The Outlaws were an English

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

band that recorded in the early 1960s. One-time members included

Chas Hodges Charles Nicholas Hodges (28 December 1943 – 22 September 2018) was an English musician and singer. He was the lead vocalist, pianist and guitarist of the musical duo Chas & Dave, whose most successful singles include "Rabbit" (1980) and " Ai ...

(1943–2018), Bobby Graham (1940–2009),

Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English lead guitarist. He was a founding member and the guitarist of Deep Purple, one of the pioneering bands of hard rock. After leaving Deep Purple in 1975, Blackmore formed the band Rainbow ...

(born 1945),

Mick Underwood Michael John Underwood (5 September 1945 – 28 July 2024) was an English drummer. He first played drums at the age of 14 and was a professional musician by the time he left school. Underwood collaborated with a number of notable musicians an ...

(1945-2024), Reg Hawkins (born 1942), Billy Kuy (born 1940), Don Groom (born 1939), Roger Mingaye (born 1942), Ken Lundgren and

Harvey Hinsley Harvey, Harveys or Harvey's may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Harvey'' (play), a 1944 play by Mary Chase about a man befriended by an invisible anthropomorphic rabbit * Harvey Awards ("Harveys"), one of the most important awards ...

(born 1948).

Career

Their name was originally conceived by

Joe Meek Robert George "Joe" Meek (5 April 1929 – 3 February 1967) was an English record producer and songwriter considered one of the most influential sound engineers of all time, being one of the first to develop ideas such as the recording studio a ...

(born Robert George Meek in 1929), who needed a

backing group A backup band or backing band is a musical ensemble that typically accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a recording session, and the group may or may not have its own name, such ...

for Mike Berry's "Set Me Free" in 1960, after, according to Meek biographer, John Repsch, Meek had fired Berry's original backing group, The Statesmen. After that

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

, they continued being one of the

house band A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...

s of his recording studio at 304 Holloway Road, London. As such, they were used for recordings, demos and

auditions An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece giv ...

. Many of their songs were written by Meek, and credited to one or other of his pseudonyms, either Robert Duke or Peter Jacobs; the latter of which he used on The Outlaws' "Shake with Me". They appeared as themselves in the 1963 British film, '' Live It Up!''. In addition to featuring as a backing band on recordings by Mike Berry (born Michael Hubert Bourne in 1942), including three

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...

s, or backing Houston Wells,

Gene Vincent Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American rock and roll musician who pioneered the style of rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-a-Lula", is ...

John Leyton John Dudley Leyton (born 17 February 1936) is an English retired actor and singer. Leyton as a singer is best known for his hit song "Johnny Remember Me" (written by Geoff Goddard and produced by Joe Meek), which reached number one in the ...

Geoff Goddard Geoffrey Goddard (19 November 1937 – 15 May 2000) was an English songwriter, singer and instrumentalist. Working for Joe Meek in the early 1960s, he wrote songs for Heinz, Mike Berry, Gerry Temple, the Tornados, Kenny Hollywood, the Outlaws ...

Heinz The Kraft Heinz Foods Company, formerly the H. J. Heinz Company and commonly known as Heinz (), is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. ...

, they also recorded

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

in their own right. One of these, "Bike Beat", for

Raleigh Bicycle Company The Raleigh Bicycle Company is a British bicycle manufacturer based in Nottingham, England and founded by Woodhead and Angois in 1885. Using Raleigh as their brand name, it is one of the oldest bicycle companies in the world. After being acquir ...

, (see below), even had dance instructions created especially for it, printed on the picture sleeve, with bicycle references : "Grab a girl at random, make like a tandem". In 1990, all of their 1960s singles were issued on ''The Outlaws Ride Again (the Singles A's and B's )'', on the See For Miles Label.

Later years

Harvey Hinsley would later join the group

Hot Chocolate Hot Chocolate are a British soul band formed by Errol Brown and Tony Wilson. The group had at least one hit song every year on the UK Singles Chart from 1970 to 1984. Their hits include " You Sexy Thing", a UK number two which also made ...

who would have hits with "

You Sexy Thing "You Sexy Thing" is a song by British soul band Hot Chocolate. It was written by lead singer Errol Brown and bass guitarist Tony Wilson and was produced by Mickie Most. The song was released in October 1975 as the second single from their seco ...

" and " Every 1's a Winner".''MPR News'', 19 January 2018 �
Celebrating the guitar that made Hot Chocolate
/ref> Chas Hodges was later in the duo

Chas & Dave Chas & Dave (often billed as Chas 'n' Dave) were an English pop rock duo, formed in London by Chas Hodges and Dave Peacock (musician), Dave Peacock. They were most notable as creators and performers of a musical style labelled ''rockney'' (a p ...

became the most famous former member of The Outlaws, having a successful career as a member of

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

and his

Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow Ritchie may refer to: People Surname Given name Fictional characters *Ritchie, a character in the 1986 American science fiction movie ''Howard the Duck (film)#Cast, Howard the Duck'' *Ritchie Tozer, on the TV series It's a Sin (TV series), '' ...

