Category Archives: Southend-on-Sea

The Paramounts’ gigs 1964-1966

January 14, 2018 Nick Warburton 4 Comments

Welcome to another posting of a series of gig listings for 1960s bands. None of these lists is exhaustive and my idea is to add to them in the comments section below over time. They are here for future researchers to draw on. I have also added a few interesting bits of information and will add images in time.

I’d like to encourage band members to get in touch to share memories, or for anyone to send corrections/clarifications to my email: Warchive@aol.com

Equally important, if you attended any of the gigs below or played in the support band, please do leave your memories below in the comments section for future historians to use. If you know of any missing gigs, please add them too, if possible, with the sources.

Fabulous 208, July 1965, clockwise from top left: Brooker, Derrick, Wilson and Trower. Image may be subject to copyright

Formed in 1959, The Paramounts’ line-up comprised the following by late 1963:

Gary Brooker – keyboards/lead vocals

Robin Trower – lead guitar

Graham ‘Diz’ Derrick – bass

Barry J Wilson – drums

1962

5 May 1962 – Hi-Fi Hop, Walton Playhouse, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey (Woking Herald) Replaced Neil Christian & The Crusaders who cancelled

26 May 1962 – Hi-Fi Hop, Walton Playhouse, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey (Woking Herald)

1963

30 November 1963 – Ricky Tick, Reading St John Ambulance Hall, Reading, Berkshire (David Else’s research)

1964

19 January 1964 – Ricky Tick, Olympia Ballroom, Reading, Berkshire (David Else’s research)

22 January 1964 – Cromer Olympia, Cromer, Norfolk with Denny Raven & The Sabres (North Norfolk News)

The Middlesex Chronicle ran an article and photo (see above) on the band in its 31 January 1964 issue, page 2

21 February 1964 – Palace Dance Hall, Pier Hill, Southend, Essex (Southend Standard & Essex Weekly Advertiser)

18 March 1964 – Bristol Corn Exchange, Bristol (Western Scene)

26 March 1964 – Hillside Ballroom, Hereford (Gloucester Citizen)

29 March 1964 – Agincourt Ballroom, Camberley, Surrey with Danie Boone & The Emeralds (Aldershot News)

30 March 1964 – California Ballroom, Dunstable, Bedfordshire with The Puppets and Margo & The Marvelletes (website: www.california-ballroom.info/gigs/)

4 April 1964 – Rhodes Centre, Bishop’s Stortford, Herts with Johnny & The Starliners (Steve Ingless book: The Day Before Yesterday)

6 April 1964 – Weybridge Hall, Weybridge, Surrey (Woking Herald)

9 May 1964 – West Cliff Cavern, Ramsgate, Kent (East Kent Times)

15 May 1964 – Ricky-Tick, Plaza Ballroom, Guildford, Surrey (Aldershot News)

18 May 1964 – Clacton Town Hall, Clacton, Essex with The Contrasts and The Deepbeats (Essex County Standard)

23 May 1964 – Dreamland Ballroom, Margate, Kent with The Del Rio Four (East Kent Times)

5 June 1964 – Wimbledon Palais, Wimbledon, southwest London with Demons and Chantons (Streatham News)

13 June 1964 – Wilton Hall, Bletchley, Bucks with Jeannie & The Diamonds (Bletchley District Gazette)

14 June 1964 – Plaza Ballroom, Newbury, Berkshire with Ricky & The Gamblers (Newbury Weekly News)

4 July 1964 – Civic Hall, Guildford, Surrey with Phil & The Stormsville Shakers (Surrey Advertiser)

10 July 1964 – Winchester Lido, Winchester, Hampshire with Kerry Rapid & The Seltones (Hampshire & Berkshire Gazette)

16 July 1964 – Assembly Hall, Worthing, West Sussex with The Kinks and The Creatures (Worthing Gazette) This Worthing Herald (below pic) lists The Preachers instead of The Creatures

24 July 1964 – Locarno Ballroom, Basildon, Essex with Manfred Mann and The Monotones (Southend Standard and Essex Weekly Advertiser)

22 August 1964 – Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone, Kent (Kentish Express)

4 September 1964 – Greenwich Town Hall, Greenwich, London with The Renegades (South East London Mercury)

6 September 1964 – ABC Great Yarmouth, Norfolk with Freddie & The Dreamers, Barry St John, Tom Jones & The Playboys, The Rustiks and Clifford Davis (Eastern Evening News)

