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The Honeycombs were an English
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 beat
Beat music

Beat music, also known as Merseybeat or Brumbeat , is a pop music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll, doo wop, skiffle, Rhythm and blues and Soul music....
/pop
Pop music

Pop music is a music genre that features a noticeable rhythmic element, melodies and hook , a mainstream style and a conventional structure.The term "pop music" was first used in 1926 in the sense of "having popular appeal" , but since the 1950s it has been used in the sense of a musical genre, originally characterized as a lighter alternat...
 group
Musical ensemble

A musical ensemble is a group of two or more musicians who perform instrumental or vocal music. In each musical style different norms have developed for the sizes and composition of different ensembles, and for the repertoire of songs or musical works that these ensembles perform....
 of the 1960s. Their most distinguishing mark was their female drummer
Drummer

A drummer is a musician who plays a drum or drums, particularly a drum kit , marching percussion or hand drums. The term percussionist applies to a musician performing on any percussion instrument, but usually refers to one who plays Classical music or Latin percussion....
, Honey Lantree.

night the group, known then as The Sheratons, was playing in a London pub
Public house

A public house, the formal name for a pub in Britain, is a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic beverage for consumption on or off the premises in countries and regions of United Kingdom influence....
, The Mildmay Tavern in the Balls Pond Road. In the audience were Ken Howard
Ken Howard (composer)

Ken Howard is a successful songwriter, lyricist and television director.The songwriting partnership of Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley was among the most successful in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and 1970s....
 and Alan Blaikley, a very prolific British songwriting team, who later wrote hits for such artists as Lulu
Lulu (singer)

Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, Order of British Empire, , best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scotland singer-songwriter, actress, model and television personality, who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day....
, Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley was an United Statesn singer, actor, and musician. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as "Elvis", and is also sometimes referred to as "List of honorific titles in popular music" or "The King"....
, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich and Petula Clark
Petula Clark

Petula Clark, Order of the British Empire , is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II....
.






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The Honeycombs were an English
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 beat
Beat music

Beat music, also known as Merseybeat or Brumbeat , is a pop music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll, doo wop, skiffle, Rhythm and blues and Soul music....
/pop
Pop music

Pop music is a music genre that features a noticeable rhythmic element, melodies and hook , a mainstream style and a conventional structure.The term "pop music" was first used in 1926 in the sense of "having popular appeal" , but since the 1950s it has been used in the sense of a musical genre, originally characterized as a lighter alternat...
 group
Musical ensemble

A musical ensemble is a group of two or more musicians who perform instrumental or vocal music. In each musical style different norms have developed for the sizes and composition of different ensembles, and for the repertoire of songs or musical works that these ensembles perform....
 of the 1960s. Their most distinguishing mark was their female drummer
Drummer

A drummer is a musician who plays a drum or drums, particularly a drum kit , marching percussion or hand drums. The term percussionist applies to a musician performing on any percussion instrument, but usually refers to one who plays Classical music or Latin percussion....
, Honey Lantree.

Career

One night the group, known then as The Sheratons, was playing in a London pub
Public house

A public house, the formal name for a pub in Britain, is a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic beverage for consumption on or off the premises in countries and regions of United Kingdom influence....
, The Mildmay Tavern in the Balls Pond Road. In the audience were Ken Howard
Ken Howard (composer)

Ken Howard is a successful songwriter, lyricist and television director.The songwriting partnership of Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley was among the most successful in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and 1970s....
 and Alan Blaikley, a very prolific British songwriting team, who later wrote hits for such artists as Lulu
Lulu (singer)

Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, Order of British Empire, , best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scotland singer-songwriter, actress, model and television personality, who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day....
, Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley was an United Statesn singer, actor, and musician. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as "Elvis", and is also sometimes referred to as "List of honorific titles in popular music" or "The King"....
, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich and Petula Clark
Petula Clark

Petula Clark, Order of the British Empire , is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II....
. Howard and Blaikley, then working in production for BBC Television
BBC Television

