Them (band)
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Origin | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
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Them were a Northern Irish rock band formed in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in April 1964, most prominently known for their 1964 garage rock standard "Gloria" and launching Van Morrison's musical career.[5] The original five-member band consisted of Morrison, Alan Henderson, Ronnie Milling, Billy Harrison, and Eric Wrixon.
Them scored two UK hits in 1965 with "Baby, Please Don't Go" (UK No. 10) and "Here Comes the Night" (UK No. 2; Ireland No. 2). The latter song and "Mystic Eyes" were top 40 hits in the US.[5]
Morrison quit the band in 1966 and went on to a successful career as a solo artist. Although they had relatively few hit singles, the group had considerable influence on other bands, such as the Doors.[5]
The band's recording of "
Origins
Formation
In April 1964, Van Morrison responded to an advert for musicians to play at a new R&B club at the Maritime Hotel–an old dance hall frequented by sailors.[9] The new club needed a band for its opening night; however Morrison had left the Golden Eagles (the group with which he had been performing at the time), so he created a new band out of the Gamblers, an East Belfast group formed by Ronnie Millings, Billy Harrison, and Alan Henderson in 1962.[10][11] Eric Wrixon, still a schoolboy, was the piano player and keyboardist.[12] Morrison played saxophone and harmonica and shared vocals with Billy Harrison. They followed Eric Wrixon's suggestion for a new name, and the Gamblers morphed into Them, their name taken from the 50s horror movie Them![13]
The band's strong performances at the Maritime attracted attention. Them performed without a routine and Morrison
Maritime Hotel
On 14 April 1964, an advertisement in a Belfast newspaper asked: "Who Are? What Are? THEM". Similarly curious advertisements followed until the Friday before the gig (17 April 1964) announced that Them would be performing that evening at Club Rado at the Maritime Hotel. Attendance at the two hundred capacity venue quickly grew with a packed house by the third week.[21]
Them performed without a routine, fired by the crowd's energy. Morrison later commented that while the band was "out of our element" making records. "The way we did the numbers at the Maritime was more spontaneous, more energetic, more everything, because we were feeding off the crowd."[22] Morrison ad libbed songs as he performed and "Gloria", the song he had written at eighteen years old, took shape here and could last up to twenty minutes.[23] According to Morrison, "Them lived and died on the stage at the Maritime Hotel" but only very rudimentary recordings survive. One fan's recording of "Turn On Your Love Light" made its way to Mervyn and Phil Solomon, who contacted Decca Records' Dick Rowe, who then travelled to Belfast to hear Them perform. Rowe and Phil Solomon agreed on a two-year contract with the members of the band then signed with Solomon. Morrison being only eighteen, had to have his father sign for him. Within a few weeks, the group was taken to England and into Decca's recording studio in West Hampstead for their first recording session.[24][25][26]
Peak years
With Decca
Them's first recording session took place in London on 5 July 1964. "Turn on Your Love Light" and "Gloria" were recorded during this session as were both sides of their first single, "Don't Start Crying Now" and "
Their next single,
In January 1965, Them toured
Their next release was Them's biggest hit in the UK, "
On 11 April 1965, Them made a guest appearance at the
The band released their first album, The Angry Young Them, in June 1965 (UK) and it appeared in the US on Parrot Records in July. But Them's next single, "One More Time", chosen by Phil Solomon, failed–according to Billy Harrison because it never constituted single material.[38] In July 1965, the band added English drummer Terry Noon and Scottish lead guitarist Joe Baldi but they left in September. Their second album, Them Again, was released in January 1966 in the UK and in April 1966 in the US.[citation needed]
Success in North America and departure of Morrison
The group was marketed in the United States as part of the British Invasion.[39] After the success of "Here Comes the Night", the band scored a chart hit again later in 1965 with "Mystic Eyes", which reached No.33. Them Again, released in April 1966 in the US, also charted and the band began a US tour in May 1966.[40] From 30 May to 18 June, Them had a residency at the famous Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles. For the final week The Doors opened for Them and on the last night the two bands and Morrisons jammed a twenty-minute version of "Gloria" and a twenty-five-minute version of "In the Midnight Hour".[41] Next Them headlined at The Fillmore in San Francisco and then to Hawaii, where disputes erupted among band members and management over money. The band broke apart, Morrison and Henderson returning to Belfast while Ray Elliott and David Harvey decided to stay in America.[42]
Van Morrison has placed the break-up of Them in context: "There was no motive behind anything you did [back then]. You just did it because you wanted to do it and you enjoyed doing it. That's the way the thing started, but it got twisted somewhere along the way and everybody involved in it got twisted as well, including me. You can't take something like that, put it in a box and place a neat little name on it, then try to sell it. That's what they tried to do. That's what killed Them."[43]
Van Morrison went on to great success and fame as a solo artist, but Them's combination of garage rock and blues proved a major influence on the next generations of rock musicians, and the group's best-known singles have become staples of rock and roll.[5]
Post-Morrison
Belfast Gypsies
In late August 1965, Billy Harrison and Pat McAuley formed a rival Them, competing with the Morrison/Henderson line-up and leading to legal action.
