The Mindbenders
Encyclopedia
The Mindbenders was a 1960s beat group from Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. They were part of the mid 1960s British Invasion
British Invasion
The British Invasion is a term used to describe the large number of rock and roll, beat, rock, and pop performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States during the time period from 1964 through 1966.- Background :...

 with their chart-toppers "Game of Love
Game of Love
"Game of Love" is a song by Wayne Fontana and The Mindbenders that reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the UK Singles Chart in 1965.It was later covered in 1987 by New Zealand musician Ian Morris, under the stage name Tex Pistol....

" (with Wayne Fontana
Wayne Fontana
Wayne Fontana is an English pop singer. In 1962, he formed his backing group, the Mindbenders and got a recording contract.-Biography:...

) and "A Groovy Kind of Love
A Groovy Kind of Love
"A Groovy Kind of Love" is a pop song written by Toni Wine and Carol Bayer for the Screen Gems music publishing company. It is heavily based on the Rondo movement of Sonatina in G major, op. 36 no. 5 by Muzio Clementi...

".

Career

Wayne Fontana
Wayne Fontana
Wayne Fontana is an English pop singer. In 1962, he formed his backing group, the Mindbenders and got a recording contract.-Biography:...

 founded the band in 1963 with Bob Lang, Ric Rothwell, and Eric Stewart
Eric Stewart
Eric Stewart is an English musician, songwriter and record producer most known for his tenure with The Mindbenders in the 1960s, and 10cc from 1972 to 1995....

. The group was later joined by Grahame Foote. The name of the group was inspired by the title of a 1963 film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

, starring the British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

 Sir Dirk Bogarde
Dirk Bogarde
Sir Dirk Bogarde was an English actor and novelist. Initially a matinee idol in such films as Doctor in the House and other Rank Organisation pictures, Bogarde later acted in art-house films such as Death in Venice...

, called The Mind Benders
The Mind Benders (film)
The Mind Benders is a 1963 British thriller film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Dirk Bogarde, Mary Ure, John Clements, Michael Bryant and Wendy Craig. After a scientist dies after undergoing experiments in a secret research laboratory, one of his former colleagues investigates the tests...

. They released a few unsuccessful single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

s before recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...

 "Um Um Um Um Um Um" in 1964, which was a major hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...

 in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and led to a tour with Brenda Lee
Brenda Lee
Brenda Mae Tarpley , known as Brenda Lee, is an American performer who sang rockabilly, pop and country music, and had 37 US chart hits during the 1960s, a number surpassed only by Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Ray Charles and Connie Francis...

. They also had a #1
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....

 hit in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 with "Game of Love
Game of Love
"Game of Love" is a song by Wayne Fontana and The Mindbenders that reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the UK Singles Chart in 1965.It was later covered in 1987 by New Zealand musician Ian Morris, under the stage name Tex Pistol....

".

After a tour of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and some more unsuccessful singles, Fontana left the band in the middle of a concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...

 in 1965. Stewart became the lead singer of the band, which also dropped 'Wayne Fontana' from its name.

The Mindbenders' first single without Fontana was the hit "Groovy Kind of Love" (a Carole Bayer Sager
Carole Bayer Sager
Carole Bayer Sager is an American lyricist, songwriter, singer, and painter.-Introduction:Born in New York City, Sager graduated from New York University, where she majored in English, dramatic arts and speech...

 / Toni Wine
Toni Wine
Toni Wine is an American pop music songwriter, who wrote songs for such artists as The Mindbenders , Tony Orlando and Dawn , Elvis Presley, and Checkmates Ltd. in the late 1960s and 1970s...

 composition). The song reached #2 in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, in 1965 and number 2 in the UK in 1966. It sold one million copies globally. It was successfully revived by Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....

 in 1988. The album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 of the same name, however, was a failure, as were most of their other singles and later albums.

A second song by Bayer and Wine, "Ashes to Ashes," did reach #14 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

, after an earlier effort in 1966, "Can't Live With You (Can't Live Without You)" had struggled to break the Top 30. On 4 July 1966, The Mindbenders began their last US tour in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

 in front of a capacity 25,000 crowd as the support act for James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...

. Stewart recalled that "we went down quite well" but that at a later show at the Fillmore West
Fillmore West
The Fillmore West was an historic music venue in San Francisco, California made famous by concert promoter Bill Graham. Named after Graham's original "Fillmore" location at the intersection of Fillmore Street and Geary Boulevard, it stood at Market Street and South Van Ness Avenue and was formerly...

 was more memorable. "The liquid light show was great and really worked with our act, which was a lot heavier than on our records".

