The Honeycombs
Encyclopedia
The Honeycombs were an English
beat
/pop
group
, founded in 1963 in North London
. The group had one chart-topping
hit
, the million selling "Have I the Right?
", in 1964. After that song the interest in the group ebbed away, and they split up in late 1966. The group's most distinguishing mark was their female drummer
, Honey Lantree.
The group played dates in the West End of London
, and at the Mildmay Tavern, a North London pub. Among those attending an appearance of the band in February 1964 were aspiring songwriters Ken Howard
and Alan Blaikley
. Howard and Blaikley would become a prolific British songwriting team, writing songs recorded by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich, The Herd
, Lulu
and even Elvis Presley
, but in 1964 they had just started their career. They got into conversation with the group, which appeared interested in a few songs the duo had just written. The group had already arranged an audition with indie record producer
Joe Meek
. The audition resulted in a recording of Howard and Blaikley's "Have I the Right?
". Meek himself provided the B-side, "Please don’t pretend again".
Meek used his apartment at 304 Holloway Road, Islington, as a recording studio
. Three UK No. 1 hits were produced there: "Johnny Remember Me
" by John Leyton
, "Telstar
" by The Tornados
and "Have I the Right?".
Conspicuous in "Have I the Right?" is the prominence of the drum
s, whose effect was enhanced by members of the group stamping their feet on the wooden stairs to the studio. Meek recorded the effect with five microphones he had fixed to the banisters with bicycle clips. For the finishing touch someone beat a tambourine
directly onto a microphone. The recording was also somewhat speeded up.
"Have I the Right?" was released in June 1964 on the Pye
record label
. Louis Benjamin (1922–1994), Pye’s later chairman, rechristened the group The Honeycombs, a pun on the drummer’s name and her job as a hairdresser's assistant. The sales started slowly, but by the end of July the record started to climb in the UK Singles Chart
. At the end of August the record reached No. 1. "Have I the Right?" was also a big success outside the UK, hitting No. 1 in Australia and Canada, No. 5 in the US
and No. 2 in the Netherlands. Overall sales of the record reached a million. The Honeycombs also recorded a German
version of the song: "Hab ich das Recht?" Both the English and the German versions reached No 21 in the German charts: the English one in October, the German one in November 1964.
From then on Howard and Blaikley acted as the group's managers and also wrote their next singles
, "Is It Because" and "Eyes". These records did not sell well. This also applied to their fourth single, "Something Better Beginning", written by Ray Davies
from The Kinks
.
Soon after their first record had become a hit, The Honeycombs went on tour to the Far East
and Australia
, and were not able to promote their new records at home. The tour gained them a long-lasting popularity in Japan
, however. Especially for the Japanese market the group produced a live album
and a single, "Love in Tokyo". The group also made a lasting impression in Sweden
, where they scored two No. 1 singles.
In July 1965, British music magazine NME
reported that it had been agreed in the London High Court that "Have I The Right?" was the work of Howard and Blaikley. Composer Geoff Goddard
agreed to drop allegations that he, not they, had written the song.
In August 1965 the group released, "That's the Way", with Honey Lantree sharing vocals with D'Ell (when on tour, Viv Prince of The Pretty Things
took over the drumming). This record became their fourth British hit and reached #12. Its successor, "This Year Next Year", again with Lantree and D'Ell sharing vocals, did not reach the UK chart.
D'Ell sang on all but the last single the group recorded. "Who Is Sylvia?" was an adaptation of Franz Schubert’s
song “An Sylvia”. "It's So Hard" was also recorded by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich
as "Hard to Love You".
In April 1966 Denis D'Ell, Alan Ward and Peter Pye left the group. The last single "That Loving Feeling" (September 1966) was written and sung by the new singer Colin Boyd.
The Honeycombs made many appearances on music television shows such as Top of the Pops
, Ready Steady Go!
(UK), Shindig!
(US), and Beat-Club
(Germany
). The group also appeared in the 1965 film Pop Gear
, miming
"Have I the Right?" and "Eyes".
In 1967, The Honeycombs broke up.
