Dave Terry (later Elmer Gantry) (lead vocals)

John Reeves (lead guitar)

Tony Noble (rhythm guitar)

Roy Stacey (bass)

Chris Allen (drums)

This Barnes, southwest London band had started life as The Southbeats in early 1963.

As Roy Stacey notes, the group was part of the Bob Druce circuit with The High Numbers (later The Who) and performed regularly at The Goldhawk Social Club in Shepherd’s Bush, west London, Watford Trade Union Hall in Watford, Herts, the Railway Hotel in Wealdstone, Middlesex and the Glenlyn Ballroom in Forest Hill, southeast London.

Changing name to The Impacts in November 1963, they appeared in The Contact, a small budget film for the Spastics Society, in January 1964. An early outing for John Hurt, Pauline Collins and Wendy Richard, the film included a cameo performance by the group playing live in one scene, which can be seen on You Tube.

Later that year, actor Hugh Halliday, who had starred in The Contact and also played drums, took over from Chris Allen (who may be the same musician who went on to play with The Attack and The Syn among others).

The Impacts appeared at the 100 Club in Oxford Street, most notably on 21 April 1964 when they opened for The Art Wood Combo and The Pretty Things.

The group also played at Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, Middlesex (most likely in 1963/1964), supporting The Graham Bond Organisation on a Sunday. Stacey notes that John Platt’s book London Rock Routes features a photo of an unknown band who are in fact The Impacts.

“The shot shows Dave [Terry’s] old Vortexion pa amplifier,” he says. “Tony [Noble] was playing his early ‘50s blonde Fender Esquire.”

“The photo in the book is tiny and shows two of the band at a great distance,” adds Dave Terry (aka Elmer Gantry).

“Tony Noble on the left and Roy Stacey on the right. It’s a bit strange that guitarist John Reeves, the drummer and I are missing from the photograph. I don’t know why; you can’t even see the drum kit. Maybe Tony and Roy had just got on stage and were tuning up.”

The band also appeared at the Blue Moon, Hayes, Middlesex supporting Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds on 19 April 1964 and Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers on 26 April 1964.

The Impacts also played at the Jazz Cellar in Kingston upon Thames in Surrey, including on 29 July 1964 and 13 November 1964.

Stacey remembers that The Impacts were featured in the popular teen beat magazine Boyfriend on 10 October 1964 on its “Undiscovered British Groups” page.

That same month, the band participated in a two-day Belfast tour with Jerry Lee Lewis. Don Arden had booked The Impacts to back the rock ‘n’ roll legend and Stacey remembers they didn’t get paid.

“On the first night, Jerry Lee took a chunk out of my Precision Bass,” he recalls. “As he kicked his stool in my direction, whack! Then hammered the piano keys with his left foot.”

On 24 October 1964, the group joined fellow west London band The Second Thoughts for a show at Studio 51 in Leicester Square, central London.

Stacey says that back-up singer Heather Swinson became part of the group towards the end of 1964. Also, keyboard player Art Regis joined the line-up. He also remembers that Richard O’Sullivan jammed with The Impacts on organ at one point.

Art Regis had first joined Rupert & The Red Devils in 1963 replacing original keyboard player Mike Finney. Featuring future Spencer Davis Group guitarist Ray Fenwick and sax player Rupert Clahar (later in The Rick ‘N’ Beckers), Rupert & The Red Devils travelled to Nuremburg in West Germany to play some gigs that same year but broke up.

Regis then joined Dutch band The Defenders (later The T-Set) before returning to London and hooking up with The Impacts.

On 1 December, The Impacts joined The Grenades, The Fairlanes and Wainwright’s Gentleman for a show at Hammersmith Town Hall.

On 12 December 1964, The Impacts played at Studio 51 again, this time with The Loose Ends, returning for a second appearance on 16 January 1965 (also with The Loose Ends).

However, later that month (or in early February), The Impacts split up with Dave Terry/Elmer Gantry pursuing his blues/folk interests, working with guitarist Simon Lawrence. The duo landed a regular gig at Studio 51 in Leicester Square.

Tony Noble meanwhile joined The Derek Savage Foundation while John Reeves formed John Brown’s Bodies, a Hammersmith group not to be confused with Keith Emerson’s Brighton band of the same name.

According to Stacey, John Reeves and Tony Noble would reunite in 1968 in Othello Smith & The Tobago Bad Boys and recorded the LP The Big Ones Go Ska for CBS Direction. Derek Savage was also a member.

Stacey meanwhile joined The Mike Leander Band for a tour. “It was pure chance that I got to meet Mike Leander at his apartment,” says the bass player. “He was a co-producer of the Drifters’ ‘Under the Boardwalk’ the first record I ever had. Mike Leander worked as a producer and arranger with Ben E. King and The Drifters at Atlantic Studios, New York.

“On that tour was black ex-G.I. Ronnie Jones of The Nightimers’ fame, who Herbie Goins replaced. Leander’s band did loads of Motown and featured two drummers and a big horn section. It also featured Paul Gadd (aka Gary Glitter), a Ready Steady Go dancer.”

During this period, Stacey also did some session work with Unit 4 Plus 2 thanks to Hugh Halliday, who’d joined the Hertfordshire group in 1965.

A short while later, the bass player joined Arthur Brown & The Machines on the recommendation of Art Regis who had joined this outfit when The Impacts split up (and just before Arthur Brown came on-board). Former Impacts back-up singer Heather Swinson also became a part of this group during 1965.

Thanks to Roy Stacey, Art Regis, Elmer Gantry (aka Dave Terry) and David Else for helping with the story

Copyright © Nick Warburton. All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior permission from the author.