Retired American light-heavyweight boxer Freddie Mack, sometimes spelt Freddy Mack and also known as Mr Superbad, relocated to the UK in 1965 and established a second career as a soul singer and disc jockey.

Between late 1965 and the mid-1970s, Mack fronted a succession of bands featuring a staggering number of notable British R&B and soul musicians.

Originally called The Mack Sound, the singer’s bands also worked under the names The Freddie Mack Sound, The Fantastic Freddie Mack Show and the Freddie Mack Extravaganza.

The first line-up of this band must have been formed in October 1965 because an advert in Melody Maker from October 1968 says that the group was due to play at the Whisky A Go Go in Wardour Street on 13 October 1968 to mark the band’s third anniversary.

Sometime in November, Freddie Mack was briefly paired with The Phil Wainman Band and female singer Cleo Sylvester (aka Sylvestre). The group’s line up at the time comprised lead guitarist Tony Sinclair; bass player Ron Thomas; organist Mick Fletcher; sax players Mel Wayne and Dave Mahoney; and drummer Phil Wainman.

According to Wainman, Mack was resident DJ at Dolly’s Club in Soho and they shared a brief residency there.  The group was then lined up to play a Christmas/New Year show at Count Suckle’s Cue Club in Paddington with Mack.

Mel Wayne says that Mick Fletcher was staying with him in Twickenham and the pair had problems with the trains and arrived late. Mack was going to fine them but the rest of the band rallied and said they’d leave if he did.

Unfortunately, the show proved to be the end of their relationship  and Wainman’s band went on to work with West End Promotions, backing a succession of Jamaican artists, including Millie Small, Owen Grey, Jackie Edwards and most notably Jimmy Cliff.

Around February 1966, Mack asked sax player Roger Warwick, who’d done some rehearsals with Phil Wainman’s band, to become part of a new, larger stage show that drew on musicians from two bands and subsequently became known as This ‘N’ That. The new formation retained singer Cleo Sylvester.

Mack had also asked American singer Ronald Bertram Greaves (aka Sonny Childe) to join the new stage show but Warwick doesn’t think he stuck around long.

Originally from Ealing, Warwick had attended Walpole Grammar School and was in the year below (and was friends with) John McVie. Studying sax under Don Rendell, he had previously played on The Tornados’ single “Early Bird”, produced by Joe Meek.

He then worked with Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages and played a few gigs with The Lower Third (with David Bowie on sax) before backing singer Bobby Rio on a German tour in December 1965 with future Mack Sound bass player Alan Cartwright.

Back in England, Warwick joined a short-lived group based in Fulham, which also included an Irish singer called Leon, tenor sax player Nobby Clarke and a Welsh Hammond organist, who was possibly Mike Vaughn-Jones. When Warwick joined Freddie Mack, Leon, Clarke and Vaughn-Jones also came onboard. (Ed. Hammond organist Paul Abrahams says he had played with Warwick previously and was involved with the band by early June.)

The other group that Mack drew on for musicians were Screaming Lord Sutch’s latest version of The Savages, Liverpool outfit, Derry Wilkie & The Others.

Lord Sutch had been using the musicians as a backing group for several months but by April 1966 the players were keen to break away from Sutch and try something new.

The entire outfit – singer Derry Wilkie; lead guitarist Ernie Hayes; tenor sax player Phil Kenzie; baritone sax player Ashton Tootell; bass player Derek Bond; and drummer Billy Adamson accepted Mack’s offer and signed up.

Joining forces with Warwick’s Fulham players, the new formation debuted at the Ram Jam in Brixton on 22 April 1966 under the name Freddie Mack’s This ‘N’ That.

Warwick remembers that sax player Jimmy Jewell, a former member of Kris Ryan & The Questions, played some gigs with the band during this time.

Jewell confirms that he briefly played with Mack around April 1966 together with former Jimmy Powell & The Dimensions guitarist Martin Shaw and an American singer called Richard Lanham, who’d recently lived in Milan, Italy.

Jewell and Shaw did not stay long and would take part in a German tour with The Paramounts in September 1966 backing singer Chris Andrews.

