Golden State Recorders used the Golden State Records label for acts that did not have a deal with another company. The music can range from soul to hard rock to gospel, but Custer & the Survivers, Zorba & the Greeks and the Poor Souls all have good garage sounds.
The changing numbering system makes it difficult to put in exact chronological order without knowing the dead wax of each release. Early singles have white labels with simple black print or yellow and greenish blue labels with bridge logo. This changed to red, green, purple, etc in later years without the bridge logo.
I’m sure there are many more releases than I have listed here, any help with this discography would be appreciated.
GSR 653 – The Astros – Space Walk” (B. Please, Rap Music ASCAP and DeGar Music ASCAP)
GSR-657 – Custer and the Survivers – “I Saw Her Walking” / “Flapjacks” (both by J.B. Pavseni, Mark Nine Music BMI, produced by Arvey Andrews) (Nov. 1965, also released on Vardan and Ascot)
Arvey Andrews also produced the Mystic “I Get So Disgusted” / “Weekend People”, D. Witherspoon & the Future, and the Lovers “Without a Doubt” on Frantic Records, and the Emotions “Love of a Girl” / “Do This For Me” on Vardan.
453 – The Lo-Kals – “Look Out Baby Here I Come” / “I’m So Tired” (Bobby King, Guard Music BMI) (J.H. Lewis Production)
GSR-597-A – Zorba and the Greeks – “One and Only Girl” / “You’ve Had Your Chance” (Nov. 1966)
GSR-597-B – Zorba and the Greeks – “Shockwave” (Myrin, Guard Music BMI) / “Memories of You” (Johnson) (Nov. 1966)
GSR-45-606 – The Donnybrookes – “Time Will Tell” / “You’re Gonna Cry” (Nov. 1966)
GRS-1721 – The Poor Souls – “Baby Let’s Wait” / “It Ain’t Enough” (Frank Marseguerra, Degar Music ASCAP) (Oct. 1967)
GSR-1351 – David London – “Tomorrow’s OK By Me” / “Lara’s Theme” (produced by Leo Kulka)
GSR-501 – Gold – “Summertime” / “No Parking” (production: A-side Country Joe McDonald, b-side George Benz)
GSR – 4-69 – Mel Davis – “Just Another Smile” / “The Life I Live” (1969)
GS106 – Spyders – “I Can Take Care of Myself” / “Make Up Your Mind” (W. Cox) (1968)
GSR-1969 – The Voices of Victory Choir – “I Feel Good” / “There’s No Hiding Place”
GSRC-2452 – Seventh Dawn – “Don’t Worry Me” (Phillips, Phillips, Noyer; Guard Music BMI) / “Wings of Flight” (1970) gold label, G.S.R. Custom Records, band from Oroville
GSRC 437 – Joy Higgins – Come Back Big Jack” / “Shoulda Told You” (1978)
recent pressings of unreleased soul recordings:
GS-2001 (GSR346) – The San Francisco TKOs – “Make Up Your Mind” / “Send My Baby Back” GS-2002 (GSR352) – George & Teddy – “Oh Yeah” / “Lover” GS-2003 GSR362) – Spyders – “I Don’t Care” / “I Can Take Care of Myself”
33 and 1/3 rpm 7″ custom pressings:
M-1967 – Leo & Flora de Gar Kulka – A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year GSR-1562 – Garland Dudley & the Voices of Frederick of the Third Baptist Church – “He Touched Me”, “Touch the Hem of His Garment” / “Sweet Sweet Spirit”, “You Must Live Right” (7″, 33 1/3rd rpm)
LPs on Golden State include Paul LaMont – Psychedelia (Opus 1 & 2), War Songs of the Third Reich, and Joel Andrews – Harp Soundings.
The Donnybrookes came from Fairfield, California, about halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento.
Members were:
Terry Gifford – vocals John Tipton – lead guitar Jim Ladd – rhythm guitar Ric Eittreim – keyboards Larry Pindar – bass Pat Sheridan – drums
In late ’66 they entered Golden State Recorders at 665 Harrison St. in San Francisco to record their only single, “Time Will Tell” / “You’re Gonna Cry”, released on Golden State 608 in November, 1966. Terrry Gifford wrote both sides, but the labels credit Sneaky O’Fenneman with the lead vocals.
“You’re Gonna Cry” starts slow, reminiscent of Them with Van Morrison, but quickly picks up steam. When the organ kicks in the sound has an awesome power. There’s a fuzz guitar solo, and Larry Pindar’s bass lines stand out in both songs.
Early in ’67 the band had changed members and names, becoming Stonehenge, who would do some recordings that would not see release at the time. By 1968, Ric Eittreim was the only member remaining from the Donnybrookes, the band becoming Maze, with the LP Armageddon released on MTA.
Larry Pindar ended up in the Portland, Oregon group Total Eclipse.
Phil Briscoe and the Sessions cut two of Briscoe’s original songs “You’re No Good” / “Dream of Me” at Recording Service Studios in Pasadena, Texas. The single came out on Huey Meaux’s Pic 1 label in October, 1965, one of over 40 releases on that label. “You’re No Good” is a good rocker in something of a Doug Sahm style.
Philip Charles Briscoe copyrighted both sides with Crazy Cajun Music in January 1966, but that’s the last mention I can find of him in the music world. I don’t know who else was in the Sessions band or where they were based.
The photo above came from a Pic One discography by Doug Hanners for his 45 RPM column in Discoveries in July 2000.
Charles Fuller owned Boss Records in Tampa, Florida, along with other labels like CFP, Fuller and Tigertown. John Brummage did much of the production work for all of these, at least some of the time at H&H Productions studio. Fuller Music BMI or Fulprod Music Publishing Co. ASCAP published the original songs.
Boss only lasted for a couple years, 1966 and 1967.
Me & the Other Guys included Frank “Dutch” Walton, Billy Aerts, Chuck Doughtery, Kent LaVoie, and Leon Massey, and had an earlier single on Hit Cat Records “Skinnie Minnie” / “Crazy” (J. Wilson, D. Walton, Redrah Music BMI).
I haven’t identified 001 or 005 yet. Any help with this discography would be appreciated.
BOS-001 – ? BOS-002 – Rovin’ Flames – “I’m Afraid To Go Home” / “I Can’t” (Feb. ’66) BOS-003 – Ravens – “Reaching For The Sun” / “Things We Said Today” BOS-004 – Berkley Five – “You’re Gonna Cry” (M. Newman, Yubash Music BMI) / “In the Midnight Hour” BOS-005 – ? BOS-006 – Trojans – “The Kids Are Allright” / “Leave Me Be” (Dec. ’66) BOS-007 – Souldiers – “Would You Kiss Me” / “Lemon Sun” (Jan. ’67) BOS-008 – Journey Men – “She’s Sorry” / “Short And Sweet” (both by McMillan) FulProd Music ASCAP BOS-009 – Me And The Other Guys – “Runaround Girl” (C. Dougherty, D. Walton) / “Everybody Knew But Me” (J. Wilson, D. Walton) BOS-0095 – Purple Underground – “On Broadway” / “Rain Come Down” BOS-010 – Purple Underground – “Count Back” / “Soon” (Aug. ’67)
Here’s a start at the discography of Carl Edelson’s La Salle and Lauren labels, along with related singles by the Shandels and Eddie T. Burke. Much of the talent came from Long Island including the Shandels of Levittown and Wantaugh, and the Taboos.
