The Undertakers
Encyclopedia
The Undertakers were a British
beat group, contemporaries of The Beatles
and a leading group in the Merseybeat
music scene of the early 1960s.
player Les Maguire (born Leslie Charles Maguire, 27 December 1941, in Wallasey
, Cheshire
) and rhythm guitarist, vocalist Mike Millward (born Michael Millward, 9 May 1942, Bromborough
, Cheshire - died 7 March 1966, at Bromborough Hospital, Bromborough), who was later in The Fourmost
.
Then they became The Vegas Five formed in 1959, a group led by drummer Bob Evans with Geoff Nugent; Chris Huston; lead vocalist Jimmy McManus (ex The Topspots); bassist Mushy Cooper (born David Cooper died in 1998) (ex The Topspots) and Les Maguire, who was later in Gerry & The Pacemakers
, replaced by alto
/ tenor sax player, vocalist Brian (Sax) Jones (ex The Rebels). This was one of the first rock and roll
groups in the Liverpool area.
The Undertakers developed a major local following for their live performances. This was due to the quality of Lomax's singing, the customisation of the band’s instruments and amplification by Huston, and the fact that, unlike most Merseybeat groups, they were boosted by a saxophone, which enabled them to play a wider range of R&B
songs including more obscure material. There is a photograph of fans queueing at The Cavern for what was thought to be The Beatles, when they were in fact queueing for The Undertakers.
They played at Hamburg
’s Star-Club
during 1962. However, on their return, they rejected a management offer from Brian Epstein
, and signed a recording contract
with Pye Records
with Tony Hatch
as their record producer
. The records
they made with Pye were weak both in terms of their sound and commercial success, although their third single, "Just A Little Bit", managed one week on the Top 50 in the UK Singles Chart
in April 1964.
in 1965, with Lomax, Huston and Pemberton all remaining in that country and developing their own careers in the music industry. Brian Jones became a session player and is sometimes claimed to have played saxophone on The Beatles
' "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)
", a claim which he denies, saying that it was, in fact "the Brian Jones who couldn't swim". However, most sources state that the part was played by Brian Jones
of The Rolling Stones
. (These sources include the Beatles' Paul McCartney
and the Rolling Stones' then-bassist Bill Wyman
.) Pemberton still lives in Los Angeles
, California
. Geoff Nugent, reformed the band for the Liverpool Garden Festival. They had many changes but in 2007 settled on a line-up of
When he is home from the US, Jackie Lomax teams up with the band to give three originals in the line-up.
Produced 1963-1965 by Tony Hatch
(1-8) and Bob Gallo & The Undertakers (9-21)
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...
beat group, contemporaries of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
and a leading group in the Merseybeat
Beat music
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a pop and rock music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll, doo wop, skiffle, R&B and soul...
music scene of the early 1960s.
Band members
Their best known line-up was:- Jackie LomaxJackie LomaxJohn Richard 'Jackie' Lomax is a British guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his association with George Harrison and Eric Clapton...
(lead vocals, bass) - Chris HustonChris HustonChristopher J 'Chris' Huston is a British born record engineer and guitarist.Huston arrived in Wallasey, near Liverpool, toward the end of World War II from an orphanage in North Wales...
(lead guitar, vocals) - Geoff Nugent (solo, rhythm guitar, vocals) (born Gordon Geoffrey Nugent, 23 February 1943, KirkbyKirkbyKirkby is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in the metropolitan county of Merseyside in England. The town was developed from the 1950s through 1970s as a means to house the overspill of Liverpool. It is situated roughly north of Huyton, the administrative HQ of the borough and about...
, LiverpoolLiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, LancashireLancashireLancashire 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...
) - Brian Jones (alto, tenor saxophone, vocals) (born 1940)
- Bugs Pemberton (drums) (born Warren Pemberton, 1944)
Origins
The Undertakers were originally called Bob Evans and the Five Shillings, with Nugent; lead guitarist Ike X (replaced by Pete Cook (ex The Topspots); drummer Bob Evans (died 2009); bassist Billy Evans; tenor saxophoneTenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
player Les Maguire (born Leslie Charles Maguire, 27 December 1941, in Wallasey
Wallasey
Wallasey is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England, on the mouth of the River Mersey, at the northeastern corner of the Wirral Peninsula...
, 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...
) and rhythm guitarist, vocalist Mike Millward (born Michael Millward, 9 May 1942, Bromborough
Bromborough
Bromborough is a large village within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the Wirral Peninsula, to the south of Bebington and to the north of Eastham...
, Cheshire - died 7 March 1966, at Bromborough Hospital, Bromborough), who was later in The Fourmost
The Fourmost
The Fourmost were an English Merseybeat band that recorded in the 1960s. Their biggest UK hit single was "A Little Loving" in 1964.-Biography:...
.
Then they became The Vegas Five formed in 1959, a group led by drummer Bob Evans with Geoff Nugent; Chris Huston; lead vocalist Jimmy McManus (ex The Topspots); bassist Mushy Cooper (born David Cooper died in 1998) (ex The Topspots) and Les Maguire, who was later in Gerry & The Pacemakers
Gerry & the Pacemakers
Gerry and the Pacemakers were a British beat music group prominent during the 1960s. In common with The Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein and recorded by George Martin. They are most remembered for being the first act to reach number one in the UK Singles Chart with...
, replaced by alto
Alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
/ tenor sax player, vocalist Brian (Sax) Jones (ex The Rebels). This was one of the first rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
groups in the Liverpool area.