The excellent Derry Wilkie website also lists a number of other players that became part of this larger show during mid-1966: singer Jo Baker; lead guitarist Geoff Krivit; trumpet player Mark Charig; and percussionist Eddie Lincoln.

Krivit, incidentally, had briefly been a member of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers in 1965 and Julian Covey & The Machine in early 1966. He would go on to play with Dr K’s Blues Band. Charig meanwhile had been a member of The Sidewinders (recently playing at Count Suckle’s Cue Club in Paddington) and later worked with Bluesology (alongside Elton John).

Billed as This ‘N’ That, the line-up recorded a lone single, “Get Down With It/I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” c/w “I Care About You” for the Strike label, which was released on 10 June 1966.

Judging by an advert printed in 11 June 1966 edition of Melody Maker, the single features singers Derry Wilkie, Sonny Childe, Cleo Sylvester and Leon plus “the explosive sound of TNT and Mack Sound”.

The Redbridge & Ilford Recorder lists the band playing at Oscar’s Grotto in Ilford, east London on 11 June 1966.

The same newspaper also lists the band, billed as The TNT Show with The Youth (born Trevor Sutherland and later future reggae artist IJahman Levi), Derek and Cleo playing at the same venue on 9 July 1966.

Most of the musicians left immediately afterwards to work as Sonny Childe & The TNT. According to Ernie Hayes, when Sonny Childe returned to the US around August 1967, the guitarist, plus organist Mike Vaughn-Jones and drummer Billy Adamson joined forces with bass player Jet Harris and singer Pete Gage for a few months. Phil Kenzie meanwhile joined Tuesday’s Children for four months.

In November 1967, Ernie Hayes, Mike Vaughn-Jones, Billy Adamson and Phil Kenzie reunited in TNT to back American singer PP Arnold with former Creation’s member Eddie Phillips on bass. Adamson later played with The Searchers while Kenzie returned to Freddie Mack’s band in spring 1968 (see entry).

In the meantime Roger Warwick helped Freddie Mack put together a new version of The Mack Sound, retaining Cleo Sylvester, The Youth and Derry Wilkie. He brought in his old friend Alan Cartwright on bass plus some new players.

The band rehearsed extensively that summer and Warwick remembers the new line up playing a day long show at Douglas House at Lancaster Gate with Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames (Ed. Fame played here on 29 May 1966 but this would have been too early in the timeline unless Warwick meant an earlier version.)

The Redbridge & Ilford Recorder lists the band, billed as The Mac Sounds, playing at Oscar’s Grotto, Ilford, east London with The TNT on 30 July 1966.

Around this time, Warwick and Cartwright were among the musicians who backed The Youth on a lone single for Polydor Records, a cover of Smokey Robinson’s “As Long As There Is Love” backed by Otis Redding’s “Your One and Only Man” at Abbey Road.

Drawing on a number of web sources, and accounts from several musicians, it looks like the new line up’s formation, which signed to Dumont Associates (as advertised in Melody Maker’s 15 October 1966 issue), comprised the following players at some point between September 1966 and January 1967:

Freddie Mack – lead vocals

Derry Wilkie – lead vocals

Tony Morgan – lead vocals, congas

Kenneth Harry – lead vocals

Kookie Eaton – lead vocals

Ged Peck – lead guitar

Billy Davidson – organ 

Alan Cartwright – bass

Roger Warwick – baritone saxophone

Clarence Jackson (aka JJ Johnson) – trombone

Bernie Wehrman – tenor saxophone

Chris Burdett – alto saxophone (possibly joined later in 1966)

Eddie  Thornton – trumpet (joined October 1966)

B J Wilson – drums (replaced by Roger Truth in November 1966)

Clarence Jackson was a member of Otis Redding’s touring band when the singer had made his UK debut in September 1966, so it’s probably safe to assume he joined after the tour had finished.

Eddie Thornton, however, was still working with Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames until October 1966, and therefore it’s possible that another trumpet player was there before.

Thanks to recollections from Ged Peck, it appears that the first keyboard player was Billy Davidson (who later worked with The Flowerpot Men among others) but he was replaced by Art Regis at some point in early 1967 (possibly start of February).