Cardell Music C-510 – The Shandels – “No Way Out” / “Treat Me Like a Man” both by Johnny Melnick & Eric Stern, C-101/C-102, 1966
La Salle L-370 – David Leigh – “Blowin’ in the Wind” / “One More Town”, L-1/2 La Salle L-371 – The Lemon Sandwich – “Give Me Love” (Eddie Hileman) / “I Must Be Dreaming”, L-3/4
La Salle L-381 – The Shandels – “Shades Of Blue” / “Fifteen Children” (both by John Melnick & Eric Stern, engineered by Joe Dulberg, Feb. 1967), C-165/6 La Salle L-382 – The Taboos – “All My Life” / “So Sad” (T-1, T-2) La Salle L-383 – Elsie Dixon – “It Had to Be You” / “How Ya Gonna Keep em Down on the Farm”, C-167/C-168 La Salle L-384 – The Shandels – “Think About You” / “Barnyard Blues”, C-169/C-170
La Salle L-386 – John Goodman – “First Star” / “Stranger at the Dance” La Salle L-387 – John Goodman – “Think About You” (John Melnick, Eric Stern) / “Rainbow”, produced by the ShanDels, C-182
La Salle L-390 – Carol Durrell – “Shadow Of Your Smile” / “The Look of Love”
La Salle 25 – Ellen & the Shandels – “Gypsy” / “Try A Little Tenderness” (1969 or 1970, also released as Dry Well on Lauren Records 2515)
E.T.B. Records ETB-113 – Eddie T. Burke – “I Must Be Dreaming” / “So Sad” (both by Eddie Hileman for Carldell Music BMI, engineered by Joe Cyr at Variety Sound Studios, CE-15/16
Lauren L-2513 – Tommy Burke – “Give Me Love” / “I Don’t Want to Be Your Keeper” (both by Tommy Burke for Carldell Music BMI, engineered by Joe Cyr at Variety Sound Studios) Lauren L-2514 – Johnny Hayes – “Greenback Dollar” / “Blowin’ in the Wind” Lauren L-2515 – Dry Well – “Gypsy” / “Try A Little Tenderness” (reissue of Ellen & the Shandels 45 above), CE-20/21 Laruen L-2516 – Branded “X” – “Society And Me” (Tommy Burke) / “Tribute to Uncle Sam” (Herner-Auwaerter-Furbich, Carldell BMI, prod. by Tommy Burke at Variety Sound Studios), CE-23/24
I’m not sure if this is the same Lauren label as the ones listed above: Lauren CO 2930 – The Out of Order – “Lonely Sentry” / “It’s Alright” (prod. by B. Jolie, L. Litchfield, T. Messier, Allegro Sound Studios NY, engineers Bruce Staple and Mike Consi, Ranford Music Co., BMI, distributed by Planet Records out of Providence, RI)
The Taboos came from Long Island, New York, cutting only one single in 1967 for La Salle Records. I don’t have much info on the band other than song writer names.
“All My Life” has a subdued start, the keyboard and bass making a three chord vamp while the drummer keeps a steady roll of toms going in the background. The chorus is more conventional, but a real surprise comes halfway through the song, when the bass picks up the pace and the lead guitar starts a Jeff Beck-style psychedelic solo. The song was written by Von Ressler and DeBonis.
Brennan and Palazzo wrote “So Sad”, which has a typical ballad format and singing style but it’s still an effective song.
Larry Hiller engineered the session at Murlyn Studios. La Salle Records owner Carl Edelson published both songs with his Cardell BMI.
A footnote to the group would come a couple years later, when Eddie T. Burke overdubbed a new lead vocal (inferior in my opinion) over the original recording of “So Sad” and released it on E.T.B Records ETB-113. See the post on La Salle and Lauren records for more on Eddie Burke’s release.
Hamilton and The Hamilton Movement, 1965. Back row, left to right: Chris Palmer, Gary Laub and Peter Vernon-Kell. Front: Fedon Tilberis
In August 1965, an obscure R&B outfit named Hamilton & The Hamilton Movement signalled its arrival on the London scene with an impressive rendition of The Velvelettes’ Motown classic “Really Saying Something” (later a sizeable UK hit for Bananarama) and then seemingly vanished off the face of the earth.
Then, almost two years later, a band calling itself Hamilton & The Movement descended on the airwaves with the infectious soul-rocker, “I’m Not the Marrying Kind”, a Bill Wyman penned and produced number, infused with punchy horn lines, funky drums and some groovy Hammond organ fills. Could this really be the same band and, if so, why such a long radio silence?
The answer to that question is both a yes and a no. While both outfits were fronted by a singer called Gary Hamilton, they were in fact two entirely different groups, albeit each with fascinating histories. To understand how these two bands became entwined, it’s important to go back to the early Sixties and the man who kick-started ‘the movement’, so to speak – Gary Hamilton.
The son of an English mother and American father, Gary Hamilton was in fact a certain Gary Laub, who grew up in London’s Marble Arch and St John’s Wood areas.
In 1962, Laub formed his first (unnamed) group with a school friend and lead guitarist named Graham who lived opposite Lords cricket ground. Soon after, they were joined by bass player Chris Palmer, rhythm guitarist Ian Hunt and (finally) drummer Fedon Tilberis, who all attended Haverstock School.
“How Chris and Ian met Gary I don’t know,” says Tilberis. “I joined a little later but Graham was still in the band and left soon after. We enlisted a replacement lead guitarist named Mike Allen and emerged as a five-piece named The Moondogs. The name was [Gary’s father] Mr Laub’s idea before we auditioned at the famous Two Is coffee bar.”
Fast forward to spring 1965 and Laub, Palmer and Tilberis had to reshuffle the pack when Allen and Hunt moved on. Through a friend of Tilberis, they were introduced to two older guitarists – Costas and Bernie – and started gigging as Cell Block 5.
“Costas was an ex-pro who had played US bases in Germany; he was a men’s tailor by trade. Bernie was from Rochdale. They were then in their late Twenties,” remembers Tilberis.
“We practised in the cellar of a scrap shop in south London that they knew. They did a three-nighter with us in a Greek Street cellar club called Les Cousins that I hustled but Bernie, not feeling very happy, left on the last night after the gig. Costas stayed on for a London suburb gig. They were only with us for about seven or eight weeks.”
Coining a new name, The Reaction, Tilberis hit the jackpot when he stumbled across Rayrik Studio owners Rick Minas and Bruce Rea, who offered up their Chalk Farm studio as a practice room. In return, the outfit would play free on any demo recording sessions when required.
“As it turned out, this was a great deal for us as we never had to record anything there other than our audition to clinch the agreement and practised for free,” continues the drummer.
Abetted by guitar legend Mick Green, The Reaction duly auditioned and Minas was bowled over by the performance.
“Chris and I had auditioned Mick at Chris’ place in Kilburn shortly before the Rayrik audition and we were both very impressed,” remembers Tilberis.
“Although Mick didn’t commit himself, he was interested in doing the Rayrik session, maybe hoping for some recording session gigs. I can’t remember what the number was that we recorded or if Gary was even there, but do remember listening to the backing take after and Mick’s comment. He said that it was a good clean recording and that you could build on it. Rick and Bruce agreed.”
