One Of The Underrated "British Invasion" Groups
Mention a U.K. source for the best of the British Invasion groups and chances are, most will respond Liverpool. But other cities were just as well represented, such as Manchester which produced, among others, The Mindbenders.
The organizer was one Glynn Ellis, born there on October 28, 1945. Like a lot of British R&R stars he began doing skiffle with a group called The Velfins and in the early 1960s progressed to pop/R&R with The Jets. While playing at the Oasis Club in Manchester Ellis was approached by a scout for Philips/Fontana Records and asked to appear for an audition before a live audience.
That day, however, just he and his bass player, Bob Lang, turned up so Ellis drafted the services of two friends in the audience, guitarist Eric Stewart and drummer Ric Rothwell. After cobbling together a few tunes they all knew they were offered a contract - but under what name? One of the band members had just seen the Dirk Bogarde film The Mind Benders, so that became the group's name, while Ellis, adopting the record label's name for his own, became Wayne Fontana.
Their debut single was a cover of Bo Diddley's Roadrunner [not here] which did fairly well in the U.K., but their big break came with another cover, this time of the Major Lance North American hit, Um, Um,Um, Um, Um, Um [track 3] which hit the # 2 slot in the U.K. In 1964 their first crack at The Game Of Love did not do well, but a re-release early in 1965 brought them forcefully to the attention of North American audiences when it shot to # 1 Billboard Hot 100 b/w One More Time.
Several months later It's Just A Little Bit Too Late missed the Billboard Pop Hot 100 Top 40 by a hair, settling in at # 45 with Long Time Comin' as the flipside. Both hits were billed to Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders. Fontana then left the group that October to pursue a solo career and had several hits in the U.K., the best being Pamela, Pamela in 1966 [# 11].
So, when A Groovy Kind Of Love went all the way to # 2 Hot 100 in June 1966 [b/w Love Is Good] they were billed simply as The Mindbenders. The only things keeping it from the # 1 spot were a pair of tunes called Paint It, Black and Paperback Writer by two other British groups known as The Rolling Stones and The Beatles.
The last NA charter for the group then came in September 1966 when Ashes To Ashes levelled off at # 55 Hot 100 b/w You Don't Know About Love. Following an appearance in the 1967 film To Sir With Love, the group disbanded. Stewart later formed the group Hotlegs with which he had several U.K. hits, but only one [Neanderthal Man - # 22 Hot 100 in 1970] in the U.S. Later, however, as 10cc, they would chalk up another nine North American Hot 100 hits, three of which also made the Adult Contemporary charts.
This is currently one of the better offerings for the hits of this underrated British group, although by leaving off all four flipsides of their North American hits Polygram lost one star with this reviewer.
Track Listings
1. The Game of Love - Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Ballard, Clint Jr.
2. Stop Look and Listen - Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Breedlove, Jimmy
3. Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um - Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Mayfield, Curtis
4. Since You've Been Gone - Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Stewart, Eric
5. Where Have You Been? - Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Mann, Barry
6. It's Just a Little Bit Too Late - Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Ballard Jr., Clint
7. Remind My Baby of Me - Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Geld, Gary
8. She Needs Love - Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Ballard Jr., Clint
9. A Groovy Kind of Love - Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Wine, Toni
10. Can't Live With You (Can't Live Without You) - Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Wine, Toni
11. Ashes to Ashes - Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Wine, Toni
12. Pamela, Pamela - Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Gouldman, Graham
13. I Want Her She Wants Me - Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Argent, Rod
14. Off and Running - Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Wine, Toni
15. It's Getting Harder All of the Time - Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Albertine, Charles
16. We'll Talk About It Tomorrow - Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Wine, Toni
17. Far Across Town - Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Lang, Bob
18. My New Day and Age - Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Stewart, Eric
19. Schoolgirl - Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Gouldman, Graham
20. Uncle Joe the Ice Cream Man - Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Gouldman, Graham
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