The Kingpins

The Kingpins was an English pop vocal group, founded in the 1950s in Dewsbury England.

The group made three appearances supported by Tito Burns' 6-5ers on the BBC television series Six-Five Special between 13 December 1958 and 27 December 1958, and nine appearances supported by Bob Miller and the Millermen on the BBC television series Drumbeat between 4 April 1959 and 20 June 1959, and they contributed two tracks to the LP record entitled Drumbeat that accompanied the television series, the tracks were; a cover of Bobby Freeman's "Shame On You Miss Johnson" (written by Bobby Freeman), and Bobby Tempest's Don't Leave Me (Like This) (written by Brian Bushby aka Bobby Tempest). The Kingpins were managed by Tito Burns, and in 1959 toured on The Dickie Valentine Show, with The Fraser Hayes Four, and Billie Anthony.

Brian Adams and John Putnam later left The Kingpins, and replaced Vince Hill and Johnny Worth as members of The Raindrops alongside Len Beadle and Jackie Lee.

Here is "That's The Way it Should Be" From  1965.

The Rocking Vickers

Tommy Steele

Tommy Bruce And the Bruisers

Tommy Bruce (16 July 1937 – 10 July 2006) was an English rock and roll singer who had most of his success in the early 1960s. His cover version of "Ain't Misbehavin'" was a number 3 hit in the UK Singles Chart in 1960.
He was born Thomas Charles Joseph Bruce, in Stepney, London. Both his parents died when he was a child and he grew up in an orphanage, later working as a van driver in Covent Garden Market before undertaking National Service in Belgium.

Returning to London in 1959, and working again as a market porter, he became a friend of his neighbour, songwriter Barry Mason. Mason suggested he record a version of the song "Ain't Misbehavin'", written by Fats Waller, in a style similar to "Chantilly Lace", a recent hit single by the Big Bopper. Produced by Norrie Paramor and released on Columbia Records, Bruce's recording rose to number 3 in the UK Singles Chart in 1960. He had no musical training, and described his own "sandpaper and gravel" singing voice with a strong London accent as "diabolical".

Backed by the Bruisers, a group of Birmingham musicians, he toured the UK on large variety bills with Billy Fury and others and they made a number of television appearances. However, his subsequent record releases were less successful, only "Broken Doll" and "Babette" making the Top 50. From 1963, he became a regular performer on the ITV variety show Stars and Garters, becoming involved in comedy routines as well as singing. Although he recorded further songs for a number of labels between 1965 and 1969, he largely made a living in cabaret, much of it in Spain and Malta, and also made appearances on the 1960s nostalgia circuit.

Tommy Bruce sang "Two Left Feet" to the opening credits of the 1963 film of the same name.

Here is "Ain't Misbehavin" Columbia 45-DB 4453 1960 Enjoy.

The Country Gentlemen

The Country Gentlemen

Formed
1963, Manchester, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom

Disbanded
1967

Members
Peter Cowap (guitar), Leo Laherty (drums), Nick Duvall (bass, 1963-66), Alan Doyle (rhythm guitar, 1963-64), Terry Morton (rhythm guitar, 1964-66), Rod Clare (bass, 1966-67), Geoff Foot [aka Jeff Smith] (rhythm guitar, 1966-67), Frank Dwyer (keyboards, 1966-67)
The Country Gentlemen were a Manchester, England-spawned trio (later a quartet) who never quite emerged beyond regional success, despite releasing one influential single of their own and three more as a backing group, plus getting a lot of exposure at various well-known clubs, including the Cavern in Liverpool. They were put together in 1963 by guitarist Peter Cowap, late of the skiffle group the Moonrakers, the rock & roll band Deke Bonner & the Tremors, and Jimmy Justice's backing band. An argument with Justice led Cowap to organize the new group, the name of which came from his own preferred model of Gretsch guitar. With Cowap on lead guitar and vocals, the band's lineup was filled out by his former Tremors bandmate Nick Duval on bass, with Leo Laherty playing drums. They were successful locally playing their brand of R&B-flavored British beat music, and shared a bill with the Beatles -- then a very prominent up-and-coming band -- on at least one occasion in the spring of 1963. Cowap was very much the star of the outfit, a guitarist extraordinaire with a sound that encompassed Buddy Holly-style rockabilly and Chet Atkins' smooth, articulate country playing.

