood, which later changes name to Mogul Thrash.
(6) Eclection make an appearance at the Dunstable Music Festival in Queensbury Hall, Dunstable, Bedfordshire with Fleetwood Mac, Junior Eyes and Eire Apparent.
(12) The band plays at the Fishmongers Arms, Wood Green, London.
(17) Eclection appear at the Railway Hotel, Bishop Stortford.
(20) They play at Dudley Town Hall, Dudley.
(23) The group performs at the Speakeasy in London.
(26) Travelling to Birmingham, they appear at Mothers.
(27) Eclection play at Philippa Fawcett College, Streatham, London.
(28) The group performs at Redcar Coatham Hotel with The Third Ear Band.
(29) The band makes its final Marquee appearance supported by Gypsy.
October (3) The group joins Blodwyn Pig and Aynsley Dunbar for a show at University College, London.
(4) Eclection play at St Mary’s College, Strawberry Hill, Twickenham.
(16) They appear at Green’s Playhouse, Glasgow with Fleetwood Mac and The Sleaz Band.
(25) The band plays Barking College in Dagenham, Essex.
November (2) Eclection appear at the Country Club, Belsize Park, London.
(8) The group performs at Essex University in Colchester with East of Eden also on the bill.
(9) Eclection play at the Wake Arms in Loughton.
(21) The band appears at King’s College on the Strand with Shape of The Rain.
(23) They are due to appear at the Nottingham Boat Club but the show is cancelled and Clouds take their place.
(29) Eclection, The John Dummer Blues Group and Gracious appear at Chelsea College, London.
December (5) The group plays one of its final shows at Goldsmith’s College in New Cross, London with Tech-Neek and The Night People. Palmer leaves to join Family while Lucas and Conway form Fotheringay with Lucas’s girlfriend, Sandy Denny from Fairport Convention. Henderson returns to a solo career but later revives the band’s name with new players.

Sources:
Down at the Boat: The bands that played at the Nottingham Boat Club by Keith and Juliet Atkinson and Tony James.
London Live by Tony Bacon, Balafron Press, 1999.
Mothers 1968-1971 by Kevin Duffy, Birmingham City Council, 1997.
Peel Sessions by Ken Gardner, BBC Books, 2007.
Revelation, Elektra Records’ newsletter
Strange Brew – Eric Clapton & The British Blues Boom 1965-1970, by Christopher Hjort, Jawbone Press, 2007
Time Out magazine, 1968-1969
Richie Unterberger’s liner notes to Eclection CD re-issue on Collector’s Choice Music
Valentine, 2 November 1968

Thank you to Georg Kajanus and Gary Boyle for their input in this article.

I would particuarly like to acknowledge Mike Capewell’s exhaustive site for material:
www.marmalade-skies.co.uk/

The Family Bandstand also provided useful dates:
www.familybandstand.com

Copyright © Nick Warburton, 2009. All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted in any from or by any means, without prior permission from the author.

I have tried to ensure the accuracy of this article but I appreciate that there are likely to be errors and omissions. I would appreciate any feedback from anyone who can provide any additions or corrections. Email: Warchive@aol.com

Visit: www.nickwarburton.com

1966

October (8) After recording the single Life’s Not Life, Laine (b. Brian Frederick Hines, 29 October 1944, Tyseley, Birmingham, England) leaves The Moody Blues to pursue a new musical project. He briefly forms a trio but the project fails to gel as the others don’t share his new musical ideas.

December Laine forms an amplified string quartet with classical musicians Gillinson, Martin, Stein and Van Campen (who are all ex-Royal Academy), and a backing band featuring ex-Pretty Things and Bunch Of Fives drummer Prince (b. 9 August 1944, Loughborough, Leicestershire, England) and bass player Binky McKenzie, who has worked with future Crazy World of Arthur Brown keyboard player Vincent Crane and blues legend, Alexis Korner.

1967

January (21) Melody Maker announces that Laine is recording for Decca’s new ‘progressive’ label Deram. Laine will continue to work under the guidance of producer Denny Cordell, who oversaw The Moody Blues’ recordings.

April (14) His debut single Say You Don’t Mind is released but fails to chart despite being aired on John Peel’s popular independent radio show Top Gear. The song’s advanced nature is confirmed when ex-Zombies lead vocalist Colin Blunstone takes a similar version to UK #15 in 1972. Disc magazine states that Laine has been commissioned to write an Italian film score and is expected in Milan in July for 10 days to supervise the recording. The project, however, is later shelved.
(29) Laine is a compere at the 14-hour Technicolour Dream concert at London’s Alexandra Palace.

Dutch sleeve with b-side title missing the definite article.

May (3) Denny Laine's Electric String Band supported by Robert Plant's Band of Joy at Cedar Club, Birmingham.
(7) The group’s debut performance at London’s Saville Theatre (which was originally scheduled for 3 May) is cancelled when Laine pulls out one hour before the show. According to Melody Maker, bass player Binky McKenzie leaves three days before the show and Laine is unable to get a replacement fully rehearsed in time. Shortly afterwards, Laine reorganises the group, bringing in new bass player Cliff Barton, and Angus Anderson (violin) and Haflidi Halynisson (cello), who replace Martin and Van Campen.
(10) Denny Laine's Electric String Band return to the Cedar Club for another show supported by Robert Plant's Band of Joy
(19) His new group makes its debut at London’s Tiles Club on a double bill with his former band, The Moody Blues. (Disc magazine announces that Laine is due to do a six-day promo tour of the US from 24-30 May, but it is subsequently cancelled.)
(26) Say You Don’t Mind is given an American release.

