| The Action |
R.
King, R. Powell, P. Watson, M. Evans, A. King
|
| Background information |
| Also known as |
Azoth (1967) |
| Origin |
 Kentish
Town, North
London |
| Genre(s) |
Beat
pop
music
Blue-eyed soul
folk
rock |
| Years active |
1963 - 1969 |
| Label(s) |
Parlophone
Records (UK), Capitol Records (USA), Hansa
Records (FRG), Zodiac Records (NZ) |
Associated
acts |
The Boys
Mighty
Baby
Ace |
| Website |
actionmightybaby.co.uk |
| Members |
Reg
King (lead vocals)
Peter Watson (lead guitar)
Alan "Bam" King (backing vocals, guitar)
Mike "Ace" Evans (bass)
Roger Powell (drums)
- - -
Ian Whiteman (keyboards,
wind)
Martin Stone (lead guitar) |
| Notable instrument(s) |
| Rickenbacker
12-string guitar (Watson) |
The Action were an English band of the 1960s.
They were part of the mod subculture,
and played soul
music-influenced pop music. The band were formed as The Boys in
August 1963, in Kentish Town, North
London. After Peter Watson as additional guitarist joined them, they
changed their name to The Action in 1965. The original members were Reg
King (lead
vocals)
(born Reginald King, 5 February 1945, in Paddington, West
London), Alan 'Bam' King (lead guitar, vocals) (born Alan
King, 18
September 1945,
in Muswell
Hill, North West London), Mike "Ace"
Evans (bass
guitar, vocals)
(born Michael Evans, July
1945, in Kentish
Town, North West London) and Roger
Powell (drums)
(born July 1945, in Camden
Town, North West London).
Shortly after their formation, they signed to Beatles producer
George
Martin's Parlophone Records. "Land of 1000
Dances" b/w "In My Lonely Room" was well received by critics, but sold
poorly. None of the Action's singles achieved success in the UK
singles chart; their highest charting single was "I'll Keep on Holding
On", which reached number 47 in 1965.
After disastrous experiences with the Rikki Farr management, Peter Watson left
the band in 1966. They continued as quartet, but were dropped from
Parlophone in 1967. In the late 1960s keyboardist
Ian Whiteman and guitarist Martin Stone
(born 11
December 1946,
in Woking,
Surrey)
joined the band and the Action moved toward a mid-tempo psychedelic
ballad style, and then into folk rock. Reg King left the band in 1967,
and Alan King took over as main lead vocalist. In 1969, when signing to
John Curd's Head
Records, the band was renamed by Curd Mighty
Baby.
Alan King later went on to form Ace
(see pub
rock (UK)).
Notably, they are one of the favourite bands of Phil
Collins, who performed with the reunited band in 2000. "[F]or
me it was like playing with the Beatles," he later commented on the
experience.
|
Contents
- 1 Discography
- 2 Reference
- 3 External
links
|
Discography
as Sandra Barry and The Boys
- You Really Gonna Shake / When I Get Married (R. King) (3/64
Decca)
as The Boys
- It Ain't Fair (R. King/Evans) / I Want You (R. King/Evans)
(11/64 Pye)
as The Action
- Land Of A 1000 Dances / In
My Lonely Room (Holland-Dozier-Holland)
(10/65 Parlophone)
- I'll Keep On Holding On / Hey-Sha-Lo-Ney (2/66 Parlophone)
- Baby, You've Got It / Since I Lost My Baby (7/66 Parlophone)
- Never Ever / Twenty Fourth Hour (2/67 Parlophone)
- Never Ever / Something About You (Holland-Dozier-Holland) (67 Zodiac
Records Z45/1311, NZ-only)
- Shadows And Reflections / Something has Hit Me (6/67
Parlophone)
- The Harlem Shuffle / Wasn't It You (Goffin/King)
(1968? Hansa, Germany only)
- French e.p.: Shadows and Reflections / Something Has Hit Me
/ Never Ever / Twenty Fourth Hour (Fr, Odeon (MOE 149), 1967)
Posthumous releases
- Tracks recorded in late 1967 and 1968, but
released only in the 1990s as "Brain" and "Rolled
Gold": 1 Come around 2 Something to say 3 Love is all 4
Icarus 5 Strange Roads 6 Things you cannot see 7 Brain 8 Look at the
view 9 Climbing up the wall 10 Really doesn't matter 11 I'm a stranger
12 Little boy 13 Follow me 14 In my dream 15 In my dream (Demo)
- Tracks recorded ca. 1968, released Castle
Music in 1985 as e.p.: "Action Speak
Louder Than ...": 1. Only Dreaming 2. Dustbin Full of Rubbish
3. An Understanding Love 4. My Favourite Day 5. A Saying for Today (all
tracks written by Whiteman)
- "Uptight and Outasight" (Radio and TV
recordings, CD bonus: 1998 live recording) (Circle Records)
Reference
-
http://arts.guardian.co.uk/fridayreview/story/0,,839719,00.html
-
http://www.parasol.com/reaction/reactcd001.asp
External links
