The Moontrekkers

Last updated

The Moontrekkers were a British instrumental rock band in the early 1960s, who are best known for their minor chart hit "Night of the Vampire", arranged and produced by Joe Meek, and for their peripheral involvement in the early career of singer Rod Stewart.

Contents

Career

The origins of the group lay in The Raiders, formed around 1960 in Hornsey, north London, by teenage school friends Gary Leport (b. 1945, guitar), Jimmy Raither (guitar), Peter Johnson (bass), Tony White (drums), and Robert Farrant (vocals). After Farrant left - later going on to record under the name Bobby Shafto - the group auditioned new singers, and replaced him with the 16-year-old Rod Stewart. They then won an audition with record producer Joe Meek, who liked the group but not their singer. Stewart left, and Meek persuaded the group to add keyboard player Peter Knight, and to change their name to The Moontrekkers. They recorded Leport's instrumental tune, "Night of the Vampire", at Meek's home studio in Islington, with Leport on lead guitar, Knight on clavioline, and Meek himself providing the eerie screams at the end of the record. [1] The record was banned by the BBC as being "unsuitable for people of a nervous disposition" when released on the Parlophone label in 1961, but rose to #50 on the UK singles chart. [2] The group toured in their own right, and also provided backing for singer Vince Eager. [3] [4]

In 1962, Leport, Johnson and White left the group. Knight and Raither continued, adding Bob Frost (bass) and Derek Dampier (drums). They released two further singles, "There's Something At The Bottom Of The Well" (1962) and "Moondust" (1963), without success in the UK although "Moondust" was a top ten hit in Sweden. The Moontrekkers broke up soon afterwards. [3] [4]

Later activities

Peter Knight continued to play, with guitarist George Bellamy and drummer Max Temple. After leaving The Moontrekkers, Gary Leport formed The Dimensions with bass player Louis Cennamo in 1962. When singer Tommy Bishop left the group, Leport's old friend Rod Stewart joined as his replacement. In September 1963, the group were contracted to provide backing to singer Jimmy Powell, previously of The Rockin' Berries, with Stewart playing harmonica and the band being billed on a tour of the UK as Jimmy Powell & The Five Dimensions. Leport and Stewart both left the band before the end of 1963. [5] Leport then retired from the music industry, but began performing again with semi-professional group Cut Glass in the late 1980s, and occasionally performed with Knight, Johnson and White as a re-formed Moontrekkers. [3] In recent years Leport has performed with local Hampshire band The Plonkers, and with Bournemouth-based jazz quartet Swing 39. [6]

The Moontrekkers' rhythm guitarist Jimmy Raither died in Scotland in 1993.

Bass player Peter Johnson died on 8 January 2021 of COVID-19, during the worldwide pandemic. Here is an interview with him on Hertbeat FM in 2007.

An arrangement of "Night of the Vampire", by composer and pianist Harry Whitney, was performed by the Kronos Quartet at Carnegie Hall in New York City in 2008. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rod Stewart</span> British singer-songwriter (born 1945)

Sir Roderick David Stewart is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 120 million records worldwide. He has had 10 number-one albums and 31 top-ten singles in the UK, six of which reached number one. Stewart has had 16 top-ten singles in the US, with four reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100. He was knighted in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to music and charity.

Faces are an English rock band formed in 1969 by members of Small Faces after lead singer and guitarist Steve Marriott left to form Humble Pie. The remaining Small Faces—Ian McLagan (keyboards), Ronnie Lane, and Kenney Jones —were joined by guitarist Ronnie Wood and singer Rod Stewart, both from the Jeff Beck Group, and the new line-up was renamed Faces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cozy Powell</span> British rock drummer (1947–1998)

Cozy Powell was an English drummer who made his name with major rock bands and artists such as The Jeff Beck Group, Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Gary Moore, Graham Bonnet, Brian May, Whitesnake, Emerson, Lake & Powell, and Black Sabbath.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Green (musician)</span> English singer-songwriter and guitarist (1946–2020)

Peter Allen Greenbaum, known professionally as Peter Green, was an English blues rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. As the founder of Fleetwood Mac, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Green founded Fleetwood Mac in 1967 after a stint in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and quickly established the new band as a popular live act in addition to a successful recording act, before departing in 1970. Green's songs, such as "Albatross", "Black Magic Woman", "Oh Well", "The Green Manalishi " and "Man of the World", appeared on singles charts, and several have been adapted by a variety of musicians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Jeff Beck Group</span> English blues rock band

The Jeff Beck Group was a British rock band formed in London in January 1967 by former Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck. Their innovative approach to heavy-sounding blues, rhythm and blues and rock was a major influence on popular music.