10 September 1964 – Modern Jazz Studio, Westcliffe, Essex (Southend Standard & Essex Weekly Advertiser)

11 September 1964 – Ilford Town Hall, Ilford, east London with The Coronets and The Marvettes (Ilford & Redbridge Recorder)

25 September 1964 – The Starlite Ballroom, Greenford, Middlesex with Alexis Korner’s Blues Inc (Harrow Observer & Gazette)

27 September 1964 – Queen’s Theatre, Blackpool, Lancashire with The Kinks, Marianne Faithful, Jerry Stevens, The Quotations, The Puppets and The Rustiks (Poster from Mick Downer)

3 October 1964 – Corn Exchange, Cambridge with The Loose Ends (Cambridge News)

10 October 1964 – Hi-Fi Hop, Walton Playhouse, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey (Woking Herald) The group replaced The Herd

11 October 1964 – 76 Club, Burton on Trent, Staffordshire (website: http://www.76club.org.uk/gigs.html)

Around this time B J Wilson left to join Jimmy Powell’s Five Dimensions and Phil Wainman joined beating Mick Underwood to the job. Wainman had recently returned from Sweden where he’d played with British band, The Hi-Grades

31 October 1964 – Gala Ballroom, Norwich, Norfolk with The Preachers (Eastern Evening News)

7 November 1964 – Gaiety Ballroom, Ramsey, Cambridgeshire with Bobby Leroy & The Freeman (Cambridgeshire Times)

20 November 1964 – Borough Assembly Hall, Market Square, Aylesbury, Bucks with The Pagans (Bucks Advertiser)

10 December 1964 – Rocky Rivers Top 20 Club, Conservative Club, Bedford with top supporting group (Ampthill News & Weekly Record)

17 December 1964 – Modern Jazz Studio, Westcliffe, Essex (Southend Standard & Essex Weekly Advertiser)

20 December 1964 – Alley Club, Cambridge (Cambridge News)

1965

2 January 1965 – Civic Hall, Guildford, Surrey with The King Bees (Surrey Advertiser)

10 January 1965 – Dungeon Club, Nottingham (website: https://dungeonmods.wordpress.com/)

14 January 1965 – R&B Studio, Westcliffe, Southend, Essex (Southend Standard & Essex Weekly Advertiser)

21 January 1965 – Civic Hall, Guildford, Surrey with The King Bees (Surrey Advertiser)

31 January 1965 – Agincourt Ballroom, Camberley, Surrey with Daniel & The Emeralds (Aldershot News)

According to Ron Wood’s book ‘How Can I Be? A Rock & Roll Diary’, Phil Wainman deputised for Pete McDaniels in The Birds for a gig at London Polytechnic on 6 February 1965

11 February 1965 – R&B Studio, Westcliffe, Southend, Essex (Southend Standard & Essex Weekly Advertiser)

14 February 1965 – Cromer Olympia, Cromer, Norfolk with The Statesmen (North Norfolk News)

27 February 1965 – Winter Gardens, Bournemouth, Dorset with Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw, The Barron Knights, The Roulettes, Freddie Searle and Patrick Kerr (Dorset Evening Echo)

3 March 1965 – Granada, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey with Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw, The Barron Knights and The Roulettes (Woking Herald)

7 March 1965 – Walthamstow Guardian, Walthamstow, north London with Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw, The Barron Knights, The Roulettes, Patrick Kerr and Freddie Earle (Leyton, Leytonstone and Waltham Forest Guardian)

Around this time B J Wilson returned to the band. Wainman later became a noted producer but spent the mid-late 1960s backing Jimmy Cliff with The New Generation, playing with Hamilton & The Hamilton Movement and then working with The Quotations, supporting Jack Hammer

27 March 1965 – Lion Hotel, Warrington, Cheshire with The Tributes and The Aarons (Warrington Guardian)

8 April 1965 – Waterfront, Southampton, Hants (Southern Echo)

11 April 1965 – Tavern Club, Sunshine Floor, East Dereham, Norfolk with The Rocking Roosters (Lynn News)

17 April 1965 – Hastings Pier, Hastings, East Sussex with The Searchers (Roger Bistow’s research at Dizzy Tiger Music website)