June (4) The band finally plays at London’s Saville Theatre alongside Procol Harum, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and others. (According to Melody Maker, the group performs in Paris on 7-8 June and then travels to Brussels for three days of concerts and TV performances. However, this seems unlikely as a later issue claims that the group begins work on a new single and a debut album on 7 June.)
(8) The group plays at the Marquee with The Pyramid (featuring future Fairport Convention singer Ian Matthews and several soon-to-be Denny Laine collaborators).
(10) June Laine's band is booked to play at the Birdcage in Portsmouth, Hants but doesn't show up.
(19) Denny Laine’s Electric String Band makes its debut BBC radio appearance on the Light Programme.
(24) Denny Laine's Electric String Band appear at the Swan, Yardley with The Maddening Crowd

July Laine cuts the ambitious track Why Did You Come? with new bass player Andy Leigh, which producer Denny Cordell subsequently holds back because he feels that it is “too subtle”. (A Melody Maker article from this time, however, claims that the master tape goes missing.) Leigh has previously worked with Denny Cordell’s “Studio G” project, which has recorded two tracks for a promotional EP circulated in tiny quantities to British television and film production companies. The project also features organist/pianist Mike Lease who is brought in by Cordell to arrange strings for one of Laine’s tracks and drummer Peter Trout, who joins the Electric String Band later in the year.
(13) The new line up with Leigh performs at Blaisers, Kensington.
(14) Denny Laine’s Electric String Band make an appearance at London’s UFO club, where they perform Say You Don’t Mind, Ask The People, Why Did You Come?, Catherine’s Wheel and The Machine Song, which is never released.
(29) Laine's group finally appears at the Birdcage in Portsmouth, Hants.

August (13) The band plays at the Windsor Blues and Jazz Festival, held at Windsor racecourse alongside Cream, Pentangle, Blossom Toes, Jeff Beck and many others.
(26) Laine arrives at his manager Brian Epstein’s Belgravia home hoping to arrange further work; little does he know that Epstein is dead inside from a drug overdose.
(26-28) The group takes part in a three-day rock festival held at Woburn Abbey with Eric Burdon & The Animals, The Jeff Beck Group, The Small Faces and others.
(27) Denny Laine’s Electric String Band appears at Saville Theatre with The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Tomorrow, Georgie Fame, Eric Burdon & The Animals, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Dantalion’s Chariot and others.

September (8) Denny Laine’s Electric String Band perform at the Marquee with The Gods.
(9) The band performs at the UFO at the Roundhouse, London alongside The Soft Machine, The Pink Floyd, Tomorrow and The Move.
(17) Denny Laine's Electric String Band appear at the Drokiweeny, Manchester
(23) Laine’s group appear at the Middle Earth club, King Street, Covent Garden alongside T-Rex and Picadilly Line. Shortly afterwards, Viv Prince departs and forms the short-lived VAMP. Laine recruits new drummer Peter Trout, who has previously worked with Andy Leigh in the “Studio G” band and appeared on sessions for Pyramid’s single Summer of Last Year. The new line up rehearses but the string quartet (with the exception of John Stein) leaves for a tour of Russia. Laine adds new cello player Nigel Pinkett alongside Leigh, Proud and Stein.

October (4) Laine’s band records its debut John Peel radio session, recording Say You Don’t Mind, Why Did You Come?, Catherine’s Wheel, Ask The People, a cover of Tim Hardin’s Reason To Believe and recent composition, Guilty Mind. The session is broadcast on 8 October. Peter Trout leaves and reunites with Denny Laine in 1971.
(6) The band, with a new drummer, performs at the UFO, the Roundhouse, London with Tim Rose.
(15) Denny Laine’s Electric String Band return to the Middle Earth.

November Melody Maker announces that a Denny Laine album, containing three Laine compositions and a new single are scheduled for a Christmas release. (The former is subsequently cancelled.)
(17) Denny Laine's Electric String Band appears at Nottingham Technical College, Nottingham with Deuce Coup.
(18) The group performs at the Middle Earth with Alexis Korner and Pegasus.

December (6) The band joins Fleetwood Mac and Warren Davies for a show at the Royal Hotel, Woburn Place, London.
(16) Laine's band plays at the Britannia Boat Club, Nottingham.

1968

January (12) Laine releases his second single, the equally adventurous Too Much In Love which also fails to chart. (Melody Maker states that an album featuring nine Laine compositions is scheduled for release in early February and that a 10-day tour of Sweden commencing on 25 January is imminent. However, neither transpires).
(24) Denny Laine’s Electric String Band make a second Peel session appearance, recording Catherine’s Wheel, The Machine Song, Too Much In Love, and two new songs, Masks and the folk standard, Sally Free and Easy. The session is broadcast on 28 January.