BBC Television is a service of the BBC which began in 1932. The British Broadcasting Corporation has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927....
, liked what they saw and suggested the band might like to hear some of their material. The band had an upcoming audition with indie record producer
Record producer

In the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, Audio mixing and audio mastering processes....
 Joe Meek
Joe Meek

Joe Meek was a pioneering England record producer and songwriter acknowledged as one of the world's first and most imaginative independent producers....
, whom most notably had produced The Tornados
The Tornados

The Tornados were an England instrumental group of the 1960s who acted as in-house backing group for many of record producer Joe Meek's productions....
, and composed their number one hit ("Telstar
Telstar (song)

"Telstar" ? ? is a 1962 instrumental gramophone record performed by The Tornados. It was the first single by a United Kingdom band to reach number one on the U.S....
") in 1962, and were eager for some new material. At the audition in Meek's studio in Holloway Road, they played 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 the last Top 10 UK hit produced by Joe Meek, who composed and produced "Telstar " for The Tornados, and reached #5 in the U.S....
" which Meek recorded.

The group's founder Martin Murray had worked as a hairdresser, Honey Lantree being his assistant. They decided to combine his profession with the name of the drummer, and changed their name to The Honeycombs. They were signed to the Pye
Pye

Pye Ltd. was an electronics company founded in Cambridge, England and is currently wholly owned by Philips....
 record label
Record label

In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of recorded sound and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the Record producer, manufacturing, distribution , marketing and promotion, and enforcement of copyright protec...
. After proving a 'sleeper' for seven weeks the record
Gramophone record

A gramophone record is an analog signal sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed modulated spiral groove usually starting near the periphery and ending near the centre of the disc....
 took off in the summer of 1964 reaching the number one spot around the world and selling over 2 million records. It was Meek's final hit in the United States, where it was issued on the Interphon label (a Vee Jay label). The Honeycombs were managed
Management

Management in business and human organization activity is simply the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals. Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leadership or directing, and Control an organization or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal....
 by Howard and Blaikley who went on to write
Songwriter

File:Beethoven.jpgA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer....
 more successes for them.

The Honeycombs' first recording "Have I The Right?" hit number one in the UK and number five in the U.S.
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 in the autumn of 1964 shortly after the start of the British Invasion
British Invasion

File:The Beatles in America.JPGThe British Invasion was the term applied by the news media?and subsequently by consumers?to the influx of rock and roll, beat music and pop music performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States, Canada and Australia....
. They were especially successful in Sweden
Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic countries on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and it is connected to Denmark by the ?resund Bridge in the south....
 (four consecutive number ones) and in Japan (where they issued a live album
Live album

A live album – commonly contrasted with a studio album – is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances. Live albums may be recorded at a single concert, or combine recordings made at multiple concerts....
 entitled, In Tokyo). Honey Lantree was an accomplished drummer and the star attraction of the group as she was one of very few female drummers at the time. The unique and heavily compressed bass drum sound on "Have I The Right?", which many other drummers of the period tried to replicate, was augmented by the group stamping on the stairs of Meek's studio. Meek achieved this by placing four microphones attached with bicycle clips under the stairs. The Honeycombs also recorded the song in German
German language

German is a West Germanic languages, thus related to and classified alongside English language and Dutch language. It is one of the world's world language and the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union....
.

They 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 long-running United Kingdom UK Singles Chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006....
, Ready Steady Go!
Ready Steady Go!

Ready Steady Go! or simply RSG! was one of the United Kingdom first rock/pop music TV programmes. RSG! was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion London TV, who wanted to try a music radio show....
 (UK), Shindig!
Shindig!

Shindig! is an United States music variety show which aired on the American Broadcasting Company from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966....
 (U.S.), and Beat-Club
Beat-Club

Beat-Club was a Germany music programme that ran from September 1965 to December 1972. It was broadcast from Bremen , Germany on Das Erste, the national public TV channel of the ARD , and produced by one of its members, Radio Bremen, later co-produced by Westdeutscher Rundfunk following the 38th episode....
 (Germany). They also recorded
Sound recording and reproduction

Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical or mechanics inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects....
 their second album entitled All Systems - Go! in 1965. A dubbed performance appears in the 1965 British film Pop Gear (U.S. title Go Go Mania!).