19 April 1965 – Studio, Westcliffe, Essex (Southend Standard and Essex Weekly Advertiser)

21 April 1965 – Studio, Westcliffe, Essex (Southend Standard and Essex Weekly Advertiser)

22 April 1965 – Birdcage, Kimbells Ballroom, Southsea, Hampshire (Dave Allen research)

30 April 1965 – Haslemere Hall, Haslemere, Surrey with Chic Henderson (Farnham Herald)

6 May 1965 – Birdcage, Kimbells Ballroom, Southsea, Hampshire (Dave Allen research)

10 May 1965 – Blue Moon, Hayes, west London with Poison Ivy (Dorothy Bullock list) This could be another year

14 May 1965 – Cricketers Inn, Westcliff, Southend, Essex (Southend Standard and Essex Weekly Advertiser)

20 May 1965 – Birdcage, Kimbells Ballroom, Southsea, Hampshire (Dave Allen research)

21 May 1965 – Beat Room, South Benfleet, Essex (Southend Standard & Essex Weekly Advertiser)

28 May 1965 – Cricketers Inn, Westcliff, Southend, Essex with The Ray Martin Group (Southend Standard and Essex Weekly Advertiser)

29 May 1965 – Princess Ballroom, Halifax, West Yorkshire with The Misfits (Halifax Daily Courier & Guardian)

2 June 1965 – TA Centre, Andover, Hampshire with The Men Friday (Andover Advertiser)

16 June 1965 – Dorothy Ballroom, Cambridge with Bob Kidman & His Orchestra and Barry Noble & The Sapphires (Cambridge News)

16 July 1965 – Tarpots Public House, Benfleet, Essex (Southend Standard & Essex Weekly Advertiser)

23 July 1965 – Tarpots Public House, Benfleet, Essex (Southend Standard & Essex Weekly Advertiser)

20 August 1965 – Cricketers Inn, Southend, Essex (Southend Standard and Essex Weekly Advertiser)

28 August 1965 – Rhodes Centre, Bishop’s Stortford, Herts with The Cortinas (Steve Ingless book: The Day Before Yesterday)

4 September 1965 – Cricketers Inn, Southend, Essex (Southend Standard and Essex Weekly Advertiser)

4 September 1965 – Harpenden Public Hall, Harpenden, Herts with The Mob (Welwyn & Hatfield Advertiser)

9 September 1965 – Orchid Ballroom, Purley, Surrey (Chris Broom book: Rockin’ and Around Croydon) They backed Sandie Shaw

24 September 1965 – Locarno Ballroom, Basildon, Essex with The Transalantics and The Pentads (Southend Standard & Essex Weekly Advertiser)

27 November 1965 – Starlight Ballroom, Boston Gliderdrome, Boston, Lincolnshire with Sandie Shaw, The Quiet Five and The Basic Five (Lincolnshire Standard)

24 December 1965 – Bromley Court Hotel, Bromley, southeast London (Boyfriend magazine)

24 December 1965 – Cricketers Inn, Westcliff, Southend, Essex with The Orioles (Southend Standard and Essex Weekly Advertiser)

31 December 1965 – Cricketers Inn, Westcliff, Southend, Essex (Southend Standard and Essex Weekly Advertiser)

1966

3 January 1966 – Woodhall Community Centre, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire (website: http://www.coda-uk.co.uk/60’s_music_scene.htm)

4 January 1966 – Birdcage, Eastney, Hampshire (Dave Allen research)

25 January 1966 – Hut Hall, Westcott, Surrey (Caterham Weekly Press)

1 February 1966 – Ready Steady Go Club, Aylesbury, Bucks (website: http://aylesburymusictown.co.uk/)

12 February 1966 – Lion Hotel, Warrington, Cheshire with The Inmates and The Shades (Warrington Guardian)

19 February 1966 – Birdcage, Eastney, Hampshire (Dave Allen research)

Photo: Boyfriend magazine. Image may be subject to copyright

4 March 1966 – Rink Ballroom, West Hartlepool (Boyfriend magazine)

5 March 1966 – Bowes Lyon House, Stevenage, Herts (Boyfriend magazine)

11 March 1966 – White Knight’s Hall, Reading University, Reading, Berkshire (Boyfriend magazine)

12 March 1966 – King’s Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire (Boyfriend magazine)

18 March 1966 – Ritz Ballroom, Bournemouth, Dorset (Boyfriend magazine)

19 March 1966 – Bath’s Hall, Northampton (Boyfriend magazine)

1-2 April 1966 – Pink Panther Club, Glasgow, Scotland (Trend & Boyfriend)

4 April 1966 – Town Hall, Bridgwater, Somerset (Trend & Boyfriend)

22 April 1966 – Birdcage, Eastney, Hampshire (Dave Allen research)

23 April 1966 – Farnborough Technical College Students’ Union, Farnborough, Hampshire with Tony Rivers & The Castaways (Aldershot News)

