The Dennisons

The Dennisons where another very popular group who many thought would make it to the top, they made such an impact at the Cavern, DJ Bob Wooler said ‘they’ve created the biggest impression on Merseyside since The Beatles’. Record companies heard they were drawing crowds in Liverpool like The Beatles used to do and Decca rushed up to sign them releasing their debut record in July 1963,
‘(Come On) Be My Girl’, a song they had written themselves. This was followed up with their version of the Rufus Thomas song ‘Walkin’ The Dog’, the ‘B’ side, another self-penned song, ‘You Don’t Know What Love Is’ was written for them by Ben E King while they where touring with him and reached number 36 in the charts. Their final single ‘Nobody Like My Babe’, was released in November 1964 and although it was very commercial, it didn’t enter the charts. The group disbanded in 1966, Clive Hornby became an actor could be seen most weeks in the British television soap ‘Emmerdale’, playing the part of Jack Sugden until his untimely death.
The Dennisons were just one fabulous band. They looked right; they had all the right gear (Gibson 335s and Vox AC30s) and boy could they play. Very close in popularity in Liverpool to the Beatles, they were loud and brash. They had a great lead singer in Eddie Parry who had all the attributes to attract the ladies.
In Ray Scragg they had voice straight out of the Deep South of the USA and in Steve McLaren one of the best guitarists in Liverpool, perhaps getting close to skills of Colin Manley of the Remo 4. I had the pleasure of playing on the same bill as them on a number of occasions mainly at the OPB.
“The Dennisons have created the biggest impact in Liverpool since the Beatles," said the Cavern Club DJ Bob Wooler in 1963. Recording for Decca, the label which had turned down the Beatles, the Dennisons scored some minor hits, but by 1965 their potential had faded.
Here is "(Come on) Be My Girl" On Decca F 11691 From 1963 Enjoy.

The Cops n Robbers

14 songs known to exist by the band -- both sides of their three singles, two tracks that only appeared on their French-only EP, and six blues-rock covers rescued from a 1964 acetate. "You'll Never Do It Baby," and with its compelling, jerky riff, is the clear highlight (although the Pretty Things cover is   better); "There's Gotta Be a Reason" is also good moody early British R&B, while "St. James Infirmary," with its gloomy deep organ sound, is a worthy treatment of that covered-to-death standard. Otherwise, it's uneven sailing: an original ("Just Keep Right On") that sounds like Gerry & the Pacemakers trying to be an R&B band, the strange R&B version of "I Could Have Danced All Night," and six pretty routine covers of classics by Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, and the like from a 1964 acetate. The album was remastered from singles and acetates, and the fidelity is often dull (though obviously there were limitations on what could be done with the acetates), yet this is still recommended to fans of bands like the Pretty Things for its appealingly grimy British R&B stance. 

A little-known but quality group from the R&B wing of the British Invasion, the Cops 'n Robbers (named after a Bo Diddley song) issued just three singles in the mid-'60s, as well as a French-only EP. Their chief claim to fame is recording (and writing) the original version of "You'll Never Do It Baby," a cool, nasty R&B-rock raver that was covered by the Pretty Things on their second album. Cops 'n Robbers were indeed rather similar to the Pretty Things in their punky R&B-rock approach, yet even punkier than the Pretty Things (but not as sloppy as another sub-Pretties act, the Downliners Sect). Singer Brian "Smudger" Smith had an unrefined, sullen leer in his delivery, and the band was picked up by the same management team that signed Donovan (a friend of Cops 'n Robbers). They issued a good version of "St. James Infirmary" on Decca in late 1964, but after its failure moved to Pye for the rest of their meager recorded output, which included a bizarre, ill-chosen cover of the My Fair Lady standard "I Could Have Danced All Night." Drummer Henry Harrison joined the New Vaudeville Band ("Winchester Cathedral"), an act which could have been hardly any more of a polar opposite from his previous group.

Here is " I Could Have Danced All Night" Pye Record Label 7N 15870 From 1965 Enjoy.

David John And The Mood

Originating from Preston, Lancashire, David John & The Mood were a R'n'B outfit which formed in the closing months of 1963. David John had seen Bo Diddley in live performance that year, he approached a local group, the Falcons, who shared a similar taste and the Mood were born.

The debut single, "Pretty Thing", a Bo Diddley song, didn't sell in great quantities but their association with the Rolling Stones (with whom they shared a management company) secured them gigs in some of the leading London venues. They began to build a good reputation and before long were touring the country with the Stones, Manfred Mann and P.J. Proby amongst others.

For their second release, they again chose a Bo Diddley number. "Bring It To Jerome" was produced by the legendary Joe Meek at his home studio. Unfortunately, despite Meek's enthusiastic support for the group, the record fared no better than their previous effort.

Meek was also at the console for their third and final record. "Diggin' For Gold" also sank without trace and the group decided to call it a day early in 1966.
David John Smith - vocals
Pete Atkinson - guitar
Pete Illingworth - guitar
John Brierly - bass guitar
Freddie Isherwood - drums

Here is "To Catch That Man" May '64

Pretty Thing/To Catch That Man

Decca Vocalion V9220

Enjoy.