Peter Vernon-Kell (front) with The Macabre outside the Ealing Club. Photo: Peter Vernon-Kell
However, when Mick Green opted to return to The Dakotas, with whom he had been playing with after leaving Johnny Kidd & The Pirates the previous year, Peter Vernon-Kell, a member of Goldhawk Social Club and Ealing Club regulars, The Macabre assumed guitar duties. Incidentally, Vernon-Kell had also been a brief member of The Detours, a forerunner of The Who.
“Both Mick Green and Peter Vernon-Kell came to us via a [Melody Maker] ad in that order. We did see other guitarists but finally settled for Peter after Mick moved on to greener pastures [excuse the pun],” explains Tilberis.
“Peter shared our new musical orientation and attitude, and as far as we were concerned, he fitted the bill. I then arranged our first practice at Rayrik.”
Prior to Vernon-Kell’s addition to the group’s ranks, Minas and Rea had introduced impresario Robert Stigwood, and the Australian subsequently offered Gary Laub a recording deal and put the band on his agency books.
Stigwood insisted that “Really Saying Something” should be the ‘A’ side while Rick Minas and his song-writing partner Mike Banwell offered up “I Won’t See You Tonight” for the flipside.
Before cutting both tracks at a demo session at Regent Sound in Denmark Street, Vernon-Kell coined a new name; The Reaction sounding too similar to The Action, The Who’s regular Tuesday night opener at the Marquee.
“He came up with The Hamilton Movement [in honour of Macabre guitarist Ed Hamilton] in the pub before the session [and] we thought it was great,” remembers Tilberis, who adds that Gary Laub, although at first not so keen, adopted ‘Hamilton’ as a stage name.
Having booked Olympic Sound (then situated in Baker Street) for the final recordings (and unbeknownst to the musicians), Stigwood augmented the band with Graham Bond on piano.
“We were aware who Graham was and were pleased to have him on board for the session,” says Tilberis.
According to the drummer, the tracks required only a few takes per playback and for the lead/backing vocals. Released in August 1965, the single entered the Radio Caroline charts at number 65 on 23 October and peaked at number 53 the following week.
However, the musicians soon realised that any talk of ‘band democracy’ was just that. Not only did the single list the outfit as Hamilton & The Hamilton Movement but Stigwood started promoting them as such.
“Only Gary was allowed to perform on Ready Steady Go using our playback, though we were allowed to attend the show,” explains Tilberis.
Interestingly, as future Hamilton Movement member Mel Wayne recalls, Stigwood insisted on the same conditions with another of his charges, The All-Nite Workers, who were backing Indian singer Simon Scott around the same time.
“Simon mimed to our backing track [on Ready Steady Go] while we had to stand on the balcony with the audience,” says the sax player. “It must have been a Stigwood thing.”
Aired on 22 October 1965, Gary Hamilton appeared on the popular British TV show alongside The Animals, The Searchers, Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds and The Rolling Stones, which may have been where the singer linked up with Bill Wyman.
By then, the group had started to pick up consistent live work, kicking off with a memorable gig at Sophia Gardens Pavilion in Cardiff on 30 August with The Who, The Graham Bond Organisation, The Merseybeats and The Easybeats (not the Australian outfit), which had been arranged by the Stigwood/Lambert-Stamp team.
“It looked like a sports hall with an enormous stage at one end. We went up the day before and slept in the van and hung about till early next afternoon to unload our gear,” says Tilberis.
“Townsend was also there early and limbering up in The Who’s dressing room. As our Pete knew him, he went to say ‘allo’ and introduce his new mates… [Townsend] asked Pete if he could borrow his Fender amp for the gig. Pete was more than wary, after all he didn’t want his amp wrecked so Townsend promised to only demolish his Marshall gear.
“Keith Moon and Tony Banks, drummer of The Merseybeats, were looning around and generally getting on everybody’s nerves, especially Entwistle’s as Moon had donned his bass and was running up and down the stage strumming it like a maniac. I thought John was going to thump him.”
More provincial gigs followed, not to mention the obligatory Mod clubs in London, including the El Partido in Lewisham where the outfit played alongside The Duke Lee Sounds on 30 October 1965.
However, in mid-late January 1966, the Stigwood/Lambert & Stamp team secured a spot for the band on a three-day, two shows a day package tour, once again opening for Vernon-Kell’s former band mates, The Who, and also featuring Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages, The Graham Bond Organisation, The Merseybeats and The Fortunes.
“Bob [Stigwood] arranged for us to practise at the Granada TV rehearsal studios at the Oval about a week beforehand,” remembers Tilberis. “He and Lambert came to oversee the rep and offer presentation tips for our opening spot on the show.”
The tour debut duly took place at the Astoria Cinema, Finsbury Park on 4 February and was followed by a gig at the Odeon Cinema, Southend-on-Sea the next day, culminating with a final engagement on 6 February at the Empire Theatre, Liverpool.
The following month, on 11-12 March, the musicians found themselves on the campus of Essex University in Colchester where a number of bands, including the up and coming Pink Floyd were entertaining the students.
Then in April, Stigwood linked up with Chris Blackwell to promote a second package tour headlined by The Who, this time with Hamilton and The Hamilton Movement joining the likes of The Spencer Davis Group, The Band of Angels and (most notably) Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System (aka New Generation) (who featured musicians that would form part of the soon-to-be Hamilton Movement).
The four-day tour, with two shows a day, kicked off at the Gaumont Theatre in Southampton on 14 April. After weaving its way on to Fairfield Halls in Croydon, then the Odeon in Watford, the tour wound up at the Regal Theatre in Edmonton.
“Gary’s mum called me on Saturday, 16 April in the afternoon asking if we would do the Watford gig that evening,” says the drummer. “Although we all had other plans I rounded up Pete and Chris and we did that gig.”
Stigwood then proposed a second single and once again engaged Graham Bond on piano. The sessions included a stab at The Who’s “A Legal Matter” as the ‘B’ side, which was cut as an instrumental track. However, the recording of the ‘A’ side did not go well, as Tilberis recalls.
“We weren’t raving about the number. Stigwood arranged a practice room and gave us a single to learn but I can’t remember what it was called. I had a trouble with the drum part on the session.
“Bob was well peeved but let us play one of our tunes that we were working on, but there was no melody line or title at that stage and he didn’t like it. The Olympic session was a blow out and Bob gave us the thumbs down, we were out and the gig flow stopped.”
As Tilberis points out, there was still no signed contract, and the singer was looking out for himself. “Gary’s dad [Harry] being a shrewd businessman and used to dealing with contracts and small print had deleted a hefty portion of the contract!”
Chris Palmer and Fedon Tilberis soon left for Jimmy & The Rackets, a British beat group with hit parade successes in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
Joining long-standing frontman, Jimmy Duncombe and guitarist Mike Bell, Tilberis remained with the Swiss-based outfit until spring 1968 while Palmer stayed on for another year.
The pair appeared on a cache of European-only released singles by The Rackets, kicking off with a cover of Eddie Cochran’s “C’mon Everybody” backed by a cover version of George Harrison’s “I Want To Tell You”.