24 April 1966 – Bluesette Club, Leatherhead, Surrey (Poster from John Treais)

27 April 1966 – Bromley Court Hotel, Bromley, southeast London (Melody Maker)

29 April 1966 – Cricketers Inn, Westcliff, Southend, Essex with The Fugitives (Southend Standard)

30 April 1966 – Hermitage Ballroom, Hitchin, Herts with Jeff & The Exiles (Hertfordshire Express)

14 May 1966 – Legion Hall, Amersham, Bucks with The Cherries (Buckinghamshire Advertiser)

14 May 1966 – Starlight Club, Ilford, east London (Redbridge & Ilford Recorder)

21 May 1966 – The Place, Hanley, Staffordshire (Evening Sentinel)

22 May 1966 – Tavern Club, Dereham, Norfolk with The Sullivan James Band (North Norfolk News)

30 May 1966 – Town Hall, Clacton, Essex with The Quiet Five and Marvin Lois Enterprise (Essex County Standard)

11 June 1966 – Starlight Ballroom, Boston Gliderdrome, Boston, Lincolnshire with The Cryin’ Shames, The Dyaks and The Ferryboys (Lincolnshire Standard)

19 June 1966 – Ship & Rainbow, Wolverhampton, West Midlands with The Soul Seekers (Express & Star)

25 June 1966 – Dorothy Ballroom, Cambridge with Bob Kidman & His Band, Wainwright’s Gentlemen, Mood Indigo and The Astrobeats (Cambridge News)

26 June 1966 – Rocky Rivers’ Top 20 Club, Conservative Club, Bedford (Ampthill News & Weekly Record)

In late June/early July Robin Trower left to form his own group, The Jam and Martin Shaw joined on guitar from Freddie Mack & The Mack Sound

14 July 1966 – Bamboo Club, Farnborough, Hampshire (Aldershot News/Camberley News)

16 July 1966 – Bamboo Club, Farnborough, Hampshire (Aldershot News/Camberley News)

Saxophone player Jimmy Jewell, who played with Martin Shaw in Freddie Mack’s band joins The Paramounts for a short German tour backing singer Chris Andrews but leaves after it’s completed

30 September 1966 – Glenlyn Ballroom, Forest Hill, southeast London (South East London Mercury)

7-8 October 1966 – Scotch of St James, Mayfair, central London (London Life)

29 October 1966 – Scotch of St James, Mayfair, central London (London Life)

4 November 1966 – University of Warwick, Coventry with Cream (Poster)

The Paramounts split in November 1966 and B J Wilson briefly joined George Bean & The Runners before joining Freddie Mack and The Mack Sound before the year was out. He then worked with Sands before he reunited with Brooker and Trower in Procol Harum in June 1967

Categories: England, Essex, Parlophone, Southend-on-Sea, Westcliff-on-Sea

Nigel Basham (Mark Loyd of the Monotones)

December 29, 2016 Chris Bishop 3 Comments

Westcliff High School for Boys circa 1958: Nigel Basham, Arthur Walker, Martin Bayley, Chris Winch, Selwyn, Ian Crawshaw. — Westcliff High School for Boys circa 1958. Nigel Basham is third from the left, with Arthur Walker on Nigel’s right doing the V-sign. Others in the group include Martin Bayley, Chris Winch, Selwyn, and seated, smoking, Ian Crawshaw.

Tim Wainwright sent in this photo of Nigel Basham with school friends at at Westcliff High School for Boys, circa 1958. Not bad quality from a worn 3″ x 2″ print. Tim wrote the caption above and adds, “the pic is a group from the school having a smoke by the bike sheds, totally against school rules.”

Nigel Basham was part of the Monotones, covered extensively on this site in a main post and a second focused on photos of their early days. In the Monotones, Nigel took the professional name of Mark Loyd, sometimes spelled Mark Lloyd.

As Mark Loyd, he released three singles on Parlophone, timeless British soul music that is highly valued now. Mark Loyd passed away on April 4, 2012 in Sydney, Australia, where he ran a successful event and performance management company called Popset.

Categories: England, Essex, Southend-on-Sea, Westcliff-on-Sea

The Monotones – early years 1960-1962

May 22, 2011 Chris Bishop 23 Comments

The Monotones’ first rhythm guitarist Ian Middlemiss sent these photos and clippings of his time in the band from 1958-1962.