Group career
When the Vegas Five were booked to play a dance, they discovered that the local newspaper had inadvertently transposed their name with the word "Undertakers" from the adjacent column. The promoter persuaded them to develop this as a gimmick, by playing the "Death March" to start their show, and to change their name. In February 1961, Evans' group merged with another group, Dee and the Dynamites, based in Wallasey, and Evans left to be replaced by Pemberton in September 1961.The Undertakers developed a major local following for their live performances. This was due to the quality of Lomax's singing, the customisation of the band’s instruments and amplification by Huston, and the fact that, unlike most Merseybeat groups, they were boosted by a saxophone, which enabled them to play a wider range of R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
songs including more obscure material. There is a photograph of fans queueing at The Cavern for what was thought to be The Beatles, when they were in fact queueing for The Undertakers.
They played at Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
’s Star-Club
Star-Club
The Star-Club was a music club in Hamburg, Germany that opened Friday 13 April 1962 and was initially operated by Manfred Weissleder and Horst Fascher. In the sixties, many of the giants of rock music played at the club. The club closed on 31 December 1969 and the building it occupied was...
during 1962. However, on their return, they rejected a management offer from Brian Epstein
Brian Epstein
Brian Samuel Epstein , was an English music entrepreneur, and is best known for being the manager of The Beatles up until his death. He also managed several other musical artists such as Gerry & the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Cilla Black, The Remo Four & The Cyrkle...
, and signed a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with Pye Records
Pye Records
Pye Records was a British record label. In its first incarnation, perhaps Pye's best known artists were Lonnie Donegan , Petula Clark , The Searchers , The Kinks , Sandie Shaw and Brotherhood of Man...
with Tony Hatch
Tony Hatch
Anthony Peter "Tony" Hatch is an English composer, songwriter, pianist, music arranger and producer.-Early life and early career:...
as their record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
. The records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
they made with Pye were weak both in terms of their sound and commercial success, although their third single, "Just A Little Bit", managed one week on the Top 50 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 ...
in April 1964.
Later years
The Undertakers split up after a tour of the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1965, with Lomax, Huston and Pemberton all remaining in that country and developing their own careers in the music industry. Brian Jones became a session player and is sometimes claimed to have played saxophone on The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)
You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)
"You Know My Name " is a song by The Beatles originally released as the B-side of the single "Let It Be" on 6 March 1970. Although first issued with their final single , it was recorded in four separate sessions beginning with three in May and June 1967, and one in 1969.-Composition:The song is a...
", a claim which he denies, saying that it was, in fact "the Brian Jones who couldn't swim". However, most sources state that the part was played by Brian Jones
Brian Jones
Lewis Brian Hopkins Jones , known as Brian Jones, was an English musician and a founding member of the Rolling Stones....
of The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
. (These sources include the Beatles' Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
and the Rolling Stones' then-bassist Bill Wyman
Bill Wyman
Bill Wyman is an English musician best known as the bass guitarist for the English rock and roll band the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1992. Since 1997, he has recorded and toured with his own band, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings...
.) Pemberton still lives in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Geoff Nugent, reformed the band for the Liverpool Garden Festival. They had many changes but in 2007 settled on a line-up of
| Geoff Nugent | vocals /rhythm guitar | ||
| Brian Jones | tenor sax | ||
| Bill Good | bass guitar /vocals | ||
| Baz Davies | lead guitar/vocals | ||
| Jimmy O'Brien | drums |
When he is home from the US, Jackie Lomax teams up with the band to give three originals in the line-up.
UK singles
- "Everybody Loves a LoverEverybody Loves a Lover"Everybody Loves a Lover" is a popular song.The writers were both people who were best known for collaborations with other partners. The music was written by Robert Allen and the lyrics by Richard Adler .The recording by Doris Day was released by Columbia Records as catalog...
" (Adler/Allen) / "(Do the) Mashed Potatoes(Do the) Mashed Potatoes" Mashed Potatoes" is a hit R&B instrumental. It was recorded by James Brown with his band in 1959 and released as a two-part single in 1960...
" (Rozier) PyePye RecordsPye Records was a British record label. In its first incarnation, perhaps Pye's best known artists were Lonnie Donegan , Petula Clark , The Searchers , The Kinks , Sandie Shaw and Brotherhood of Man...
7N15543 (1963) - "What About Us" (Leiber/Stoller) / "Money (That's What I Want)Money (That's What I Want)"Money " is a 1959 hit single by Barrett Strong for the Tamla label, distributed nationally on Anna Records. The song was written by Tamla founder Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford, and became the first hit record for Gordy's Motown enterprise....
" (Bradford/Gordy) Pye 7N15562 (1963) - "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 (1964)
U.S. singles
- "Just A Little Bit" / "Stupidity" Parkway 909 (1964)
- "Think" / "If You Don't Come" Interphon 7709 (1964)
- "I Fell In Love" / "Throw Your Love Away Girl" Black Watch 5545/6 (1965)
CD compilation
- The Undertakers Unearthed (Big Beat CDWIKD 163, 1995)
- "(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 Swingin' Thing" (S Owens/L Dixon/W Denson) / "Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!" (R. PennimanLittle RichardRichard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
) / "You're 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)
- "(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 Swingin' Thing" (S Owens/L Dixon/W Denson) / "Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!" (R. Penniman
Produced 1963-1965 by Tony Hatch
Tony Hatch
Anthony Peter "Tony" Hatch is an English composer, songwriter, pianist, music arranger and producer.-Early life and early career:...
(1-8) and Bob Gallo & The Undertakers (9-21)