The pair ended up setting up home in Switzerland where, in 1970, The Chris Palmer Band recorded the ultra-rare solo LP Fingertips, featuring originals from all the band members.
Palmer later hit pay day in 1980 when Surface Noise topped the UK dance music chart with a cover of his song, “The Scratch”. Tilberis re-joined The Rackets and played with local bands, including Swiss Sixties specialists, The Countdowns.
Vernon-Kell meanwhile subsequently moved into production. Setting up PVK Records, he managed Peter Green and produced a string of his late 1970s and early 1980s albums. More recently, he’s become an executive producer for films and currently runs Cabana Films Ltd.
But Gary Hamilton wasn’t finished with The Hamilton Movement. In late July/early August 1966, he linked up with Jimmy Cliff’s backing band, The New Generation, renaming them The Movement.
Bass player Ron Thomas, who years later struck fame with The Heavy Metal Kids, thinks the link-up came through The New Generation’s keyboard player Mick Fletcher.
“[Mick] was always going down all the clubs around Wardour Street,” says the bass player. “He was always ducking and diving and I thought he just met him [Gary Hamilton] out there one night.”
“Me and Mickie Fletcher were great mates and frequented The Ship in Wardour Street and drank with Gary there quite a bit,” confirms sax player Mel Wayne.
“We were all a bit frustrated the way things were going with Jimmy Cliff because he didn’t have a soul or pop voice, which was the sort of music Chris Blackwell wanted him to do and engaged us for.”
New Generation members Ron Thomas and Mel Wayne, together with fellow sax player Dave Mahoney, had first come together in West London R&B outfit Mike Dee & The Prophets.
Adding Thomas’s school friend Mick Stewart on guitar in mid-1965, they split from Mike Dee and worked as Anglo-Indian singer Simon Scott’s backing group, The All-Nite Workers. Their lone single together was produced by none other than Robert Stigwood!
By late 1965, former Paramounts drummer Phil Wainman had assumed leadership, and after cutting several singles with Errol Dixon and briefly backing Freddie Mack, Mick Stewart jumped ship to join Johnny Kidd & The ‘New’ Pirates.
Having previously introduced Mick Fletcher from The Epitaph Soul Band, guitarist Tony Sinclair (aka Tony St. Clair) completed the new formation, now gigging as The Sound System.
Through a chance meeting with Chris Blackwell, the sextet supported his roster of artists – Jackie Edwards, Millie, Owen Grey and most notably Jimmy Cliff. Trumpet player John Droy joined just before the Gary Hamilton pairing.
Clockwise from front: Ron Thomas, Mick Fletcher, Gary Laub, Tony Sinclair, Mel Wayne, Dave Mahoney and Phil Wainman
The expanded group began rehearsing at London’s Colony Club where Gary’s father was employed; US film star George Raft worked as its casino director and briefly financed the outfit. Mel Wayne adds that the group also rehearsed at Caesars Palace in Dunstable and Ken Collier’s London club.
When John Droy bailed after a short nationwide tour with The Walker Brothers in mid-August to join The Quotations, The Movement expanded its line-up, bringing in trumpet players – Mike Bailey, Alan Ellis and Patrick Higgs, the latter from Elton John’s group, Bluesology around December. (Ed: One of the unsuccessful musicians to audition was trumpet player Verdi Stewart, who would be instrumental in landing Mel Wayne future work with Carl Douglas.)
“We had a ten-piece band; a five-piece brass section; three trumpets. When I think of it now, we were all on a wage,” recalls Thomas.
That November, Gary Hamilton landed a recording deal with CBS and the musicians entered IBC Studios to work with Rolling Stone Bill Wyman in the producer’s chair.
“That was something that [Gary’s father] Mr Laub put together. He said, ‘We’ve got a song for you’,” remembers Phil Wainman, who adds that the group nailed both sides in a couple of takes.
“He [Bill Wyman] just let us get on with it. The band was so good. We’d rehearsed it prior to the studio and… in three hours I think we were done, recorded and mixed.”
“I’m Not The Marrying Kind” c/w “My Love Belongs To You” was duly released on 10 February 1967 and hit single written all over it.
However, despite having supported The Who at Leeds University on 21 January and then making a notable appearance at the Saville Theatre opening for Chuck Berry and Del Shannon on 19 February, the single’s commercial failure prompted the backers to drastically reduce the group’s bookings.
Phil Wainman was the first to abandon ship for The Overlanders and then Jack Hammer, author of “Great Balls of Fire”.
After co-penning The Yardbirds’ cover “Little Games” and working with The Quotations, Wainman became a top session player and then a successful producer with Sweet and Boomtown Rats, among his credits.
“As a producer I did so much better than as a musician,” says Wainman. “That’s where I did well. I probably sold about 300 million records.”
James Smith, fresh from an audition with The New Pirates, reforming after Johnny Kidd’s death, assumed the drum stool.
“I got a call from Ron Thomas,” remembers the newcomer. “He said Mick Stewart had given him my number and would I be interested in auditioning? I got the gig, though it was a hard act to follow. Phil was one of the best drummers around at the time.”
Smith remembers the band finding plenty of work on the university circuit that spring, including Keele, Nottingham, Leeds and Birmingham.
In the first week of April, Melody Maker reported that the group had whittled down from a 10 piece to a seven piece. Mel Wayne left to join Carl Douglas & The Big Stampede and two other horn players also departed, most likely including Pat Higgs.
On 27 May, Hamilton & The Movement joined Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers, The Action, The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band and The Swinging Blue Jeans to entertain the students at Oxford’s Hertford Balls.
The drummer also says that The Hamilton Movement opened for US soul act Sam and Bill several times (most notably at the Boston Gliderdrome on 15 July) before further changes ensued during August and October 1967.
Sam and Bill, Record Mirror
“The brass section dropped out and this kind of triggered a fairly rapid exodus… There were no gigs for a while so Tony, Mick and Ron found other work,” says the drummer.
While Mick Fletcher failed to reunite with Mel Wayne in Carl Douglas & The Big Stampede (the job went to Rod Mayall), he next appears to have played with The Rifle (with guitarist Del Grace from Carl Douglas’ band and singer Malcolm Magaron) and then The Amboy Dukes in late 1969 for a short tour into mid-1970.
Tony Sinclair briefly played with Lace before joining Freddie Mack’s band in early 1968. The soul outfit split from the former boxer in 1969 and worked with Dave Hadfield at his studio on the Old Kent Road, providing backing tracks for various artists on Hadfield’s Revolution label.
Ron Thomas meanwhile got a job with guitarist Pip Williams’s band, The House of Orange, backing US soul act, The Fantastics.
“They were right in the middle of a tour backing Garnet Mimms,” he recalls. “They were a house band working with Roy Tempest. They just phoned me up. Their bass player had got slung out in the middle of the tour and they had a gig that night.”
With ‘The Movement’ on hold, James Smith had also started to explore other avenues and even had an offer on the table when Gary Hamilton convinced him to hang on.
“Gary came up with Mick Stewart and Tony Savva and said he wanted to change the style and format going with a three-piece backing band, so I decided to stay,” says the drummer.
Bass player Tony Savva was best known for his work with A Wild Uncertainty, the group that featured Eddie Hardin, who had replaced Stevie Winwood in The Spencer Davis Group that spring.
