Sounds Incorporated formed in early 1961, in Dartford, Kent, and gained a reputation in nearby South London for the fullness of their saxophone-led instrumental sound. Their line-up consisted of Alan "Boots" Holmes on baritone and tenor saxophones and flute, "Major" Griff West on tenor saxophone and flute, Barrie Cameron on organ and baritone saxophone, John St. John on lead guitar, Wes Hunter on bass, and Tony Newman on drums. In August 1961, after Gene Vincent's band, The Blue Caps, had been denied permission to work in the UK, Sounds Incorporated won the opportunity to back Vincent on his British tour and on recordings in London. This led to further opportunities to back other visiting American artists, including Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Brenda Lee and Sam Cooke. In August 1961 the group released their first single, 'Mogambo', on Parlophone, but it failed to achieve significant sales, so they moved to Decca Records, where they released a trio of singles, the last of which was recorded with producer Joe Meek, again with little success. However, while performing in Hamburg in Germany, they met and befriended the Beatles, and in 1963 signed to Brian Epstein's management company, NEMS. The band's first two singles on new label Columbia, 'The Spartans' and 'Spanish Harlem', made the UK Singles Chart in 1964, but these were the only successes that Sounds Incorporated enjoyed in their home country. That same year they became Cilla Black's backing band, and they also released their self-titled album , which contained many stage favourites, but not their recent chart successes. One thing that stood them apart from other instrumental groups was their use of unusual musical instruments, such as the the battery-operated Clavioline keyboard (as used by the Tornados) that is heard on 'Keep Movin'' and 'Sounds Like Locomotion', while Al Holmes played the lead melody on flute throughout 'The Spartans'.
The group's third Columbia single, a version of the 'William Tell Overture', was included and turned out to be their greatest success in Australia, where it reached number 2. The group toured the world as the Beatles' opening act, including the July 1964 concert in Hong Kong and the August 1965 concert at New York City's Shea Stadium, and their continuing popularity ensured a stream of work, including backing duties at the televised NME awards. 1966 was the first year the group released no singles in their home country, although they recorded a second album, again simply titled 'Sounds Incorporated', and this was released on EMI's fledgling Studio 2 label, primarily to show off EMI's mid-1960's advances and developments in stereo recording techniques. By 1967 the band's name had been truncated to "Sounds Inc.", and The Beatles invited Cameron, Holmes and West to be the saxophone section on their track 'Good Morning Good Morning', from the album 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'. After this guest appearance, Sounds Inc. left EMI and released a solitary single on the Polydor label titled 'How Do You Feel', which was their first single release to feature vocals. The group began to disintegrate in the late 1960's, with drummer Newman leaving to work as a session musician, and at one stage joined the Jeff Beck Group. For the remaining members of Sounds Inc., Cameron's departure for a career in A&R left a gap, which was filled by percussionist and drummer Terry Fogg, while Trevor White became the band's first true vocalist. The group soldiered on, moving to and mainly playing in Australia for their final years together. Their act became more middle-of-the-road, exemplified in their final album, which was released in many territories but not the UK, and which contained more vocals than instrumentals, and the band eventually broke up in 1971.
Track listing
01 Mogambo (single 1961)
02 Emily (b-side of 'Mogambo')
03 Sounds Like Locomotion (single 1962)
04 Taboo (b-side of 'Sounds Like Locomotion')
05 Go (single 1963)
06 Stop (b-side of 'Go')
07 Keep Moving (single 1963)
08 Order Of The Keys (b-side of 'Keep Moving')
09 The Spartans (single 1964)
10 Detroit (b-side of 'The Spartans')
11 Spanish Harlem (single 1964)
12 Top Gear (single 1964)
13 Time For You (single 1965)
14 Hall Of The Mountain Kings (single 1965)
15 Justice Neddi (single 1965)
16 My Little Red Book (single 1965)
17 I'm Comin' Through (single 1965)
18 On The Brink (single 1966)
19 Michelle (from the French 'Succes De La Danse' EP 1966)
20 L'amitie (from the French 'Succes De La Danse' EP 1966)
21 Yesterday Man (from the French 'Succes De La Danse' EP 1966)
22 Treat Her Right (from the French 'Succes De La Danse' EP 1966)
23 How Do You Feel (single 1967)
24 Dead As A Go-Go (b-side of 'How Do You Feel')
25 Apollo (b-side of 'Warmth Of The Sun' 1970)
Thanks to geofmcm for the suggestion.
