Wimple Winch
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Wimple Winch was an English
psychedelic pop Psychedelic pop (or acid pop) is a genre of pop music that contains musical characteristics associated with psychedelic music. Developing in the mid-to-late 1960s, elements included " trippy" features such as fuzz guitars, tape manipulation, ...
band that evolved from the group, Just Four Men. Originally a Merseybeat act, their individualized sound was personalized by their intricate
vocal harmonies Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are simultaneously sung as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical chor ...
and exploratory
lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...
.


History


Just Four Men

In early 1963, after several name changes, Just Four Men settled 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 ...
as they decided to become professional. At the time, the group was composed of Demetrius "Dee" Christopolus as
lead vocalist The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...
and rhythm guitarist, lead guitarist Johnny Murphy,
drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...
Larry Arends, and
bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...
Pete Turner. The band became a popular attraction in Liverpool as they shifted through two lineup changes, Keith Shepherd replaced Pete Turner, then John Kelman replaced Johnny Murphy. They then toured with more prominent groups including
The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
,
The Searchers ''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas–Indian wars, and stars John Wayne as a middle-aged Civil War v ...
and
Del Shannon Charles Weedon Westover (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990), better known by his stage name Del Shannon, was an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known for his 1961 number-one ''Billboard'' hit " Runaway", which was covered la ...
. Despite their initial success, the band was plagued by missed opportunities when they rejected " Trains and Boats and Planes", a later hit for The Dakotas and had lawsuit threats against them over their name that prevented Four Just Men from continuing their television commitments. The lawsuits originated from another band with the same name, so from that point on the Four Just Men became Just Four Men. Still, the band signed a contract with
EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a British multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company EMI in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succes ...
in 1964, and produced two singles, which were both recorded 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 ...
. Their debut single, "That's My Baby" was released on 27 November 1964, and the second one, "There's Not One Thing", was released on 5 February 1965. Both singles were positively received, but the release dates were in correlation with
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
' releases so sales were dwarfed in comparison. Just Four Men's recordings were centered around a heavy bass sound, an aspect they experimented upon when they became Wimple Winch. After being dropped from the label, the band continued to perform until early 1966, at which point they morphed into Wimple Winch.


Wimple Winch

The renamed band consisted of an altered lineup of Arends, Christopolus, John Kelman on lead guitar and newcomer Barrie Ashall on bass guitar. The name change was brought about as a result of the band's addition of heavier and more psychedelic components into their music. Auditions for the bass player were intensive, and were met with several failures, with Keith Shepherd staying on until Barrie Ashall managed to stand out among the other candidates. Within a few gigs after returning to performing, the band encountered their future manager, Mike Carr. Carr was opening a club in
Stockport Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...
called "The Sinking Ship" and proposed that Wimple Winch become the house band. They accepted, under the conditions that they were guaranteed one performance per week, use of the property for rehearsals, and living quarters. The club, along with the band, established itself when Wimple Winch opened for
The Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...
at the venue. An associate of
Fontana Records Fontana Records is a record label that started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records. Fontana Distribution, an independent label distributor, takes its name from the label. History Fontana began in the 1950s as a subsidi ...
watched Wimple Winch perform and signed the group to record at Philips Studios in Stanhope Place in March 1966. Recording occurred over a few days as the band completed demos for their debut single. They choose "What's Been Done" as their first release. It received heavy local support and was listed as a "climber" by Radio London in April 1966, but still failed to chart. Before their next release, Kelman worked on side projects including on recordings with
Wayne Fontana Glyn Geoffrey Ellis (28 October 19456 August 2020),
's backing group, The Opposition. For their second release, the band choose "Save My Soul", which incorporated a protopunk structure. The single was immensely popular locally upon its 17 June 1966 release but was unsuccessful nationally. "Save My Soul" has been recognized as one of the more innovative tracks of the Mersey beat scene and was later immortalized on the
compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...
, '' Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964–1969''. In between performing, Wimple Winch recorded in August and December 1966. Several tracks were finished, and the song, "Rumble on Mersey Square South", which was in the style of
The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...
, was released as the group's final single on 20 January 1967. Other demos from sessions remained unreleased, however they exhibited the band's continuing development in psychedelic rock, and incorporation of
soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...
. Back in Stockport, "The Sinking Ship" caught fire and destroyed the group's housing and equipment. As a result, Fontana Records decided to not resign Wimple Winch. The band continued to tour, and recorded more demos in a personal studio, but decided to disband in mid-1967. Kelman briefly reformed Just Four Men in the early seventies with a new lineup, but no additional recordings took place.


Discography


Singles

Just Four Men *"That's My Baby" b/w "Things Will Never Be the Same", Parlophone UK R 5186, 27 November 1964 *"There's Not One Thing" b/w "Don't Come Any Closer", Parlophone UK R 5241, 5 February 1965 Wimple Winch *"What's Been Done" b/w "I Really Love You", Fontana UK TF 686, April 1966 *"Save My Soul" b/w "Everybody's Worried 'Bout Tomorrow", Fontana UK TF 718, 17 June 1966 *"Rumble on Mersey Square South" b/w "Typical British Workmanship"/"Atmospheres", Fontana UK TF 781, 20 January 1967


Compilations

* ''The Wimple Winch Story Volume 2: 1966-1968 The Psychedelic Years'', Bam-Caruso Records, 1991 * ''The Wimple Winch Story: 1963-1968'', Bam-Caruso, 1992 * ''Tales From The Sinking Ship'', Bam-Caruso, 2009The Wimple Winch
at www.discogs.com


References

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1963 Musical groups disestablished in 1967 Musical groups from Liverpool English pop music groups EMI Records artists Fontana Records artists Psychedelic pop music groups Beat groups