Savva is uncertain how the link-up with Hamilton came about but has some photos with A Wild Uncertainty drummer Gordon Barton and lead guitarist Peter Tidmarsh in them, which offers a clue.
“Gary and I were behind the camera,” he explains. “How and why I don’t know but obviously we were backing Gary as vocalist. Maybe Gordon and Peter split and Mick [Stewart] and Jimmy [Smith] came in.”
Mick Stewart, however, can throw more light on this transition period. “I believe that I played with Tony Savva for a little while because of something to do with Don Arden’s son David being a would-be-singer at the time,” says the guitarist.
“The intro to that was in a way due to Johnny Kidd. Over the years, he was in fact booked quite a bit by Don Arden’s agency and after he died, I believe that someone at Arden’s company suggested I play guitar in this back-up band. Tony was already in the line-up. At the end of the day, however, David Arden although he was a really great guy to be in a rock ‘n’ roll band with, he was not really a singer at all.”
Gary Hamilton 25 November 1967 Record Mirror
With the new version finding its feet, Gary Hamilton returned to the studios with session musicians to cut a solo single. Produced by Tony Meehan and penned by Mike D’Abo, “Let the Music Play”, backed by the self-penned “Don’t Ask”, was released by Decca on 12 November 1967 but flopped. A dramatic, big band production, “Let the Music Play” appears on Colour Me Pop, Volume Three and Fading Yellow Volume 9: The Other Side of Life.
During early November 1967, Gary Hamilton expanded the line-up by bringing in organist Terry Goldberg, who had previously played with The Mark Leeman Five and would go onto Tintern Abbey.
Melody Maker, 11 November 1967
The five-piece gigged prolifically over the next four months, even opening for Ike & Tina Turner and others at the Boston Gliderdrome on 20 April 1968. Two days later, the musicians played possibly their final show at the 100 Club on Oxford Street before the inevitable split.
During 1968, Gary Hamilton recorded a one-track acetate “Carry The Can“, which was never released. The tracks were recorded with studio musicians and not the final version of The Hamilton Movement.
Mick Stewart immediately joined James Royal and participated in a prestigious concert tour alongside Johnny Cash, June Carter and Carl Perkins. During 1969-1970, he recorded three singles with Sweet before later moving to the United States in the late 1970s, where he works in Los Angeles and Nashville as a successful record producer and also owns a music publishing company and a recording studio.
Tony Savva meanwhile subsequently worked with Lionel Bart and Samuel Prody among others and currently lives in Cyprus. James Smith, who later recorded with Aquila, played with a revamped Nashville Teens before reuniting with Ron Thomas in The House of Orange.
“[Ron] said The Fantastics were coming back to the UK for a tour and he and Pip Williams were getting a backing band together and looking for a drummer and organist. I’d seen Ron and Pip previously so I didn’t need asking twice.”
As for Gary Hamilton, he joined the London production of Hair before resuming his solo career with a lone single for CBS and gigging briefly with Cozy Powell’s band, Big Bertha. Produced by Bernard Lee, the self-penned “Easy Rider” stalled when it was released on 5 December 1969.
Undeterred, he returned to Polydor for a cover of Ed Welch’s the “Monkey Song”, produced by Peter Knight Jr and arranged by John Fiddy. Released on 20 November 1970, the single flopped and Hamilton moved into movie acting; the eagle-eyed can catch him in the cult horror flick, Tower of Evil.
Thanks to Fedon Tilberis, Peter Vernon-Kell, Chris Palmer, Ron Thomas, Phil Wainman, Mel Wayne, James Smith, Mick Stewart and Tony Savva
To add information and make corrections, email: Warchive@aol.com
A version of this article appears in Ugly Things magazine.
30 August 1965 – Sophia Gardens Pavilion, Cardiff, Wales with The Who, The Graham Bond Organisation, The Merseybeats and The Easybeats
18 September 1965 – Il Rondo, Leicester
16 October 1965 – Woodhall Community Centre, Welwyn Garden City
30 October 1965 – El Partido, Lewisham, south east London with The Duke Lee Sounds and The Loose Ends
13 November 1965 – Co-Op Hall, Chesham, Bucks
27 November 1965 – Dungeon, Nottingham
4 December 1965 – Gala Ballroom, Norwich, Norfolk with Profile
24 December 1965 – Clacton Town Hall, Clacton, Essex with Unit 4+2 and The Nite-Sect
4 January 1966 – Pavilion Ballroom, Bournemouth, Dorset
1 February 1966 – Carousel Club, Farnborough, Hants
4 February 1966 – Astoria Cinema, Finsbury Park, north London with The Who, The Merseybeats, The Fortunes, The Graham Bond Organisation and Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages
5 February 1966 – Odeon Cinema, Southend-on-Sea, Essex with The Who, The Merseybeats, The Fortunes, The Graham Bond Organisation and Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages
6 February 1966 – Empire Theatre, Liverpool with The Who, The Merseybeats, The Fortunes, The Graham Bond Organisation and Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages
11 February 1966 – Wimbledon Palais, Wimbledon, London with The Who and The Mike Rabin Group
18 February 1966 – Tower Ballroom, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk with Circuit Five
19 February 1966 – Royal Links Pavilion, Cromer, Norfolk with The Ultimate
11-12 March 1966 – Essex University, Colchester, Essex with Pink Floyd and others
18 March 1966 – Dancing Slipper, Nottingham with Carl Pagan & The Heathens
19 March 1966 – Gala Ballroom, Norwich, Norfolk with The Spectrum
11 April 1966 – Clacton Town Hall, Clacton, Essex with The Moody Blues and Dave & The Strollers
14 April 1966 – Gaumont Theatre, Southampton, Hants with The Who, The Spencer Davis Group, The Band of Angels and Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System
15 April 1966 – Fairfield Hall, Croydon, south London with The Who, The Spencer Davis Group, The Band of Angels and Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System
16 April 1966 – Odeon, Watford, Herts with The Who, The Spencer Davis Group, The Band of Angels and Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System
17 April 1966 – Regal Theatre, Edmonton, north London with The Who, The Spencer Davis Group, The Band of Angels and Jimmy Cliff & The Sound System
21 May 1966 – New Central Ballroom, Aldershot, Hants with The Nuetrons
The original band split around June 1966 and Gary Hamilton put together a new version in late July
Gary Hamilton (vocals)
Tony Sinclair (aka St Clair) (guitar)
Ron Thomas (bass)
Mick Fletcher (keyboards)
Mel Wayne (sax)
Dave Mahoney (sax)
John Droy (trumpet)
Phil Wainman (drums)
11-13 August 1966 – Gaumont Cinema, Bournemouth, Dorset with The Kinks, The Walker Brothers, The Quotations, The Creation, The Wishful Thinking, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Titch and The Moody Blues
14 August 1966 – Tiles, Oxford Street, central London with The Anzacs
John Droy left soon after the tour to join The Quotations
26 August 1966 – The Place, Hanley, Staffordshire
3 September 1966 – Rhodes Centre, Bishop’s Stortford, Herts with The Mystery Men
18 September 1966 – Cromer Olympia, Cromer, Norfolk with The Barry Lee Show
24 September 1966 – Golden Torch, Tunstall, Staffordshire with Dave Berry & The Cruisers
29 September 1966 – Thorngate Ballroom, Gosport, Hampshire
1 October 1966 – Golden Torch, Tunstall, Staffordshire with The Thoughts
16 October 1966 – Khyber Club, Taunton, Somerset with The Sabres (the band replaced MI5)
Three trumpets players joined around December – Mike Bailey, Alan Ellis and Pat Higgs
21 January 1967 – Leeds University, Leeds, West Yorkshire with The Who
19 February 1967 – Saville Theatre, Shaftsbury Avenue, central London with Chuck Berry, The Canadians and Del Shannon
26 February 1967 – Saville Theatre, Shaftsbury Avenue, central London with Chuck Berry, The Candians and Herbie Goins & The Night-Timers
11 March 1967 – Birdcage, Portsmouth, Hants (cancelled)
Phil Wainman left around now and Jim Smith joined on drums
18 March 1967
18 March 1967 – Ewell Technical College, Ewell, Surrey with The Easybeats
Around early April, Mel Wayne and two trumpet players left, most likely including Pat Higgs. The band carried on as a seven-piece with two horn players.
