Paul Brett (lead guitar/vocals)

Art Regis (keyboards)

Tony Priestland (aka Tony Crane) (alto sax)

Derek Griffiths (tenor sax)

Roy Stacey (bass)

Jim Toomey (drums)

Guitarist Paul Brett put this band together around February 1965 after playing in The Southwest Four (aka SW4) with future Blonde on Blonde guitarist/singer Ralph Denyer, who’d gone on to play with Rag Men & Women.

Having started out playing with some local groups around the Fulham area, Brett’s first big break had come in early 1963 when he took over from Jimmy Page in Neil Christian & The Crusaders joining Neil Christian (lead vocals); Matt Smith (piano); Jumbo Spicer (bass); and Tornado Evans (drums). He left in June 1963.

The SW4 may have evolved into The South West Five who played at the Ealing Club on 29 November, 6 December and 24 December, but this needs confirmation. The South West Five also played at the Bromel Club in Bromley on 4 January 1965.

Art Regis came on-board after playing with The Impacts but it’s not clear what the other members had done before. Toomey, however, was from the Catford area in southeast London.

Early on it became clear that the group needed a strong lead singer and after bringing in back-up singer Heather Swinson and bass player Roy Stacey (both ex-The Impacts), Brett recruited singer Arthur Brown who was studying at Reading University and had recorded a flexi disc with The Diamonds comprising the Brown sung “You Don’t Know”.

Stacey recalls one gig at Reading University supporting The Nashville Teens where they upstaged the headliners. It’s quite possible that this gig was organised by Brown if he was studying at the university at the time (he’d leave summer 1965).

With Brown joining the group, they became Arthur Brown & The Machines.

Thanks to Paul Brett, Roy Stacey, Art Regis and David Else for helping with the story