The Mindbenders
The Mindbenders | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | Manchester, England |
Genres | Beat[1] |
Years active | 1963–1968 |
Labels | Fontana Records |
Past members | Wayne Fontana Bob Lang Ric Rothwell Eric Stewart Geoff Foot Paul Hancox Graham Gouldman Jimmy O'Neil |
The Mindbenders were an English
Career
After a tour of America and two more singles that were less successful than "The Game of Love", "It's Just a Little Bit Too Late" and "She Needs Love", Fontana left the band in the middle of a concert in 1965. The Mindbenders decided to carry on as a trio—Stewart was the primary lead singer and guitarist, Lang played bass, and Rothwell was the drummer. Both Lang and Rothwell sang backing vocals, and took the occasional lead vocal on album tracks.
The Mindbenders' first single without Fontana was the hit "A Groovy Kind of Love" (a Carole Bayer Sager / Toni Wine composition).[1] The song reached No. 2 in the US[1] (No. 1 on the Cashbox singles chart) and No. 2 in the UK in 1966. It sold one million copies globally.[3] The Mindbenders' 1966 album of the same name managed to reach No. 28 in the UK.[2]
A second song by
On 4 July 1966, the Mindbenders began their United States tour in Atlanta, Georgia in front of a capacity 25,000 crowd as the support act for James Brown. It would be their only tour of the United States as The Mindbenders, i.e., without Fontana. Stewart recalled that "we went down quite well", but that later shows at the Fillmore West Auditorium on Friday 8 July and Saturday 9 July 1966 were more memorable.[1][4] "The liquid light show was great and really worked with our act, which was a lot heavier than on our records."[1]
In September/October 1966 they embarked on a 12 date package tour of England backing Dave Berry of 'The Crying Game' fame. The tour also included
Stewart was developing himself as a songwriter, and wrote "My New Day and Age" for Family. However, the Mindbenders generally sought material from outside the band, with only a handful of B-sides and album tracks being written by Stewart, occasionally in collaboration with Lang and Rothwell.[1]
The band's next project was a loose sort of
The Mindbenders appeared in the 1967 Sidney Poitier movie, To Sir, with Love and were also on the soundtrack with the songs "Off and Running" (the last Bayer/Wine song recorded by the band) and "It's Getting Harder All the Time".[1] Shortly thereafter, Rothwell quit the band and was replaced by Paul Hancox.[1] Graham Gouldman became the band's producer around this time; future Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones was also involved in arranging their records in 1967/68.
Later in 1967, The Mindbenders released their
On 20 November 1968, The Mindbenders broke up at the final concert of a UK tour with The Who, Arthur Brown and Joe Cocker.[1]
Aftermath
Stewart and Gouldman played together in Hotlegs and later went on to form 10cc.[1]
Lang later joined another rock music outfit,
Personnel
- Wayne Fontana (born Glyn Geoffrey Ellis, 28 October 1945, Levenshulme, Manchester Lancashire,[3] died 6 August 2020) – vocals, tambourine (1963–1965)
- Bob Lang (born Robert Francis Lang, 10 January 1946, Levenshulme, Manchester, Lancashire[3]) – bass (1963–1968)
- Ric Rothwell (born Eric Rothwell, 11 March 1944, Reddish, Stockport, Cheshire[3]) – drums (1963–1967)
- Eric Stewart (born Eric Michael Stewart, 20 January 1945, Droylsden, Lancashire[3]) – guitars, vocals (1963–1968)
- Paul Hancox (born 25 October 1950, Birmingham, Warwickshire) – drums (1967–1968)
- Salford, Lancashire) – bass (1968)
- Jimmy O'Neil (born James Andrew O'Neil, 6 July 1945, Birmingham, Warwickshire d. January 2016, The Philippines) – organ (1968)
- Ted Lee (born Edward James Lee, 26 December 1940, Openshaw, Manchester) – bass
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
- Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders
- Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders (label has: Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um – It's Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders) – 1965 (UK Fontana TL5230)
- The Game of Love – 1965 (US Fontana MGF 27542 (Mono)/SRF 67542 (Stereo))
- Eric, Rick, Wayne and Bob – It's Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders – 1965 (UK Fontana TL5257)
- The Mindbenders
- The Mindbenders (UK Fontana STL 5324) – June 1966
- A Groovy Kind of Love (US Fontana MGF 27554 (Mono) / SRF 67554 (Stereo)) – US No. 92, July 1966
- Original copies feature "Don't Cry No More", replaced with "Ashes to Ashes" on later pressings
- With Woman in Mind (UK Fontana STL 5403) – April 1967
Compilation albums
- Hit Single Anthology (Europe Fontana 848 161–2) – 1991
- The Best of Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders (US Fontana 314 522 666–2) – 1994
Appearances
- To Sir, with Love: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (US Fontana SRF-67569 / UK Fontana STL-5446) - 1967
Singles
- Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders
Year | Single | Catalogue | Chart Positions | UK album | US album | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK
[6] |
AU | CAN [7] |
IRL [8] |
US | |||||
1963 | "Hello Josephine" b/w "Road Runner" |
UK Fontana TF404 | 46 | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks | Non-album tracks |