6 May 1967 – Royal Lido Ballroom, Prestatyn, Wales with The Quotations and The Raynes (billed as Hamilton but assuming it is the same band)
27 May 1967 – Hereford Balls, Oxford with Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers, The Action, The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band and The Swinging Blue Jeans
10 June 1967 – Tiles, Oxford Street, central London with The Collection and The Gas Company
11 June 1967 – Starlight Ballroom, Crawley, West Sussex with Craig King & The Midnight Train
17 June 1967 – Bal Tabarin, Downham, south east London with supporting groups
2 July 1967 – Cosmo, Carlisle, Cumbria with Four Degrees West
6 July 1967 – Blue Lagoon, Newquay, Cornwall (billed as Hamilton & The Quotations but assuming it is the same band)
The group backed US soul singers Sam & Bill on a UK tour. The pair arrived on 12 July so it’s safe to assume the gigs listed below featured Hamilton & The Hamilton Movement
12 July 1967 – Locarno, Stevenage, Herts with Sam & Bill (most likely debut)
13 July 1967 – Sybilla’s, Swallow Street, Mayfair, central London (billed as Sam & Bill)
15 July 1967 – Starlight Room, Boston Gliderdrome, Boston, Lincolnshire with Sam & Bill, The Skatalites and The Reasons
16 July 1967 – Speakeasy, central London (billed as Sam & Bill)
21 July 1967 – Big ‘C’, Farnborough, Hants with Sam & Bill
21 July 1967 – Cue Club, Paddington, central London (billed as Sam & Bill)
22 July 1967 – New All-Star Club, Liverpool Street, central London (billed as Sam & Bill)
23 July 1967 – Dungeon, Nottingham with Sam and Bill
23 July 1967 – Saville Theatre, Shaftsbury Avenue, London (billed as Sam & Bill)
28 July 1967 – Skyline Ballroom, Hull with Sam & Bill plus One In A Million and That Feeling
29 July 1967 – Northwich Memorial Hall, Northwich, Cheshire with Sam & Bill and The Trap
30 July 1967 – Starlight Ballroom, Crawley, West Sussex with Sam & Bill and The Gas Company
13 August 1967 – Dungeon, Nottingham (says they were Sam and Bill’s backing group)
23 August 1967 – Locarno, Stevenage, Herts
25 August 1967 – Steering Wheel, Weymouth, Dorset
Dave Mahoney and the last trumpet player departed around now
2 September 1967 – Kirklevington Country Club, North Yorkshire
Sam & Bill played Floral Hall in Southport on 9 September 1967, but it’s unlikely they were support band this time.
15 September 1967 – Fiesta Hall, Andover, Hampshire
16 September 1967 – El Grotto, Ilford, east London
23 September 1967 – Cesar’s Club, Bedford with The Scotch of St James
30 September 1967 – City Hall, Salisbury, Wiltshire with Jigsaw and Dave Jay
Ron Thomas, Mick Fletcher and Tony Sinclair all left during October and the band was put on hold as Gary Hamilton recruited new players
Gary Hamilton (vocals)
Mick Stewart (guitar)
Tony Savva (bass)
Jim Smith (drums)
21 October 1967 – Maple Ballroom, Northampton
Terry Goldberg joined on keyboards
11 November 1967 – Brackley Town Hall, Brackley, Northamptonshire (possibly Goldberg’s debut)
8 December 1967 – City University, central London with The Soft Machine and Robert Hirst & The Big Taste
6 January 1968 – Lion Hotel, Warrington, Cheshire with Styx and Just Us
3 February 1968 – Sheridan Rooms, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
9 February 1968 – Tiger’s Head, Catford, south east London (billed as Hamilton’s Movements)
25 February 1968 – Barnsley Civic Hall, Barnsley, West Yorkshire with Jay Jones (billed as The Gary Hamilton Movement)
26 February 1968 – Primrose Hill Working Men’s Club, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire (billed as The Gary Hamilton Movement)
9 March 1968 – Clouds, Derby (says it’s an eight-piece soul band)
15 April 1968 – Barnsley Civic Hall, Barnsley, West Yorkshire with The Koobas and Detroit Soul Sound
20 April 1968 – Starlight Room, Boston Gliderdrome, Boston, Lincs with the Ike & Tina Turner Show, The Ikettes, The Artists and The Train Set
22 April 1968 – 100 Club, Oxford Street, central London (possibly the final gig)
The Red Coats. Photo from The Memphis Garage Rock Yearbook by Ron Hall. The Red Coats came from Ripley, Tennessee, about 50 miles northeast of Memphis.
Members were:
Bill Gurley – guitar and vocals Tommy Bearid – organ and vocals Johnny Shands – bass and vocals Chris Tucker – drums
Guitarist and vocalist Bill Gurley moved to the Raleigh section of Memphis, but continued in the band despite having to travel to meet them at gigs around the West Tennessee area.
Their debut single for the Orchid of Memphis label in late 1966 featured Bill Gurley’s original song, “You Told a Lie”, which has a guitar intro akin to “Paint It Black”. There’s an effective gloominess throughout, helped by the echo on the vocal harmonies.
The flip was another Gurley original, “I’m Going to Tell You About My Baby”, both songs published by Black Orchid Music BMI.
In early ’67 the Red Coats went to the Stax Studio to record a second single, “Poison Ivy” / “Just Send Her To Me”, which was released as by the Sunday Funnies, a name the band did not use in live performances. I haven’t heard either song but the sound has been described as soul. “Just Send Her To Me” was recorded by another Orchid of Memphis act, The Tight Little Unit, who made it the title track of their album in 1967. The cover of that LP lists Terry Rose from Orchid Records and engineer Allen Worley.
Orchid of Memphis also released a rare Christian LP by Steve Engelhardt, Is It True, recorded at Cardinal Sound in Lexington, Kentucky.
Information from The Memphis Garage Rock Yearbook 1960-1975 by Ron Hall. Thanks to Kip Brown for the single!
The Barracudas, photo from Brown Paper SackThe Barracudas came from Bunkie, Louisiana, a small town south of Alexandria.
Members were:
John Haas – vocals Terry Fontanille – lead guitar Tommy McNabb – bass Alex Haas – drums
The photo above shows a quintet, so I’m not sure who the additional guitarist was.
