The Magic Lanterns were an English

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

soft rock Soft rock (also known as light rock or mellow rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, mel ...

group formed in

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

, Lancashire.

Career

They formed in 1962 as The Sabres, playing locally in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and changing their name a few years later. They signed to

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records, a former name of Sony Music, a global music company * CBS/Sony, a former name of Sony Music Entertainment Japan, a Japanese music company division of Sony * CBS Records International, a label for Columbia Re ...

after releasing the single, "Excuse Me Baby", which charted at No. 44 in the UK in 1966, and a few singles later they put out an album, ''Lit Up''. In 1968 they switched to

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

and released their first US hit, "Shame, Shame", which peaked at No. 29 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

, No. 5 on WLS, and No. 3 on Canada's RPM Charts. "Shame, Shame" was also released in the UK, on the short lived 'Camp' record label, as was "Melt All Your Troubles Away" the following year, but neither enjoyed any chart success. The single "Give Me Love" followed, as did a Stateside album. Changing record labels again in 1970 to Big Tree Records, a second album followed, but it would be their last. In early 1970 lead singer-songwriter Jimmy Bilsbury quit the group to co-found the

Les Humphries Singers The Les Humphries Singers was a Pop music, pop vocal group formed in Hamburg, West Germany by English singer Les Humphries. Active from 1969 until 1980, the group had several chart hits in Germany and in other European countries. The group, who ...

with bandleader/songwriter Les Humphries. Most of the other members left soon after Bilsbury's departure for careers in other fields. Songwriter

Albert Hammond Albert Louis Hammond Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 18 May 1944) is a Gibraltarians, Gibraltarian singer, songwriter and record producer. A prolific songwriter, he also collaborated with other songwriters such as Mike Hazlewood, John B ...

, however, went on to further renown, and bassist Mike "Oz" Osborne would spend several decades fighting the mistaken impression that

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...

had actually played in his early career with the Lanterns. The group had two more minor hits in the US, "One Night Stand" (#74, 1971) and "Country Woman" (#88, 1972). In 1972 the band released further singles on Polydor label in the UK, none of which met with chart success.

Members

;Early members * Jimmy Bilsbury/Pilsbury – vocals, guitar *Peter Shoesmith – guitar *Ian Moncur – bass guitar *Allan Wilson – drums ;Later members *Jimmy Bilsbury/Pilsbury *Alistair/Les Beveridge – vocals, guitar *Peter Garner – vocals, guitar *Mike "Oz" Osborne – vocals, bass *Henry Paul Ward – vocals, drums *

Kevin Godley Kevin Michael Godley (born 7 October 1945) is an English singer-songwriter, drummer and music video director. He was a singer and drummer of the art rock band 10cc and later was part of collaboration duo Godley & Creme with Lol Creme. Early ...

(of

Godley & Creme Godley & Creme were an English rock duo formally established in Manchester in 1977 by Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. The pair began releasing music as a duo after their departure from the rock band 10cc. In 1979, they directed their first music v ...

) *

Lol Creme Laurence Neil "Lol" Creme ( ; born 19 September 1947) is an English musician and music video director, best known for his work in 10cc. He was later one half of the duo Godley & Creme, with 10cc drummer Kevin Godley. Creme has collaborated with ...

(of Godley & Creme) * Steve Rowland – songwriter (of

The Family Dogg The Family Dogg were a British vocal group, noted for their harmony vocals. They are best known for their debut album, '' A Way of Life'', and the subsequent single of the same name. Career The idea was born when the Anglo-American singers of ...

) *

– songwriter *Christopher Wren – Vocals *Mitch Mitchinson – Guitar

Discography

Albums

*''Lit Up – With the Magic Lanterns'' (UK only,

1968) *''Shame, Shame'' (U.S. only,

, 1969) *''One Night Stand'' ( Big Tree Records, 1970)

UK singles

*"Excuse Me Baby / Greedy Girl" (CBS 1966) *"Rumplestiltskin / I Stumbled" (CBS 1966) *"Knight in Rusty Armour / Simple Things" (CBS 1966) *"Auntie Grizelda / Time Will Tell (If I'm a Loser)" (CBS 1967) *"We'll Meet Again / What Else Can It Be But Love" (CBS 1967) *"Shame, Shame / Baby I Gotta Go Now" (Camp 1968) *"Melt All Your Troubles Away / Bossa Nova 1940 – Hello You Lovers" (Camp 1969) *"One Night Stand / Frisco Annie" (Polydor 1970) *"Stand for Our Rights / Pa Bradley" (Polydor 1973)

References

External links

* The Magic Lanternsat Allmusic.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Magic Lanterns, The English soft rock music groups Atlantic Records artists Big Tree Records artists CBS Records artists Charisma Records artists