Of the other musicians listed above, lead guitarist Ged Peck had been a member of The Favourite Sons before briefly playing with Chris Lamb & The Universals.

B J Wilson had played with The Paramounts and George Bean & The Runners. He was an old friend of Alan Cartwright’s.

One thing is clear from tracing Freddie Mack’s bands during the 1960s, the line-ups tended to be pretty fluid and (particularly) horn players appeared to come and go on a regular basis, making pinning down definitive formations almost impossible. There were often around 15 musicians in the group at one time.

Throughout this period, musicians appear to have come and gone on a regular basis. According to Nick Simper’s excellent website, Roger Truth, who had played with the future Deep Purple bass player in Johnny Kidd & The Pirates, took over the drum stool from B J Wilson in late November 1966.

Roger Warwick left in December 1966 while the band were playing at the Upper Cut in Forest Gate, east London. Warwick moved to Turin, Italy to join a band being formed to back Lebanese singer Patrick Samson.

He remembers that when he left, singer Richard Lanham was with the band.

West Indian trumpet player Sonny Corbett joined during early 1967 as did English trumpet player Chris Dawe.

In January 1967, it’s possible The Mack Sound comprised the following (plus other unknown musicians):

Freddie Mack – lead vocals

Derry Wilkie – lead vocals

Tony Morgan – lead vocals, congas

Kenneth Harry – lead vocals

Kookie Eaton – lead vocals

Ged Peck – lead guitar

Billy Davidson – organ 

Alan Cartwright – bass

Clarence Jackson – trombone

Bernie Wehrman – tenor saxophone

Chris Dawe – trumpet

Sonny Corbett – trumpet

Eddie  Thornton – trumpet 

Roger Truth – drums

Hammond organist Art Regis, who’d previously performed with Mel Turner & Rupert and The Red Devils, Dutch band The Defenders, The Arthur Brown Union and Ralph Denyer & The Uptown Band, remembers Derry Wilkie, Tony Morgan, Kookie Eaton, Dick Morrisey, Bernie Wehrman, Clarence Jackson and Eddie Thornton being in the band at the same time as him.

Art Regis recalls Freddie Mack coming to his flat in Portobello Road and discussing the possibility of forming “an extravagant international soul show”. The Hammond organist also remembers playing at Silver Blades Ice Rink in Streatham and a trek down to Cornwall to play an air sea rescue base in Falmouth.

More importantly, Art Regis also recalls performing with Freddie Mack at Billy Walker’s The Upper Cut in Forest Gate, which opened on 21 December 1966. According to Melody Maker, Mack’s band was the resident support band at this notable venue until early February 1967.

Nick Simper also spent a week with the band when it was resident support act at the Upper Cut (most likely mid-January 1967) after working with Bobby Hebb’s touring band. However, Alan Cartwright was soon back and Simper formed The New Pirates the following month.

During the first few weeks of February Roger Truth dropped out briefly to reform The New Pirates with Simper but had a change of mind and returned to Freddie Mack after some early rehearsals. B J Wilson filled the drum stool in the interim.

Art Regis would reunite with Nick Simper and Ged Peck in June 1967 in Billie Davis & The Quality before working briefly with Engelbert Humperdinck. Regis confirms that he then joined Jimmy James & The Vagabonds on 27 July 1967.

Another keyboard player that is often associated with Freddie Mack during this time is future Gonzalez member Roy Davies, who’d previously been a member of Southeast London band, The Loose Ends. It looks most likely that Davies came on-board when Art Regis left (around mid-February).

In late February 1967, B J Wilson joined Sands and then Procol Harum. Roger Truth returned to the drum stool.

Ged Peck certainly was gone sometime in late March 1967 and joined Nick Simper in Billie Davis & The Quality that May before going on to a number of notable acts, including Warhorse (alongside Simper). His temporary replacement was former Tornados and Echoes guitarist Stuart Taylor.

Lead guitarist Dave Tedstone, who had previously been a member of The Doc Thomas Group, remembers going to Eel Pie Island to see Freddie Mack’s band and subsequently joined.  Tedstone also recalls that Stuart Taylor was on guitar at the time. Thanks to Pete Watt’s excellent research this gig can be confirmed as 4 April 1967.