In the 1990s founding member Martin Murray toured the cabaret circuit with a group called 'Martin Murray's Honeycombs'. Another line-up including Honey Lantree, Peter Pye and Denis D'Ell also successfully toured from 1991 onwards. John Lantree later rejoined this line-up. In 1999 record producer Russell C. Brennan asked D'Ell, Honey and John Lantree and Pye to record "Live and Let Die", on the Future Legend Records compilation, Cult Themes from the 70s Vol. 2. This compilation also featured Glenda Collins
, another Joe Meek artist.
In 2004, with the rights to the name now secure, Murray organized a Honeycombs band, though the name "New Honeycombs" was still in use thereafter by a band featuring several other interim members. At present there are two groups calling themselves the Honeycombs, one led by founder member Martin Murray, the other by later member Tony Harte. In 2011 a band led by Paul Bonner apeared calling themselves The New Honeycombs after working with Martin Murray as The Honeycombs for over a year. Subsequently the legal rights to the name The New Honeycombs were secured.
In Germany
all three Honeycombs albums have been reissued on compact disc
, two with bonus tracks:
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
beat
Beat music
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a pop and rock music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll, doo wop, skiffle, R&B and soul...
/pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
group
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, founded in 1963 in North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
. The group had one chart-topping
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
, the million selling "Have I the Right?
Have I the Right?
Have I The Right? was The Honeycombs' debut single and biggest hit. It was composed by Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, who had made contact with the Honeycombs, a London-based group, then playing under the name of The Sheratons, in the Mildmay Tavern in the Balls Pond Road in Islington, where they...
", in 1964. After that song the interest in the group ebbed away, and they split up in late 1966. The group's most distinguishing mark was their female drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
, Honey Lantree.
Personnel
The original group members were:- Denis D'Ell (born Denis James Dalziel, 10 October 1943, WhitechapelWhitechapelWhitechapel is a built-up inner city district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, London, England. It is located east of Charing Cross and roughly bounded by the Bishopsgate thoroughfare on the west, Fashion Street on the north, Brady Street and Cavell Street on the east and The Highway on the...
, East London; died of cancerCancerCancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
6 July 2005) - Lead singer and harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
player - Martin Murray (born 7 October 1939, The City of London) - Rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
. He was replaced by Peter Pye (born 12 July 1946, WalthamstowWalthamstowWalthamstow is a district of northeast London, England, located in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is situated north-east of Charing Cross...
, London) in November 1964 - Alan Ward (born 12 December 1945, NottinghamNottinghamNottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
) - Lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure... - John Lantree (born John David Lantree, 20 August 1940, Newbury, BerkshireNewbury, BerkshireNewbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF...
) - Bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Honey Lantree (born Ann Margot Lantree, 28 August 1943, HayesHayes, HillingdonHayes is a town in the London Borough of Hillingdon, West London. It is a suburban development situated west of Charing Cross. Hayes was developed in the late 19th and 20th centuries as an industrial locality to which residential districts were later added in order to house factory workers...
, MiddlesexMiddlesexMiddlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
) - DrumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s and singer
Career
The group started in November 1963 as an amateur band founded by Martin Murray. Its members were Murray, a hairdresser, his salon assistant Honey Lantree, her brother John and two friends. Originally they called themselves The Sheratons.The group played dates in the West End of London
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
, and at the Mildmay Tavern, a North London pub. Among those attending an appearance of the band in February 1964 were aspiring songwriters Ken Howard
Ken Howard (composer)
Ken Howard is an English songwriter, lyricist, author and television director.-International hits in the 1960s and 1970s:...
and Alan Blaikley
Alan Blaikley
-Early life and career:Born in London, where he survived the Blitz, Alan Blaikley was educated at University College School , Hampstead, and Wadham College, Oxford, where he read Classical Moderations and English, and was Reviews Editor of the university newspaper Cherwell.After coming down from...
. Howard and Blaikley would become a prolific British songwriting team, writing songs recorded by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich, The Herd
The Herd (UK band)
The Herd were an English psychedelic rock group, founded in 1965, that came to prominence in the late 1960s. They launched the career of Peter Frampton and scored three UK top twenty hits.-Biography:...