February Laine disbands the group and concentrates on solo work on London’s folk circuit. After a few months, he moves to Spain and lives a gypsy lifestyle. Leigh briefly joins Spooky Tooth (appearing on their Ceremony album), before releasing a solo album on Polydor in early 1970. He will then become an integral part of Ian Matthews’s Southern Comfort.

May Moving to Spain, Laine stops first in the Canary Islands where he meets American draft dodger, Charlie Jackson, a flute player who has come to Spain to learn flamenco guitar. The pair become friends and busk for six months before moving to Moron de La Frontera, a small town near Seville. While there, Laine learns flamenco guitar phrases from players from all over the world and is influenced by local star, Diego del Eastor.

October Returning to Britain, Laine jams with the ad-hoc outfit Balls, which features John Lennon and Rolling Stone Brian Jones. The band reportedly records a song titled Go To The Mountains for Apple but it is never released. Around this time, he reunites with Mike Lease, who is working with John Martyn’s wife, singer/songwriter, Beverly Kutner. Lease agrees to help Laine audition bass players and drummers for a new version of Balls but despite finding suitable musicians, including drummer Peter Phillips, the line up never settles.

1969

February Laine participates in an early Blind Faith session. He is, however, in the process of forming a new line-up of Balls with Trevor Burton of The Move and decides not to join the outfit. He will later join Ginger Baker in Airforce in the spring of the following year on an ad-hoc basis.

1970

August (5-6) Having contributed to Ginger Baker’s Airforce album and spent the last 18 months rehearsing material with Trevor Burton and ex-Plastic Ono drummer Alan White at a country house in Cholesbury, Bucks, Balls are scheduled to make their live debut at the ‘Popanalia’ festival in Nice, France. The group misses the concert, although their lone single, Burton’s Fight For My Country backed by Laine and White’s Janie Slow Down is rush released in France by Byg Records. (The group is rumoured to have recorded 12 tracks for an album, although they are currently without a record contract. The sessions include contributions from ex-Family member Ric Grech.)

October (18) Balls’ debut UK live performance at the Lyceum in London fails to materialise. (The group was planning to record the show for a possible live album, but internal problems result in a cancellation of the show.) White subsequently leaves and Laine and Burton perform an acoustic set at their next show, held at Trent Poly, Nottingham. Shortly afterwards ex-Spooky Tooth drummer Mike Kellie agrees to join while singer Steve Gibbons is also added. The new line-up vows to undertake a UK tour in January 1971, but by then the group has broken up. Fight For My Country is released by Wizzard Records but fails to chart.

1971

July Laine forms a new group with bass player Steve Thompson, guitarist John Moorshead and drummer Peter Trout, who worked with The Electric String Band and rehearses material. However, Laine abandons the project when Paul McCartney invites the singer to join Wings in August.

Sources:
Bacon, Tony. ‘London Live’, Balafon Books, 1999.
Black, Johnny. ‘Blind Faith’. Mojo Magazine, July 1996.
Clayson, Alan. ‘Denny Laine’. Record Collector, #191, July 1995.
Clayson, Alan. Call Up The Groups - The Golden Age Of British Beat 1962-67. Blandford Press, 1985.
Dellar, Fred. ‘Time Machine’. Mojo Magazine, August 1997.
Doggett, Peter and Reed, John. ‘Looking Back at June 1968’. Record Collector #166, June 1993.
Gardner, Ken. Peel Sessions. BBC Books, 2007.
Hounsome, Terry. Rock Record #6. Record Researcher Publications, 1994.
King, Michael. Wrong Movements - The Robert Wyatt Story. SAF Publishing, 1994.
Laine, Denny. Denny Laine’s Guitar Book, Whizzard Press, 1979.
Paytress, Mark. ‘Reading Festival’. Record Collector, #216, August 1997.
Reed, John and Pelletier, Paul. ‘Middle Earth’. Record Collector, April 1996.
Rees, Dafydd and Crampton, Luke. Guinness Book Of Rock Stars, 2nd Edition. Guinness Publishing Ltd, 1989.
Wells, David. ‘Going Underground’. Record Collector, #216, August 1997.

Disc, April 15, 1967, page 4, May 6, 1967, page 6 and June 17, 1967, page 13.

Melody Maker, January 21, 1967, page 5; April 22, 1967, page 5; April 29, 1967, page 4; May 13, 1967, page 4; May 20, 1967, page 5; July 1, 1967, page 7; July 8, 1967, page 4; July 15, 1967, page 4; September 23, 1967, page 28; October 7, 1967, page 6; November 4, 1967, page 4; November 18, 1967, page 20; December 2, 1967, page 24; January 6, 1968, page 3; August 1, 1970, page 4; August 8, 1970, page 29; September 26, 1970, page 5; October 24, 1970, page 4 and November 14, 1970, page 14.

The Birmingham Evening Mail.

Many thanks to Peter Trout and Mike Lease for their memories of working with Denny Laine. Thanks also to Dave Allen.

© Copyright Nick Warburton, 2009. All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted in any from or by any means, without prior permission from the author.

To contact the author, email: Warchive@aol.com

Visit: www.nickwarburton.com

Special thanks to Jim Wynand for the scan of the Dutch sleeve and to MC for the rare Top Gear recordings.