Discography

Singles

With the line-up : Billy Kuy, Bobby Graham,

, Reg Hawkins *"Swingin' Low" b/w "Spring is Near" (March 1961) – UK No. 46 *"Ambush" b/w "Indian Brave" (June 1961) – UK No. 43 *"Valley of the Sioux" b/w "Crazy Drums" (September 1961) With the line-up : Ken Lundgren, Don Groom, Chas Hodges, Roger Mingaye *"Ku-Pow!" b/w "Last Stage West" (February 1962) *"Sioux Serenade" b/w "Fort Knox" (12 October 1962) With the line-up :

, Ken Lundgren,

*"Poppin' Medley Part 1". b/w "Poppin' Medley Part 2". Released as ''The Chaps'' (7 December 1962)

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

R4979 *"Return of The Outlaws" b/w "Texan Spiritual" (February 1963) *"That Set the Wild West Free" b/w "Hobo" (August 1963) Note : Underwood does not appear on "Hobo" *"Law and Order" b/w "Do Da Day" (December 1963) *"Keep a Knockin'" b/w "Shake with Me" (3 April 1964). Note :

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

credits "Shake with Me" as the first Heavy Metal recording, according to the liner notes of the CD 'The Outlaws Ride Again (Singles A's and B's)' *"The Bike Beat 1" b/w "The Bike Beat 2" as ''The Rally Rounders'' (1964) Lyntone LYN 573 : Flexidisc (for

) With the line-up :

, Ken Lundgren,

, Harvey Hinsley *"Don't Cry" b/w "Only for You" (February 1965). Note: United States only, vocal single, produced by

Derek Lawrence Derek John Lawrence (16 November 1941 – 13 May 2020) was an English record producer, famous for his work for Joe Meek's Outlaws, Deep Purple, Flash, Machiavel, Wishbone Ash, and the Randy Rhoads era of Quiet Riot. Lawrence came in con ...

. The

b-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

to this release features Mick Underwood, Chas Hodges, Ritchie Blackmore and

Nicky Hopkins Nicholas Christian Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. He performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, including on songs recorde ...

Album

With the line-up : Billy Kuy, Bobby Graham,

, Reg Hawkins *''Dream of the West'' (1961): "Dream Of The West" / "The Outlaws" / "Husky Team" / "Rodeo" / "Smoke Signals" / "Ambush" / "Barbecue" / "Spring Is Near" / "Indian Brave" / "Homeward Bound" / "Western Sunset" / "Tune For Short Cowboys" (His Master's Voice, December 1961). Re-released on CD with bonus tracks : "Swingin' Low" / "Valley Of The Sioux" / "Crazy Drums" (2012, Coronet)

Compilations

*''Rockin' Guitar – Rare Items Vol.6'' : "Swingin' Low" / "Valley Of The Sioux" / "Crazy Drums" / "Ku-Pow" / "Last Stage West" / "Sioux Serenade" / "Fort Knox" / "Return Of The Outlaws" / " Texan Spiritual" / "That Set The Wild West Free" / "Hobo" / "Law And Order" / "Do Da Day" (1985, Gibson) *''Ride Again – The Singles As & Bs'' : "Swingin' Low" / "Spring Is Near" / "Ambush" / "Indian Brave" / "Valley of the Sioux" / "Crazy Drums" / "Last Stage West" / "Ku-Pow" / "Sioux Serenade" / "Fort Knox" / "The Return of the Outlaws" / "Texan Spiritual" / "That Set the Wild West Free" / "Hobo" / "Law and Order" / "Do-Da-Day" / "Keep a Knockin'" / "Shake with Me" (1990,

See For Miles Records See for Miles Records (SFM) was a British record label that specialised in reissuing rock classics. It was one of the first British re-issue specialists predating the emergence of compact discs. See for Miles reissued "oldies", including most of ...

) *''Back To The West'' : "Swingin' Low" / "Spring Is Near" / "Ambush" / "Indian Brave" / "Dream Of The West" / "The Outlaws" / "Husky Team" / "Rodeo" / "Smoke Signals" / "Barbecue" / "Homeward Bound" / "Western Sunset" / "Tune For Short Cowboys" / "Valley Of The Sioux" / "Crazy Drums" / "Last Stage West" / "Ku-Pow" / "Sioux Serenade" / "Fort Knox" / "The Return Of The Outlaws" / "Texan Spiritual" / "That Set The Wild West Free" / "Hobo" / "Law And Order" / "Do-Da-Day" / "Keep A Knockin'" / "Shake With Me" (2003, Prospector) Re-released with bonus tracks : The Chaps : "Poppin' art 1 / "Poppin'

art 2 Art is a diverse range of culture, cultural activity centered around works of art, ''works'' utilizing Creativity, creative or imagination, imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an express ...

/ The Raleigh Rounders : "Bike Beat art 1 / "Bike Beat

/ The Lancastrians : "Satan's Holiday" / "Earthshaker" (2007, Norf*k Coast Records) *''The Best Of The Outlaws'' : "Ambush" / "Swingin' Low" / "Valley Of The Sioux" / "Indian Brave" / "Rodeo" / "Barbecue" / "Husky Team" / "Homeward Bound" / "The Outlaws" / "Fort Knox" / "Crazy Drums" / "Sioux Serenade" / "Last Stage West" / "Western Sunset" / "Ku-Pow!" / "Dream Of The West" / "Smoke Signals" / "Spring Is Near" / "Tune For Short Cowboys" / The Chaps : "Poppin' art 1 / "Poppin'

+ 7 songs as backing band for Mike Berry (2020, Not Now Music)

References

External links

blackmoresnight.com/ - The OutlawsMick Underwood
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Outlaws, The English pop music groups English instrumental rock musical groups Musical groups established in 1960 Musical groups disestablished in 1965 English session musicians Beat groups 1960 establishments in England 1965 disestablishments in England