Danny Diaz & The Checkmates were a Filipino rock band, based in Hong Kong in the 1960s.
Danny Diaz & The Checkmates were a Filipino rock band, based in Hong Kong in the 1960s.
They were part of the Hong Kong beat group scene between 1964 and 1969, that included other Hong Kong groups, such as Anders Nelson & The Inspiration, D'Topnotes, Fabulous Echoes, Joe Jr. & The Side Effects, Teddy Robin & The Playboys, Lotus, Magic Carpets, Mod East and Mystics and The Thunderbirds. [1] [2] They entered into a "Battle of the Sound" contest and conquered various groups, and in the final beat Teddy Robin & The Playboys to become the winner. Some recordings were released on the Diamond record label. In the late 1960s they covered a song that The Foundations had released, the Eric Allandale composition, "Solomon Grundy".
In 1964, Danny Diaz and the Checkmates released the single, "Wonderful World" backed with "Stand By Me" on Diamond D.224 X 45. Interestingly on the single, the A side was credited to Barbara Campbell. [3] The song was originally composed by Lou Alder and Herb Alpert with additional input from Sam Cooke. [4] On the week ending December 12, 1964, the single entered the Hong Kong Top Ten at no. 8. [5] On week ending December 26, it was at no. 6. [6] On the week ending January 2, 1965 it reached its peak position of no. 3. [7] [8] [9] It stayed in the charts until the week ending January 23. [10] [11] [12]
In 1966, the group released " It's So Easy" bw "She's So Fine" on Diamond D.240 X 45. [13] It was also released on Australia on Stateside OSS 259. [14]
In 1969, they recorded the song "Solomon Grundy" backed with "Goodbye Baby" which was released in the UK on Pye 7N 17690. [15] Having won the "Battle of the Bands" competition, which was organized by Levi Strauss, and a $10,000 recoding contract with Trend Records [16] [17] they were pictured in the February 8 issue of Record Mirror with composer Eric Allandale and two other Foundations members, Alan Warner and Tony Gomez. The Foundations were hosting the group who were in London for the single's launch, [18] and Foundations manager Barry Class had arranged for them to come to the UK. [19]
In the 1970s, Danny Diaz formed the Danny Diaz trio with his brothers Rudy and Romeo.
Around the mid 1970s, Danny Diaz moved to Canada. [20]
The Foundations were a British soul band who were primarily active between 1967 and 1970. The group's background was: West Indian, White British and Sri Lankan. Their 1967 debut single "Baby Now That I've Found You" reached number one in the UK and Canada, and number eleven in the US, while their 1968 single "Build Me Up Buttercup" reached number two in the UK and number three on the US Billboard Hot 100. The group was the first multi-racial group to have a number one hit in the UK in the 1960s.
The Rockin' Berries are a beat group from Birmingham, England, who had several hit records in the UK in the 1960s. A version of the group, emphasising comedy routines as well as music, continues to perform to the present day.
Eric Allandale was a trombonist, songwriter, and bandleader. During the 1960s, he was in number of bands in various genres which included jazz pop and soul.
Clive Chaman is a UK-based bass guitarist and session musician, born in Trinidad and Tobago.
"Solomon Grundy" is a song written by Eric Allandale, a member of the English Multi-racial group The Foundations. The song is loosely based on "Solomon Grundy", the 19th century children's nursery rhyme. It appeared on their 1969 Digging The Foundations album that featured the hit single "In the Bad Bad Old Days ", and it was the B side of their minor American hit single "My Little Chickadee". The singer pronounces it "Solomon Grandy" throughout the song, even though it foils the rhyme. It was also released as a single by Hong Kong beat group Danny Diaz & The Checkmates and it was the song that first brought Polly Brown & Pickettywitch to notice when they appeared on ITV's Opportunity Knocks television talent show. It was also the B side of Pickettywitch's 1969 debut single "You Got Me So I Don't Know".
The Montanas were an English 1960s and 1970s pop rock band from Wolverhampton, England. Though they never found significant success in their home country, they had one moderate hit in the United States.
"We Are Happy People" was a top 5 hit in Scandinavia for Swedish group Slam Creepers’ also known as The Slams It was written by trombonist Eric Allandale and made its first appearance as the B-side of The Foundations third single, the minor hit and Tony Macaulay and John Macleod composition "Any Old Time You're Lonely Or Sad". It was re-recorded by the Foundations in 1968, this time with Colin Young on vocals and appeared on their 1968 LP released on Marble Arch MALS 1157. By April 1969 it had been recorded by nine different artists.
"Born To Live, Born To Die" was the last charting single for The Foundations. It made it to number 46 on the UK Singles Chart in September 1969. It was written by Foundations trombone player Eric Allandale and The Foundations. The B-side was composed by the group's organist Tony Gomez.
The Ferris Wheel were a British rock and soul band, who have been described as "one of England's great lost musical treasures of the mid- to late '60s" and as "one of the most popular club acts" of the time. They released two albums, Can't Break the Habit (1967) and Ferris Wheel (1970), the latter featuring singer Linda Lewis.
The Lancastrians were a British pop rock band, formed in Altrincham, Cheshire, England. They are best remembered for their only hit record, "We'll Sing in the Sunshine", released in December 1964.
Irving Martin is an executive producer, creative director and record producer. Not including other record labels he worked with, during the 1960s, he produced more than forty-five singles that were released on the CBS label. He produced Guy Darrell's Top 20 hit, "I've Been Hurt" and had further chart success with the London Philharmonic Choir. In addition to producing solo artists and bands, he has either produced or composed music for television shows or films such as Return of the Saint, The Sweeney, Space 1999 and The Jigsaw Man, and has appeared on Make 'Em Laugh. He has often worked with Brian Dee and has also worked with Des Champ.
Kong Ling was a 1960s Hong Kong based singing star and recording artist who sang Jazz, Cha cha, Rock and roll and Pop music She had also recorded with popular Hong Kong pop group The Fabulous Echoes.
Diamond Records was a record label for Hong Kong and the far East. It featured a good amount of Hong Kong's most popular recording acts and attractions in its catalogue.
"She's So Fine" is a song written by Stevie Wright and George Young. It was originally recorded by the Australian rock group the Easybeats in 1965, whose version reached number three in the Australian charts.
Daniel Robert Hamilton was an American musician and singer. He was a member of The T-Bones with his brother Judd Hamilton and later formed the soft-rock group Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds, performing lead vocals on the band's two biggest hits, "Don't Pull Your Love" and "Fallin' in Love". He was also a composer who, in addition to co-writing "Fallin' in Love", was the sole songwriter for the Ventures hit song "Diamond Head".
"Diamond Head" was an instrumental by the Ventures in Japan and Hong Kong. It also charted in the United States in both the Billboard and Cashbox charts. It was written by Dan Hamilton.
Trend Records was an English Record label which existed from the late 1960s until the early 1970s. It issued recordings by such notable artists and personalities as Consortium, The Foundations, Audrey Hall, Marcus Lipton, Julie Stevens, Warm Dust and Colin Young.
Stoney Ground was a single for UK soul group The Foundations. It made it on to the US Billboard chart in 1972. It also represented the group's last charting first release of a single.
Sea of Faces was a 1966 single of English group The Ways and Means. Composed by Brian Parker and Kim Fowley, it became a hit for the group in early 1967.
Digging the Foundations is the final studio album by English soul group the Foundations. The album includes two of the group's hits, "In the Bad, Bad Old Days" and "My Little Chickadee". The album was released in the UK on the Pye label in 1969. There would be various issues relating to the album that would be a cause of concern for the group.
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