When The Easybeats broke up in late 1969, following a final Australian tour, songwriters Harry Vanda and George Young returned to the UK to join forces with Young’s older brother Alex (who had changed his name to George Alexander as leader of Grapefruit) and they recorded under various aliases, including Paintbox, Moondance and Tramp.

While it cannot be said with any certainty who else was involved in the recordings issued under the names Paintbox, Moondance and Tramp, it is likely that Scottish bass player and singer Ian Campbell and Scottish drummer Freddie Smith, both of whom had worked with George Alexander in Tony Sheridan & The Big Six in the mid-1960s, were the remaining musicians involved. Both definitely played on later recordings, released under other aliases, including Grapefruit, Haffy's Whisky Sour and Marcus Hook Roll Band. Freddie Smith also recorded on some post-Shel Talmy Easybeats recordings in 1967.

Paintbox's lone single, released in June 1970, was a Miki Dallon production and was a typical British commercial soul number. The ‘A’ side was written by George Alexander while Harry Vanda and George Young composed the ‘B’ side. Interestingly, some copies came in a picture sleeve depicting five black musicians.

The same week the Paintbox 45 came out on Young Blood, A&M Records released a second single by the group under the name Moondance. “Lazy River” is a catchy Vanda and Young song while “Anna St Claire” is by George Alexander. In Germany, the single came in a picture sleeve, depicting two men, who bare no resemblance to the band members! In 1971 ”Lazy River” was released in Australia under the name Vanda and Young for Albert Productions with a different ‘B’ side titled ”Free And Easy”, also written by Vanda and Young.

In July, a second Young Blood single came out under the name Tramp. “Vietnam Rose” is a Vanda and Young composition while “Each Day” is by George Alexander. The single was also released in Germany and France. After this release, the group left Young Blood and signed to Deram, releasing two singles under the Haffy’s Whisky Sour and Grapefruit aliases. The Paintbox single was re-released in 1971 with “Get Ready For Love” having a slightly longer intro.

Paintbox
45s:
Get Ready For Love/Can I Get To Know You (Young Blood YB 1015) 1970
Get Ready For Love/Can I Get To Know You (Young Blood YB 1029) 1971

Moondance
45: Lazy River/Anna St Claire (A&M AMS 792) 1970

Tramp
45: Vietnam Rose/Each Day (Young Blood 1014) 1970

Article by Mike Griffiths and Nick Warburton

Copyright © Mike Griffiths and Nick Warburton, 2009. All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted in any from or by any means, without prior permission from the authors.

Top from Disc & Music Echo, July 25, 1970,
bottom review from Music Business Weekly, July 25, 1970

Floribunda Rose may have been lost to a bygone age but its lead singer and principal songwriter remains one of South Africa’s most successful exports and would years later become synonymous with one of Brit Pop’s most enduring anthems, The Happy Monday’s ‘He’s Gonna Step On You Again’.

Johnny Kongos

Born in Jo’burg on 6 August 1945 to Greek parents, aspiring singer/songwriter and guitarist Johnny Kongos had formed his first group, The Dukes, when he was 15 years old and began carving out a local following playing at his mother’s club, the Fireplace in Boksburg.

Joined by former Mickie Most & The Playboys guitarist Hank Squires in 1962, the group morphed into Johnny Kongos & The G-Men and over the next three years released nearly twenty singles and half a dozen albums for the Teal and RCA labels.

Johnny Kongos & the G-Men - Tobacco Road

In late 1963, Kongos made his first exploratory visit to the UK but despite auditioning for a couple of major labels, and running into Hank Squires’s former band leader, Mickie Most, now a fledging producer, Kongos failed to make an impact.

Empty handed, he returned to Jo’burg and reformed The G-Men. Plans to consolidate his earlier successes, however, were soon thrown in the air when the singer was called up for national defence training in late 1964.

Returning to civilian life six months later, Kongos picked up where he’d left off and recorded a final single with The G-Men, ‘Until It’s Time For You To Go’, which secured a release on Teal, the South African distributor for the Pye label.

Record Express, July 1966

Thanks to these connections, Kongos elected to return to the UK in April 1966, where he befriended Pye’s manager/producer John Schroeder. Sufficiently impressed by Kongos’s audition tape, Schroeder secured a solo deal with Pye’s subsidiary label, Piccadilly.

The fruits of the ensuing sessions turned up on the singer’s debut UK single – the folky, self penned ‘I Love Mary’, backed with the poppy Kongos/Leroy number, ‘Good Time Party Companion’, released that September. Credited to John T Kongos, the single was well received but did nothing chart-wise.

Soon after the single’s release, Kongos was back in South Africa beginning work on a fresh clutch of songs with the intention of recording an album. One night in April 1967, he dropped into the 505 club in Jo’burg’s trendy Hillbrow district and caught British group, The 004 entertaining the crowds (see The 004 page for a closer inspection of this fascinating group). Suitably impressed, he approached the band members after they’d finished their set and asked them to help him cut the planned album as paid musicians.

A hugely popular live act, The 004 had arrived in South Africa by boat in July 1965 on the back of a contract offered to the group’s lead guitarist, Pete Clifford (b. 10 May 1943, Whetstone, London). A former member of Dusty Springfield’s backing group, The Echoes, Clifford had first visited South Africa during 1964 and participated in the singer’s infamous tour where she was deported for refusing to play to segregated audiences.