The Honeycombs line-up changed in 1966 and the group became known as the New Honeycombs. The New Honeycombs were the original drummer and vocalist Honey Lantree plus bassist John Lantree and included in the new line-up were Rod Butler on lead guitar and vocals, Colin Boyd on vocals and guitar, and Eddie Spence on keyboards and vocals. Further singles were recorded at Joe Meek's studio and were released on the Pye label. The New Honeycombs went on to tour extensively in the UK and Europe.

In the early 1990s Murray re-formed the band with Glenn Rogers, Rick Maskell, Ken Doughty and Peter Reading. This line-up worked on the cabaret circuit, initially as Martin Murray's Honeycombs (1991 - 1993 approx) then as The New Honeycombs, through 1994 and 1995. In 1994 this line-up recorded and released an EP through Rogers' own label, Danzdevil, which included "'Colourslide", "Have I The Right" and two original songs written for the band by Rogers. During this time, D'Ell also continued to appear at selected events with his own version of the band. Conflicts of identity resulted in both entities retiring from live performance until Murray recovered rights to the name.

Personnel

The group originally consisted of:-
  • Dennis D'Ell - (born Denis James Dalziel, 14 October 1943, Whitechapel
    Whitechapel

    Whitechapel is a built-up inner city district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England. It is located east of Charing Cross and roughly bounded by the Bishopsgate thoroughfare on the west, Hanbury Street on the north, Brady Street and Cavell Street on the east and Commercial Road on the south....
    , East
    East

    East is a Direction in geography. It is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points, opposite of west and at right angles to north and south....
     London — died of cancer
    Cancer

    Cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cell display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis . These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumors, which are self-limited, do not invade or metastasize....
     6 July 2005) - Lead singer and harmonica
    Harmonica

    The harmonica is a free reed aerophone wind instrument which 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 guitar
    Guitar

    The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
  • Alan Ward - (born 12 December 1945, Nottingham
    Nottingham

    Nottingham is one of the three major city status in the United Kingdom in the East Midlands and is in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England....
    ) - Lead guitar
  • John Lantree - (born John David Lantree, 20 August 1940, Newbury, Berkshire
    Newbury, Berkshire

    Newbury 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....
    ) - Bass guitar
    Bass guitar

    The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...
  • Honey Lantree - (born Ann Margot Lantree, 28 August 1943, Hayes
    Hayes, Hillingdon

    Hayes is a town in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It is a suburban development situated 13 miles 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 to house factory workers....
    , Middlesex
    Middlesex

    Middlesex , from the Old English Middelseaxe , is one of the 39 Historic counties of England of England and the List of counties of England by area in 1831....
    ) - Drums/Vocals.
  • Peter Pye (born 12 July 1946, Walthamstow
    Walthamstow

    Walthamstow is a town in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, North East London, England, England, located north east of Charing Cross. Walthamstow is bordered to the north by Chingford, south by Leyton and Leytonstone, east by the southern reaches of Epping Forest at Woodford and west by Tottenham and the River Lea valley....
    , London), - Rhythm Guitar who was brought into the band by Murray, and eventually replaced him.
  • Colin Boyd (born Colin Nicholas Nicol, 4 June 1946, Combe, outside Bath, Somerset) who was a singer and songwriter for The Honeycombs ca. 1966; he went on to form Honeybus
    Honeybus

    Honeybus were a 1960s pop music band formed in April 1967, in London....
    , and was from then on was known as Colin Hare.
  • Rod Butler (born Rodney Butler, 27 May 1944, Mill Hill
    Mill Hill

    Mill Hill is a place in the London Borough of Barnet. It is a suburb situated 8 miles north west of central London.Its postal address is London NW7, which covers a large geographical area - in fact it is the largest of all the London numbered postal districts....
    , London), played lead guitar with the band from 1966 until 1968; and went on to play with The Lemmings and subsequently The College Boys, formed by ex Honeycomb Martin Murray. Butler later joined forces with Dennis D'Ell and formed Zarabanda, and later still played in Violinski
    Violinski

