Allan Breed with the Third Level had only one release, “City Where I Once Lived” / “Many’s the Time”, both full pop productions with light psychedelic touches. By accident, some of the lyrics on “City Where I Once Lived” are incredibly apt to our situation in 2020:
Well here I am, in the city where I once lived, But no one bothers to speak, Attitude is simply oblique, It’s not the same anymore.
Love once surrounded me here, In the city where I once lived, But the love I once knew is gone, Only faces of misery drawn, Puts the blame of it all.
Where are the people who once smiled and said hello, Where did they go?
Have I stayed away too long or is there really something really wrong?
So as I walk, through the city where I once lived, And see this disease I’ve seen, That destroys the reasons for being, I can’t understand.
Allan Breed notably co-wrote “Frozen Sunshine” with Rick McClellan, which in recent years has become a well-known hit with retro club DJs, especially in Europe. Breed and McClellan collaborated on a number of songs, not all of which seem to have been released. The first may have been “Goodbye My Friend”, registered in 1966.
In May of 1968 they registered copyright on “City Where I Once Lived” and “Many’s the Time”. Allan Breed produced the songs with Steve Clark for release on their own label Treswood TW 101.
The following year, Lawrence Allen Breed and Rick McClellan wrote “Frozen Sunshine”, copyright registered in May of 1969. Breed and Mike Henderson (for Treswood Productions) produced that single on Ranwood R-849, and also his follow-up, “Redheaded Woman” / “2:30 in the Morning” for Quad Records QU 105, where Allan Breed was head of A&R.
Quad Records also reissued “Frozen Sunshine”, without the violins, and with a different B-side, “Julie Makes It Right”. A Cash Box notice from July, 1970 lists some other Quad releases and notes Al Perry was executive vice-president of Quad. An ad in Cash Box from the same month for Four Star / Stellar Music / BNP Music Publishing lists Alfred Perry and Fred Benson as VP, and has Allan Breeds name but without title.
Later copyrights by Breed and McClellan include “By the Light in Your Eyes”, “Here Comes the Sun” and “Who Taught You”. I’m not sure if these were recorded or released.
Allan Breed would go on to produce a few more records with Mike Henderson, including two singles of Sandy & Dick St. John on Congress, and two by CaShears on pbm Records. Also on pbm Records Breed produced Sidro’s Armada’s “Little Girl from Greenwood, Georgia”.
Steve Clark is likely the same person who partnered with Curt Boettcher in Our Productions (thanks for the tip Max Waller). Clark and Mike Henderson both worked on some Tommy Roe productions from this period.
July 1970 publishing ad including writers R.B. Greaves, Dean Kay, Hal Blair, Arthur Hamilton, Kelly Gordon, Peter Daniels, Norma Green, Tad Suckling, Gloria Sklerov, Douglas Fir, Rick McClellan, Jerry Wright, Nick Alexander, Lala Schrifrin, Bob Simpson, Chuck Jones, Buzz Siler and Martin Kosins
Guitarist Mick Clarke worked with Freddie Mack around mid-late 1970. This photo shows the group at the Marquee in Wardour Street, Soho, London. Thanks to Pete Clarke for the photo.
Unlike the earlier versions, I have found very little information on Freddie Mack’s groups post-February/March 1969 when he split with the previous version. I would love to hear from anyone who can fill in the blanks.
Billed mainly as ‘The Freddie Mac Extravanganza’, an entirely new version debuted on 11 April 1969 at the New Market Hotel in Bristol. A few weeks later, they played at the New Rainbow Suite Co-op in Birmingham on 24 April.
According to the Nantwich Chronicle, the 13-piece band performed at the Civic Hall, Nantwich, Cheshire with Rubber Soul on 26 April.
The Freddie Mac Road Show played at the Royal Hotel, Walsall on 4 May 1969, according to the Walsall Observer and South Staffordshire Chronicle. The Birmingham Evening Mail lists the band playing at Club Cedar with Passion Forest the next day.
Photo: Birmingham Evening Mail
According to Melody Maker, the new line up then toured West Germany in June.
Drummer Maurice McElroy remembers playing in a seven-nine piece band with Freddie Mack called the Freddie Mac Extravaganza II, which featured a female singer, a male singer, a female dancer plus two other dancers. However, it only lasted a few months.
McElroy confirms that his version played from late June (just after the West German tour above) but he himself left around October 1969.
McElroy says that the band’s roadie Roy Truman left soon after joining Freddie Mack to form a band called Swegas (alongside trumpet player Chris Dawe who worked with Mack in 1967-1968) in which he played bass.
Swegas appears to have been formed in mid-1969 and McElroy joined them later that year. Noel Norris appears to have played with Freddie Mack again in 1970 (see later line up below).