While the tour had been a PR disaster, Clifford had been promised some lucrative work by Trevor Boswell, husband of South African 1950s star, Eve Boswell, and co-owner of the Keleti Artist Agency, if he could return from London with a new group.

Clifford sought around for suitable musicians and quickly recruited Welsh rhythm guitarist and singer Brian Gibson from The Laurie Jay Combo, who in turn recommended fellow countryman, bass player and singer Jack Russell (b. 29 April 1944, Caerleon, Wales).

Gibson and Russell had known each other for years, having first worked together in The Victors, resident band at the Latin Quarter, one of London’s top theatre restaurants.

“I had a call on the Monday from Brian,” remembers Russell, who was working as a manager for Vox in Dartford at the time. “He asked me if I fancied joining him in a band that was going to South Africa. I said, ‘Yes’ and asked, ‘When do we go?’ He said, ‘Thursday!’”

With Londoner Peter Stember (today a successful US-based photographer) completing the line up on drums, The 004 sailed for Durban and soon shot to local fame as one of the top groups working the clubs, so much so that they landed jobs supporting Gene Vincent and The Ivy League.

During 1966, the band released a handful of singles for CBS, including ‘The In Crowd’ and a decent album, It’s Alright, before Stember returned to the UK in August.

In his place, The 004 recruited Dutch-born, South African raised drummer Nick ‘Doc’ Dokter (b. 24 July 1945, Kampen, Overijsel, The Netherlands), who possessed an impressive musical CV, including a stint with The Leemen Limited alongside South African guitar legend, the late Ken E Henson.

Originally a bass player, Dokter moved to drums early his career after the sticksman in the garage band he was playing in gave up music for a regular job. Working with future A-Cads singer Sammy Evans in a factory making boilers, the pair struck up a friendship and in an interesting turn of events both ended up joining Johnny Kongos’ group The G-Men after the singer was called up for military service.

“We all went and played at John’s place, the Fireplace,” recalls Dokter. “From there I met Kenny Henson, who needed a drummer, so I moved to Durban to join Leemen Limited.”

After two rare singles on the Continental label, including a great version of ‘In The Midnight Hour’ backed by John Mayall’s ‘Heartaches’, it was time to move on again.

“I was just hanging around and Pete Clifford approached me. Peter Stember was leaving The 004 and he just said, ‘Why don’t you just come out and play with us?’ I was really a young kid and I had no experience of playing big clubs. They kinda took me under their wing.”

With Dokter filling the vacant drum stool, The 004 spent the remainder of 1966 consolidating their live reputation. When Gibson handed in his notice in early 1967 (later joining progressive rock band, Abstract Truth, alongside Henson), The 004 briefly recruited guitarist Barry Mitchell from rival band, The In Crowd, but the line up never gelled and when Kongos dropped into the 505, the group had been stripped to a trio.

“John originally offered a job to Jack and Pete,” says Dokter. “I wasn’t included in this. Eve Boswell’s son was originally going to be the drummer. He did some demos with Pete and Jack but it didn’t work out. I happened to be in one of the sessions and just took over.”

As Kongos recalls, he always intended to employ a Farfisa organ sound on his album so when Clifford, Dokter and Russell took up the offer to record with him, they were joined in the studio by a fifth member, Chris Demetriou (more commonly known as Chris Dee).

Chris Demetriou

Former keyboard player with Johannesburg’s finest R&B group, John E Sharpe & The Squires (see the Chris Demetriou interview page for more information on this band), Cyprus-born Demetriou had appeared on all of The Squires’ classic singles, including covers of The Kinks’ ‘Stop Your Sobbing’ and Paul Simon’s ‘I Am A Rock’, as well as the highly sought after Maybelline album.

“John located me through the Jo’burg Greek club,” remembers Demetriou. “I was invited to his house and the next thing I knew we were planning to leave the country and seek fame and fortune in London.”

As Kongos relates, his plan had always been to return to the UK with a band as soon as possible and use the recordings to secure further work. Looking back on the sessions, he dismisses most of the material as forgettable.

“I had written a bunch of songs and I basically wanted to do demos. I went into the studio with all of the guys and wound up taking that ‘album’ of demos to the UK.”

As events panned out, the band got half way through the recording when Kongos made a proposition: rather than pay the musicians for the sessions, he would cover everyone’s fares to UK.

According to Russell, it made sense to return home and crack the British market, especially when Kongos had connections in the music industry. “He would have been a fool not to do that,” he says. “He had a contract in his back pocket with Pye and a contract with Maurice King who ran the Walker Brothers among others; it was a stable worth getting into.”

Before setting off by boat in May 1967, the newly formed group posed for some publicity photos in Kongos’s Jo’burg house. Then, a few days’ later, set sail for England, writing and rehearsing material, including the Kongos-Russell collaboration, ‘Linda Loves Linda’, in preparing for the assault on the British market.

Throughout the long journey the group struggled to come up with a suitable name. “I wanted to call it Kongos’s Magic Dragon but [John] wouldn’t have it,” says Russell.

In fact, as the bass player explains, the musicians only agreed on Floribunda Rose on the way to their first gig! Having arrived at Maurice King’s office during their first week in London, the manager calmly informed the musicians that they had a gig the next day and studio time booked a few weeks later.