Selected gigs:

2 September 1966 – Carousel Club, Farnborough, Hants. Billed as Freddie Mack Sounds and His Show

9 September 1966 – The Place, Hanley, Staffordshire. Billed as The Mack Sound (ten-piece band)

10 September 1966 – The Cavern, Liverpool with Eddie Cave & The Fix, The Kop, The Hideaways, The Seftons and The Rocking Vicars

16 September 1966 – Beachcomber, Nottingham

22 September 1966 – Golden Torch, Tunstall, Staffordshire Billed as The Mack Sound

1 October 1966 – Flamingo Ballroom, Redruth, Cornwall with The Jaguars

13 October 1966 – Burton Manor, Stafford, Staffordshire

15 October 1966 – Drill Hall, Dumfries, Scotland with The Misfits

19 October 1966 – Elbow Room, Aston, West Midlands. Billed as The Mac Sound

20 October 1966 – Black Horse, Northfield, West Midlands with The Visuals Billed as Mack Sound (11-piece)

21 October 1966 – The Royal Oak, Hockley Heath, West Midlands Billed as Mack Sound (11-piece)

22 October 1966 – Bromsgrove Baths, Bromsgrove, West Midlands with The Exchequers

28 October 1966 – Cavalier Club, Belfast, Northern Ireland with Tony G Ford & The Crescendos. Billed as Derrie Wilkie & The Mack Sound

29 October 1966 – Cavalier Club, Belfast, Northern Ireland with The King Bees. Billed as Derrie Wilkie & The Mack Sound

5 November 1966 – Jigsaw, Manchester with Alan Bown Set

8 November 1966 – The Place, Hanley, Staffordshire  Billed as Mack Sound (ten-piece with Derrie Wilkie)

26 November 1966 – Toft’s, Folkestone, Kent

27 November 1966 – Toft’s, Folkestone, Kent

4 December 1966 – Douglas House, Lancaster Gate, Central London (listed as 13-piece band) with Herbie Goins & The Nighttimers

5 December 1966 – Whisky A Go Go, Wardour Street, Soho, central London

10 December 1966 – King’s Hall, Stoke-on-Trent with In-Betweens and Lonnie’s Few

11 December 1966 – Golden Torch, Tunstall, Staffordshire (Staffordshire Weekly Sentinel article, dated 16 December, page 13, lists 16 band members)

11 December 1966 – Esquire Club, Sheffield with The Orginators Creed, The Hobo Flats and The Chicago Line

16 December 1966 – Tofts, Folkestone, Kent

17 December 1966 – Hotel Leofric, Coventry

21 December 1966-12 February 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London:

21 December 1966 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London with Who

22 December 1966 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London with Easybeats

23 December 1966 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London with Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Titch

24 December 1966 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London with Eric Burdon & The Animals

26 December 1966 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London with Jimi Hendrix Experience (day)

26 December 1966 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London with Pretty Things (evening)

27-29 December 1966 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London

30 December 1966 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London with Spencer Davis Group

31 December 1966 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London with Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band (This may not have happened if gig below took place)

31 December 1966 – Assembly Rooms, Dumfries, Scotland

1 January 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London with The Move (This may not have happened if above gig took place)

2 January 1967 – Newton Stewart, Galloway, Scotland Second Scottish gig suggests not all Upper Cut shows in January happened

2-5 January 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London (This may not have happened due to Scottish tour)

6 January 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London with The Small Faces

7 January 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London with The Bitter End Singers

8 January 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London with The Mindbenders (Nick Simper’s website says Pink Floyd replaced The Mindbenders. Simper attended and saw Syd Barrett’s group perform. He filled in for Alan Cartwright for a week at this venue, possibly the following week)

9-12 January 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London (possibly with Nick Simper

13 January 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London with Four Pennies (possibly with Nick Simper)

14 January 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London with Terry Lightfoot’s Jazzmen (possibly with Nick Simper)

15-19 January 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London

20 January 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London with Sounds Incorporated

21 January 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London with The Fourmost

22-26 January 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London

27 January 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London with Jimmy James & The Vagabonds

28 January 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London with Jimi Hendrix Experience

29-31 January 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London

Possible that Art Regis took over from Billy Davidson around about now. Not long after Roger Truth dropped out to reform The New Pirates with Nick Simper. B J Wilson returned to the drum kit.

