Guitarist Paul Brett put this band together around February 1965 after playing in The Southwest Four (aka SW4) with future Blonde on Blonde guitarist/singer Ralph Denyer, who’d gone on to play with Rag Men & Women.
Having started out playing with some local groups around the Fulham area, Brett’s first big break had come in early 1963 when he took over from Jimmy Page in Neil Christian & The Crusaders joining Neil Christian (lead vocals); Matt Smith (piano); Jumbo Spicer (bass); and Tornado Evans (drums). He left in June 1963.
The SW4 may have evolved into The South West Five who played at the Ealing Club on 29 November, 6 December and 24 December, but this needs confirmation. The South West Five also played at the Bromel Club in Bromley on 4 January 1965.
Art Regis came on-board after playing with The Impacts but it’s not clear what the other members had done before. Toomey, however, was from the Catford area in southeast London.
Early on it became clear that the group needed a strong lead singer and after bringing in back-up singer Heather Swinson and bass player Roy Stacey (both ex-The Impacts), Brett recruited singer Arthur Brown who was studying at Reading University and had recorded a flexi disc with The Diamonds comprising the Brown sung “You Don’t Know”.
Photo may be subject to copyright
Stacey recalls one gig at Reading University supporting The Nashville Teens where they upstaged the headliners. It’s quite possible that this gig was organised by Brown if he was studying at the university at the time (he’d leave summer 1965).
With Brown joining the group, they became Arthur Brown & The Machines.
Thanks to Paul Brett, Roy Stacey, Art Regis and David Else for helping with the story
The Impacts, 1964. Left to right: Tony Noble, Roy Stacey, Dave Terry (aka Elmer Gantry), John Reeves and Chris Allen
Dave Terry (later Elmer Gantry) (lead vocals)
John Reeves (lead guitar)
Tony Noble (rhythm guitar)
Roy Stacey (bass)
Chris Allen (drums)
This Barnes, southwest London band had started life as The Southbeats in early 1963.
As Roy Stacey notes, the group was part of the Bob Druce circuit with The High Numbers (later The Who) and performed regularly at The Goldhawk Social Club in Shepherd’s Bush, west London, Watford Trade Union Hall in Watford, Herts, the Railway Hotel in Wealdstone, Middlesex and the Glenlyn Ballroom in Forest Hill, southeast London.
Photo: Boyfriend magazine, October 1964
Changing name to The Impacts in November 1963, they appeared in The Contact, a small budget film for the Spastics Society, in January 1964. An early outing for John Hurt, Pauline Collins and Wendy Richard, the film included a cameo performance by the group playing live in one scene, which can be seen on You Tube.
Later that year, actor Hugh Halliday, who had starred in The Contact and also played drums, took over from Chris Allen (who may be the same musician who went on to play with The Attack and The Syn among others).
The Impacts appeared at the 100 Club in Oxford Street, most notably on 21 April 1964 when they opened for The Art Wood Combo and The Pretty Things.
Photo Roy Stacey. The Impacts audition for the Crawdaddy in Richmond, circa 1963. Only Roy (left), John (centre) and Tony (right) are in the shot
The group also played at Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, Middlesex (most likely in 1963/1964), supporting The Graham Bond Organisation on a Sunday. Stacey notes that John Platt’s book London Rock Routes features a photo of an unknown band who are in fact The Impacts.
“The shot shows Dave [Terry’s] old Vortexion pa amplifier,” he says. “Tony [Noble] was playing his early ‘50s blonde Fender Esquire.”
“The photo in the book is tiny and shows two of the band at a great distance,” adds Dave Terry (aka Elmer Gantry).
“Tony Noble on the left and Roy Stacey on the right. It’s a bit strange that guitarist John Reeves, the drummer and I are missing from the photograph. I don’t know why; you can’t even see the drum kit. Maybe Tony and Roy had just got on stage and were tuning up.”
The band also appeared at the Blue Moon, Hayes, Middlesex supporting Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds on 19 April 1964 and Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers on 26 April 1964.
Photo: Surrey Comet
The Impacts also played at the Jazz Cellar in Kingston upon Thames in Surrey, including on 29 July 1964 and 13 November 1964.
Stacey remembers that The Impacts were featured in the popular teen beat magazine Boyfriend on 10 October 1964 on its “Undiscovered British Groups” page.
Photo: Boyfriend Magazine, 10 October 1964Photo: Boyfriend magazine, 10 October 1964
That same month, the band participated in a two-day Belfast tour with Jerry Lee Lewis. Don Arden had booked The Impacts to back the rock ‘n’ roll legend and Stacey remembers they didn’t get paid.