The drummer remembers the following musicians in Mack’s band:
Terry Jenkins – lead guitar
Buddy Bounds – trumpet (replaced by Noel Norris)
Nick Judd – keyboards
Maurice McElroy – drums have found the following gigs, which would cover McElroy’s time with the group:
23 June 1969 – Whisky A Go Go, Wardour Street, Soho, central London
14 July 1969 – Quaintways, Chester, Cheshire with Shady Lane and Wall City Jazzmen
19 July 1969 – Raven Club, RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire with Stonewall Jackson and Dusk Soul featuring Clive Bond (billed as Freddie Mack Show)
21 July 1969 – Thomas A Beckett, Old Kent Road, south London (pictures of the group playing here on this date can be found at Getty) The same photo appeared in the Evening Standard, 22 July 1969, page 30
28 July 1969 – Whisky A Go Go, Wardour Street, Soho, central London
9 August 1969 – California Ballroom, Dunstable, Bedfordshire with Heatwave
14 August 1969 – Dreamland Ballroom, Margate, Kent with Lee Harmer’s Popcorn (billed as Freddie Mac Extravaganza)
25 August 1969 – Whisky A Go Go, Wardour Street, Soho, central London (billed as Freddie Mac Extravaganza)
30 August 1969 – Kent Pop Festival with Deep Purple
5 September 1969 – The Factory, Birmingham
20 September 1969 – California Ballroom, Dunstable, Bedfordshire with First Back from Heaven and Respect (billed as Freddie Mack Extravaganza)
26 October 1969 – Le Metro, Birmingham
According to singer Bob Mundy (see comments section below), his group, The International Road Show from Southend-on-Sea joined Freddie Mack around November 1969.
Bob Mundy – vocals
Erline ? – vocals
Yudell Anderson – vocals
Steve Sallis – guitar
Brian Williams – bass
John Walsh – Hammond organ
Pat Green – drums
Jeff Bridges – tenor sax
Phil Presland – baritone sax
+
Kenny Baxter – saxophone
Digby Fairweather – trumpet
I have found the following gigs for this formation:
13 December 1969 – Cue Club, Paddington, London (billed as Freddie Mack & The Mack Sound)
24 December 1969 – California Ballroom, Dunstable, Bedfordshire with Jimmy James & The Vagabonds and Lloyd Williams Soul Caravan
27 December 1969 – Chatham Town Hall, Chatham, Kent
27 December 1969 – Flamingo, Wardour Street, Soho, central London with The Earthquakes (billed as Freddie Mack Extravaganza)
21-22 March 1970 – Tamla Village, D’Arblay Street, London with Freddie Notes & The Rudies and The Tonics
Photo: Pete Clarke. His brother Mick Clarke playing with Freddie Mack at the Marquee, 1970
Lead guitarist Mick Clarke played with Freddie Mack from around mid-to-late 1970 (and possibly in the April-May 1969 line up too). Clarke was with a band called Hunter when he met Mack and this same band recorded under the name Orang-utan after he left the singer in late 1970.
Clarke says that the band was fluid, in as much as it would have different horn players on each gig. However, the rhythm section was pretty stable. The guitarist adds that the typical line-up would feature Freddie Mack, a go-go-dancer, lead guitar, bass, drums, organ and three to five horn players (but sometimes nine).
Noel Norris, who had played with an earlier line up, left in October 1970 to form the band Marriage. Norris and Geoff Peach both went on to play with Pacific Gas & Electric in the United States. They then reunited again in a version of The Foundations in the early 1970s.
Clarke also says that singer Carl Douglas sat with the band at times, which would have been after September 1970 when he returned from Spain.
Freddie Mack, 1970, Marquee with Eddie Thornton (trumpet) and Mick Clarke (guitar). Photo: Pete Clarke
Mick Clarke lists the following musicians who played alongside him:
Mick Clarke – lead guitar
Jeffrey Jai Seopardi – drums
Steve Humphries – bass
Eddie Thornton – trumpet
Noel Norris – trumpet
Geoff Peach – saxophone
Photo from Pete Clarke. Playing at the Marquee, 1970
Around 1971/1972, former members of the band Sonority joined forces with Freddie Mack. Bobby Morris got in touch and I’ve included his email details in the comments section below.
I have found the following gigs which may cover different line-ups:
25 April 1970 – Baths Hall, Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire with Cloud Nine, Freddie Notes & The Dynamic Rudies and Maggie & Sharon
The Torbay Express & South Devon Echo lists a group called Tenderness (ex-Freddie Mac Show) performing at the Madison Club in Torquay on 2-3 October 1970, which suggests this band backed Freddie Mac at some point in 1970.