, Lulu
Lulu (singer)
Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, OBE , best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer, actress, and television personality who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day...
and even Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, but in 1964 they had just started their career. They got into conversation with the group, which appeared interested in a few songs the duo had just written. The group had already arranged an audition with indie record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Joe Meek
Joe Meek
Robert George "Joe" Meek was a pioneering English record producer and songwriter....
. The audition resulted in a recording of Howard and Blaikley's "Have I the Right?
Have I the Right?
Have I The Right? was The Honeycombs' debut single and biggest hit. It was composed by Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, who had made contact with the Honeycombs, a London-based group, then playing under the name of The Sheratons, in the Mildmay Tavern in the Balls Pond Road in Islington, where they...
". Meek himself provided the B-side, "Please don’t pretend again".
Meek used his apartment at 304 Holloway Road, Islington, as a recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
. Three UK No. 1 hits were produced there: "Johnny Remember Me
Johnny Remember Me
"Johnny Remember Me" is a song which became a 1961 UK #1 hit single for John Leyton, backed by The Outlaws. It was producer Joe Meek's first #1 production. Recounting the haunting - real or imagined - of a young man by his dead lover, the song is one of the most noted of the 'death ditties' that...
" by John Leyton
John Leyton
John Leyton is an English actor and singer. As a singer he is best known for his hit song, "Johnny Remember Me" , which reached Number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in August 1961.-Career:Leyton went to Highgate School and after completing his national service, he...
, "Telstar
Telstar (song)
"Telstar" is a 1962 instrumental record performed by The Tornados. It was the first single by a British band to reach number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and was also a number one hit in the UK. The record was named after the AT&T communications satellite Telstar, which went into orbit in...
" by The Tornados
The Tornados
The Tornados were an English instrumental group of the 1960s that acted as backing group for many of record producer Joe Meek's productions and also for singer Billy Fury. They enjoyed several chart hits in their own right, including the UK and U.S. Number One "Telstar" , the first U.S...
and "Have I the Right?".
Conspicuous in "Have I the Right?" is the prominence of the drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, whose effect was enhanced by members of the group stamping their feet on the wooden stairs to the studio. Meek recorded the effect with five microphones he had fixed to the banisters with bicycle clips. For the finishing touch someone beat a tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
directly onto a microphone. The recording was also somewhat speeded up.
"Have I the Right?" was released in June 1964 on the Pye
Pye Records
Pye Records was a British record label. In its first incarnation, perhaps Pye's best known artists were Lonnie Donegan , Petula Clark , The Searchers , The Kinks , Sandie Shaw and Brotherhood of Man...
record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
. Louis Benjamin (1922–1994), Pye’s later chairman, rechristened the group The Honeycombs, a pun on the drummer’s name and her job as a hairdresser's assistant. The sales started slowly, but by the end of July the record started to climb in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. At the end of August the record reached No. 1. "Have I the Right?" was also a big success outside the UK, hitting No. 1 in Australia and Canada, No. 5 in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and No. 2 in the Netherlands. Overall sales of the record reached a million. The Honeycombs also recorded a German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
version of the song: "Hab ich das Recht?" Both the English and the German versions reached No 21 in the German charts: the English one in October, the German one in November 1964.
From then on Howard and Blaikley acted as the group's managers and also wrote their next singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "Is It Because" and "Eyes". These records did not sell well. This also applied to their fourth single, "Something Better Beginning", written by Ray Davies
Ray Davies
Ray Davies, CBE is an English rock musician. He is best known as lead singer and songwriter for the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother, Dave...
from The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
.
Soon after their first record had become a hit, The Honeycombs went on tour to the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and were not able to promote their new records at home. The tour gained them a long-lasting popularity in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, however. Especially for the Japanese market the group produced a live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
and a single, "Love in Tokyo". The group also made a lasting impression in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, where they scored two No. 1 singles.
In July 1965, British music magazine NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
reported that it had been agreed in the London High Court that "Have I The Right?" was the work of Howard and Blaikley. Composer Geoff Goddard
Geoff Goddard
Geoff Goddard was an English songwriter. Working for Joe Meek in the early 1960s, he wrote songs for Heinz, Mike Berry, Gerry Temple, The Tornados, Kenny Hollywood, The Outlaws, Freddie Starr, Screaming Lord Sutch, Gunilla Thorne, The Ramblers, Carter-Lewis and the Southerners and John...
agreed to drop allegations that he, not they, had written the song.