“On the first night, Jerry Lee took a chunk out of my Precision Bass,” he recalls. “As he kicked his stool in my direction, whack! Then hammered the piano keys with his left foot.”
On 24 October 1964, the group joined fellow west London band The Second Thoughts for a show at Studio 51 in Leicester Square, central London.
Stacey says that back-up singer Heather Swinson became part of the group towards the end of 1964. Also, keyboard player Art Regis joined the line-up. He also remembers that Richard O’Sullivan jammed with The Impacts on organ at one point.
Art Regis had first joined Rupert & The Red Devils in 1963 replacing original keyboard player Mike Finney. Featuring future Spencer Davis Group guitarist Ray Fenwick and sax player Rupert Clahar (later in The Rick ‘N’ Beckers), Rupert & The Red Devils travelled to Nuremburg in West Germany to play some gigs that same year but broke up.
Regis then joined Dutch band The Defenders (later The T-Set) before returning to London and hooking up with The Impacts.
On 1 December, The Impacts joined The Grenades, The Fairlanes and Wainwright’s Gentleman for a show at Hammersmith Town Hall.
On 12 December 1964, The Impacts played at Studio 51 again, this time with The Loose Ends, returning for a second appearance on 16 January 1965 (also with The Loose Ends).
However, later that month (or in early February), The Impacts split up with Dave Terry/Elmer Gantry pursuing his blues/folk interests, working with guitarist Simon Lawrence. The duo landed a regular gig at Studio 51 in Leicester Square.
Photo: Melody Maker. Dave and Simon on 22 July 1965
Tony Noble meanwhile joined The Derek Savage Foundation while John Reeves formed John Brown’s Bodies, a Hammersmith group not to be confused with Keith Emerson’s Brighton band of the same name.
According to Stacey, John Reeves and Tony Noble would reunite in 1968 in Othello Smith & The Tobago Bad Boys and recorded the LP The Big Ones Go Ska for CBS Direction. Derek Savage was also a member.
Stacey meanwhile joined The Mike Leander Band for a tour. “It was pure chance that I got to meet Mike Leander at his apartment,” says the bass player. “He was a co-producer of the Drifters’ ‘Under the Boardwalk’ the first record I ever had. Mike Leander worked as a producer and arranger with Ben E. King and The Drifters at Atlantic Studios, New York.
“On that tour was black ex-G.I. Ronnie Jones of The Nightimers’ fame, who Herbie Goins replaced. Leander’s band did loads of Motown and featured two drummers and a big horn section. It also featured Paul Gadd (aka Gary Glitter), a Ready Steady Go dancer.”
During this period, Stacey also did some session work with Unit 4 Plus 2 thanks to Hugh Halliday, who’d joined the Hertfordshire group in 1965.
A short while later, the bass player joined Arthur Brown & The Machines on the recommendation of Art Regis who had joined this outfit when The Impacts split up (and just before Arthur Brown came on-board). Former Impacts back-up singer Heather Swinson also became a part of this group during 1965.
Thanks to Roy Stacey, Art Regis, Elmer Gantry (aka Dave Terry) and David Else for helping with the story
When I heard the Loose Ends “Hey, Sweet Baby” / “I Love You, Baby”, I thought this might be a rural southern single. I was surprised to find a suburban Connecticut address on the labels.
“Hey, Sweet Baby” by Robins and Douglas has a fuzz blues riff that hardly varies the entire song. There are breaks, not for guitar solos, but screams and hoots. Great drumming too. The hand claps towards the end of the song show the group was loose indeed.
The flip “I Love You, Baby” by Robins is a fine ballad with an extended reverb guitar solo.
Released on Meadow Brook Records MB-0069, the labels have an address of 27 Carousel Drive, Nichols, CT (now would be Trumball, CT), northeast of Bridgeport. The labels spell it Carrousel.
Produced by MBR Productions, and published by Loose Ends Music BMI. This is a Rite pressing from October, 1969.
The Loose Ends seem to be a dead end, as I can’t find any leads past the info on the label.
My name is Gary Jedlicka, I was the drummer in the band The NYTE:
Sandy Pantaleo – lead vocals Bill Stevenson – lead guitar and vocals Ben Ninnman – Hammond B3 with a Leslie and a piano bass, vocals. Gary Jedlicka – drums and vocals
Second-to-last poster for the Other Place, with the Franklin Freight Train, The Genesis and The Nyte
The NYTE organized in Greenville, North Carolina, sometime in 1967 as we were all students at East Carolina College (at that time, University now). I was, and still am, from New Jersey, Bill was from New Jersey, Sandy was from Long Island, and Benny was from Virginia. Strange how a bunch of Yankees got together and started a rock-n-roll band in North Carolina.