21 November 1970 – California Ballroom, Dunstable, Bedfordshire with The Carl Edwards Roadshow
25 October 1971 – Wall City, Quaintways, Chester Cheshire with Aquarius (billed as Freddie Mack Sounds)
28 October 1971 – Beau Brummell Club, Royal Hotel, Crewe, Cheshire (billed as Freddie Mack Road Show)
6 November 1971 – Aquarius Club, Lincoln, Lincolnshire (billed as Freddie Mack Sounds)
The Rapids – a quintet from possibly Ontario, Canada. I bought these photos from a seller in Williamsford, but the group could have come from anywhere in the Toronto or Hamilton area, or beyond.
It would be nice if one could read the headstocks on the guitars. One looks to be a Höfner 173, according to G45 member ShyC, which would date to about 1963 or 1964. I don’t know of any Canadian groups called the Rapids that recorded.
“Homebrew” is a storming instrumental, with a foreboding rhythm guitar and bass behind sharp lead guitar work, excellent drumming and rockin’ piano.
I can’t find much about Archie Liseo other than an odd news item from December, 1965, where an Archie Liseo “is resigning from the Denver Young Democrats in protest against what he described as ‘filth’ in the organization’s newspaper. Liseo said he objected to the review of a play in the December issue of the paper The Vanguard. He said the paper had been read by his children before he arrived home Thursday.”
I suppose that could be a different person, considering this group titled their record “Homebrew”.
“Homebrew” has a writing credit of A. Trujillo, which could be another name for Archie Liseo. This may be the only record he ever made. The band is so good I hope there are more recordings somewhere.
The ballad A-side, “Lonely” was written by L. Pickett and J. Ward. CLW Music Pub published both songs.
Released on CLW 45-6576, this is a Rite pressing, 13705/6 from 1965. CLW owner Jim Ward produced the single with Geo Chapekis. The address for CLW is given as 522 Knox Ct., Denver.
I’m not sure if the San Diego Marauders were an actual group or a studio creation. Cecil Calvert ran Compose Records from his home at 450 Orlando St. in El Cajon, just east of San Diego.
Compose Records released two singles by the San Diego Marauders. The first had an original by Cecil Calvert, “Don’t Come Around” backed with a good version of the Olympics “The Bounce”. Released as Compose Records 1901/2, the Monarch Δ number 56767 dates it to April or May of 1965. “Don’t Come Around” has a good garage sound, and runs a minute and a half!
The second single is interesting for including “Ervin Rucker, vocal” and featuring an original song by Rucker and Ervin Groves, who often collaborated together. Compose Records 1903/4: “Baby Can’t You Feel It” (E. Rucker and E. Groves) / “Sentimental Reasons”.
In July 1967 and 1968, Cash Box’s list of ASCAP publishers includes “Groham c/o Cecil Calvert, 450 Orlando”. Calvert also had a June, 1964 copyright for a song called “Shackles of Love” written with Robert L. Jackson. If it ever was recorded, I don’t believe it saw release.
Bob Galindo, brother of 13th Floor Elevators bassist Danny Galindo, wrote on a now-defunct San Antonio music history site, “Max Range was not the ‘Stepfather’ of Texas pyschedelia, he was ‘THE GODFATHER’. He was a very influential guy, in a subversive sort of way, if you know what I mean.”
On the same site, Margaret Moser posted, “Max Range gets no credit as one of THE visionaries of South Texas music”.
I have not found much detail on how Max Range influenced the Elevators and the psychedelic scene in Texas, but one thing is certain, Range fronted three bands that included five future members of the Elevators.
Max Range’s full name was George Max Range, born in Beeville, TX, an hour’s drive from Corpus Christi (also birthplace of John Ike Walton, who moved to Kerrville in 1950). Max went to school in Beeville, and became an Eagle Scout.
Max moved to Kerrville in the early ’60s, perhaps with his family to finish school, or as an apprentice printer for the local newspaper the Daily Times.
Traditions, Kerrville Daily Times, July 23, 1963 In Kerrville he would join a group called the Traditions. The Kerrville Daily Times featured a photo of the Traditions on July 23, 1963 with the accompanying text:
The Arcadia Theatre of Kerrvile will present a Summer Stage Show during the intermission of two big twist hits, “Don’t Knock the Twist” and “Twist Around the Clock” July 24 and 25 at 8 p.m. The music of “The Traditions” will be presented.
“The Traditions” is a group of young local musicians that produce an activated tempo-type sound. Five members comprise the band.
Max Range, 19, from Beeville is the vocalist. Max has had four years experience in the musical field and has performed in two bands before organizing the Traditions.
Bobby Hunter, 19, from Freeport, plays the lead guitar. He has had four years of training…
Bobby Sanchez, 16, from Kerrville, is the rhythamatic drummer with a set of “talking” drums. He has put three years into the mastery of the drums and has won several awards in the Tivy High School Band.