Stewart had become a songwriter, and wrote "My New Day and Age" for Family
Family (band)
Family were an English rock band that formed in late 1966 and disbanded in October 1973. Their style has been characterised as progressive rock, although their sound often explored other genres, incorporating elements of styles like as folk, psychedelia, acid, jazz fusion and rock and roll...

. However, the Mindbenders sought material from outside the band. Their next project was a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...

, several months before Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the English rock band The Beatles, released on 1 June 1967 on the Parlophone label and produced by George Martin...

, S.F. Sorrow
S.F. Sorrow
S.F. Sorrow is the title of the fourth LP by the British rock group The Pretty Things, released in 1968.One of the first rock concept albums, S.F. Sorrow was based on a short story by singer-guitarist Phil May. The album is structured as a song cycle, telling the story of the main character,...

and Tommy were issued. The Mindbenders release With Woman in Mind contained "I Want Her, She Wants Me", "Ashes to Ashes" plus the lascivious "Schoolgirl". The album did not sell well and was not even released in the US. The accompanying single, another Bayer/Wine composition, "We'll Talk About It Tomorrow" also flopped.

They appeared in the Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier
Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat.In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field...

 movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

, To Sir, with Love
To Sir, with Love
To Sir, With Love is a 1967 British drama film starring Sidney Poitier that deals with social and racial issues in an inner city school. James Clavell both directed and wrote the film's screenplay, based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by E. R. Braithwaite.The film's title song...

and were also on the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...

 with the songs "Off and Running" and "It's Getting Harder All the Time". Rothwell quit the band and was replaced by Paul Hancox. The Mindbenders released their cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 of "The Letter" which fell short at #42, whilst The Box Tops
The Box Tops
The Box Tops were a Memphis rock group of the second half of the 1960s. They are best known for the hits "The Letter," "Neon Rainbow," "Soul Deep," "I Met Her in Church," and "Cry Like A Baby," and are considered a major blue-eyed soul group of the period...

 original reached the UK Top 10. A couple more flops followed and in March 1968, Lang quit and was replaced by Graham Gouldman; with him the band recorded a final single "Uncle Joe, the Ice Cream Man".

On 20 November 1968, they broke up at the final concert of a UK tour with The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...

, Arthur Brown
Arthur Brown (musician)
Arthur Brown is an English rock and roll musician best known for his flamboyant, theatrical style and significant influence on Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, Marilyn Manson, George Clinton, Kiss, King Diamond, and Bruce Dickinson, among others, and for his number one hit in the UK Singles Chart and...

 and Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...

. Stewart and Gouldman went on to form Hotlegs
Hotlegs
Hotlegs was a short-lived English band best known for its hit single "Neanderthal Man" in 1970. The band consisted of Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, Lol Creme and – briefly – Graham Gouldman...

 and, much more significantly, the band 10cc
10cc
10cc are an English art rock band who achieved their greatest commercial success in the 1970s. The band initially consisted of four musicians -- Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, and Lol Creme -- who had written and recorded together for some three years, before assuming the "10cc" name...

.

Lang later joined another rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 outfit, Racing Cars
Racing Cars
Racing Cars are a Welsh pop band, formed in the Rhondda Valley, Wales in 1973.-Career:They were signed to one of the biggest British record labels of the time, Chrysalis Records. Racing Cars's debut album yielded their only hit single with "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?"...

. They had one hit single
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...

, "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?", which reached #14 in the UK Singles Chart in 1977.

In the 1970s, Grahame Foote joined the nostalgia group, 'Herman's Hermits
Herman's Hermits
Herman's Hermits are an English beat band, formed in Manchester in 1963 as Herman & The Hermits. The group's record producer, Mickie Most , emphasized a simple, non-threatening, clean-cut image, although the band originally played R&B numbers...

 starring Barry Whitwam'.

Band personnel

  • Bob Lang - Bassist
    Bassist
    A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...

     - (born Robert F Lang, 10 January 1946, Manchester
    Manchester
    Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

    , Lancashire
    Lancashire
    Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

    ).
  • Eric Stewart
    Eric Stewart
    Eric Stewart is an English musician, songwriter and record producer most known for his tenure with The Mindbenders in the 1960s, and 10cc from 1972 to 1995....

     - Guitarist
    Guitarist
    A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...