We played The Other Place in Nags Head, NC, on August 23-25, 1968. We may have been one of the last 2 or 3 bands to rock that place before it closed. I still have that awesome poster in perfect condition hanging on my wall near my original set of 1965 Grey Oyster Pearl Ludwig drums.
We established ourselves as a pretty good rock band and eventually got picked-up by Bowie Martin of Bomar Productions. He booked us at a lot of cool places relatively close to Greenville and we had a lot of great gigs. The Other Place was certainly one of them. We stayed in NC throughout the summers, playing gigs instead of heading up North after the last semester. The NYTE eventually broke up early 1969 because members moved onto other adventures in our lives.
The Lemon Sandwich released the very cool “Give Me Love” on La Salle Records L-371, backed with “I Must Be Dreaming”. Eddie Hileman wrote both songs.
Tommy Burke used the Lemon Sandwich’s exact recording of “Give Me Love” for his 45 on Lauren L-2513 backed with “I Don’t Want to Be Your Keeper”, with writing credit for both songs to Tommy Burke.
Eddie T. Burke then released the Lemon Sandwich’s “I Must Be Dreaming” on E.T.B. Records ETB-113. I’m not sure if this was the same recording as the Lemon Sandwich or not, but with LA SALLE CE 15/16 cut into the dead wax, I believe it probably is. The flip is the Taboos “So Sad” but with Eddie Burke doing new vocals. For this release Eddie Hileman is given writing credit for both songs, even though the Taboos was by Brennan and Palazzo.
Phil Fallo contacted me about the Lemon Sandwich:
I was lead guitarist in the Lemon Sandwich back in 1968-69. When I joined, they were a quartet, Ed Hileman was the sole guitarist. I was brought in to play lead guitar and we became a 5 piece. The bassist was Tom Davis, the drummer was Mike Kritsky and the organist was named Al. We were all from New Jersey.
I believe that single predates me – maybe early 1968. We were very successful in Greenwood Lake, NY where we were house band at “Mother’s”, the largest club on the lake for an extended period. We played other places on the lake like the Long Pond, Big Daddy’s and TA’s East. We broke up in 1969.
At the time the drinking age was 18 in NY and 21 in NJ and all these clubs were located just over the Jersey line on the NY side of the lake. Flocks of teens from NJ would come up to the lake to be able to drink. When the drinking age changed, most of those clubs burned down killing the scene.
That was probably the most successful band I was in. After that played in a number of bands that worked the northern New Jersey circuit or in Greenwich Village. Syren, Apollon, Buck Scrub, St. Jack. Also played in a band led by Tom Feher, who had been in the Left Banke, and another led by Paul Klein who prior to my time had a band called the Wind in the Willows. My last band broke up in 1978-79.
I wonder how a fast, wah-heavy version of the Rokes “Che Colpa Abbiamo Noi” got its only release on a Philadelphia label known for a handful of local pop artists.
Whoever put the label together changed Gli Angeli to Gil’ Angeli, and misspelled the Italian title (as “Che Colba Abbia Mo Noi”), as well as several songwriter names.
Although there is an English title, “What Faults Do We Have?”, the song is sung in Italian. “Che Colpa Abbiamo Noi” was an Italian version of Bob Lind’s “Cheryl’s Goin’ Home”, and was a hit for the Rokes in 1966. The Mogol song credit is Giulio Rapetti Mogol who often adapted English lyrics into Italian.
I put together a video of the song for youtube, but as I was uploading it, an automatic copyright claim popped up. Some faceless company would “allow” the upload but monetize it for their own profit. There’s a good chance this company doesn’t even have the rights to claim copyright, and I never monetize my uploads. So I decided not to upload it at all. The world will do without.
The flip also gets an English title, “Don’t Cry Tonight”, but it’s sung in Italian too, and is a cover of Don Backy’s 1967 ballad, “Non Piangere Stasera”. Mainstay Music Inc. is listed as publisher.
Usually a record like this would have been released in Italy or somewhere else first, but as far as I can tell, this was not released in any other country. The Bats did a version of “Che Colpa Abbiamo Noi” but it does not sound like this one.
It’s possible this was recorded in Philadelphia, and was not taken from a demo or international release. The label says produced by Ricky Layne, who produced at least a couple other releases on Star-Line Records, on S. Eleventh St. in Philadelphia, PA. Possibly an Italian group was touring the US, and cut this 45 in a quick session to sell at their shows.
The dead wax FC-1A/B F/W indicates Frankford-Wayne mastering.