Randy Jackson, 18, from San Juan … plays the bass guitar and has had two years of experience.
Stacy Sutherland, 17, from Kerrville provides the basic rhythm … which enables The Traditions to give that special sound quality necessary for a top grade band.
All of these band members from various parts of Texas are now combined into one soundsation group…
Marvin Taylor, “The Traditions” manager and the assistant manager of the Arcadia …
I’d like to know more about Max Range’s two earlier bands from his four years experience in music, but have not turned up any info other than a group with Stacy called the Signatures, mentioned in Ben Graham’s A Gathering of Promises.
Although the Daily Times article states Max organized the Traditions, it seems the group formed in 1961 or 1962, well before Max joined. An early photo shows Stacy Sutherland, Bob Schmerbeck, Eddie Flores, Bobby Sanchez and Randy Jackson.
In April 1964, the Kerrville Daily Times runs an ad for the Grove restaurant “now under new management, Grady and Shirley Sharp” with “Live Band – Max Range and “The Traditions” featuring Joe Burkett III and His “Backwoods Fiddle”.
On August 23, 1964, the Kerrville Daily Times makes the first mention of Max Range appearing with the Penetrators (as the Penetrations):
Jamey Ryan of San Antonio, Miss KTSA, is schedule to appear at the Arcardia Theatre on Thursday, Aug. 27 in connection with the Gigantic Hootenanny Stage Show. Headlining the show will be Denny Ezba and the Goldens; Bruce Hathaway of KTSA as master of cermonies; Max Range, local vocalist; and the Penetrations, a local group from Kerrville.
Range is band leader of The Traditions but will be appearing with The Penetrators.
April 6, 1965 Notices in the Kerrville Daily Times on September 20, October 2 and November 6, 1964; and on January 14 and 28, 1965 all include Max Range as vocalist of the Penetrators.
On, April 5, 1965 and earlier dates, the Kerrville Daily Times ran a 1″ x 1″ classified display ad “for Sale, Ideal for musical group. Premier P-14 PA System … Max Range, Daily Times.”
Penetrators, Kerrville Daily Times, June 6, 1965
A Daily Times article from June 6, 1965 writes:
The Penetrators … have released their first record which is available to the public. The record, “Praying Till Then” and “Kurl” is on the Trater Record label. “Praying Till Then”, a slow ballad, was composed by Max Range, vocalist for the group. The flip side “Kurl”, was composed by all members of the ensemble, who are, Danny Klein, Bob Morrison, Ron Leatherman, Pat Morrison and Max Range.
The single was released as by Max and the Penetraters on Trater Records 650528. As far as I know, this is the only recording Max Range ever made.
In the spring of 1965, Kerrville musicians Stacy Sutherland and drummer John Ike Walton met violinist Benny Thurmond at Dirty Martin’s hamburgers in Austin. After a trip to Mexico together, they stopped at the Gulf Coast town of Port Aransas on the way home. There they met Ralph Plumlee and talked their way into a residency at the Dunes club. They brought Max Range into the group, which they named the Lingsmen.The Lingsmen at Bonnie and Dougs, Aransas Pass, September 1965
I’ve read that Tommy Hall was a member of the Lingsmen, but that seems to be incorrect, although the band would see Tommy and Clementine Hall in Port Aransas that summer.
I’d also read that Stacy, John Ike and Benny left Max to go form the Elevators, but it seems that Max was the first to leave the group. Tony Joe White filled in for some shows, and the Lingsmen may have recorded a demo with Tony, now lost.
Perhaps the last show of the Lingsmen with Sutherland, Walton, & Thurman at the Maison Rouge in Corpus Christi, November 16, 1965 Corpus Christi Times Nov. 1, 1965
Judging by local news ads, the group continued at least until mid-November, 1965. About that time Stacy, John Ike and Benny left Port Aransas, supposedly because of attention from local police. In Austin, they would form the 13th Floor Elevators with Tommy Hall and Roky Erickson, playing their first show on December 8, 1965.
June 16, 1966, Max and the Laughing Kind at the Dunes Annex and also at the Carousel on 10th St.Max Range however returned to Port Aransas, recruiting members of a San Antonio group called the Loose Ends circa January, 1966:
Dan Galindo – bass Bob Galindo – guitar Bill King – guitar Buddy Toscano – drums
This group may have performed as the Lingsmen initially, but by June had become Max and the Laughing Kind.
“Two of the Laughing Kind hitting the chords at the Dunes.(guit and bass)” – Max and the Laughing Kind profile in the Corpus Christi Caller Times, July 24, 1966
An article in the Corpus Christi Caller Times on July 24, 1966 lists the other members as:
Keith Miller – lead guitar Bill King – guitar Bill Smith – bass Tom McTaggart – drums
Hundreds Flock to Port Aransas Danceland Every Weekend
The popularity of the Dunes Danceland at Port Aransas appears to be climbing in its second season, and owner Ralph Plumlee says he has plans for a bigger place in the future.
