The Ferris Wheel (band)

Last updated

(The) Ferris Wheel
Origin London, England
Genres Rock, soul, psychedelic pop
Years active1966–1970
Labels Pye, Polydor
Past membersDiane Ferraz
Mike Liston (aka Michael Snow)
George Sweetnam (aka George Ford)
Dave Sweetnam
Mike Anthony
Keith Field
Barry Reeves
Dennis Elliott
Marsha Hunt
Linda Lewis
Terry Edmunds
Bernie Holland
Jim Cregan

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. [1] They released two albums, Can't Break the Habit (1967) and Ferris Wheel (1970), the latter featuring singer Linda Lewis.

Contents

Career

The group formed in late 1966. Original singer Diane Ferraz, born in Trinidad, had previously performed in a duo with singer Nicky Scott. They had been paired together and promoted by manager and record producer Simon Napier-Bell, who gained substantial publicity for the duo through his contacts in the London music business and because a pairing of white male and black female singers was unusual at the time. Ferraz and Scott released three singles on the Columbia label in 1966, [2] and toured with a backing band, Simon's Triangle. [3] The group included keyboard player Mike Liston, also known as Michael Snow, who had previously been a member of the group West Five and backed the She Trinity. [4] Ferraz and Scott had little commercial success together, although Napier-Bell's promotional skills on their behalf allowed him to move on to become manager of the Yardbirds. After Scott left, the group were briefly billed as Diane Ferraz and Simon's Triangle.

Ferraz and Liston then formed the Ferris Wheel with Dave Sweetnam (saxophone), George Sweetnam (bass, vocals), and Barry Reeves (drums), who had been members of singer Emile Ford's backing group, the Checkmates. The Sweetnam brothers (the name is sometimes incorrectly spelled Sweetman, and the brothers also used the surname Ford) were half-brothers of Emile Ford. [5] The line-up of the Ferris Wheel - who took their name from that of Ferraz - was completed by guitarist Mike Anthony, later replaced by Keith Field. Vocals in the group were shared between Ferraz, Liston, and George Sweetnam. [1]

The Ferris Wheel quickly became a popular club act in London, and toured more widely. They were signed to Pye Records by producer John Schroeder, who recorded an LP with them, Can't Break the Habit, in 1967. The record drew on both psychedelic pop and soul influences, with some of their songs and arrangements being likened to those of the Fifth Dimension while others were described as a Motown-influenced "gently trippy, soaring, and occasionally searing brand of soul music". [6] Three singles were released from the LP: "I Can't Break the Habit" (1967), "Let It Be Me" and "The Na Na Song" (both 1968), but none reached the UK Singles Chart.

The group continued to tour before Ferraz decided to leave the music business to raise a family. [7] It was reported by Disc and Music Echo in the magazine's June 8, 1968 issue that a Californian female singer called Farina who made her debut with the group the previous week was the replacement. [8] Marsha Hunt came in briefly, before she in turn left to be replaced by Linda Lewis. Among other personnel changes, Reeves was replaced by drummer Dennis Elliott, and in 1969 Field left, to be replaced by guitarist Terry Edmunds, who was in turn replaced towards the end of the group's career, first by Bernie Holland and finally Jim Cregan. [9] Featuring Lewis as lead singer, the group signed a recording contract with the Polydor label, who issued a single, "Can't Stop Now" produced by Ian Samwell, at the start of 1970, followed by an album, Ferris Wheel. The album was released on the Uni label in the US, [10] but was not successful. The group separated in 1970. [1]

Later activities

Although Ferraz took no further part in the music business, several other band members continued their musical careers.

Michael Snow (a.k.a. Liston) wrote Georgie Fame and Alan Price's UK hit single "Rosetta", and performed with Colin Blunstone and Doris Troy among others, before moving to Nashville in 1973 to work as a songwriter and producer. He recorded with Dennis Locorriere and released three Irish-influenced albums, Here Comes the Skelly (1998), The Rats and the Rosary (2001) and Never Say No to a Jar (2003). [4]

Bass player George Ford (a.k.a. Sweetnam, Sweetman, or Sweetnam-Ford) became a session musician, and worked with Welsh singer-songwriter Meic Stevens, Doris Troy, Medicine Head, Peter Skellern, and Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel among others in the 1970s. He featured on Al Stewart's album Year of the Cat and played with Cliff Richard and the Shadows, before moving to Canada in the 1980s. There, he worked with Long John Baldry among others. According to Snow, [11] Ford died in Canada in 2007.

Barry Reeves became a member of Blossom Toes before moving to Germany, where he worked as a percussionist and songwriter with the James Last Orchestra. He married singer Madeline Bell in 1988, and died of pneumonia in 2010. [12] [13]

Linda Lewis and Jim Cregan later married, and subsequently divorced. Lewis worked as a solo artist from 1970, recording almost 20 albums and having several UK hit singles including "Rock-A-Doodle-Doo" (1973) and "It's in His Kiss" (1975). [14] Cregan worked with Family, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel and Rod Stewart, among many others. Marsha Hunt appeared in the musical Hair in London, and worked as a model, actress, and as a solo singer in the 1970s, before becoming a noted writer and novelist. Dennis Elliott later played in the bands If and Foreigner.

Sequel Records issued an expanded CD edition of Can't Break the Habit in 2000, with reminiscences by Diane Ferraz. [1] [6]

Discography

Albums

Singles

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pye Records</span> British record label

Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherhood of Man (1975–1979). The label changed its name to PRT Records in 1980, before being briefly reactivated as Pye Records in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Gibbons (musician)</span> British rock musician

Steve Gibbons is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and bandleader. His music career spans more than 50 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madeline Bell</span> American soul singer

Madeline Bell is an American soul singer, who became famous as a performer in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s with pop group Blue Mink, having arrived from the United States in the gospel show Black Nativity in 1962, with the vocal group Bradford Singers.

