User:Russbonge/sandbox

The Spectrum UK Pop Group of the 60’s THE OFFICIAL STORY The English group known as “The Spectrum” originally started out as “Dale Stevens & Group 5 in 1959.The group was created by two young Englishmen, Colin Forsey & Tony Atkins. Colin was introduced to the guitar by his uncle Albert at 14 and at age 16 left school to work as a commercial artist for Charles Daniels Studio, a small art studio in London. It was while working for Charles Daniels Colin met Tony Atkins, (who also played guitar), and they began to meet after work and play together. They got along very well and for several weeks would meet and learn to play the hit tunes of that time from artists such as, Elvis Presley, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly. It was these sessions together that inspired the formation of their future group. It was there (while working at the art studio) that Colin also met and worked with [|Charlie Watts] the drummer of the now famous Rolling Stones. Although their musical tastes were different, (Charlie was more into Modern jazz & Colin into Rock n Roll), it was somewhat ironic that Charlie went on to become the drummer of one of the most legendry rock bands in rock n roll history. With Colin on both vocal and rhythm guitar, and Tony playing lead, they brought in Tony Judd on bass, and Alan Fowels on drums. With permission from the principle of Chingford High School, they rehearsed in one of the classrooms on “youth nights.” After several weeks of rehearsing, one of the teachers on duty suggested they play for the other students in the main assembly hall. For the newly formed group, this was their first opportunity to perform in front of a live audience. The outcome was impressive. They were so well received that they were invited to play every week. They named the band “Dale Stevens & Group 5” and started to get paying gigs at local dance halls and pubs. As their popularity grew, they decided they needed a manager. So they hired Ian Swan to fill that role and he handled all “gigs” and promotions for the group. Over time, music was changing. Popular music slowly drifted away from the “three & four chord progressions” of the early Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran songs, and became more orchestral. Some examples would be songs like “Unchained Melody and “You’ve lost that loving feeling” by the Righteous Brothers, and others like “24 hours from Tulsa” by Gene Pitney. Just as the music was shifting its direction, so too, did the group follow these same musical trends and became one of the most booked bands in the greater London area. In the early sixties they would often play double gigs, finishing one gig at 9pm, loading the equipment into the group van, driving across London to the Athenaeum Dance Hall in Muswell Hill (Where the Kinks were discovered), and then re-set up and play till 3 am next morning. It was at the Athenaeum where they were approached by a talent scout representing writer and producer Joe Meek. [|Joe Meek]. They auditioned at Joe’s London recording studio and were introduced to two top studio musicians, drummer Bobbie Graham and guitarist Jimmy Page. It was through this liaison Colin became interested in the recording process and purchased a “Vortexion” an early multi- track tape recorder. Using this machine, he learned how to record various harmonies to a “click track” and effectively “replay” the harmonies while the band was playing live. This new technique resulted in a much enhanced listening experience for the audience and was very progressive for that time period. In fact Colin remembers the astonished look on the faces of the audience when this huge “vocal sound” completely filled the dance hall. In 1962, the band saw fit to make a personnel change. Drummer Alan Fowels left the group and Colin’s younger brother Keith (Keith Forsey) who had been playing drums for about a year in his own band “The Missing Links” joined “Dale Stevens”. Although lacking playing experience Colin remembers what a great sense of timing Keith had, and technique was not nearly as crucial as “Feel” or “Groove”. So Keith became the new drummer. The transition was seamless and the band continued to gain popularity. On May 10th 1962 The Beatles first single was released in the U.K. “Love Me Do” hit the airwaves and the music charts, and once again the music scene in England changed direction. Up until this time the music scene had become very diverse both in the U.K & U.S.A. and artists like Ray Charles, Bobbie Darin, Elvis Presley, Del Shannon to name a few, were releasing heavily orchestrated records, and Phil Specter ‘s huge productions with artists like Ike & Tina Turner ( River Deep & Mountain High) dominated the music charts. Now the two guitar bass drums & three part harmony format had returned. The song “true to form” (always staying