1968 until dissolution
Two albums,
Henderson hired session musicians for two more records for Ray Ruff's Happy Tiger Records, in a hard rock vein with country and folk elements; Them (1969) features Jerry Cole as guitarist while Them in Reality (1970) features lead guitarist Jim Parker and drummer John Stark (both ex–Kitchen Cinq). Henderson also co-wrote a rock opera, Truth of Truths, produced by Ray Ruff in 1971.[48] These efforts were met with consumer indifference and in 1972 Them dissolved. Alan Henderson, Billy Harrison and Eric Wrixon reunited in 1979, without Morrison, recording another album, Shut Your Mouth, and undertaking a tour of Germany using Billy Bell on drums, and Mel Austin as vocalist. Since the 1990s, Wrixon had toured under the moniker of Them the Belfast Blues Band, at one point including ex-Them guitarists Jim Armstrong and Billy Harrison.[citation needed]
Alan Henderson died on 9 April 2017 in Big Lake, Minnesota, at the age of 72.[49][50][51][52]
Discography
Albums
Title | Release | Chart positions | |
---|---|---|---|
UK | US | ||
The Angry Young Them
North American: Them |
UK: 11 June 1965
North American: July 1965 |
— | — |
Them Again | 21 January 1966 (UK)
April 1966 (US) |
21[53] | 138[53] |
Belfast Gypsies | August 1967 | — | — |
Now and "Them" | January 1968 | — | — |
Time Out! Time in for Them | November 1968 | — | — |
Them | 1969 | — | — |
Them in Reality | 1970 | — | — |
Shut Your Mouth | 1979 | — | — |
Singles
Year | Song | Chart positions | Album (A-sides and B-sides) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK Singles[54]
|
US Hot 100 | IRE[55] | CAN | Kvällstoppen | |||
1964 | "Don't Start Crying Now"
B-side: "One Two Brown Eyes" |
– | – | – | – | – | A: Them (EP)
B: Them (EP) |
"Baby, Please Don't Go"
B-side: "Gloria" |
10 | 102 | – | – | – | A: Them (EP) | |
1965 | "Here Comes the Night"
B-side: "All For Myself" |
2 | 24 | 2 | 8 | 3 | A: Them (US album)
B: non-album |
"One More Time"
B-side: "How Long Baby" |
– | – | – | – | 9 | A: non-album
B: Them Again | |
"(It Won't Hurt) Half As Much"
B-side: "I'm Gonna Dress In Black" |
– | – | – | – | – | A: non-album
B: The Angry Young Them | |
"Mystic Eyes"
B-side: "If You And I Could Be As Two" |
– | 33 | – | 24 | – | A: The Angry Young Them
B: The Angry Young Them | |
1966 | "Call My Name"
B-side: "Bring 'Em On In" |
– | – | – | – | – | A: Them Again
B: Them Again |
"Richard Cory"
B-side: "Don't You Know" |
– | – | – | – | – | A: non-album
B: Them Again | |
1967 | "Gloria" (re-release)
B-side: "Friday's Child" |
– | – | – | – | – | A: The Angry Young Them
B: non-album |
"Story Of Them Part 1"
B-side: "Story Of Them Part 2" |
– | – | – | – | – | A: non-album
B: non-album | |
1969 | "Gloria" (re-release)
B-side: "Here Comes the Night" |
– | – | – | – | – | A: The Angry Young Them
B: Them (US album) |
1973 | "Gloria" (re-release)
B-side: "Baby, Please Don't Go" |
– | – | – | – | – | A: The Angry Young Them
B: Them (EP) |
"Here Comes the Night" (re-release)
B-side: "All For Myself" |
– | – | – | – | – | A: Them (US album)
B: non-album | |
1982 | "Baby, Please Don't Go" (re-release)
B-side: "Gloria" |
– | – | – | – | – | A: Them (EP)
B: The Angry Young Them |
1983 | "Baby, Please Don't Go" (re-release)
B-side: "Gloria" |
– | – | – | – | – | A: Them (EP)
B: The Angry Young Them |
"Here Comes the Night" (re-release)
B-side: "Love Like A Man" (Ten Years After) |
– | – | – | – | – | A: Them (US album)
B: single A-Side first issued in 1970 | |
1991 | "Baby, Please Don't Go" (re-release)
B-side: "Gloria" |
65 | – | – | – | – | A: Them (EP)
B: The Angry Young Them |
EPs
Title | Release date | Chart positions |
---|---|---|
UK | ||
Them | February 1965 | — |
Fear Them | 16 April 2016 | — |
Live Broadcasts 1965–1967 | 24 December 2019 | — |
Compilation albums
- The World of Them – (1970) (UK Decca- PA/SPA-86)
- Them Featuring Van Morrison – (1972) – A double LP consisting of 20 cuts from first two US albums
- Backtrackin' – (1974), London (US), Decca (NZ)
- Rock Roots – (1976), Decca
- The Story of Them – (1977)
- Them Featuring Van Morrison – (1985)
- The Story of Them Featuring Van Morrison – (1997), Deram
- Gold – (2005), Deram; 2006 release Universal International; 2008 release Universal Japan. Contains 49 tracks, all from the Van Morrison period.
