The Pleazers

Last updated

The Pleazers
Also known asG-Men
Origin Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Genres
  • R&B
  • pop
  • rock & roll
Years active1964 (1964)–1967 (1967)
Labels Zodiac
Past memberssee Members

The Pleazers were an Australian-formed rhythm and blues musical group which were popular in New Zealand. They began in Brisbane as the G-Men in 1964. They released a sole studio album, Definitely Pleazers, in 1966, before disbanding in the following year.

Contents

History

The Pleazers began in Brisbane in 1964 as the G-Men with the line-up of Jim Cerezo on lead guitar, Dennis Gilmore on drums, Vince Lipton on bass guitar, Billy London on vocals and Peter Newing on rhythm guitar. [1] They soon moved to Sydney, changed their name to the Pleazers, with the line-up of Gilmore, London and Newing joined by Bobby Bacon (a.k.a. Bob Cooper, a.k.a. Bob London: Billy's brother) on lead vocals, Bruce "Phantom" Robinson on lead guitar, and Ronnie Peel (ex-Mystics, the Missing Links) on bass guitar. [1] [2] [3]

The Pleazers were signed by Eldred Stebbing of Zodiac Records, who brought them to his home base in Auckland, New Zealand in 1965. [1] [2] They soon appeared on a local TV show, Let's Go. Their initial single, "Last Night", did poorly, while its follow-up, a cover version of Them's "Gloria" (February 1965), [1] broke into the national singles chart. Richie Unterberger of AllMusic described the band as "one of the only New Zealand groups competently playing tough, British Invasion/R&B-styled rock & roll." [4]

Early in 1966 Bacon was replaced by English-born vocalist Shane Hales (a.k.a. Trevor Hales). [1] [2] They issued a five-track extended play, A Midnight Rave with the Pleazers, in March with the line-up of Gilmore, Hales, London, Newing, Peel and Robertson. [1] [2] One of its tracks, "Bald Headed Woman", was included on a various artists' compilation CD, Pebbles, Volume 12: The World (October 1999). [1] [5]

The Pleazers released their debut studio album Definitely Pleazers in 1966 on the Zodiac label, [2] which was produced by John Hawkins. They returned to Australia later that year with Gus Fenwick (ex-Layabouts) replacing Peel on bass guitar. [2] The group disbanded in 1967. [1] [2] Raven Records issued a compilation album A Midnight Rave with the Pleazers in 1987. [2] Unterberger rated it as three out of five stars and opined that the compilation was "focusing mostly on their original material. Competent British Invasion-style rock, usually in a Stonesy style, though sometimes in a poppier vein." [6]

Members

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Singles

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Sergent, Bruce. "Pleazers". New Zealand Music of the 60's, 70's and a bit of 80's. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'The Pleazers'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop . St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN   1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 13 August 2004.
  3. ↑ Holmgren, Magnus. "Ronnie Peel/Rockwell T. James". hem2.passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  4. ↑ Unterberger, Richie. "The Pleazers | Biography & History". AllMusic . Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  5. ↑ Unterberger, Richie. "Pebbles, Vol. 12: The World – Various Artists". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  6. ↑ Unterberger, Richie. "A Midnight Rave with the Pleazers – The Pleazers". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
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