on top of the new releases)the day after a new release (usually on a Friday) “ Dale Stevens & Group 5 would be performing it on Saturday night at “The Kings Head” or one of the many other venues where they performed. About a year after The Beatles exploded onto the music scene, other Liverpool bands began to appear such as Billy J. Kramer Gerry and the Pacemakers, Freddie and the Dreamers and Herman’s Hermits. Many of these bands were managed by Brian Epstein, manager of The Beatles. As a matter of record, the manager of “Dale Stevens & Group 5”, ( Ian Swan) received a call from The Beatles booking agency and booked the group to be the second opening band for The Beatles at a concert at Salisbury Town Hall in 1963. During the opening band’s set, John Lennon and Paul McCartney came into Colin’s dressing room, where John Lennon borrowed a guitar pick & Paul asked for a drink of orange juice. (It may have been a trivial point then but now it’s a trivial point in “Rock n Roll history.”) Another change came in 1965 when Billy Chambers joined the band. Billy played a Hammond c3 organ with a Leslie speaker which greatly broadened the group’s repertoire. It was around this time that Cyril Black – (an independent record promoter), and his partner, Harry Roberts- (a musical arranger and song writer) approached the band with both a management offer and recording contract with RCA Records. Up to this point in time, all members of the band had regular day jobs and families. The decision was made to turn professional. They changed the name of the band to “Spectrum after which they recorded and released their single “Samantha’s Mine” on April 28th, 1967. In spite of extensive radio play, the record did not chart. But it due to heavy radio and TV exposure that another producer/director named Gerry Anderson came to hear the band. Famous for his futuristic television programs, particularly those involving marionettes, (a process called “Supermarionation”) Gerry had completed a successful season with a TV series called “Thunderbirds” and with his new company, [|Century 21 Productions], was now producing a new series called [|Captain Scarlet & The Mysterons]. For clarification, the name “The Spectrum” was chosen – based on the color spectrum…not on the above mentioned 1960’s TV program (Captain Scarlet & The Mysterons) in which the Space Agency Command Center in the series was called “Spectrum”. The name sharing that occurred was purely COINCIDENTAL. In June 1967, the band signed a contract with Century 21 Productions (allegedly for 75,000 pounds sterling) in which they would appear live and perform, dressed in the uniforms of the TV series characters. They also recorded the opening title song. Additionally, to support this new series, a teen magazine was created called Lady Penelope – (which was titled from a character in the series). A caricature form of The Spectrum band members was created and featured a weekly adventure story of life on the road. Overall, the (clarification of) events above are probably what gave rise to the FALSE myth that the band was conceived and manufactured by RCA and (accordingly) promoted as England’s answer to the American group The Monkeys. The Spectrum released a total of 8 singles; all received strong radio exposure and appearances on top TV shows, but none made the British charts. They did have a number #1 in Spain & number #3 in Germany. They released their only album, “The Light Is Dark Enough” in 1969, which was produced by [|Richard Kerr], co-writer of the Barry Manilow hit “Mandy”. There were personnel changes just before the recording of their first and only album. Tony Judd and Billy Chambers decided to call it quits. Pete Woods replaced Cambers and John Beatie came in to play lead guitar. Tony Atkins switched to bass. The band continued touring in England, Spain, Portugal, and Germany for one more year and played their last gig in Manchester, England on New Year’s Eve 1970. After the breakup, all of the members went in different directions. Drummer Keith Forsey returned to Germany where he continued playing as session drummer and played for a short time with German psychedelic band Amon Duul. He then worked with Giorgio Moroder and Pete Belotti and played drums on the early Donna Summer records after which he moved to California and became a successful producer and song writer. Tony Atkins remained in the U.K. as an independent record producer. Colin Forsey joined [|CBS records] after the band split and became head of promotion for CBS Records in London. In 1982, he moved to Mill Valley, California where he designed and built a home recording studio for [|Night Ranger] guitarist [|Jeff Watson]. In 2003 he started construction on a commercial recording, studio (Full Armour Records) which he owns and operates in historic downtown El Reno, Oklahoma, where he resides today.