A second hand camper van was hastily purchased in Earl’s Court and the band set off for its debut gig – a small club in Castleford, West Yorkshire on 14 July, stopping off in central London on route to pick the elusive name.

“John and I walked across the street in Baker Street to a book shop, desperate to find a name for the band,” recalls Russell. “Flower power was at its zenith, so we plumped for Floribunda Rose. A bloody daft name but that was where people were at.”

After a handful of gigs in the north and the midlands, including shows in Tadcaster, Burnley and Tamworth, Floribunda Rose made their London debut at Tiles on 19 August.

Around this time, the group also cut its debut single under Schroeder’s watchful eye – the poppy ‘Linda Loves Linda’ – supposedly a tale of female narcissism, backed by Kongos’s infectious, and rather Beatlesque, ‘One Way Street’. The plug side, with its ‘Everyone is Loving Everywhere’ lyric, ‘fairground’ organ and free-form ending, chimes perfectly with the ‘peace, love vibe’.

Released in September 1967 on Pye’s Piccadilly subsidiary and the same week that Radio 1 aired, ‘Linda Loves Linda’ benefited from its publicity and was heavily plugged by Tony Blackburn and Pete Murray.

“We were very lucky,” says Russell. “Maurice King was an operator. He knew his stuff and employed a plugger who would go round the BBC with new releases.”

“In those days you had to get on the BBC play-list. We were on the first week of Radio 1. Only three singles a week out of the 80 releases used to get on that, which was fantastic.”

To coincide with the station’s launch, the group recorded a BBC Radio 1 session with Brian Matthews on 25 September for a show that was replacing Saturday Club, cutting new versions of ‘Linda Loves Linda’ and ‘One Way Street’, along with covers of Paul Simon’s ‘Bright Green Pleasure Machine’ and ‘59th Bridge Street Song’. None of the tracks have been released and remain buried somewhere in the BBC archive.

Yet despite getting on to the new play list, recording a live session and having a Juke Box Jury appearance as ‘mystery band’ (on 8 September) and being voted a hit, the single stiffed.

The group returned to the daily grind of touring, often travelling hundreds of miles to play small clubs and sharing the bill with the likes of The Zombies, Dave Berry and Lonnie Donegan to name a few.

“Most of our gigs were up and down the M1 at less prestigious venues,” recalls Demetriou. “We did play some university events and supported more well known acts.”

“There are lots of little funny things that happened with Floribunda Rose,” adds Kongos. “It was really corny actually – attempting to jump on the ‘Flower Power’ bandwagon. We did dumb things like throw out flowers to the crowd at the end of a the gig [which] went down really well in Workingmen’s clubs (not!)

“I think the best thing about the band was that we did really intricate medleys of known songs – a little like Vanilla Fudge, in the sense that the versions were very different.”

Book-ending the year, Floribunda Rose spent a month playing at the Top Ten in Hamburg, grafting for six hours a night to a largely unappreciative crowd. While there, Dokter remembers rubbing shoulders with the musicians that would later go on to form the nucleus of heavy rock band, Deep Purple.

Exhausted, the group drove home non-stop, heading straight for the Scottish Highlands in the first week of January where the first cracks in the band’s precarious line up surfaced.

“We did one [10-day] tour of Scotland [and] that was the last thing I did with them,” remembers Clifford, who left after the final gig on 14 January. “I then flew out from the freezing cold to the humid heat of Durban and nearly died. I had a pair of leather jack boots and a Scottish hiking jacket!”

Pete Clifford returns to South Africa and joins the Bats

Back in South Africa, the guitarist joined The Bats, appearing on the highly sought after Image album (which includes the superb ‘Money Ain't Worth a Dang’) and also playing numerous sessions, most notably providing bouzouki on Freedom Children’s debut album, Battle Hymn of The Broken Hearted Horde. During the late 1960s and 1970s, he became one of South Africa’s most respected guitarists and continues to tour with The Bats.

“[Pete] and John just butted like rams,” explains Russell on the guitarist’s dramatic exit. “Pete was very experienced. He had worked with some major people. He knew his stuff and was a good guitar player but basically John didn’t want a lead guitarist.”

“Pete Clifford was an incredible guitar player and so was John,” adds Dokter. “They were both very talented. It was good for Pete to actually go on his own and work with The Bats and John had the freedom to do what he wanted to do.”

Kongos has the last word: “Pete was not satisfied with the lack of progress in the band – it wasn’t easy travelling hundreds of miles to little gigs and winding up almost out of pocket at the end of the day. Musically too, it was not satisfying for us because we had different ideas. We got on each others’ nerves and could have been the model for Spinal Tap if we’d made it.”

Nick Dokter departs

With Clifford gone and Kongos assuming lead guitar duties, it wasn’t long before Dokter also bailed. “Nick was married and his wife was getting bored with the difficulties of not making money,” explains Kongos on the drummer’s departure in late February after a 10-day stand at the Nova club in Kensington, West London.

A qualified boilermaker, Dokter briefly returned to South Africa where he worked a day job while playing with various local groups. In the late 1960s, he moved to his country of birth, Holland, and returned to school to study engineering. Turning down an offer to join The Golden Earring, he subsequently emigrated to Canada in 1969.