On a Saturday night now it starts about 8 p.m. – a line of headlights heading down the Padre Island beach toward Horace Caldwell Pier, begins to turn into a laughing, dancing crowd of young peoople at the Dunes.
Plumlee, a retired Dallas business man, and head of White Marlin Enterprises in Port Aransas, said that the average Saturday night attendance ranges from 700 to 1,000. The July 4 weekend drew a crowd estimated at 2,700 on one night…
Max and The Laughing Kind provide the warmth and the music. The long haired band leader wears sunglasses for the evening performance.
… the five-piece band is composed of Max Range, from the Beeville area, who is leader and singer; Bill King, guitar; Tom McTaggart, drums; Keith Miller, lead guitar; and Bill Smith, bass.
The Danceland’s popularity has spread out of the immediate area. College students from Kingsville and even as far as San Antonio and Houston make the Saturday night dances.
Max and the Laughing Kind profile in the Corpus Christi Caller Times, July 24, 1966
Miller, Smith and McTaggart had been in a San Antonio group the Mysterions with Roy Cox. When the summer was over, they went back to San Antonio and continued to use the Laughing Kind name with Bobby Trevino on keyboards and Tommy Smith on vocals. Dan Galindo would soon join the 13th Floor Elevators in time to record much of Easter Everywhere.
1967: Max Range’s Lingsmen with a new lineup, back at the Dunes
The following year, the Corpus Christi Times announced “Max and the Lingsmen” for the grand opening of the new Dunes Danceland, on Friday, May 12, 1967; “main dance floor enlarged and redecorated.”
The lineup at this time was listed on the now-defunct Mike’s Band Archive site:
Max Range – vocals Chris Holzhaus – lead guitar Bill King – guitar Ronnie Huth – vox organ Mike Marechal – bass Sam Allen – drums
That is the last document of Max Range’s music career that I have found until 1970, when an International Artist list of bands includes Ice with Max Range, Stacy Sutherland, David Browne, Michael Marschell and Ron Viviano (reproduced in Paul Drummond’s 13th Floor Elevators: A Visual History). Ice reportedly went into a studio twice, but no recordings have survived.
According to an online obituary, “Max was a printer for the Houston Chronicle for many years. George Max Range of Copperas Cove died at 59, on July 10, 2003, after a long illness.”
A lineup of the Laughing Kind did reunite for the Texas Music Legacy Awards at Floor’s Country Store in San Antonio, Texas on September 4, 2011, adding Whit Snell, formerly of the Beefeaters on guitar. I don’t know who the other members were for this show.
The X-Centrics came from Ardmore, Oklahoma, a town south of Oklahoma City, about halfway to Denton, TX. All were teenagers at the time of this detailed feature in the Ardmore Daily Admoreite on April 27, 1969.
Members included:
Joe Ben Pruitt – organ, guitar Kenny Pruitt – drums James Buck – lead vocalist, guitar Mike Fitzgerald – lead guitar Roger Littrell – bass guitar
The group, which plays heavy, psychedelic and soul music, defeated five top Texas bands in a battle of hte bands in Gainesville, Tex. recently to receive a recording contract with the Sonco Record Company in Fort Worth, Tex.
They recorded “get Out of My Life Woman,” and “Try a Little Tenderness” at a recent recording session, but the record has not yet been pressed.
I don’t believe the record ever saw release.
The X-Centrics played at Keeler Junction in Colorado Springs, and planned on appearing on Dick Clark’s Happening ’69 show.
The Woodstock ‘Roadhouse’ Hotel in north Cheam, southwest London, the Prince of Wales in Kingsbury, north London and the Byron Hotel in Greenford, northwest London were all operated by the same promoter: The Arthur Forest Organisation (AFO). Many of the same groups performed at all three venues.
Thanks to John Warburg’s research, the Woodstock Hotel, located at 1 Stonecot Hill, opened on Friday, 10 August 1962 with Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated with Cyril Davies on harmonica. Warburg has also found that The Rolling Stones played on 5 October 1962.