    Violinski were a shortlived outfit formed in 1977 by Electric Light Orchestra member Mik Kaminski on violins, and former member Mike de Albuquerque on guitar and Singing; plus Barry Dunnery , John Hodgson , Paul Mann, John Marcangelo and Iain Whitmore ....
    , with Mik Kaminski
    Mik Kaminski

    Mik Kaminski played violin for the Electric Light Orchestra between 1973 and 1979.He made his first professional performance with the Leeds Orchestra, when he was 14....
     of the ELO
    Electric Light Orchestra

    Electric Light Orchestra, commonly abbreviated ELO, were a symphonic rock group from Birmingham, England, who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001....
    .


Discography


Singles


UK
  • "Have I the Right?
    Have I the Right?

    Have I The Right? was The Honeycombs' debut single and biggest hit. It was the last Top 10 UK hit produced by Joe Meek, who composed and produced "Telstar " for The Tornados, and reached #5 in the U.S....
    " (Howard/Blaikley) b/w "Please Don't Pretend Again" (Meek/Lawrence) (June 1964)
  • "Is It Because" b/w "I'll Cry Tomorrow" (Meek) (October 1964)
  • "Eyes" b/w "If You've Got To Pick A Baby" (November 1964)
  • "Something Better Beginning" (Ray Davies
    Ray Davies

    Ray Davies, Order of the British Empire is an English Rock music musician, best known as lead singer and songwriter for The Kinks - one of the most prolific and long-lived British Invasion bands - which he led with his younger brother, Dave Davies....
    ) b/w "I'll See You Tomorrow" (April 1965)
  • "That's the Way" b/w "Can't Get Through To You" (August 1965)
  • "This Year Next Year" b/w "Not Sleeping Too Well Lately" (November 1965)
  • "Who Is Sylvia" b/w "How Will I Know" (February 1966)
  • "It's So Hard" b/w "I Fell In Love" (July 1966)
  • "That Loving Feeling" b/w "Should A Man Cry" (September 1966)


U.S.
  • "Have I the Right?
    Have I the Right?

    Have I The Right? was The Honeycombs' debut single and biggest hit. It was the last Top 10 UK hit produced by Joe Meek, who composed and produced "Telstar " for The Tornados, and reached #5 in the U.S....
    " b/w "Please Don't Pretend Again" - Interphon 7707 1964
  • "I Can't Stop" b/w "I'll Cry Tomorrow" - Interphon 7713 1964
  • "That's The Way" b/w "Color Slide" - Interphon 7716 1965
  • "Something Better Beginning" b/w "I'll See You Tomorrow" - Warner Bros. 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 Honeycombs
    The Honeycombs (album)

    The Honeycombs was the first album by the United Kingdom Pop music Band The Honeycombs. In the USA it was called Here Are The Honeycombs ....
     (Released in U.S. as "Here Are The Honeycombs") (UK Pye NPL 18097 / US Interphon IN-88001, 1964)
"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" / "Leslie Anne" / "She's Too Way Out" / "It Ain't Necessarily So
It Ain't Necessarily So

"It Ain't Necessarily So" is a popular music 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....
" / "This Too Shall Pass Away"

  • All Systems - Go!
    All Systems - Go!

    The Honeycombs was the second album by the United Kingdom Pop music Band The Honeycombs. Most songs were written by Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley....
     (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 album
    Live album

    A live album – commonly contrasted with a studio album – is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances. Live albums may be recorded at a single concert, or combine recordings made at multiple concerts....
    , Japan
    Japan

    Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of 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" / "Lucille
Lucille (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?" / "Goldfinger
Goldfinger (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 Say
What'd I Say

"What'd I Say" or "What I Say" is a two-part recording that was released in 1959 by rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles. After Charles' run of R&B hits, this song finally broke Charles into mainstream pop and the song itself sparked a new sub-genre of rhythm and blues titled soul music, finally putting together all the elements that C...
"

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