In August 1965 the group released, "That's the Way", with Honey Lantree sharing vocals with D'Ell (when on tour, Viv Prince of The Pretty Things
The Pretty Things
The Pretty Things are an English rock and roll band from London, who originally formed in 1963. They took their name from Bo Diddley's 1955 song "Pretty Thing" and, in their early days, were dubbed by the British press the "uglier cousins of the Rolling Stones". Their most commercially successful...
took over the drumming). This record became their fourth British hit and reached #12. Its successor, "This Year Next Year", again with Lantree and D'Ell sharing vocals, did not reach the UK chart.
D'Ell sang on all but the last single the group recorded. "Who Is Sylvia?" was an adaptation of Franz Schubert’s
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
song “An Sylvia”. "It's So Hard" was also recorded by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich , were a British pop/rock group of the 1960s. Two of their single releases sold in excess of one million copies each, and they reached Number One in the UK with the second of them, "The Legend of Xanadu".-Biography:Five friends from Wiltshire, David John Harman,...
as "Hard to Love You".
In April 1966 Denis D'Ell, Alan Ward and Peter Pye left the group. The last single "That Loving Feeling" (September 1966) was written and sung by the new singer Colin Boyd.
The Honeycombs made many appearances on music television shows such as Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
, Ready Steady Go!
Ready Steady Go!
Ready Steady Go! or simply RSG! was one of the UK's first rock/pop music TV programmes. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan was assisted by record producer/talent manager Vicki Wickham, who became the producer. It was broadcast from August 1963 until December 1966...
(UK), Shindig!
Shindig!
Shindig! was an American musical variety series which aired on ABC from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966. The show was hosted by Jimmy O'Neill, a disc jockey in Los Angeles at the time who also created the show along with his wife Sharon Sheeley and production executive Art Stolnitz....
(US), and Beat-Club
Beat-Club
Beat-Club was a German music program that ran from September 1965 to December 1972. It was broadcast from Bremen, Germany on Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen, the national public TV channel of the ARD, and produced by one of its members, Radio Bremen, later co-produced by WDR following the 38th episode...
(Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
). The group also appeared in the 1965 film Pop Gear
Pop Gear
Pop Gear is a British music review film, directed by Frederic Goode and released in 1965. It contains live concert footage of The Beatles, and lip-synched videos of some of the British Invasion bands, including The Animals, Herman's Hermits, The Nashville Teens, Peter and Gordon, Matt Monro, Billy J...
, miming
Lip sync
Lip sync, lip-sync, lip-synch is a technical term for matching lip movements with sung or spoken vocals...
"Have I the Right?" and "Eyes".
The (new) Honeycombs and afterwards
The group went on, with new lead singer, guitarist and keyboardist (This line-up released the last single "That Loving Feeling"):- Colin Boyd (born Colin Nicholas Nicol, 4 June 1946, Combe, outside Bath, Somerset) - Guitar and vocals. Later he formed HoneybusHoneybusHoneybus were a 1960s pop group formed in April 1967, in London. They were best known for their 1968 UK Top 10 hit single, "I Can't Let Maggie Go".-Line-up:The best known line-up consisted of:...
and changed his name to Colin Hare - Rod Butler (born Rodney Butler, 27 May 1944, Mill HillMill HillMill Hill is a place in the London Borough of Barnet. It is a suburb situated 9 miles north west of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until it was absorbed by London...
, London) - Lead guitar and vocals. Later he played with The Lemmings and subsequently The College Boys, formed by ex-Honeycomb Martin Murray. Butler later joined forces with D'Ell and formed Zarabanda and later still played in ViolinskiViolinskiViolinski is a rock band formed in 1977 by Electric Light Orchestra member Mik Kaminski on violins, and former member Mike de Albuquerque on guitar and vocals; plus Barry Dunnery , John Hodgson , Paul Mann, John Marcangelo and Iain Whitmore...