- The Complete Them 1964–1967 – (2015), Legacy; contains 69 tracks over 3 discs featuring Van Morrison
Personnel
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References
- ^ "Van Morrison Biography". The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ Ingalls, Chris (11 August 2016). "Van Morrison: It's Too Late to Stop Now... Vols. II, III, IV and DVD". PopMatters. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-313-35862-3.
- ^ a b c d Unterberger, Richie. "Them Biography on All Music.com". Allmusic. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
- ^ "GRAMMY Hall of Fame Award". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. 1999. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
- ^ "Dave Marsh the 1001 greatest Singles Ever". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 8 April 2007.
- ^ "The Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. 9 December 2004. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ^ "Van Morrison – In His Own Words". Superseventies.com. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
- ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0. Retrieved 24 April 2009.
- ^ "THEM the Belfast Blues-Band". Thembelfast.com. Archived from the original on 17 August 2009. Retrieved 24 April 2009.
- ^ "Eric Wrixon Biography – AOL Music". Music.aol.com. Archived from the original on 29 November 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2009.
- ^ Rogan (2006), pp. 79–83
- ^ Hinton (1997), page 40.
- ^ Rogan (2006), page 76
- ^ Turner (1993), page 44.
- ^ Heylin (2003), page 118
- ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0. Retrieved 17 April 2009.
- ^ Turner (1993), pages 48–51
- ^ Janovitz, Bill. "Gloria:Them:song review". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
- ^ Turner, p. 44.
- ^ Turner, pp. 44–45
- ^ Heylin, p. 76
- ^ Turner, p. 46.
- ^ a b Hinton, pp. 39–46.
- ^ "Story of Them featuring Van Morrison". Eclecticparrot. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-934558-41-9.
- ^ a b Turner, pp. 48–51
- ISBN 978-0-19-533318-3.
- ^ Turner, p. 51
- ^ Heylin, pp. 100–101
- ^ Rogan, pp. 108–111
- ^ Rogan, pp. 111–112
- ^ Turner, pp. 51–52
- ^ Brown, Tony, Jon Kutner & Neil Warwick, The Complete Book of the British Charts: Singles and Albums, Omnibus Press, London, 2002 p. 608
- ^ Heylin, p. 104
- ^ Hinton, p. 53
- ^ Heylin, p. 105
- ^ "Chapter 6. The Second Insurgency". Montreal.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2008. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
- ^ Hinton, p. 65
- ^ "The History of the Whisky-A-Go-Go". Chickenonaunicyle.com. 23 January 2006. Retrieved 7 August 2008.
- ^ Hinton, pp. 69–54
- ^ Heylin, p. 112
- ^ Rogan, pp. 141–142
- ^ "Kim Fowley". Richieunterbunter.com. 2 March 2004. Retrieved 25 October 2008.
- ^ "A Brief True History of Belfast Gypsies". Ken McLeod. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
- ^ "Them and Now". Nimic. 23 January 2004. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009. Retrieved 25 October 2008.
- ^ McAlester, Keven (29 December 2004). "The Story of Val Stoecklein's Grey Life". Citypaper.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2008.
- ^ "Surf New Media: Server Expired". www.westsherburnetribune.com.
- ^ "Alan Henderson, Them bassist, dead at 72".
- ^ https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/them-band-member-dies-1132339
- ^ https://rockandrollparadise.com/alan-henderson-4-2017/
- ^ ISBN 0-938840-02-9.
- ^ "THEM | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – All there is to know". www.irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
- ^ Warburton, Nick. "Them". Garage Hangover. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
- Sources
- ISBN 1-55652-542-7
- ISBN 1-86074-169-X
- ISBN 978-0-09-943183-1
- ISBN 0-670-85147-7
External links
- The Music Collector's Guide – full chronology of Them/Van Morrison
- Allmusic.com Biography: Them
- Them the Band tripod.com
- Detailed biography Them and band member's later careers by John Berg
- Month-by-month biography of Them at Garagehangover.com
- Them discography at Discogs
- Mark Scott Biography by Richie Unterberger