The Undertakers
The Undertakers were a British pop band from the 1960s. Like the Beatles, they were representatives of the Mersey Sound , but never made a commercial breakthrough.
history
The Undertakers were formed in 1961 in Wallasey on the Mersey from the band "The Vegas Five". The original band members were Bob Evans (drums), Chris Huston (lead guitar), Geoff Nugent (rhythm guitar), Brian Jones (not the Rolling Stones , saxophone), Dave "Mushy" Cooper (bass) and Jimmy McManus (vocals). Bugs Pemberton joined Evans that same year, and in early 1962 Jackie Lomax joined Cooper. A little later McManus left and Lomax took over the vocals.
The group was quite successful in the Liverpool area. They turned down an offer from Brian Epstein to manage them and instead took Ralph Webster as manager, who was better connected locally. In the summer of 1962 they had an engagement in the Hamburg Star Club . In 1963 they got a contract with Pye Records .
Their first two singles, Everybody Loves a Lover and What About Us , flopped, but their third single Just a Little Bit entered the UK's top 20 in the summer of 1964. After disagreements, the Undertakers left Pye in late 1964. The following year they went - now a quartet without Nugent - to America, where Bob Harvey signed them. They released a single, I Fell in Love , and recorded an album, but it was never released. Overall, the America Project was a disappointment and the Undertakers broke up.
Lomax, Huston and Pemberton stayed in America to pursue other musical projects while Jones returned to England. In 1995 Big Beat Records released a CD with recordings from the Undertakers, including the previously unreleased America album.
The Undertakers later reappeared in various formations on various occasions.
Discography
UK singles
- 1963: Everybody Loves a Lover (Adler / Allen) / (Do the) Mashed Potatoes (Rozier) Pye 7N15543
- 1963: What About Us ( Leiber / Stoller ) / Money (That’s What I Want) (Bradford / Gordy) Pye 7N15562
- 1964: Just a Little Bit (Thornton / Thompson / Bass / Washington) / Stupidity (Burke) Pye 7N15607
- 1964: If You Don't Come Back (Leiber / Stoller) / Think ( Pauling ) Pye 7N15690
US singles
- 1964: Just A Little Bit / Stupidity Parkway 909
- 1964: Think / If You Don't Come Interphone 7709
- 1965: I Fell In Love / Throw Your Love Away Girl Black Watch 5545/6
CD compilation
- 1996: The Undertakers Unearthed (Big Beat CDWIKD 163)
- (Do The) Mashed Potatoes / Everybody Loves A Lover / Money (That’s What I Want) / What About Us / Just A Little Bit / Stupidity / If You Don’t Come Back / Think / Be My Little Girl (Bickerton / Waddington) / She Said Yeah (Jackson / Christy) / I Need Your Lovin ' (Gardner / Lewis / Levy / McDougal) / Tell Me What You’re Gonna Do (Brown) / Tricky Dicky (Leiber / Stoller) / Irresistible You (Raye / Paul) / Love Is A Swinginʼ Thing (S Owens / L Dixon / W Denson) / Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey! ( R. Penniman ) / Youʼre So Fine And Sweet (Robinson / White / Whited / Moore / Tarplin / Rogers) / Leave My Kitten Alone (John / Turner / MacDougal) / Watch Your Step (Parker) / Throw Your Love Away Girl ( Jackie Lomax) / I Fell In Love (For The Very First Time) (Hollon / Mosley / Bateman)
Web links
- The Undertakers at Allmusic (English)
- The Undertakers at Discogs (English)