The photo captions are by Ian:

Earliest photo of the Monotones at St Cedds Church gig early in 1960 From left: Pete Stanley, Brian Alexander, Ian Middlemiss, Nigel Basham, and Barry Davis — Earliest photo of the Monotones at St Cedds Church gig early in 1960
From left: Pete Stanley, Brian Alexander, Ian Middlemiss, Nigel Basham, and Barry Davis

Ian Middlemiss with a Hofner Club 50 (?), never stayed in tune for more than 10 mins. June 1960, venue cannot remember

A clip from the local paper, gig at St Cedds in May 1961

St Cedds May '61. Clearly this is in open E. Middlemiss has got a Strat copy, Alexander exploring the possibilities of the Mixolydian mode in position 1? This I doubt. Alexander's thrashing about trying to find notes that roughly match the melody. — St Cedds May ’61. Clearly this is in open E. Middlemiss has got a Strat copy, Alexander exploring the possibilities of the Mixolydian mode in position 1? This I doubt. Alexander’s thrashing about trying to find notes that roughly match the melody.

April 1962, from left: Jim Eaton, Barry Davis, Paul Dunning, Brian Alexander and Ian Middlemiss. Stanley got fed up and had a six month sabbatical. He did come back eventually.

From left: Nigel Basham, Barry Davis, Paul Dunning, Brian Alexander and Ian Middlemiss. A half decent shot of Stanley's bass made by his Dad. Basham and Eaton shared the vocals or should I say Mark Lloyd and Thurston Crane (tee-hee). In 1962 to sing vocals you had to wear a suit and tie and pretend that you were a gentleman. — From left: Nigel Basham, Barry Davis, Paul Dunning, Brian Alexander and Ian Middlemiss. A half decent shot of Stanley’s bass made by his Dad. Basham and Eaton shared the vocals or should I say Mark Lloyd and Thurston Crane (tee-hee). In 1962 to sing vocals you had to wear a suit and tie and pretend that you were a gentleman.

Monotones early gig notices White Hall, Westcliff; Essex Bowling Club, Wentworth Youth Centre — 200 people at 2/6 a pop = £50 divided by 5 = £10 per member which is more than a 1960s weekly wage. Remember most of us were at WHSB and you get a 5 gallons of petrol for £1, pie and chips for 1/6d and get trousered for £2. No small wonder that Brian A. hired the White Hall for our debut performance. The downside of the White Hall was that they had no alcohol license.
Brian hired the dance hall at the Elms which was much bigger (300). An immediate success but the manager saw the potential and in the end got the beer money and the gate. We were not too bothered, the ladies were more important.

Monotones early gig notices, Middleton Hotel, St. Cedds, Castle Hotel Thorpe Bay — Who were the Strangers, Ebonies and O B Swing 5?

Categories: Columbia, England, Essex, Hickory, Parlophone, Pye Records, Southend-on-Sea

The Monotones and the Treetops

January 4, 2009 Chris Bishop 127 Comments

The Monotones in Holland, 1964: Brian Alexander, Gary Nichols, Jim Eaton and Pete Stanley — The Monotones in Holland, 1964
from left: Brian Alexander, Gary Nichols, Jim Eaton and Pete Stanley

If you’ve ever seen Michael Apted’s 1964 documentary Seven Up! you may have wondered what song the kids are dancing to during the party scene towards the end of the film. I learned from my friend Michael Lynch that the song was “What Would I Do” by the Monotones, a group from Southend-on Sea in Essex, about 45 miles directly east of London.

Mark Lloyd and Jim Eaton singing the Everly's — Mark Lloyd and Jim Eaton singing the Everly’s

“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 Loyd 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.

Photos of the band’s early years sent to me by guitarist Ian Middlemiss can be seen on this separate page.

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.

The Monotones had two U.S. releases on the Hickory label, one of which, “When Will I Be Loved” / “If You Can’t Give Me All” was not released in the UK. It turns out to be a demo recorded before their first Pye 45, released in the U.S. without the group’s knowledge!

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.)

Monotones 45 releases:

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

Monotones promo photo for "Now Waiting", from left: Jim Eaton, Brian Alexander, Gary Nichols and Pete Stanley — Promo shot for “Now Waiting”, from left: Jim Eaton, Brian Alexander, Gary Nichols and Pete Stanley

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 45 releases:

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)

Postscript, February 2011:

Jim Eaton: “I have just returned from Australia where I caught up with Mark Loyd who was for many years part of The Monotones before he pursued a solo career.

Update, April, 2012

I’m sorry to report that Mark Loyd (born Nigel Basham), the lead singer with the Monotones and Treetops passed away on April 4, 2012, after fighting cancer for seven years. Mark had been living in Sydney, Australia where he ran a successful event/management company. My condolences to his family, friends, and band mates.

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.