"For You, for You" b/w "Love Potion No. 9" |
UK Fontana TF418 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
1964 | "Little Darlin'" b/w "Come Dance with Me" |
UK Fontana TF436 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
"Stop Look and Listen" UK B: "Duke of Earl" US B: "Road Runner" |
UK Fontana TF451 US Fontana 1917 |
37 | — | — | — | — | |||
"Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um" b/w "First Taste of Love" |
UK Fontana TF497 | 5 | — | — | — | — | |||
1965 | "The Game of Love" b/w "Since You've Been Gone" b/w "One More Time" (Second US pressing) |
UK Fontana TF535 US Fontana 1503 US Fontana 1509 (Second US pressing) |
2 | 38 | 3 | 10 | 1 | A: Non-album track B1: Non-album track B2: Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders |
A: The Game of Love B1: Non-album track B2: The Game of Love |
"It's Just a Little Bit Too Late" b/w "Long Time Comin'" |
UK Fontana TF579 US Fontana 1514 |
20 | 55 | 9 | — | 45 | Eric, Rick, Wayne and Bob | Non-album tracks | |
"She Needs Love" b/w "Like I Did" |
UK Fontana TF611 US Fontana 1524 |
32 | — | — | — | — | A: Non-album track B: Eric, Rick, Wayne and Bob |
- The Mindbenders
Year | Single | Catalogue | Chart Positions | UK album | US album | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK
[6] |
AU | CAN [9] |
IRL [10] |
US | |||||
1965 | "A Groovy Kind of Love"[11] b/w "Love Is Good" |
UK Fontana TF 644 US Fontana 1541 |
2 | — | 4 | 9 | 2 | The Mindbenders | A Groovy Kind of Love |
1966 | "Can't Live with You (Can't Live Without You)" b/w "One Fine Day" |
UK Fontana TF 697 | 28 | — | — | — | — | A: Non-album track B: The Mindbenders | |
"Ashes to Ashes" b/w "You Don't Know About Love" |
UK Fontana TF 731 US Fontana 1555 |
14 | — | 18 | — | 55 | A: With Woman in Mind B: The Mindbenders |
Non-album tracks | |
"I Want Her, She Wants Me" b/w "The Morning After" |
UK Fontana TF 780 US Fontana 1571 |
— | — | — | — | — | With Woman in Mind | ||
1967 | "We'll Talk About It Tomorrow" b/w "Far Across Town" |
UK Fontana TF 806 | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks | |
"Off and Running" b/w "It's Getting Harder All the Time" |
US Fontana 1595 | — | — | — | — | — | To Sir, with Love: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | ||
"The Letter" b/w "My New Day and Age" |
UK Fontana TF 869 | 42 | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks | Non-album tracks | |
"Schoolgirl"[A] b/w "Coming Back" |
UK Fontana TF 877 | — | — | — | — | — | A: With Woman in Mind B: Non-album track | ||
1968 | "Blessed Are the Lonely" b/w "Yellow Brick Road" |
UK Fontana TF 910 US Fontana 1620 |
— | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks | |
"Uncle Joe, the Ice Cream Man" b/w "The Man Who Loved Trees" |
UK Fontana TF 961 US Fontana 1628 |
— | — | — | — | — | |||
1969 | "A Groovy Kind of Love" b/w "Ashes to Ashes"[12] |
UK Fontana TF 1026 | — | — | — | — | — | A: The Mindbenders B: With Woman in Mind |
A Groovy Kind of Love B: Non-album track |
See also
- List of music artists and bands from Manchester
- List of artists who reached number one in the United States
- List of performers on Top of the Pops
Notes
- A ^ Re-recorded version.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Thompson, Dave (20 November 1968). "The Mindbenders | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
- ^ a b "OFFICIAL ALBUMS CHART RESULTS MATCHING: THE MINDBENDERS". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- ^ ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ "Concert Poster for The Mindbenders and The Chocolate Watch Band, Friday and Saturday, 8–9 July 1966". Rockmine.com. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
- ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ a b "Mindbenders". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
- ^ Canadian Albums:
- "The Game of Love": "Top Singles - Volume 3, No. 11 May 10, 1965". RPM. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- "A Little Bit Too Late": "Top Singles - Volume 3, No. 22 Jul 26, 1965". RPM. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- ^ "irishcharts.ie (Mindbenders)". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 10 March 2020. Note: User needs to enter "Fontana" in the "Search by Artist" field and click the "Search" button.
- ^ Canadian Albums:
- "A Groovy Kind of Love": "Top Singles - Volume 5, No. 14 May 30, 1966". RPM. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- "Ashes to Ashes": "Top Singles - Volume 6, No. 7 Oct 10, 1966". RPM. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- ^ "irishcharts.ie (Mindbenders)". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 10 March 2020.Note: User needs to enter "Mindbenders" in the "Search by Artist" field and click the "Search" button.
- ^ "The Mindbenders | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
- ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
External links
- The Mindbenders at AllMusicas Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders
- The Mindbenders at AllMusicas The Mindbenders
- The Mindbenders discography at Discogs as Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders
- The Mindbenders discography at Discogs as The Mindbenders
- The Mindbenders at IMDbas Wayne Fontana and The Mindbenders
- The Mindbenders at IMDbas The Mindbenders
- The Mindbenders at IMDbas Wayne Fontana