During the early 1970s, he got back into playing and recorded an unreleased album with 5 Man Cargo, which later morphed in Cross Town Bus. Through this group he met promoter Bruce Allan and ended up working for his agency for nearly two decades, although Dokter did make occasion trips back to South Africa where he played with his old buddy Kenny Henson in his duo, Finch & Henson among other projects.

“Needless to say, being on the road for 20 years, six-to-nine months at a time, took its toll and I became a studio/session drummer,” says Dokter, who retired from playing full-time in 1989 and currently lives in Vancouver. In the summer of 2009, he plans to visit the UK and catch up with Jack Russell, who he hasn’t seen since early 1968.

With Dokter out of the picture, the remaining members returned to London where Russell and Demetriou found themselves caught up in a police raid at their shared flat. “Unbeknown to us, while we were away in Germany and Scotland our road manager had been renting our rooms out,” says Russell, recalling the tragic event.

“People had been using our place as a doss house and these guys had been dealing. We hadn’t a clue the police had been watching the place and we arrived back the morning they hit the place. We were fitted up and forced to plead guilty. We were fined £50 and got front page of The Sun.”

Putting the loss of Dokter behind them, Russell returned to the Welsh valleys and brought back 16-year-old wonder kid, Henry Spinetti (b. 31 March 1951, Cwm, Wales), younger brother of Victor Spinetti and today Katie Melua’s drummer.

With two weeks’ work lined up at the Top Ten in Hamburg, kicking off on 1 March, the group headed for the continent bearing a new name – Scrugg. “I chose the name because we wanted a more earthy image and I was a fan of Earl Scruggs the banjo player,” admits Russell.

“That was a suggestion that we all made,” chips in Clifford, who believes the name was discussed while he was still a member. “We were all trying to think of a new image and I think I left on the verge of Scrugg because I’ve got a picture of Floribunda Rose and then in brackets it says ‘Scrugg’.”

Under its new guise, Scrugg returned to the studios with John Schroeder to work on the first of three classic singles, which, as David Wells rightly points out in the liners for the John Kongos’s compilation album, Lavender Popcorn, “remain exquisite examples of the psychedelic pop sound.”

Scrugg’s debut outing, released on Pye in April 1968, coupled two John Kongos numbers – ‘Everyone Can See’ backed with ‘I Wish I Was Five’. The latter is undoubtedly the stronger of the two and is notable for Lew Warburton’s stirring string arrangement (based directly on Russell’s bass line) and Demetriou’s moody organ playing, which heightens the tension, building to a dramatic climax. A yearning for the innocence and honesty of youth, ‘I Wish I Was Five’ should have been the side to plug and perhaps not surprisingly the single went nowhere.

Two months later, Pye rushed out a follow up, a cover of Scott English’s poppy ‘Lavender Popcorn’, backed by the Kongos penned ‘Sandwich Board Man’, which the singer says was inspired by said character who he used to see regularly on Oxford Street.

A noted songwriter, English, had serious pop credentials and had scored hits with covers of ‘Hi Ho Silver Lining’ and ‘Bend Me Shape Me’, but the group was uncomfortable recording such a blatant teeny-bopper, bubblegum track. The band’s producer, however, overruled any objections and even contributed to the recording by playing piano with a plectrum! “John Schroeder said, ‘You’re doing it’,” remembers Russell. “‘You’ve had two of your own and you’re doing one of mine now, so shut up!’”

Tailor-made for the pop market, ‘Lavender Popcorn’ should have been Scrugg’s commercial breakthrough but like its predecessors faded into obscurity.

Debuting on 3 August 1968, the band also became regulars at London’s renowned nightclub, Scotch of St James, returning again for shows on 7 and 14 September and culminating with a two-night stand on 27-28 September.

During this hectic period of touring, Scrugg participated in a historic moment in rock history, opening for a “mystery” band of superstars at a show at Sheffield University on 23 November.

“We opened for them and then watched their show,” says Kongos. “We all agreed that these guys would probably not make it because ‘who needed another Cream?’ so we gave them the thumbs down. They were called Led Zeppelin!”

With Zeppelin’s star in the ascent and Scrugg’s future looking bleak, the end was in sight.

DJ John Peel remained a huge fan and opened his show numerous times during its first week of release but despite the publicity, it failed to chart. Dispirited, the musicians decided to call it a day, bowing out with a two-night stand in Margate, Kent on 18-19 January.

In the aftermath of Scrugg’s split, Kongos went on to establish a successful solo career in the early Seventies, scoring hits with ‘He’s Gonna Step On You Again’ (co-written with Demetriou) and ‘Tokoloshe Man’. He currently resides in Arizona and is preparing material for a new album.

The others meanwhile maintained a less visible, albeit rewarding careers. Spinetti became a top session drummer, working with the likes of Roger Chapman, Bill Wyman and Eric Clapton while Demetriou co-wrote several songs for Kongos’s debut album, Confusions of a Goldfish, and later oversaw recordings for Mike D’Abo and Cat Stevens among others. He currently lives in Esher, Surrey and is a pastor in a local church.