Ken Samuels, who played with Flight One, very kindly provided these posters, both from 1965. We’d love to hear from anyone who played at this venue and can provide any more memorabilia and further information about their band. Email: Warchive@aol.com
Photo: Ken Samuels
1965
1 August (Sunday) – Combo 2000 (Ken Samuels’ poster)
4 August (Wednesday) – The Rivals and Surprise Group (Ken Samuels’ poster)
5 August (Thursday) – The Expressions (Ken Samuels’ poster)
6 August (Friday) – 5’s Company (Ken Samuels’ poster)
7 August (Saturday) – The Legends (Ken Samuels’ poster)
8 August (Sunday) – Flight One (Ken Samuels’ poster)
11 August (Wednesday) – Solomons Mines and Middlesex Group (Ken Samuels’ poster)
12 August (Thursday) – The Expressions (Ken Samuels’ poster)
13 August (Friday) – Unit 2 (Ken Samuels’ poster)
15 August (Sunday) – Rhythm 4 (Ken Samuels’ poster)
18 August (Wednesday) – Steve and What 4 and Guest Nite Group (Ken Samuels’ poster)
19 August (Thursday) – The Do Do’s (Ken Samuels’ poster)
20 August (Friday) – The Scepters (Ken Samuels’ poster)
22 August (Sunday) – The Reasons (Ken Samuels’ poster)
25 August (Wednesday) – The Tribe and Star Celebrities (Ken Samuels’ poster)
26 August (Thursday) – Earl Baron (Ken Samuels’ poster)
27 August (Friday) – The Proud Walkers (Ken Samuels’ poster)
28 August (Saturday) – The Centours (Ken Samuels’ poster)
29 August (Sunday) – The Orbits (Ken Samuels’ poster)
30 August (Bank Holiday Monday) – The Scepters (Ken Samuels’ poster)
Photo: Ken Samuels
1 September (Wednesday) – The Do Do’s and The 4 Inches (Ken Samuels’ poster)
2 September (Thursday) – The Deltons (Ken Samuels’ poster)
3 September (Friday) – NSG Group (Ken Samuels’ poster)
4 September (Saturday) – Generation 5 and Great Expectations (Ken Samuels’ poster)
5 September (Sunday) – 5’s Company (Ken Samuels’ poster)
8 September (Wednesday) – Steve and What 4, DJ Blues Band and The Tuxedos (Ken Samuels’ poster)
9 September (Thursday) – Earl Baron 5 (Ken Samuels’ poster)
10 September (Friday) – Unit 2 (Ken Samuels’ poster)
11 September (Saturday) – 5’s Company and The Arts Group (Ken Samuels’ poster)
12 September (Sunday) – Flight One (Ken Samuels’ poster)
15 September (Wednesday) – Rhythm 4 and Group 66 (Ken Samuels’ poster)
16 September (Thursday) – The Expressions (Ken Samuels’ poster)
17 September (Friday) – The Tuxedos (Ken Samuels’ poster)
18 September (Saturday) – The Deils and The Rollovers (Ken Samuels’ poster)
19 September (Sunday) – Rhythm 4 (Ken Samuels’ poster)
22 September (Wednesday) – Earl Baron 5 and The King Pins (Ken Samuels’ poster)
23 September (Thursday) – The Pinkerton Men (Ken Samuels’ poster)
24 September (Friday) – The Rivals (Ken Samuels’ poster)
25 September (Saturday) – The Proud Walkers and The Pitmen (Ken Samuels’ poster)
26 September (Sunday) – The Insect (Ken Samuels’ poster)
29 September (Wednesday) – The Maniacs and The Watch Committee (Ken Samuels’ poster)
30 September (Thursday) – Great Expectations (Ken Samuels’ poster)
Photo: Caterham Weekly Press
18 December (Saturday) – Three groups (Caterham Weekly Press & Advertiser)
24 December (Friday) – The Flames (aka Jeff Curtis & The Flames) (Caterham Weekly Press & Advertiser)
The Prince of Wales in Kingsbury, north London, the Byron Hotel in Greenford, northwest London and the Woodstock Hotel in north Cheam, southwest London were all operated by the same promoter: The Arthur Forest Organisation (AFO). Many of the same bands played at all three venues.
