The Paramounts
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The Paramounts were an English beat group based in
Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...
,
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
. They had one hit single with their cover version of "
Poison Ivy Poison ivy is a type of allergenic plant in the genus '' Toxicodendron'' native to Asia and North America. Formerly considered a single species, '' Toxicodendron radicans'', poison ivies are now generally treated as a complex of three separate s ...
", which reached No. 35 on the UK Singles Chart in 1964, but are primarily known as the precursor to
Procol Harum Procol Harum () were an English rock music, rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold more than List of best-selling si ...
.


Career

The origin of the Paramounts is unclear. They were either formed as "The Raiders" in 1959 when the members were at secondary school, or were one of the first "manufactured" bands created by the organisers of a band competition at the Palace Hotel in Southend out of the best musicians in the contest. The Raiders had
Robin Trower Robin Leonard Trower (born 9 March 1945) is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum throughout 1967–1971 and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio known as the Robin Trower Band. Biography Robin Trower ...
and Chris Copping (guitars), Mick Trower (older brother of Robin, lead vocals) and Gary Nicholls (drums; born 1945, died April 2007). The initial line-up of the Paramounts, from September 1960, was
Gary Brooker Gary Brooker (29 May 1945 – 19 February 2022) was an English singer and pianist, and the founder and lead singer of the rock band Procol Harum. Early life Born in Hackney Hospital, East London, on 29 May 1945, Brooker grew up in Hackney ...
(piano, ex-Johnny Short and the Coasters), Mick Brownlee (drums; born October 1943, Chiswick, West London, died June 2017, ex-Mickey Law and the Outlaws), Chris Copping (bass), Bob Scott (vocals, ex-Bob Scott and the Clansmen) and
Robin Trower Robin Leonard Trower (born 9 March 1945) is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum throughout 1967–1971 and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio known as the Robin Trower Band. Biography Robin Trower ...
(guitar). Scott soon left, and Brooker became the vocalist, but as he was only 14, which made playing in licensed premises difficult, so they started performing in Trower's father's cafe, which became The Shades Club. Copping left in December 1962 and Brownlee left in September 1963. They were replaced by Diz Derrick (bass; born Grahame Derrick, 11 December 1944, Upminster, Essex) and B. J. Wilson (drums). Their musical style evolved from their initial R&B towards
soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
and, by 1963, they were regularly playing in London, and were signed by
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 ...
. In late 1964 and early 1965, they had Phil Wainman on drums (born Philip Neil Wainman, 7 June 1946, Hampton Court), briefly replaced Wilson, who went to Jimmy Powell and the Five Dimensions. The Paramounts' first single, "
Poison Ivy Poison ivy is a type of allergenic plant in the genus '' Toxicodendron'' native to Asia and North America. Formerly considered a single species, '' Toxicodendron radicans'', poison ivies are now generally treated as a complex of three separate s ...
", produced by Ron Richards, was a cover of the
Leiber and Stoller Leiber and Stoller were an American songwriting and record production duo, consisting of lyricist Jerome Leiber (; April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933). As well as many R&B and pop hits, they wr ...
song, which had been a hit for
The Coasters The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group who had a string of hits in the late 1950s. With hits including "Searchin'", "Young Blood (The Coasters song), Young Blood", "Charlie Brown (The Coasters song), Charlie Bro ...
in 1959. It became a minor hit for the Paramounts, reaching No. 35 on the UK Singles Chart, and led to them appearing on TV shows such as ''
Ready Steady Go! ''Ready Steady Go!'' (or ''RSG!'') was a British rock/pop music television programme broadcast every Friday evening from 9 August 1963 until 23 December 1966. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan wanted a light ente ...
'' Their second and third singles, "Bad Blood" and "I'm the One who Loves You", both failed to chart, but 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 ...
of the third single, "It Won't Be Long", was the first song written by Brooker and Trower to be released. In search of another hit, subsequent singles were in different styles, but none of them charted. The group became backing musicians on European tours by Sandie Shaw and Chris Andrews and disbanded in 1966. Brooker concentrated on writing music, collaborating with Keith Reid, and Matthew Fisher (organ), and they recorded " A Whiter Shade of Pale". To support the record with a tour, Brooker persuaded Trower and Wilson to rejoin the band and augmented them with David Knights (bass). By 1969, Knights and Fisher had left and Chris Copping had rejoined.


Liquorice John Death

A friend of the musicians, Dave Mundy, disliked the name "Paramounts", which had been given to them by their manager, and wanted them to be called "Liquorice John Death". Mundy committed suicide in 1972, but left his possessions to Trower, including a painting of an album cover for an imaginary album by 'Liquorice John Death', which Mundy had called '' Ain't Nothin' to Get Excited About''. In 1969, after Fisher and Knights had left Procol Harum, and Copping had joined, the line-up had evolved into the Paramounts' final line-up, minus Diz Derrick. At a practice/rehearsal in January 1970 the new line-up recorded 38 songs at
Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...
. Largely R&B covers that they had originally played as the "Paramounts", or songs in a similar vein, 13 of the tracks were mixed by Chris Thomas but the recordings were shelved. An album containing all the Paramounts' singles, called ''Whiter Shades of R&B'', was issued in 1983. In 1998 all the known original Paramounts recordings were remastered, as were six of the 38 tracks recorded by Procol Harum, in the Paramounts' style, in 1970. These remastered tracks were issued on a CD using Mundy's band and album names, and his cover art. The CD was re-released in 2005 by Friday Music, without Mundy's cover.


Band members

*
Robin Trower Robin Leonard Trower (born 9 March 1945) is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum throughout 1967–1971 and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio known as the Robin Trower Band. Biography Robin Trower ...
– guitar *
Gary Brooker Gary Brooker (29 May 1945 – 19 February 2022) was an English singer and pianist, and the founder and lead singer of the rock band Procol Harum. Early life Born in Hackney Hospital, East London, on 29 May 1945, Brooker grew up in Hackney ...
– piano, vocals * Chris Copping – bass *Mick Brownlee (born 1943) – drums *Bob Scott – vocals *Diz Derrick (born Grahame Derrick in 1944) – bass * B. J. Wilson – drums *Phil Wainman – drums


Discography

*"Poison Ivy"/"I Feel Good All Over" (1963) Parlophone (UK No. 35) *"Little Bitty Pretty One"/"A Certain Girl" (1964) Parlophone *"I'm The One Who Loves You"/"It Won't Be Long" (1964) Parlophone *"Bad Blood"/"Do I" (1964) Parlophone *"Blue Ribbons"/"Cuttin' It" (1965) Parlophone *"You Never Had It So Good"/"Don't Ya Like My Love" (1965) Parlophone ;EP *''The Paramounts'' (1964) Parlophone (GEP 8908) ;Compilations *''Whiter Shades of R&B'' (1983) Edsel (ED 112) – CD (1991) Edsel (ED CD 112) *''The Paramounts at Abbey Road 1963–1970'' CD (1998) EMI (7243 496436 2 8) ;As Liquorice John Death *'' Ain't Nothin' to Get Excited About''


References


External links


Paramounts memorabilia exhibited in Southend-on-Sea, UK
''Thames Delta'' exhibition, 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Paramounts, The Parlophone artists Beat groups Musical groups established in 1959 Musical groups disestablished in 1966 1959 establishments in England 1966 disestablishments in England