     / Later Lead Vocalist - (born Eric Michael Stewart, 20 January 1945, Droylsden
    Droylsden
    Droylsden is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It is to the east of Manchester city centre, and west-southwest of Ashton-under-Lyne, it has a population of 23,172....

    , Lancashire).
  • Ric Rothwell - Drummer
    Drummer
    A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...

     - (born Eric Rothwell, 11 March 1944, Stockport
    Stockport
    Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...

    , Cheshire
    Cheshire
    Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...

    ).
  • Graham Gouldman
    Graham Gouldman
    Graham Keith Gouldman is an English songwriter and musician who is a long-time member of British band 10cc.-Early life and 1960s pop career: 1946–1968:Gouldman was born in Broughton, Salford, England...

     - Bass Guitarist (March 1968 - 1968) - (born Graham Keith Gouldman, 10 May 1946, Broughton
    Broughton, Greater Manchester
    Broughton is an inner city area of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the east bank of the River Irwell and A56 road, in the northeastern part of the City of Salford, north-northwest of Manchester city centre and south of Prestwich. Broughton consists of Broughton Park, Higher...

    , Salford, Lancashire
    Lancashire
    Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

    ).
  • Paul Hancox- Drummer - (born 25 October 1950, Birmingham
    Birmingham
    Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

    , Warwickshire
    Warwickshire
    Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...

    ).
  • Jimmy O'Neil - Keyboards - (born Birmingham
    Birmingham
    Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

    , Warwickshire
    Warwickshire
    Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...

    ).
  • Graham Foote - Guitarist - (born 26 November 1946, Manchester, Lancashire).

Singles

  • "A Groovy Kind of Love
    A Groovy Kind of Love
    "A Groovy Kind of Love" is a pop song written by Toni Wine and Carol Bayer for the Screen Gems music publishing company. It is heavily based on the Rondo movement of Sonatina in G major, op. 36 no. 5 by Muzio Clementi...

    " b/w "Love Is Good" - 1965 - UK
    UK Singles Chart
    The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

     #2, US
    Billboard Hot 100
    The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

     #2 (UK Fontana TF-644/US Fontana F-1541)
  • "Can't Live With You (Can't Live Without You)" b/w "One Fine Day
    One Fine Day (song)
    "One Fine Day" has been recorded by a diverse array of artists including Susie Allanson, the Carpenters as part of the oldies medley on their album Now and Then, Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods, Even in Blackouts, Kids Incorporated, David Lasley, Natalie Merchant , the Mountain Goats, Aaron Neville,...

    " - 1966 - UK #28 (UK Fontana TF-697)
  • "Ashes to Ashes" b/w "You Don't Know About Love" - 1966 - UK #14, US #44 (UK Fontana TF-731/US Fontana F-1555)
  • "I Want Her, She Wants Me" b/w "The Morning After" - 1967 - (UK Fontana TF-780/US Fontana F-1571)
  • "We'll Talk About It Tomorrow" b/w "Far Across Town" - 1967 - (UK Fontana TF-806)
  • "It's Getting Harder All the Time" b/w "Off and Running" - 1967 - (US Fontana F-1595)
  • "The Letter" b/w "My New Day and Age" - 1967 - UK #42 (UK Fontana TF-869)
  • "Schoolgirl" b/w "Looking Back" - 1967 - (UK Fontana TF-877)
  • "To Sir, with Love
    To Sir, with Love (song)
    "To Sir With Love" is the theme from the 1967 film To Sir, With Love. The song was written by Don Black and Mark London."To Sir With Love" was initially recorded by Lulu for the film of the same name...

    " (Lulu
    Lulu (singer)
    Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, OBE , best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer, actress, and television personality who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day...

    ) b/w "It's Getting Harder All the Time" (The Mindbenders) - 1967
  • "Blessed Are The Lonely" b/w "Yellow Brick Road" - 1968 - (UK Fontana TF-910/US Fontana F-1620)
  • "Uncle Joe, the Ice Cream Man" b/w "The Man Who Loved Trees" - 1968 - (UK Fontana TF-961/US Fontana F-1628)
  • "A Groovy Kind Of Love" b/w "Ashes To Ashes" - 1969 - (UK Fontana TF-1026)

Albums

  • The Mindbenders (Fontana STL 5324) - June 1966
  • With Woman In Mind (Fontana STL 5403) - April 1967

See also


External links

  • Mindbenders Biography
  • [ The Mindbenders biography page] at Allmusic website
    Website
    A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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