Russell, who gave up playing music in 1969, later ran a successful specialist advertising agency before retiring in 2005. Aside from a brief reunion with Pete Clifford and Brian Gibson where they played at a theatre in Hampton Hill, Middlesex to celebrate Russell’s 6oth birthday, he currently plays solo sets at the Rising Sun pub in Twickenham.

Aficionados can expect to pay hefty prices for Floribunda Rose and Scrugg singles. Mercifully, Castle compiled an excellent CD in 2001 called Lavender Popcorn, pulling together all of the recordings, including the previously unreleased Scrugg track, ‘Patriotic’, although regrettably the BBC radio sessions were omitted.

Despite that small oversight, the CD is recommended to anyone who feels the urge to savour some of the most exquisitely recorded British psychedelic pop.

© Copyright Nick Warburton, May 2008, updated January 2009. All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted in any from or by any means, without prior permission from the author.

To contact the author, email: Warchive@aol.com

Visit: www.nickwarburton.com

Discography:

Floribunda Rose:
Linda Loves Linda / One Way Street, Piccadilly 7N.35408

Scrugg:
Everyone Can See / I Wish I Was Five, Pye 7N.17492
Lavender Popcorn / Sandwichboard Man, Pye 7N.17551
Will the Real Geraldine Please Stand Up and Be Counted / Only George, Pye 7N.17656

"What Would I Do" was the first of four singles they released on Pye in '64 and '65. To say this song has charm would be an understatement, even more so if you've seen Seven Up. The bridge is especially fine, with tremolo guitar behind the vocals "if I say that I love you, and you know that it's true ..."

The band gives a sharp performance on the flip, "Is It Right" though the song is less distinctive than the top side. Both songs on their first 45 were written by 'Stanley Alexander', actually Brian Alexander and Stanley Peter Frederick according to the BMI database. I didn't know anything else about the band until Phil T. contacted me with the newspaper clipping and the following info:

During their early years, the group line-up changed many times but by 1964, it comprised Brian Alexander (lead), Jim Eaton (vocals and rhythm), Pete Stanley (bass) and Gary Nichols (drums) and I believe that it was these four who made the recordings. Their original vocalist, Nigel Basham also performed separately under the name Mark Lloyd and was backed from time to time at local gigs by another Southend band, The Mustangs, who also originated at Westcliff High.

Sadly, I understand that The Monotones' drummer, Gary Nichols, died in April 2007.

Much more information about the band came when Jim Eaton and Peter Stanley left detailed comments about the band. To read the full history of the group and it's change to the Treetops, read through the comments below. Jim also sent the photos seen here with this comment:

I have attached some photos of The Monotones in the early sixties and also some of The Treetops (our new name when we joined Mecca at the Wimbledon Tiffanys). You will note we added a female to our lineup, a great vocalist Martha Smith. We cut several records as The Treetops when the lineup comprised Brian Alexander (lead guitar and backing vocals), Jim Eaton (rhythm guitar and lead vocals), Pete Stanley (bass guitar and backing vocals), Mark Lloyd (lead vocals, vibes and harmonica), Martha Smith (lead vocals and piano) and Pete Trout our very fine drummer.

In the article about the band for The Southend Standard Jim Eaton also noted their appearance on Ready Steady Go, Thank Your Lucky Stars and Juke Box Jury, clips I'd love to see if they still survive.

Jim Eaton recently heard these songs again for the first time in about 47 years! He wrote to me:

I received and played the record yesterday and it is definitely us. I now recall cutting both sides as a demo in 1963 at the Regent Sound Studio in London's famous Denmark St. (also known as Tin Pan Alley due to the large number of studios, record publishers and musical instrument shops.)

Jim Eaton suggested I include more songs by the Monotones and Treetops on the site. Click on any of the songs in blue type in the discography below to listen.

Monotones discography:

UK:
Pye 7N 15608 - What Would I Do / Is It Right (February 14, 1964)
Pye 7N 15640 - It's Great / Anymore (1964)
Pye 7N 15761 - No Waiting / Like A Lover Should (1965)
Pye 7N 15814 - Something's Hurting Me / A Girl Like That (1965)

US:
Hickory 1250 - What Would I Do / Is It Right
Hickory 1306 - When Will I Be Loved / If You Can't Give Me All

Mark Loyd backed by the Monotones with session musicians:

Parlophone R 5277 - I Keep Thinking About You / Will It Be the Same (1965)
Parlophone R 5332 - Everybody Tries / She Said No (1965)
Parlophone R 5423 - When Evening Falls / When I'm Gonna Find Her (March 1966)

Note that all his solo releases spell his last name "Loyd"

Treetops discography:

Parlophone R 5628 - Don't Worry Baby / I Remember (1967 - also released in the U.S. on Tower 388)
Parlophone R 5669 - California My Way / Carry On Living (Feb. 1968)

Columbia DB 8727 - Mississippi Valley / Man Is a Man (1970)
Columbia DB 8799 - Without the One You Love / So Here I Go Again (1971)
Columbia DB 8934 - Why Not Tonite / Funky Flop-Out (Oct. 13, 1972)
Columbia DB 9013 - Gypsy / Life Is Getting Better (Aug 3, 1973)

Thanks to Phil for sending in the article from The Southend Standard, January 2006 and to Jim Eaton for his help with songs, photos and information for this page.