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

The Knickerbockers were an American garage rock band formed in Bergenfield, New Jersey in 1964. They released the 1965 hit "Lies", which was known for its resemblance to the Beatles. The band was formed in 1964 by the brothers Beau Charles and John Charles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">P. P. Arnold</span> American singer (born 1946)

Patricia Ann Cole, known professionally as P. P. Arnold, is an American soul singer. Arnold began her career as an Ikette with the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in 1965. The following year she relocated to London to pursue a solo career. Arnold enjoyed considerable success in the United Kingdom with her singles "The First Cut Is the Deepest" (1967) and "Angel of the Morning" (1968).

<i>Never a Dull Moment</i> (Rod Stewart album) 1972 studio album by Rod Stewart

Never a Dull Moment is the fourth solo album by rock musician Rod Stewart. It was released on 21 July 1972; that year it became a UK number-one album and reached number two on the US Album chart. The track "You Wear It Well", co-written by Stewart and classical guitarist Martin Quittenton, was a smash hit, as well as "Twisting the Night Away", a song originally recorded by Sam Cooke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Python Lee Jackson</span> Australian rock band

Python Lee Jackson were an Australian rock band active from 1965 to 1968, before a brief sojourn in the United Kingdom from late 1968 to mid-1969. The group had recorded a single, "In a Broken Dream", featuring Rod Stewart as guest vocalist in April 1969. The group reformed in 1972 and the single was re-released in August: it peaked at No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 56 on the United States Billboard Hot 100. The group disbanded again later that year. Their early vocalist, Mal McGee (1966–68) died on 17 May 2012.

Louis David Cennamo is an English bass guitarist, who has recorded and/or toured with a number of important British rock/blues/progressive bands, including The Herd, Renaissance and Colosseum.

Michael Waller was an English drummer, who played with many of the biggest names on the UK rock and blues scene, after he became a professional musician in 1960. In addition to being a member, albeit sometimes briefly, of some of the seminal bands of the 1960s, Waller played as a session musician with a host of UK and US artists.

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.

<i>Lead Vocalist</i> (album) 1993 compilation album by Rod Stewart

Lead Vocalist is a compilation album released by Rod Stewart on 22 February 1993. It was released by Warner Bros. Records in the UK and Germany, but was never released in the US. Three songs from this album either had previously or would be released as singles: "Tom Traubert's Blues", "Shotgun Wedding", and "Ruby Tuesday".

Michael "Jimmy" James is a British-Jamaican soul singer, known for songs like "Come to Me Softly", "Now Is the Time" and "I'll Go Where Your Music Takes Me". Based in Britain, he has performed as the lead singer of Jimmy James and the Vagabonds since the mid-1960s.

The Paramounts were an English beat group based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. They had one hit single with their cover version of "Poison Ivy", which reached No. 35 on the UK Singles Chart in 1964, but are primarily known as the forerunner to Procol Harum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Bolton</span> Musical artist

Steve Bolton, also known as Boltz, is an English rock musician who, since the start of his career in the 1960s, has played guitar on video, film and television and recorded as well as toured with a number of well-known artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Strangers (American band)</span> American country band

The Strangers were an American country band that formed in 1966 in Bakersfield, California. They mainly served as the backup band for singer-songwriter Merle Haggard, who named them after his first hit single "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers". In addition to serving as his backing band, members of the Strangers also produced many of Haggard's records, sang lead vocals on select tracks, and co-wrote many of Haggard's songs with him, including the No. 1 singles, "Okie From Muskogee" and "I Always Get Lucky with You".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Flee-Rekkers</span>

The Flee-Rekkers – also known as The Fabulous Flee-Rakkers – were a British instrumental rock and roll band in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The group name varied on early singles; they were billed as "The Fabulous Flee-Rakkers" or "The Fabulous Flea-Rakkers" in early 1960, before settling on "The Flee-Rekkers" for all later releases. They were fronted by tenor saxophonist Peter Fleerakkers, and their records were produced by Joe Meek. Their biggest hit was "Green Jeans" in 1960.

Jimmy Powell was a British soul and rhythm and blues singer who recorded and performed throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, and is best remembered as the lead singer of Jimmy Powell and the 5 Dimensions, a group that briefly included Rod Stewart.

Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers were a British instrumental rock group in the early 1960s. Their biggest hit, "Can Can 62" reached the British singles chart in 1962. The group toured with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones before disbanding in 1966.

References

  1. 1 2 "Carnegie Hall: "Night of the Vampire"". Carnegiehall.org. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  2. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 377. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  3. 1 2 3
  4. 1 2 "The Devil's Music: Moontrekkers - Night Of The Vampire". Devildick.blogspot.com. 20 October 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  5. ↑ "The British Sound: Jimmy Powell & The Five Dimensions". Thebritishsound.blogspot.com. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  6. ↑ "Gary Leport". Theplonkers.com. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
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.