, with Mik KaminskiMik KaminskiMik Kaminski is best known for playing violin in the Electric Light Orchestra between 1973 and 1979.-Biography:...
of the ELOElectric Light OrchestraElectric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones... - Eddie Spence - Keyboards and vocals
- John Lantree - Bass guitar
- Honey Lantree - Drums and vocals
In 1967, The Honeycombs broke up.
In the 1990s founding member Martin Murray toured the cabaret circuit with a group called 'Martin Murray's Honeycombs'. Another line-up including Honey Lantree, Peter Pye and Denis D'Ell also successfully toured from 1991 onwards. John Lantree later rejoined this line-up. In 1999 record producer Russell C. Brennan asked D'Ell, Honey and John Lantree and Pye to record "Live and Let Die", on the Future Legend Records compilation, Cult Themes from the 70s Vol. 2. This compilation also featured Glenda Collins
Glenda Collins
Glenda Collins was a British pop music singer active in the 1960s. Collins was discovered by Carroll Levis, whose promotion landed her a contract with Decca Records...
, another Joe Meek artist.
In 2004, with the rights to the name now secure, Murray organized a Honeycombs band, though the name "New Honeycombs" was still in use thereafter by a band featuring several other interim members. At present there are two groups calling themselves the Honeycombs, one led by founder member Martin Murray, the other by later member Tony Harte. In 2011 a band led by Paul Bonner apeared calling themselves The New Honeycombs after working with Martin Murray as The Honeycombs for over a year. Subsequently the legal rights to the name The New Honeycombs were secured.
UK
- "Have I the Right?Have I the Right?Have I The Right? was The Honeycombs' debut single and biggest hit. It was composed by Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, who had made contact with the Honeycombs, a London-based group, then playing under the name of The Sheratons, in the Mildmay Tavern in the Balls Pond Road in Islington, where they...
" (Howard/Blaikley) b/w "Please Don't Pretend Again" (Meek/Lawrence) (19 June 1964) - UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#1 - "Is It Because" (Howard/Blaikley) b/w "I'll Cry Tomorrow" (Meek) (9 October 1964) - UK #38
- "Eyes" (Howard/Blaikley) b/w "If You've Got To Pick a Baby" (20 November 1964)
- "Something Better Beginning" (Ray DaviesRay DaviesRay Davies, CBE is an English rock musician. He is best known as lead singer and songwriter for the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother, Dave...
) b/w "I'll See You Tomorrow" (April 1965) - UK #39 - "That's the Way" (Howard/Blaikley) b/w "Can't Get Through to You" (August 1965) - UK #12
- "This Year Next Year" (Howard/Blaikley) b/w "Not Sleeping Too Well Lately" (November 1965)
- "Who Is Sylvia" (Howard/Blaikley) b/w "How Will I Know" (February 1966)
- "It's So Hard" (Howard/Blaikley) b/w "I Fell in Love" (July 1966)
- "That Loving Feeling" (Colin Boyd) b/w "Should a Man Cry" (September 1966)
US
- "Have I the Right?Have I the Right?Have I The Right? was The Honeycombs' debut single and biggest hit. It was composed by Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, who had made contact with the Honeycombs, a London-based group, then playing under the name of The Sheratons, in the Mildmay Tavern in the Balls Pond Road in Islington, where they...
" b/w "Please Don't Pretend Again" - InterphonInterphon RecordsInterphon Records was a sub-label from Vee-Jay Records to distribute its European-leased masters in the US. It was active from 1964 until 1965.The U.S. release of The Honeycombs 1964 hit Have I The Right? was released on Interphon....
7707 1964 - USBillboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
#5 - "I Can't Stop" b/w "I'll Cry Tomorrow" - Interphon 7713 1964 - USBillboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
#48 - "That's the Way" b/w "Color Slide" - Interphon 7716 1965
- "Something Better Beginning" b/w "I'll See You Tomorrow" - Warner Bros.Warner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
5634 1965 - "I Can't Get Through to You" b/w "That's the Way" - Warner Bros. 5655 1965
- "Who Is Sylvia" b/w "How Will I Know" - Warner Bros. 5803 1966
Albums
- The HoneycombsThe Honeycombs (album)The Honeycombs was the first album by the British pop group The Honeycombs. In the USA it was called Here Are The Honeycombs ...