Ken Samuels, who played with Flight One, very kindly provided these posters, both from 1965. We’d love to hear from anyone who played at this venue and can provide any more memorabilia and further information about their band. Email: Warchive@aol.com
1964
26 April – The Orbits (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette) Star opening
3 May – The Partisans (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
10 May – The Hartbeats Ltd (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
17 May – Guitars Inc (Club New Yorker – Sunday) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
24 May – The Orbits (Club New Yorker – Sunday) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
30 May – The Pacifics (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
7 June – Russ & The Sabres (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Weekly Post)
14 June – The Heartbeats (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Weekly Post)
21 June – The Orbits (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
28 June – The Plainsmen (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
5 July – The Sabres (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
12 July – The Hearbeats (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
19 July – The Challengers (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
26 July – The Orbits (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
29 July – Group One (Wednesday Club Panama) (Harrow Observer & Gazette) Opening night
2 August – The Partisans (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
9 August – The Count 4 (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
23 August – The Count 4 (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
26 August – Group One (Wednesday Club Panama) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
30 August – The Heartbeats (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
2 September – Group One (Wednesday Club Panama) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
6 September – The Challengers (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
9 September – Group One (Wednesday Club Panama) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
13 September – Russ & The Sabres (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
16 September – Group One (Wednesday Club Panama) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
20 September – The Playboys (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
23 September – Group One (Wednesday Club Panama) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
27 September – The Orbits (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
4 October – 5’s Company (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
11 October – The Challengers (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
18 October – The Partisans (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
25 October – The Orbits (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
1 November – The Counts (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
8 November – Diane & The Londoners (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
15 November – 5’s Company (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
22 November – The Heartbeats Ltd (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
29 November – The Orbits (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
6 December – The Whirlwinds (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
13 December – The Orbits (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
20 December – The Heartbeats Ltd (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
27 December – 5’s Company (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
1965
3 January – The Orbits (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
10 January – The Invistors (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
17 January – 5’s Company (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
21 February – The Orbits (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
28 February – The Saracens (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
14 March – The Electrons (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
21 March – The Heartbeats (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
28 March – The Orbits (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
4 April – The Scepters (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
11 April – The Orbits (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
17 April – Great Expectations (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
25 April – The Fairlanes (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
2 May – The Partners (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
9 May – Rhythm 4 (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
16 May – The Fairlanes (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
23 May – The Heartbeats Ltd (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
30 May – The Orbits (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
6 June – Rhythm 4 (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
13 June – 5’s Company (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
20 June – The Orbits (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
27 June – The Heartbeats Ltd (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
4 July – The Do Dos (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette) From Paris
11 July – Rhythm Four (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
18 July – 5’s Company (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
25 July – The Sceptres (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
Photo: Ken Samuels
1 August – The Reasons (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Ken Samuels’ poster)
8 August – 5’s Company (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Ken Samuels’ poster)
15 August – Flight One (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Ken Samuels’ poster)
22 August – Rhythm 4 (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Ken Samuels’ poster)
29 August – The Expressions (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Ken Samuels’ poster)
Photo: Ken Samuels
5 September – The Insect (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Ken Samuels’ poster)
12 September – 5’s Company (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Ken Samuels’ poster)
19 September – Flight One (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Ken Samuels’ poster)
26 September – Rhythm 4 (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Ken Samuels’ poster)
3 October – 5’s Company (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
10 October – The Missing Links (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
17 October – Rhythm 4 (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
24 October – Four Inches (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
31 October – Great Expectations (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
7 November – Men Tuesday (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
14 November – Who’d-A-Thot-It (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
21 November – 5’s Company (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
28 November – Rhythm 4 (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
12 December – The Flames (aka Jeff Curtis & The Flames) (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette) Looks like The Maniacs played this night
19 December – Rhythm 4 (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
26 December – The Nite Hawks (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
1966
2 January – The Missing Links (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
9 January – The Y and The L (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer & Gazette)
8 July – The Keys (Harrow Observer)
29 July – Five Steps Beyond (Harrow Observer)
Photo: Paul Quinton
2 October – The Flames (aka Jeff Curtis & The Flames) (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Paul Quinton’s poster)
7 October – The Unamed (Friday Club Panama) (Paul Quinton’s poster)
9 October – Five Steps Beyond (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer/Paul Quinton’s poster)
14 October – The Flashbakks (Friday Club Panama) (Paul Quinton’s poster)
16 October – The Keys (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Harrow Observer/Paul Quinton’s Poster)
21 October – 2 x 2 (Friday Club Panama) (Paul Quinton’s poster)
23 October – The Fourtunes (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Paul Quinton’s poster)
28 October – Some Other People (Friday Club Panama) (Paul Quinton’s poster)
30 October – The Flashbakks (Sunday Club Flamingo) (Paul Quinton’s poster)
2 December – The Unnamed (Friday) (Marylebone & Paddington Mercury)
4 December – Locomotion (Sunday) (Marylebone & Paddington Mercury)
9 December – 2 x 2 (Friday) (Marylebone & Paddington Mercury)
11 December – All Nite Workers (Sunday) (Marylebone & Paddington Mercury)
24 December – The Keys (Marylebone & Paddington Mercury)
26 December – The Fourtunes (Marylebone & Paddington Mercury)
31 December – Locomotion (Marylebone & Paddington Mercury)
Ronnie Leatherman is best known for playing bass on The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators. Before that time, he had at least two other bands, the Penetrators and the Beau-Mondes, formed while he was at Tivy High School in Kerrville, Texas, a town about 65 miles northwest of San Antonio.