Carter-Lewis and the Southerners were an early-1960s rock band, formed by the Birmingham-born musicians Ken Lewis and John Carter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Remo Four</span> English rock band

The Remo Four were a 1950s–1960s rock band from Liverpool, England. They were contemporaries of The Beatles, and later had the same manager, Brian Epstein. Its members were Colin Manley, Phil Rogers, Don Andrew, and Roy Dyke (drums). Andrew and Manley were in the same class at school as Paul McCartney.

Jonathan Kelly was an Irish folk rock singer-songwriter, who enjoyed a varied career in music, playing with many musicians and groups, including Eric Clapton and Tim Staffell. He formed Jonathan Kelly's Outside in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Sandpipers</span> American band

The Sandpipers were an American easy listening trio who carved a niche in 1960s folk rock with their vocals and innovative arrangements of international ballads and pop standards. They are best remembered for their cover version of "Guantanamera", which became a transatlantic top 10 hit in 1966, and their top 20 hit "Come Saturday Morning" from the soundtrack of the film The Sterile Cuckoo in 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linda Lewis</span> British musician (1950–2023)

Linda Ann Fredericks, better known as Linda Lewis, was an English singer, songwriter and musician. She is best known for the singles "Rock-a-Doodle-Doo" (1973) and her version of Betty Everett's "The Shoop Shoop Song" (1975). Her discography includes solo albums, Lark (1972), Not a Little Girl Anymore (1975), Woman Overboard (1977), and the later Second Nature (1995), which became successful in countries such as Japan. Lewis also provided backing vocals for other artists, including David Bowie, Al Kooper, Cat Stevens, Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, Rick Wakeman, Rod Stewart, Peter Bardens, Hummingbird, Joan Armatrading and Jamiroquai.

James Cregan is an English rock guitarist and bassist, best known for his associations with Family, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel and Rod Stewart. Cregan is a former husband of the singer Linda Lewis and worked with her as a record producer. He has also worked with London Quireboys, Glass Tiger, Katie Melua and formed Farm Dogs with Bernie Taupin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benny Gallagher</span> Scottish singer-songwriter (born 1945)

Bernard Joseph "Benny" Gallagher is a Scottish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, most famous as half of the popular duo Gallagher and Lyle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emile Ford</span> Musical artist

Michael Emile Telford Miller, known professionally as Emile Ford, was a musician and singer born in Saint Lucia, British Windward Islands. He was popular in the United Kingdom in the late 1950s and early 1960s as the leader of Emile Ford & the Checkmates, who had a number one hit in late 1959 with "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?", which was the Christmas number one that year. He was also a pioneering sound engineer.

Chris Karan is a Britain-based Australian jazz drummer and percussionist of Greek descent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anita Harris</span> British singer and actress (born 1942)

Anita Madeleine Harris is an English actress, singer and entertainer.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuck Domanico</span> American jazz bassist

Charles Louis Domanico was an American jazz bassist who played double bass and bass guitar on the West Coast jazz scene.

Chris Demetriou born in Paphos, Cyprus, is a British songwriter, musician, and record producer. A cover of a song he co-wrote with John Kongos, "He's Gonna Step On You Again", appears in Q magazine's top hundred singles of all time.

Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band are an England-based soul band.

James Justice, is an English pop singer who scored three Top 40 hit records in the United Kingdom in 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharon Tandy</span> South African musical artist (1943 - 2015)

Sharon Tandy was a South African singer who achieved some success in the United Kingdom in the 1960s as part of the blue-eyed soul and psychedelic movements. In 1966, she recorded some songs at Stax studios, a rarity for a white singer. She also had several chart hits in South Africa in the 1970s. Sharon has one daughter, Wendy Crabb (Maas). She has three grandchildren - Leigh Marti (1990), Kelly Van Der Linde (1994), Kaila-Lee Crabb (2009). Sharon is a great grandmother to Kade Van Der Linde (2017) and Kenzie Van Der Linde (2021)

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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Biography by Jim Dunn at Allmusic.com
  2. ↑ Diane Ferraz and Nicky Scott at 45cat.com
  3. ↑ Top Twenty Club: Diane Ferraz & Nicky Scott
  4. 1 2 Michael Snow biography
  5. ↑ Emile Ford at VinceTracy.com
  6. 1 2 Review of Can't Break the Habit by Bruce Eder at Allmusic.com
  7. ↑ West Five at Radio London website
  8. ↑ Disc and Music Echo, June 8, 1968 - Page 6 DISC NEWS + IN BRIEF +
  9. ↑ West Five at Radio London website
  10. ↑ Uni label album discography
  11. ↑ Michael Snow blog
  12. ↑ Obituary of Barry Reeves by Simon Napier-Bell, The Guardian, 20 April 2010
  13. ↑ Barry Reeves at Madeline Bell website
  14. ↑ Biography of Linda Lewis by Amy Hanson at Allmusic.com
  15. ↑ Popsike - 'THE FERRIS WHEEL' / 'CAN'T BREAK THE HABIT' 1967 UK OG MOD PSYCH SOUL BREAKS LP
  16. ↑ Popsike - FERRIS WHEEL SAME S/T UK POLYDOR LP 1970 JAZZ PSYCH ACID POP LINDA LEWIS
  17. ↑ AllMusic - Can't Break the Habit The Ferris Wheel (CD - Castle Music Ltd. #72214)
  18. ↑ 45Cat - The Ferris Wheel - Discography, UK
  19. ↑ HitHistory - Ferris Wheel
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.