Tony Humphrys aka Tony Lane (vocals)

Baz Hewson (lead guitar)

Malcolm Penn (drums)

Mike Morley (bass)

Pete Moseley (rhythm guitar through to December 1960)

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Nicky Graham (rhythm guitar from January 1961)

Formed in May 1960 by musicians from the Tolworth, Surbiton and Chessington area in Surrey, The Electrons evolved out of the ashes of The Grumbling Men, who were formed in March 1959 and had included singer Tony Humphrys, drummer Malcolm Penn, bass player Mike Morley, and rhythm guitarist Pete Moseley.

With the exception of Mike Morley and Pete Moseley, all were pupils at Surbiton County Grammar.

The Grumbling Men featured another guitarist called Keith who was replaced by Baz Hewson when the group became The Electrons.

Nicky Graham, who took over from Moseley on rhythm guitar in January 1961, was a student at Surbiton Grammar School (and later Kingston School of Art) and had recently arrived from Durban, South Africa where he was born in January 1945.

Malcolm Penn says that The Electrons never got to play at Tolworth Toby Jug as they predated its band nights. (Ed. Originally a jazz venue, the Toby Jug did briefly operate as a club for R&B in early 1964 but its owners soon stopped putting rock bands on. It reopened in early March 1968 and became a significant music venue in the area.)

Penn recalls that the band venue in the early 1960s was Kingston Coronation Hall. The hall housed a swimming pool, which was boarded over and turned into a dance venue.

He adds that all the big traditional jazz and dance bands performed there, including Ted Heath, Johnny Dankworth, Eric Delaney, Chris Barber and Kenny Ball. The Electrons, together with a few other local bands, did warm up and interval spots.

Penn remembers The Electrons also played at the Jazz Cellar in Kingston, which was run by Hugh O’Donnell, the Swan in Mill Street, Kingston, the Foresters Hall in Epsom, the Organ Inn on the Ewell Road and Surbiton Assembly Rooms.

In April 1962, The Electrons made the Grand Final of The Surbiton Borough News’ Rock & Rhythm Group Competition, which was held at Surbiton Assembly Rooms on 27 April. Up against local bands, The Gremlins and The Classics, The Electrons won the competition.

Interestingly, over the next few years, members of The Electrons would join up with players from both The Gremlins and The Classics to form a new version The Classics in February 1964.

In August 1962, Malcolm Penn, Nicky Graham and Tony Humphrys recruited Jim Turner (stage name Dene Lincoln) on vocals and Pete Cottage from the Streatham area in southwest London to form a new group called Dene Lincoln & The Topics.

In later years Penn would work with Moon’s Train while Graham played with The End and Tucky Buzzard. Graham died on 3 February 2024.

A huge thanks to Malcolm Penn for providing the background notes and photos for The Electrons.

Thanks also to John Warburg for more information