According to Mark Prellberg’s article in Brown Paper Sack, the band started out as the Pickles and appeared on a Saturday morning TV show broadcast from Alexandria. After a show at a Chevy dealership, KDBX DJs Gene McDaniels and Larry Jorgensen signed them to a management deal. They cut one single in April 1965 at the KDBX studio for release on their managers’ Zundak label.
One side is “Baby Get Lost”, an original by Haas and Fontanille. Guitarist Terry Fontanille provides several excellent hooks with his picking, there’s plenty of background shouting and chirping of the chorus, and even a short drum break.
Clocking in at 1:43, the recording has been called ludicrously sped up, but I’ve played it at various speeds and believe that the pressing is only 1% or 2% fast, which wouldn’t be unusual for the time. One version online pitched down to 2:05 sounded too lethargic and off-key to me. The video below is close to what I feel is the correct speed. Singer John Haas was 15 at the time of recording, which could account for the high-pitched vocals.
The flip is a decent version of Jimmy Reed’s “Honest I Do” though the short guitar and drum break after the harmonica solo is hilarious.
After Alex Haas left for college, John Haas and Tommy McNabb formed Nobody’s Children, with no recordings that I know of. Billy Powell of Jimmy & the Offbeats from Baton Rouge recruited John Haas as vocalist for his new group, John Eric & the Isoceles Popsicles, making one single each for USA and Verve.
As John Eric and the Isosceles Popcicles, they had two pop singles circa 1968, “I’m Not Nice” / “Like Him” on USA Records 913 and “Gonna Change My Mind” (Haas, Amarosa, McRee) / “I Been Trying” on Verve VK-10589.
Zundak Records
The Barracudas was the second release on the Zundak label, Zundak 45-101, with “Baby Get Lost” published by Zundak Publ. Co. BMI and production by Zundak Music Enterprises, Alexandria, Louisiana.
The only other composition I can find published by Zundak is “A Soldier’s Christmas in Viet Nam” by Charles England, copyrighted by Zundak Pub. Co. in October 1966.
Besides the Barracudas, Zundak released an album:
102 – Catahoula Country Time (Ruble Wright)
And six other singles that I know of:
100 – Terry & the Pirates – “Someone Care For Me” / “Stackel-Teez” Feb’65 102 – Rhythm Kings – “Memphis” / “Runaway” 103 – Little Caesar & the Romans – “Don’t Cry No More” / “Night Train” 104 – Jimmy Ingram and Jimmy Williams and the Down Beaters – “I Need You” / “She’s Gone” (both by O.A. Raby) 105 – Betty Simpson – “Weeping Willow” / “What Is Love” 106 – The X-L’s – “Protest Against Protest” / “Blue Blue Feeling” (July 1966)
The X-L’s is a crude kind of garage record, while the Jimmy Ingram is gospel-style soul and the Betty Simpson is pop, with a good soul feeling on the b-side.
Some of the records were recorded at La Louisianne studios in Lafayette, about 90 miles to the southeast of Alexandria in central Louisiana.
Thank you to Max Waller and Teen Beat Mayhem for help with the Zundak discography.
Back row left to right: Alan Marshall, Alan White and Kenny Craddock. Front row, left to right: Peter Kirtley and Brian Rowan. Photo: Peter Kirtley
Alan Marshall – lead vocals
Peter Kirtley – lead guitar
Kenny Craddock – organ
Brian Rowan – bass
Alan White – drums
Happy Magazine was soul/R&B band that was formed during August 1967 by singer Alan Marshall and lead guitarist Peter Kirtley and was managed and produced by former Animals keyboard player/singer Alan Price.
The two musicians have previously played together in Southeast London R&B group, The Loose Ends from around July 1965 to October 1966 when Kirtley departed to join The Alan Price Set.
Alan Marshall meanwhile formed a new version of The Loose Ends, drawing on Croydon, Surrey band, The Subjects, which featured Malcolm Rudkin (vocals); Alan Griffin (lead guitar); Phil Lanzon (organ); John Manderson (bass); and Roy Manderson (drums).
After a short while, John Manderson and Malcolm Rudkin, who did not want to turn professional, departed and the band’s manager Bryan Mason recruited sax player/guitarist Mick Patel, who had previously worked with Carl Douglas and bass player Colin Pullen from Kent band, Bob ‘N’ All. Not long after, Roy Manderson was succeeded by another Bob ‘N’ All member, Tony Glyde.
In early December 1966, Bryan Mason expanded the formation by adding another Bob ‘N’ All member – singer Bob Saker and the group played regularly at the Playboy Club.
The Loose Ends then landed a residency at the Bang Bang Club in Milan’s San Guiliano district, which kicked off in the third week of January but Alan Griffin departed just before the group left for Italy and Colin King from Bob ‘N’ All took his place.
During early March 1967, The Loose Ends returned to London and played at the Scotch of St James and the Speakeasy. At one of the venues, Otis Redding spotted Alan Marshall and Bob Saker and invited them to Muscle Shoals to record, and during May/June the singers cut two tracks – “Johnny B Goode” and “Keep on Pushing”, which were never released. Marshall and Saker then returned to the UK.
By this point, Peter Kirtley was ready to leave The Alan Price Set to team up with Alan Marshall and around August the pair formed Happy Magazine. Initially, Marshall’s friend Bobby Sass was going to play keyboards but he departed after initial rehearsals.
Kirtley, who was originally from Tyneside and had played with Shorty & Them during the early 1960s, introduced his old friends from Jarrow, the late Kenny Craddock on organ from Tyneside bands The Elcorts and New Religion, and Brian Rowan on bass from Shorty & Them. He also recruited drummer Alan White, formerly a member of Tyneside outfits, The Bluechips and The Gamblers.
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Kicking off with Alan Price’s excellent “Satisfied Street”, backed with “Beautiful Land” in December 1967, featuring a horn section that may well be Amboy Dukes members Buddy Beadle and Steve Gregory (also ex-Alan Price Set), the label re-issued the track three months later coupled with the Dan Penn/Spooner Oldham soul classic “Do Right Woman – Do Right Man”. During this time, the group also became regulars at Rasputin’s club in Bond Street.
During 1968, Alan Price recruited Alan White for his backing band, and Malcolm Wolffe from West London bands, The Tribe and Dream took over. The band then cut its third and final outing, a brilliant reading of the Dee/Potter collaboration, “Who Belongs To You” (again with horns), coupled with the previously available “Beautiful Land”. Issued on 14 February 1969, the single should have catapulted the band into the charts.
With the single failing to grace the charts, Alan Marshall departed to form the experimental jazz/funk/blues band, One, who cut a brilliant lone album for Fontana later that year.
Left to right: Peter Kirtley, Brian Rowan, Kenny Craddock, Malcolm Wolffe and Alan Marshall
Joined by lead guitarist Kevin Fogarty (originally a member of Southport R&B group, Timebox); his old friend and keyboardist Bobby Sass; bass player Brent Forbes from Salford bands, The Rogues and Sunshine; sax and flutist Norman Leppard; and drummer Conrad Isidore, One should have been a huge success but the album (which featured Peter Kirtley on lead guitar) sank without a trace.
Peter Kirtley, Kenny Craddock and Alan White meanwhile brought in two friends from Newcastle – ex-Skip Bifferty members, singer Graham Bell and bass player Colin Gibson, and signed to Bell Records for a one-off single as Griffin.