There was a Gli Angeli from Abruzzo who did “Butta La Corda” backed with an Italian version of the Who’s “I’m a Boy” as “Dove Vuoi”, but they didn’t have a vocalist named Franco. Gli Angeli Di Trieste are another possibility, but the recording I heard of them is much more polished pop than this.
I’d appreciate any leads on who this Gil Angeli & Franco could be.
The Mad Lads were a popular Belfast R&B group who took over Them’s residency at the Maritime Club when Van Morrison’s band moved to London in the second half of 1964. Singer Ken McDowell later assumed Morrison’s place as lead singer in Them in late 1966.
Cityweek, 5 March 1965
The group were featured regularly in Belfast publication Cityweek, most notably its 5 March 1965 issue, which contained a detailed column and colour photo. According to the article, promoter Eddie Kennedy picked them out of dozens of applications for the Maritime’s resident spot and he became their manager in December 1964.
Despite playing three nights a week at the Maritime, The Mad Lads found time to travel to Dublin in late February 1965 and perform some gigs, according to the article.
During May, The Mad Lads travelled over to London and recorded three tracks at Decca’s studio with Them’s producer Bert Berns – “I Went out with My Baby Tonight”, “So Long” and “Answer the Phone” with session players Andy White (drums) and Phil Coulter (keyboards). This website has more information on The Mad Lads’ recordings and personnel changes.
Cityweek’s 9 July 1965 issue noted that The Mad Lads had left their Maritime residency and signed with the Solomon Agency in London.
On 31 July, The Mad Lads played at the Red Rooster Club in Bangor, Northern Ireland, a venue they would return to again in the future.
However, one of their most notable gigs was opening for folk singer Donovan at Ulster Hall in Belfast on 20 September 1965.
Cityweek’s 23 September issue noted that The Mad Lads were about to change their name to Moses K & The Prophets to avoid confusion with US soul act The Mad Lads, who were about to start a British tour. Also, Decca was going to release their debut single – “I Went out with My Baby Tonight” c/w “So Long” on 1 October under this name. According to the same article, Ken McDowell had travelled alone to London in the summer to double track his lead vocals on the tracks on 31 August at Regent Sound Studios in Denmark Street.
In early November, Moses K & The Prophets appeared at the Overend Club in Mount Merrion, Dublin in front of 1,200 fans, which Cityweek’s 11 November issue noted was a record for an Irish R&B group.
The Belfast publication’s 23 December issue reported that Moses K & The Prophets would top a seaside bill with a return to the Red Rooster Club in Bangor on 7 January 1966. The following week, they were due to appear in Larne.
However, not long afterwards, manager Eddie Kennedy sacked the musicians and kept McDowell for a new version which never took off.
Cityweek‘s 17 February 1966 issue reported that McDowell was due to record a solo 45 as Moses K (see below).
While the others subsequently reformed The Mad Lads in March 1966, the singer later replaced Van Morrison in Them.
We’d love to hear from anyone who can add more information about The Mad Lads in the comments below
The Straitjackets in the Star-Telegram, February 10, 1961
Straitjackets at the Red Devil Lounge, January 17, 1958Delbert McClinton formed the Straitjackets in sometime in 1957. Early members included Art Holland on lead guitar, Robert Harwell on guitar, Billy Cox on sax, Ralph Dixon on bass, and Ray Clark on drums.
The first printed notice I’ve found in the Fort Worth Star Telegram was from January 17, 1958, an ad for the group’s appearance at the Red Devil Lounge at 2541 N.E. 28th.
The ad also notes “The Straightjackets are appearing on Teenage Downbeat – WBAP-TV, Channel 5, Tuesday, Jan. 21.”
Another one on February 28, 1958 calls the group “recording stars” though I don’t believe they had made any records yet. Early ads through 1960 give a different spelling for the group, the Straightjackets, and sometimes list Delbert as featured vocalist. He had turned seventeen years old a few months before.
On February 25, 1960, the Straightjackets played a battle-of-the-bands with the Twisters at Crystal Springs Ballroom. They regularly played at Jack’s Place on Mansfield Road.
The Star Telegram ran items on March 26 and April 10, 1960 with the first lineup I can find for the group in print:
Talent Hunt Ends in Tie for 2 Combos
Two five-man combos, one from Fort Worth and the other from Victoria, finished in a tie for first in the area finals of the Talentsville, U.S.A. contest Saturday afternoon at Casa Manana.
The Fort Worth entry, “The Straitjackets,” was composed of Billy Cox, Delbert McClinton and Ronnie Kelly, Technical High School Students, Jim Dinsmore [Jimmy Densmore] of Arlington Heights and Bob Jones of Paschal.