(Released in the US as Here Are The Honeycombs) (UK Pye NPL 18097 / US Interphon IN-88001, 25 September 1964) - USBillboard 200The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
#147- "Colour Slide" / "Once You Know" / "Without You It Is Night" / "That's the Way" / "I Want to Be Free" / "How the Mighty Have Fallen" / "Have I the Right?" / "Just a Face in the Crowd" / "Nice While It Lasted" / "Me from You" / "Leslie Anne" / "She's Too Way Out" / "It Ain't Necessarily SoIt Ain't Necessarily So"It Ain't Necessarily So" is a popular song with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. The song comes from the Gershwins' opera Porgy and Bess where it is sung by the character Sportin' Life, a drug dealer, who expresses his doubt about several statements in the Bible.The role of...
" / "This Too Shall Pass Away"
- "Colour Slide" / "Once You Know" / "Without You It Is Night" / "That's the Way" / "I Want to Be Free" / "How the Mighty Have Fallen" / "Have I the Right?" / "Just a Face in the Crowd" / "Nice While It Lasted" / "Me from You" / "Leslie Anne" / "She's Too Way Out" / "It Ain't Necessarily So
- All Systems - Go!All Systems - Go!All Systems - Go! was the second album by the British pop group The Honeycombs. Most songs were written by Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley. The album features "Emptiness" by Ray Davies from The Kinks, a song the band never officially released themselves....
(Pye NPL 18132, 17 December 1965)- "I Can't Stop" / "Don't Love Her No More" / "All Systems Go" / "Totem Pole" / "Emptiness" / "Ooee Train" / "She Ain't Coming Back" / "Something I Gotta Tell You" / "Our Day Will Come" / "Nobody But Me" / "There's Always Me" / "Love in Tokyo" / "If You Should" / "My Prayer"
- In Tokyo (Nippon Columbia PS-1277, 1966) (Live albumLive albumA live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
only)- "Colour Slide" / "I'll Go Crazy" / "She's About a Mover" / "There's Always Me" / "Wipe Out" / "LucilleLucille (Little Richard song)"Lucille" is a 1957 rock and roll song which was one of Little Richard's international hits.Released on Specialty Records in February 1957, Little Richard's single made number 21 on the US pop chart, and number 10 on the UK chart...
" / "If You Should" / "Have I the Right?" / "GoldfingerGoldfinger (song)"Goldfinger" was the title song from the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger. Composed by John Barry and with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, the song was performed by Shirley Bassey for the film's opening and closing title sequences, as well as the soundtrack album release...
" / "Kansas City" / "My Prayer" / "What'd I SayWhat'd I SayAccording to Charles' autobiography, "What'd I Say" was accidental when he improvised it to fill time at the end of a concert in December 1958. He asserts that he never tested songs on audiences before recording them, but "What'd I Say" is an exception...
"
- "Colour Slide" / "I'll Go Crazy" / "She's About a Mover" / "There's Always Me" / "Wipe Out" / "Lucille
In Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
all three Honeycombs albums have been reissued on compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, two with bonus tracks:
- The Honeycombs (Repertoire Records RR 4098-WZ, 1990)
- Bonus tracks: "Please Don't Pretend Again" / "I'll Cry Tomorrow" / "If You've Got to Pick a Baby" / "I'll See You Tomorrow" / "I Can't Stop" / "Hab ich das Recht" / "Du sollst nicht traurig sein"
- All Systems - Go! (Repertoire Records, RR 4121-WZ, 1990)
- Bonus tracks: "Not Sleeping Too Well Lately" / "How Will I Know" / "I Fell in Love" / "Something Better Beginning" / "Should a Man Cry?" / "Can't Get Through to You"
- In Tokyo (Repertoire Records, REP 4180-WZ, 1991)
Compilation albums
- The Best of the Honeycombs (PRT Records PYC 4009, 1989):
- "Have I the Right?" / "Is It Because" / "Eyes" / "I Don’t Love Her No More" / "Something Better Beginning" / "That’s the Way" / "This Year Next Year" / "Who Is Sylvia?" / "It’s So Hard" / "That Loving Feeling" / "How the Mighty Have Fallen" / "I Want to Be Free" / "I Can’t Stop" / "Love in Tokyo"
- Honeycombs (All Systems Go and It's The Honeycombs) (Sequel Records NEX CD 125, 1990):
- "Colour Slide" / "Once You Know" / "Without You It Is Night" / "That's the Way" / "I Want to Be Free" / "How the Mighty Have Fallen" / "Have I the Right?" / "Just a Face in the Crowd" / "Nice While It Lasted" / "Me from You" / "Leslie Anne" / "She's Too Way Out" / "It Ain't Necessarily SoIt Ain't Necessarily So"It Ain't Necessarily So" is a popular song with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. The song comes from the Gershwins' opera Porgy and Bess where it is sung by the character Sportin' Life, a drug dealer, who expresses his doubt about several statements in the Bible.The role of...
