The Mojos formed as a duo under the name the Nomads in 1962, and originally consisted of bassist Keith Karlson and drummer Jon "Bob" Conrad. Before Conrad, Snowy Fleet was the drummer, but he was replaced by Conrad when he emigrated to Australia, and after that the band was joined in September 1962 by lead singer/pianist Stu James, and rhythm guitarist/vocalist Adrian Lord. They were a bit different from most of the other Merseyside bands in that their first love was American blues rather than R&B and rock & roll, preferring to cover the works of John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters. The band continued without a lead guitarist when Wood left, and at the suggestion of Beatle George Harrison, pianist Terry O'Toole was added to the line-up in August 1963. The band also changed their name in August 1963 to The Mojos, and Lord swapped from rhythm guitar to lead guitar, with this line-up recording 'My Whole Life Through', which was featured on the Oriole Records 'This Is Merseybeat' compilation album. After signing to Decca Records they released their debut single 'They Say' in 1963, and it achieved some popularity, especially after it was used for the party scene in the 1964 film 'The Comedy Man'. Despite having written the single's b-side, Lord left the group soon after its release, and was replaced by Nicky Crouch, with this line-up continuing until October 1964, recording the group's three charting singles, 'Everything's Alright', 'Why Not Tonight', and 'Seven Daffodils'.
They also appeared in the movie 'Every Day's A Holiday', and like many of their contemporaries the group played at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany. In 1964 they released a four-track EP, but by this time the group had only scraped the Top 30 since their solitary big hit, and the label began losing interest. In October 1964, Karlson, Conrad and O'Toole left the group and James and Crouch were joined by drummer Aynsley Dunbar and bassist Lewis Collins, and this line-up recorded the singles 'Comin' On To Cry' and 'Wait A Minute', both of which were released as by "Stu James And The Mojos". In September 1966 the group broke up, with James and Crouch forming a new version with Birmingham bass player Deke Vernon and Southampton drummer Martin Smith, while Collins went into acting, and scored huge acclaim when he appeared in 'The Professionals' with Martin Shaw. The Mojos in their original incarnation were only around for a couple of years, but they will forever be remembered for 'Everything's Alright' after David Bowie covered it on his 1973 'Pin Ups' album, and it's a shame they never recorded an album, as their style of Merseybeat was a bit different to what was generally coming out of the city at the time, and so here is what a long-player from them could have sounded like in 1965.
Track listing
01 Give Your Lovin' To Me
02 Don't Do It Anymore
03 I Got My Mojo Working
04 Comin' On To Cry
05 Everything's Alright
06 Nothin' At All
07 Seven Daffodils
08 Nobody But Me
09 They Say You Found A New Baby
10 Forever
11 Why Not Tonight
12 That's The Way It Goes
13 The One Who Really Loves You