Kerrville Mountain Sun, September 18, 1963
The Penetrators started as “The Counts”. On September 18, 1963, the Kerrville Mountain Sun reported:
“The Counts,” a small band group at Tivy, performed on the radio September 10. The group is composed of Pat Morrison, guitar; Ronnie Leatherman, bass; Danny Klein, guitar; and Bobby Morrison, drums. They played “Bulldog” and one of their own songs, “The Swing.”
Listed as the Penetrations, March 25, 1964
The earliest notice I can find for the Penetrators is from March 25, 1964, where the Kerrvile Mountain Sun lists the group name as the “Penetrations”. Members were the same as the Counts:
Danny Klein – lead guitar Pat Morrison – rhythm guitar Ronnie Leatherman – bass Bobby Morrison – drums
This quartet would be the heart of the band through several changes in lineup.
Penetrators, Kerrville Daily Times, July 14, 1964
On July 12, 1964 the same lineup played a show at the Jaycee Center with the Reverbs, which included Bobby Schmidtke, Frank Lola and Pat Young.
Penetrators, Kerrville Daily Times, October 2, 1964Penetrators, Kerrville Daily Times, November 6, 1964
A notice in the Kerrville Daily Times from August 23, 1964 is the first time Max Range is connected to the band: “Range is band leader of The Traditions but will be appearing with The Penetrators, local combo.”
On September 20, 1964, the Daily Times column Hill Top Village Views includes Max Range as a member, and also includes Bobby Solomon whose name I do not see in any other listing. The October 2 Daily Times includes a photo of the band with Max Range.
A notice from November 6 in the Daily Times for a Jaycee Youth Center dance the next day lists yet another short-lived member, Carlton White on rhythm guitar. Carlton’s name would also appear in notices from January 14 and 28, 1965. Carlton White had been in a folk group with Stacy Sutherland, the Travelers Four.
The Penetrators from left: Bob Morrison, Ron Leatherman, Max Range, Danny Klein, and Pat Morrison
On February 25, 1965, the Daily Times reused the photo from October, but noted:
Kerrville’s Penetrators made their first TV appearance Saturday afternoon on the Ricci Ware show … on Channel 5 … The boys have written several songs and played one composed by Max Range, “I’ll Keep Praying Til Then” on the TV show. Left to right are Bob Morrison, drummer, and student at Tivy High School; Ron Leatherman, bass player and Tivy student; Max Range, vocalist and harmonica player who is employed at the Daily Times; Danny Klein, Tivy senior and lead guitarist; and Pat Morrison, rhythm guitar and student at Schreiner Institute.
Penetrators, Kerrville Daily Times, June 6, 1965
A Daily Times article from June 6, 1965 writes:
The Penetrators … have released their first record which is available to the public. The record, “Praying Till Then” and “Kurl” is on the Trater Record label. “Praying Till Then”, a slow ballad, was composed by Max Range, vocalist for the group. The flip side “Kurl”, was composed by all members of the ensemble, who are, Danny Klein, Bob Morrison, Ron Leatherman, Pat Morrison and Max Range.
This is the last mention of the Penetrators I can find. The single was released as by Max and the Penetraters on Trater Records 650528.
By the summer of 1965, Max Range left to Port Aransas with the Lingsmen, a group featuring two other Kerrville musicians, Stacy Sutherland and John Ike Walton.The Beau-Mondes, Kerrville Mountain Sun, November 24, 1965
An article in the Kerrville Mountain Sun from November 24, 1965 on the Beau-Mondes shows the original Penetrators quartet has been expanded into a septet and renamed, featuring:
Mark Atterbury – vocals Danny Klein – lead guitar Pat Morrison – rhythm guitar and manager Bill Stacy – rhythm guitar Bob Schmerbeck – piano Ronnie Leatherman – bass guitar Bobby Morrison – drums
The Beaumondes, Kerrville Daily Times, December 29, 1965
The last mention I can find of the Beau-Mondes was from December 29, 1965, and mentions a single that I do not believe was ever released:
The Beaumondes … have recently cut a record. The name of the record is “Won’t You Cry for Me?” It will be released January 11. The lead singer, Mark Atterbury, wrote the song and sings it with the other boys providing the background The members are Mark, Pat Morrison, Bobby Morrison, and Ronnie Leatherman.
From an interview on It’s Psychedelic Baby by Justin Jackley, Ronnie Leatherman mentioned a trio with two friends who passed away the same year. He also said the Lingsmen asked him to come to Port Aransas for a few weeks to play with them and help Bennie Thurman learn how to play the bass, and that Stacy wanted Ronnie in the 13th Floor Elevators.
Thank you to Matthew B. for his continued help to access news sites.
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
In May of 1968 they registered copyright on “City Where I Once Lived” and “Many’s the Time”. Allan Breed produced the songs with Steve Clark for release on their own label Treswood TW 101.