The Zephyrs

This band formed in London in 1961 as Johnny Saville and the Clee-Shays, then became The Zephyrs in 1963. They are NOT related to the group from Stockton on Tees (that band later changed its name to The Zephrons). Jerry Donahue later played with Fairport Convention and the reformed Yardbirds, while Peter Gage played with The Ram Jam Band and Vinegar Joe.
The obscure British Invasion band the Zephyrs released half-a-dozen singles between 1963 and 1965 without any notable success; the only one to make the U.K. charts, "She's Lost You," topped out at a mere Number 48. They were a decent group, though, mixing Merseybeat and R&B influences in different ratios, with an organ that made them a little similar to some other mid-1960s British rock bands with a mildly blues-jazz organ, like the Untamed. They also worked with a couple of important figures of British '60s rock, those being producer Shel Talmy (far more famous for producing the Who and the Kinks in the same period) and then-session guitarist Jimmy Page (who played on some of their tracks, including their best, a ferocious cover of Bo Diddley's "I Can Tell"). Other than that fleeting chart appearance, though, their highest-profile achievement was appearing as Slash Wildly & the Cut-Throats in the 1965 film Be My Guest, in which they played their single "She Laughed." As of 2003, no Zephyrs CD compilation had appeared, making them one of the better little-known British Invasion groups never to be honored with a full-length album of any sort, though a bootleg with ten of their 12 officially released tracks did appear. This bootleg, Zephyrazation, also had some tracks by Vinegar Joe, a '70s British band that included guitarist Pete Gage, who had played (but not recorded) with the Zephyrs.

Here is "I Can Tell" on the Columbia Record Label DB 7199 From 1963 Enjoy.

                                              

Jean and the Statesides

Jean & The Statesides were an obscure girl group active in the mid 1960s, They released three singles in 1964 and 1965.
All girl R&B who cut three singles before Jean Hughes changed her name to Cindy Cole and had hit records in America.

Their debut single features Nicky Hopkins on keyboards and Jimmy Page on guitar.
Here is Their Debut Single " Putty in your Hands/One Fine Day" Columbia Record Label DB 7287 1964 Enjoy.

The Chartbusters

Dick Clark With The Chartbusters.

The Chartbusters were an American rock band from Washington, D.C.. The group's lone hit single was the 1964 song "She's the One", which had an 8-week chart run and peaked at #33 in August 1964 on the Billboard Hot 100. "She's the One" was released on Mutual Records after 20 other record labels had turned it down.

The Chartbusters featured lead guitarist/vocalist Vernon Sandusky, who began his career with Bobby Poe and The Poe Kats. Bobby Poe was the manager and often co-producer of this new group. In the 1970s, Vernon Sandusky went on to play guitar in Roy Clark's band for the next 20 years.

The Chartbusters recorded several singles from 1964 to 1968, but none reached the sales and chart heights of "She's the One". Their second single "Why" did make the Billboard chart, but only went as high as #92. Over the relatively brief period of their career, The Chartbusters recorded several singles for Mutual Records, Crusader Records and Bell Records, but never recorded an album for any of those labels. A compilation album of these singles - along with unreleased tracks and demos - was released on compact disc in the 1990s by the German label Eagle Records.

The Chartbusters were a popular live band and performed shows with many of the stars of the day, including The Animals, The Four Seasons, Jan and Dean, Johnny Rivers, The Lovin' Spoonful, Peter and Gordon, Chuck Berry, Dino, Desi and Billy and many more. Some of the aforementioned artists also performed with The Chartbusters at a weekend of music held at The DC Armory in Washington, DC in April 1966, which was called "The National Teen Show". For several years during the mid-to-late 1960s, The Chartbusters were also the house band at The Crazy Horse in the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C.

Although Vernon Sandusky, founding member of the band repeatedly has said it is not true, local Washington, DC legend has it that The Chartbusters also released several quickly recorded budget albums for Diplomat Records (a subsidiary of Synthetic Plastics Company) circa 1964 under the name "The Manchesters," including Beatlerama Volume 1 (Diplomat D-2307 mono and DS-2307 stereo) and Beatlerama Volume 2 (Diplomat D-2310 mono and DS-2310 stereo). These albums contained cover versions of several Beatles' songs along with (according to Sandusky) unauthorized versions of The Chartbusters' original songs/demos, including some which appeared in alternate versions on their Mutual Records singles.

In the 1990s, Tom Hanks was quoted in People saying that The Chartbusters were one of the inspirations for his film That Thing You Do!. (Note that there was also a band called The Chartbusters in the San Francisco Bay Area, where Hanks grew up, but this note may be a reference to the Jazz group The Chartbusters, who recorded for the Concord Music Group in the 1990s and had a member born in Oakland.)

The Chartbusters Official website: http://www.thechartbusters.com

Here is "She's The One" Original Mono Release On Mutual Record Company 502 (S-3494) 1964 Enjoy.