1-2 February 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London

3 February 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London with Winston’s Fumbs (now listed as 15-piece band)

4 February 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London with Herbie Goins & The Night-Timers, The Satin Dolls and The Avalons

5-9 February 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London

10 February 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London with The Rockin’ Berries

11 February 1967 – Gaiety Ballroom, Ramsey, Cambridgeshire with The Fire Flies

12 February 1967 – Upper Cut, Forest Gate, east London

It’s possible that Roy Davies took over from Art Regis around about now

13 February 1967 – Winter Gardens Ballroom, Penzance, Cornwall with The Jaguars (The Sheffield Star says they also play the Esquire in Sheffield in South Yorkshire on this day which seems more likely with the Cleethorpes gig later this week)

14 February 1967 – Flamingo Ballroom, Redruth, Cornwall with The Dissatisfied (this was probably cancelled in light of the northern gigs)

15 February 1967 – The Village, Cleethorpes

16 February 1967 – Golden Torch, Tunstall, Staffordshire

18 February 1967 – Beachcomber, Nottingham with The Children (10-piece band)

After this gig, Roger Truth returned when B J Wilson left to join Sands

22 February 1967 – The Village, Cleethorpes

23 February 1967 – Black Horse, Northfield, West Midlands

25 February 1967 – Toft’s, Folkestone, Kent

8 March 1967 – Cromwell Club, Chesford Grange, Kenilworth, Warwickshire with Umpteenth Time

9 March 1967 – Concorde, Southampton, Hants

10 March 1967 – Beachcomber, Nottingham

13 March 1967 – Golden Torch, Tunstall, Staffordshire (back by demand)

17 March 1967 – Domino Club, Openshaw, Greater Manchester and Princess Theatre, Chorlton, Greater Manchester

18 March 1967 – Starlight Ballroom, Boston Gliderdrome, Boston, Lincolnshire with The Kool Combination, The Bone and The Caribbean Steel Band and Ray Bones

18 March 1967 – Nite Owl, Leicester with The Executives

19 March 1967 – Britannia Rowing Club, Nottingham

23 March 1967 – The Village, Cleethorpes

24-25 March 1967 – Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland with Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Titch, Unit 4 Plus 2, Screaming Lord Sutch and The Roman Empire and The New Pirates

27 March 1967 – Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland with Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Titch, Unit 4 Plus 2, Screaming Lord Sutch and The Roman Empire and The New Pirates

Ged Peck left around about now and Stuart Taylor took over lead guitar duties for a week. Possible Art Regis may have done the Cornwall gigs below

30 March 1967 – RNAS Culdrose, Cornwall

31 March 1967 – Penzance, Cornwall (most likely Winter Gardens Ballroom)

1-2 April 1967 – Flamingo Ballroom, Redruth, Cornwall with The Hoboes

CONTINUED HERE

I would personally like to thank the following for helping to piece this story together: Mel Wayne, Phil Wainman, Roger Warwick, Art Regis, Dave Tedstone and Nick Simper.

PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS BELOW TO ADD/CORRECT INFORMATION

Live gig sources:

During my research on Freddie Mack from 1965-1969, I have found gigs from many newspapers. Here are some of the sources:

The Cornish Guardian, Derby Evening Telegraph, Evening Sentinel, Melody Maker, West Briton & Royal Cornwall Gazette, Lincolnshire Standard, Birmingham Evening Mail, NME, Northwich Chronicle, Sheffield Star, Warrington Guardian, Wrexham Leader, Grimsby Evening Telegraph, Aldershot News, Manchester Evening News & Chronicle, Nottingham Evening Post, Dumfries and Galloway Standard, Stafford Newsletter and Cambridgeshire Times

Copyright © Nick Warburton. All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted in any from or by any means, without prior permission from the author. To contact the author, email: Warchive@aol.com or nick_warburton@hotmail.com