The Victoria entry, billed as “Dads of Dixie” …
The two groups won trophies and the right to compete in the division finals in Houston May 7.
The Dads of Dixie would win the regionals in Houston along with the Blue Notes of Witchita, KS, winning spots for the finals in New York.
A short profile in the Star Telegram from February 10, 1961 announced their first record and included a photo of the band. Jim Densmore was no longer with the group, while Ray Clark and Ralph Dixon had joined. It also listed Delbert as “Mac Clinton”, a pseudonym that would appear on their first single, “Wake Up Baby” / “That Cat” on Le Cam Records 714.
Six graduates of Fort Worth high schools who work together as a band – The Straitjackets – this week have released their first record.
The disk presents a Straitjacket arrangement of “Wake Up, Baby,” a 1955 tune by Sonny Boy Williams.
On the reverse side, also arranged by the group, is “That Cat.” The release is on the Le Cam label.
“We think ‘Wake Up, Baby’ will sell readily,” said Mac Clinton, leader of the group and former Arlington Heights High School student.
The band was last year’s city competition winner in the Talentsville U.S.A. contest. However, the group was defeated in state competition.
Band members include Ronnie Kelley, Bob Jones and Ray Clark, who were graduated from Paschal High School; Ralph Dixon from Polytechnic, and Billy Cox from Heights.
On the Le Cam label, “That Cat” shows owner Major Bill Smith as writer. In 1962, “That Cat” would appear again on the flip side to versions of “Gigolo” / “I Ain’t Got Nobody” on United Artists UA 453, with the Straitjackets listed as the artist this time.
The Straitjackets and Ray Sharpe at the Skyliner, February 1962
The Straitjackets kept busy in 1962 with shows at the Skyliner Ballroom with Ray Sharpe and the Trebles, and a June 3 show at the Stork Club following the John Griffin, Jr. Band.
In June 1962, Del McClinton toured the UK with Bruce Channel, to reprise his harmonica playing on Channel’s smash “Hey! Baby”. There he famously met the Beatles.
While in London, Delbert cut four songs. “Dunkirk” / “Angel Eyes” came out only in the U.S. on London 45-LON 9544 with Del McClinton listed as the artist. “Hully Gully” / “Baby Heartbreak” came out in the UK on Decca F.11541, using his full name Delbert McClinton, with later issues in Italy and Greece. Earl Guest was music director, and Mike Smith did production.
By 1963, Delbert had formed the Ron-Dels with Ronnie Kelley, and would go on to cut a number of singles on Bill Smith’s labels like Shalimar, Brownfield, Le Cam and Shah, as well as a couple on Smash. Members of the Rondels would include Dahrell Norris on drums, Jimmie Rodgers on guitar and bass, and Billy Wade Sanders on guitar, piano and vocals.
December 1962 shows with the Capris
The Straitjackets continued, possibly without Delbert. Ray Torres was drummer on “Hey! Baby” and mentioned being a drummer with the Straitjackets, but other than him, I don’t know who was in later lineups. They had shows at the Skyliner Ballroom in December 1962, and New Year’s Eve with the Capris at the Ridglea Palladium Ballroom.
I find two later notices, one for Sonny and the Straightjackets at the Stork Club in August 1966, and another for the Straight-Jackets at the Tropicana Club in January 1967, but these may be different groups altogether.
In the ’80s, Le Cam released two LPs released titled Very Early Delbert McClinton with the Ron-Dels that may contain some recordings done with the Straitjackets as early as 1960. (I would like to hear these records if anyone has them for a reasonable price.)
Further reading: Lee Cotten’s interviews with Delbert and Major Bill Smith in Discoveries October 1996 issue.
A Kingston-upon-Thames area band that formed in 1962, The Cavedwellers featured future Thane Russal & Three guitarist Martin Fisher and bass player Jack Brand who later formed The Factory. Apparently, Liverpool singer Freddie Starr fronted the group sometime in 1966.
We’d love to hear from anyone who can add more information in the comments below
Photo: Kingston & Malden Borough News
The Cavedwellers were featured in the Surrey Comet’s 19 June 1965 issue (see below)
This site is a work in progress on 1960s garage rock bands. All entries can be updated, corrected and expanded. If you have information on a band featured here, please let me know and I will update the site and credit you accordingly.
I am dedicated to making this site a center for research about '60s music scenes. Please consider donating archival materials such as photos, records, news clippings, scrapbooks or other material from the '60s. Please contact me at rchrisbishop@gmail.com if you can loan or donate original materials