" / "This Too Shall Pass Away" / "I Can't Stop" / "Don't Love Her No More" / "All Systems Go" / "Totem Pole" / "Emptiness" / "Ooee Train" / "She Ain't Coming Back" / "Something I Gotta Tell You" / "Our Day Will Come" / "Nobody But Me" / "There's Always Me" / "Love in Tokyo" / "If You Should" / "My Prayer"
- "Colour Slide" / "Once You Know" / "Without You It Is Night" / "That's the Way" / "I Want to Be Free" / "How the Mighty Have Fallen" / "Have I the Right?" / "Just a Face in the Crowd" / "Nice While It Lasted" / "Me from You" / "Leslie Anne" / "She's Too Way Out" / "It Ain't Necessarily So
- The Best of the Honeycombs (Marble Arch CMA CD 146, 1991):
- "Have I the Right?" / "Leslie Anne" / "Once You Know" / "That's the Way" / "Colour Slide" / "Without You It Is Night" / "Something Better Beginning" / "I Want to Be Free" / "Just a Face in the Crowd" / "How the Mighty Have Fallen" / "Nice While It Lasted" / "She's Too Way Out"
- The Best of The Honeycombs, Produced by Joe Meek (EMI EMI CDEMS 1475, 1993)
- "Have I the Right?" / "Can’t Get Through to You" / "I Want to Be Free" / "Leslie Anne" / "Colour Slide" / "This Year Next Year" / "That Lovin’ Feeling" / "That’s the Way" / "It Ain't Necessarily So" / "How the Mighty Have Fallen" / "I’ll Cry Tomorrow" / "I’ll See You Tomorrow" / "Is It Because" / "She’s Too Way Out" / "Something Better Beginning" / "Eyes" / "Just a Face in the Crowd" / "Nice While It Lasted" / "It’s So Hard" / "I Can’t Stop" / "I Don’t Love Her No More" / "All Systems Go" / "Totem Pole" / "Emptiness" / "Ooee Train" / "She Ain't Coming Back" / "Something I Gotta Tell You" / "Nobody But Me" / "There’s Always Me" / "Love in Tokyo"
- Have I the Right?: The Very Best of The Honeycombs (EMI 7243 5 38312 2 6, 2002):
- "Have I The Right?" / "That’s the Way" / "Is It Because" / "Something Better Beginning" / "Colour Slide" / "Once You Know" / "Without You It Is Night" / "I Want to Be Free" / "It Ain't Necessarily So" / "Our Day Will Come" / "I’ll See You Tomorrow" / "Eyes" / "Can’t Get Through to You" / "It’s So Hard" / "She’s Too Way Out" / "I Can’t Stop" / "Ooee Train" / "Love in Tokyo" / "Totem Pole" / "My Prayer"
See also
- List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
- List of 1960s one-hit wonders in the United States
- List of performers on Top of the Pops
- List of artists who reached number one on the Australian singles chart
External links
- [ Biography of The Honeycombs at Allmusic.com]
- http://rokpool.com/node/3400 Extensive discography
- Martin Murray's Honeycombs
- The Honeycombs fan site
- About the producer Joe Meek
- Tony Harte's Honeycombs
- ilfordrecorder.co.uk Tim Dickens: The ‘New’ Honeycombs have no right, says Ilford guitarist Martin Murray Ilford Recorder, March 9, 2011