In the spring of 1963, the trio was signed to English Decca and made its debut soon after with a British beat-style rendition of "Greensleeves" (in Cowap's arrangement), backed with "Baby Jean," issued in the late fall of 1963. Although the record failed to chart in England, it apparently inspired several imitators, including the Manchester-based Scorpions and the German group the Lords, who enjoyed hits with similar renditions of the A-side in Holland and Germany, respectively. They also toured England as the backing group for pop/rock vocalist Billie Davis (of "Tell Him" fame). They also went through a succession of rhythm guitarists, including Alan Doyle (later of the Toggery Five) and Terry Morton (formerly of Wayne Fontana & the Jets), who later joined the Scorpions. At one point in 1965, they seemed to have the inside track for access to a new song by Manchester-based composer Graham Gouldman, entitled "Look Through Any Window." But a prior commitment by his publisher to the more established Manchester band the Hollies resulted in their getting first crack at the song, which reached the U.K. Top Five in their version.

The group next appeared as the backing band for female singer Little Frankie on a string of three singles, all written by Gouldman with Charles Silverman and Harvey Lisbert, the management team for Herman's Hermits. Those releases failed to chart -- though Cowap's contact with Silverman and Lisbert would prove fortuitous in the years to come -- and the following year the band lost Nick Duval. He was succeeded by Rod Clare, who had previously played with outfits such as Jerry Lee & the Staggerlees (who later renamed themselves the Emperors of Rhythm), a group best remembered today for the presence of a young Eric Stewart on guitar. They became a quartet with Frank Dwyer on keyboards, and a sextet with Geoff Foot as their last rhythm guitarist. The group soldiered on through 1967, without getting another record issued before calling it quits that year. Peter Cowap went on to work with Gouldman and played with various outfits, including the Downliners Sect and the Tony Jackson Group, and he eventually joined the latter-day Herman's Hermits.

Here is "Greensleeves" Decca ‎– F.11766 1963 Enjoy.

The Liverbirds

The Liverbirds were a British all-female beat group, based in Liverpool, active between 1963 and 1968. The hard-rocking quartet (consisting of vocalist-guitarist Valerie Gell, guitarist-vocalist Pamela Birch, bassist-vocalist Mary McGlory and drummer Sylvia Saunders) was one of the very few female bands on the Merseybeat scene. Indeed, they were one of the few self-contained all-woman rock and roll bands anywhere in the world at the time. The band took their name from the liver bird, a fictional creature which is the symbol of their native Liverpool.
Gell, Saunders and McGlory formed the band in 1963, along with guitarist Sheila McGlory (Mary McGlory's sister) and vocalist Irene Green, both of whom quickly left to join other bands and were replaced by Birch.

They achieved more commercial success in Germany than in their native Britain. Early in their career, they followed in the footsteps of fellow Liverpudlians and made their way to Hamburg, Germany where they performed at the Star-Club, following The Beatles' own tenure, being billed as die weiblichen Beatles (the female Beatles). According to John Lennon, however, "girls" were unable to play guitars. The Liverbirds became one of the top attractions at the Star-Club and they released two albums and several singles. One of those singles, a cover of Bo Diddley's "Diddley Daddy" rose as high as #5 on the German charts.

The group broke up in 1968, after a tour to Japan. They last played together in 1998.
Three members of the band settled in Germany permanently. Saunders left and resided, with her husband John, in Alicante, Spain. John died on 2 April 2017 and Sylvia is now living in Glasgow. Mary McGlory runs a Hamburg-based company called Ja/Nein Musikverlag (which translates as "Yes/No Music Publishing") which she started together with her husband, one of their former colleagues from the Star-Club: German singer and songwriter Frank Dostal, until he died in April 2017. Her husband was also vice chairman of the German performance rights organization GEMA.

Pamela Birch (born Pamela Anne Burch, 9 August 1944, in Kirkdale, Liverpool), also settled in Hamburg and worked for many years in the city's clubs. She died on 27 October 2009 at the age of 65, at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. Valerie Gell (born 14 August 1945, in Seaforth), who settled in Munich but later returned to Hamburg, died on 11 December 2016, aged 71.

Here is "Johnny B Goode" Star-Club Show 4 1964 Enjoy.