Produced by Alan Price and issued on 25 September 1969, the Kirtley-Gibson-Craddock collaboration, “I am The Noise in Your Head,” coupled with Kirtley’s “Don’t You Know” was an impressive outing but failed to trouble the charts.
Griffin soon splintered and Kirtley went on to record with several notable bands, including Riff Raff, Radiator and Pentangle. Later he appeared on albums by Liane Carroll and Bert Jansch.
Kirtley has also issued two solo albums, Peter Kirtley and Bush Telegraph as well as the charity single, “Little Children”, for Jubilee Action, to raise money for street children in Brazil and featuring Paul McCartney.
Having fronted new versions of One, Alan Marshall surfaced as a solo artist on Fontana in 1970. In France, the label issued a rare single that coupled One’s excellent cover of Richie Havens’s “Don’t Listen To Me” with a solo outing – “How Much Do You Know”, adapted from “Adagio Royal” by F de Boivallee.
When that single failed to chart, Marshall ended up joining Strabismus, which subsequently changed its name to Riff Raff when the singer’s former band mate from The Loose Ends/Happy Magazine, Peter Kirtley joined. However, Marshall quit before Riff Raff’s debut album was recorded and pursued a solo career before recording with Zzebra. He then joined Gonzalez in the late Seventies in time for their 1979 release, Move It To The Music. Marshall continues to perform in London.
Alan White became a top session player, working with John Lennon and George Harrison among others and later joined Yes, with whom he continues to play.
White’s replacement Malcolm Wolffe meanwhile joined Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band.
Notable gigs:
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2 September 1967 – Iron Curtain Club, Small Heath, West Midlands with Erskine T (Birmingham Evening Mail)
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9 September 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London with The Tremeloes (Melody Maker)
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9 September 1967 – Tiles, Oxford Street, central London with Winston G & Heart and Souls (Melody Maker)
13 January 1968 – Beachcomber, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post)
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17 February 1968 – Nuneaton Parish Hall, Nuneaton, Warwickshire with Arnham Bloo (Nuneaton Evening Tribune)
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24 February 1968 – Windsor Ballroom, Redcar with The Skyliners (Middlesbrough Evening Gazette)
7-9 March 1968 – Hatchetts Playground, central London (Melody Maker)
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7 April 1968 – Tower Ballroom, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk (Yarmouth Mercury)
13 April 1968 – Club A Go Go, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear (Newcastle Evening Chronicle)
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15 April 1968 – Queen’s Ballroom, Wolverhampton with Tony Rivers & The Castaways and Glass Menagerie (Express & Star)
28 April 1968 – Beachcomber, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post)
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8 June 1968 – Clockwork Orange, Chester, Cheshire with Tamca Band and Watson Brown Band (Wrexham Leader)
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19 July 1968 – Redcar Jazz Club, Redcar, North Yorkshire with The Easybeats and Rivers Invitation (Dennis Weller, Chris Scott Wilson and Graham Lowe’s book, Backstage Pass: RedcarJazzClub/Middlesbrough Evening Gazette)
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20 July 1968 – Windsor Ballroom, Redcar, North Yorkshire with The Skyliners (Middlesbrough Evening Gazette)
22 July 1968 – Winter Gardens, Cleethorpes with Ferris Wheel and Glass Showband (Grimsby Daily Telegraph)
1 August 1968 – Klooks Kleek, West Hampstead, north London (Melody Maker)
8 August 1968 – Bag O’Nails, Kingley Street, Soho, central London (Fabulous 208)
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9 August 1968 – El Grotto, Ilford, east London (Redbridge & Ilford Recorder)
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10 August 1968 – Beachcomber, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post)
7 September 1968 – Rainbow Suite Co-op, Birmingham with The Baron (Birmingham Evening Mail)
11 September 1968 – Summerhill House Hotel, Kingswinford, West Midlands (Express & Star)
19 September 1968 – Klooks Kleek, West Hampstead, north London (Melody Maker)
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29 September 1968 – The Tent Club, Swan Hotel, Billingham with The New Blues Revue (Middlesbrough Evening Gazette)
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19 October 1968 – Lion Hotel, Warrington, Cheshire with Earl Preston’s Reflections (Warrington Guardian)
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20 October 1968 – Carlton Club, Warrington, Cheshire (Warrington Guardian)
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26 October 1968 – Cheltenham Spa Lounge and Ballroom, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire (Gloucester Citizen)
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3 November 1968 – Redcar Jazz Club, Redcar, North Yorkshire with The New Formula (Dennis Weller, Chris Scott Wilson and Graham Lowe’s book, Backstage Pass: Redcar Jazz Club/Middlesbrough Evening Gazette)
3 November 1968 – Surrey Rooms, Kennington, south London (South East London Mercury) This seems very unlikely unless it was another date
8 November 1968 – Pantiles, Bagshot, Surrey (Surrey Advertiser)
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9 November 1968 – El Grotto, Ilford, east London (Redbridge & Ilford Recorder)
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16 November 1968 – Stage Club, Oxford (Oxford Mail)
30 November 1968 – Beachcomber, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post)
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22 December 1968 – City Hall, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear with The Animals, Grapefruit, The Paul Williams Set, Barry St John, Long John Baldy, Kim Davis & The Beginning, Noble Forde and The Tempo Set (Newcastle Evening Chronicle) Original Animals’ reunion gig/Geno Washington was billed but cancelled
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27-28 December 1968 – Quay Club, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear (Newcastle Evening Chronicle)
3 January 1969 – The Place, Hanley, Staffordshire (Evening Sentinel)
19 January 1969 – Redcar Jazz Club, Redcar, North Yorkshire with The Paul Williams Set (Dennis Weller, Chris Scott Wilson and Graham Lowe’s book, Backstage Pass: RedcarJazzClub)
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25 January 1969 – Beachcomber, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post)
8 February 1969 – Swan, Yardley, West Midlands with The Locomotive and Magazine (Birmingham Evening Mail)
9 February 1969 – Black Prince Hotel, Bexley, southeast London (South East London Mercury)
22 February 1969 – The Factory, Birmingham (Birmingham Evening Mail)
1 March 1969 – The Factory, Birmingham (Birmingham Evening Mail)
11 March 1969 – Club Domino, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear (Newcastle Evening Chronicle)
11 March 1969 – Club Domino, Bedlington, Northumberland (Sunday Sun)
Thanks to Alan Marshall, Peter Kirtley, Alan Griffin, Phil Lanzon, Bob Saker and Colin Pullen for helping piece the story together. Thanks to Peter Kirtley for the photos.
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
Golden State Recorders used the Golden State Records label for acts that did not have a deal with another company. The music can range from soul to hard rock to gospel, but Custer & the Survivers, Zorba & the Greeks and the Poor Souls all have good garage sounds.
The following month, on 11-12 March, the musicians found themselves on the campus of Essex University in Colchester where a number of bands, including the up and coming Pink Floyd were entertaining the students.
However, despite having supported The Who at Leeds University on 21 January and then making a notable appearance at the Saville Theatre opening for Chuck Berry and Del Shannon on 19 February, the single’s commercial failure prompted the backers to drastically reduce the group’s bookings.
