The Migil Five
Encyclopedia
The Migil Five were a British
pop, rhythm and blues
and (originally) jazz
group in the early to mid 1960s, whose biggest hit was a bluebeat version of "Mockin' Bird Hill
".
in 1960, as a backing group for club singer Lennie Peters. Its members at that time included pianist Gil Lucas and bass player Lenny Blanche. Various people - including, on occasions, Peters' nephew Charlie Watts
, later of the Rolling Stones - stood in as drummer, until the position was filled more permanently by Mike Felix. After Peters left for a solo career - going on to chart success in the 1970s as one half of Peters and Lee
- Felix became the lead singer, and the group recruited guitarist Stan "Red" Lambert. They named themselves The Migil Four, drawing on the names of Mike Felix and Gilbert Lucas.
The group played a mixture of pop, R&B and jazz music on the cabaret circuit until they were seen by trad jazz
bandleader Kenny Ball
. He performed onstage with them, and recommended them to his record label, Pye Records
. Their first single, "Maybe", was released in 1963. They then added tenor saxophonist Alan "Earl" Watson, formerly a member of Georgie Fame
's Blue Flames, so becoming The Migil 5, and won a residency at the Tottenham Royal
dance hall, replacing the Dave Clark Five. Expanding their repertoire to cater for a younger audience, they recorded their second single, "Mockin' Bird Hill" - a country
song which had been a US hit for Les Paul
and Mary Ford
- in a style then known as "bluebeat" and later as ska
. It was released the same week as Millie Small's ska hit "My Boy Lollipop
", and entered the UK Singles Chart
in March 1964, rising to #10. It also reached number one in Ireland
.
According to Bruce Eder at Allmusic:
Their follow-up single, "Near You", reached #31 on the UK chart, and the band released an album in 1964, Mockin' Bird Hill. They appeared on television, and in two movie features, Swinging U.K. and U.K. Swings Again, later put together as Go Go Big Beat. Subsequent singles and an EP
, Meet the Migil Five, failed to make the British charts, although the group remained popular in Ireland. By 1965 they had become the house band on the BBC radio
show Easy Beat
. They continued to record singles, with little success, and Felix left the group to go solo in 1966, with Watson taking over as singer. Watson in turn left in 1969, being replaced by Norman Langford, and the group finally broke up in 1971.
Mike Felix later worked as a comedian, after dinner speaker and actor, appearing in the TV series Widows
and The Bill
. Lucas moved into pub management and continued to play in local London bands until his death in the 1990s. Watson and Blanche also moved into the pub and restaurant business.
A CD compilation of The Migil Five was issued on Sequel Records in 1998.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
pop, rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
and (originally) jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
group in the early to mid 1960s, whose biggest hit was a bluebeat version of "Mockin' Bird Hill
Mockin' Bird Hill
Mockin' Bird Hill is a 3/4 song was written by Vaughn Horton and published in 1951. It was popularized by Patti Page and by Les Paul and Mary Ford in 1951, and for both of them following on to their big hit of "The Tennessee Waltz" the previous year...
".
Career
The group's origins were in North LondonNorth 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...
in 1960, as a backing group for club singer Lennie Peters. Its members at that time included pianist Gil Lucas and bass player Lenny Blanche. Various people - including, on occasions, Peters' nephew Charlie Watts
Charlie Watts
Charles Robert "Charlie" Watts is an English drummer, best known as a member of The Rolling Stones. He is also the leader of a jazz band, a record producer, commercial artist, and horse breeder.-Early life:...
, later of the Rolling Stones - stood in as drummer, until the position was filled more permanently by Mike Felix. After Peters left for a solo career - going on to chart success in the 1970s as one half of Peters and Lee
Peters and Lee
Peters and Lee were a successful British folk/pop duo of the 1970s, comprising Lennie Peters and Dianne Lee .-Background:...
- Felix became the lead singer, and the group recruited guitarist Stan "Red" Lambert. They named themselves The Migil Four, drawing on the names of Mike Felix and Gilbert Lucas.
The group played a mixture of pop, R&B and jazz music on the cabaret circuit until they were seen by trad jazz
Trad jazz
Trad jazz - short for "traditional jazz" - refers to the Dixieland and Ragtime jazz styles of the early 20th century in contrast to any more modern style....
bandleader Kenny Ball
Kenny Ball
Kenny Ball is an English jazz musician, best known as the lead trumpet player in Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen.-Career:...
. He performed onstage with them, and recommended them to his record label, Pye Records
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...
. Their first single, "Maybe", was released in 1963. They then added tenor saxophonist Alan "Earl" Watson, formerly a member of Georgie Fame
Georgie Fame
Georgie Fame is a British rhythm and blues and jazz singer and keyboard player. The one-time rock and roll tour musician, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still a popular performer, often working with contemporaries such as Van Morrison and Bill Wyman.-Early life:Fame took piano lessons from the...
's Blue Flames, so becoming The Migil 5, and won a residency at the Tottenham Royal
Mecca Dance Hall Tottenham
For 94 years 415-419 High Road Tottenham, London, N17 was a leading North London entertainment venue. The building started life as a roller skating rink in 1910 but the following year was refitted as the Canadian Rink Cinema. In 1925 it was converted into a dance hall known as the Tottenham Palais...
dance hall, replacing the Dave Clark Five. Expanding their repertoire to cater for a younger audience, they recorded their second single, "Mockin' Bird Hill" - a country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
song which had been a US hit for Les Paul
Les Paul
Lester William Polsfuss —known as Les Paul—was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which made the sound of rock and roll possible. He is credited with many recording innovations...
and Mary Ford
Mary Ford
Mary Ford , born Iris Colleen Summers, was an American vocalist and guitarist, comprising half of the husband-and-wife musical team Les Paul and Mary Ford. Between 1950 and 1954, the couple had 16 top-ten hits...
- in a style then known as "bluebeat" and later as ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
. It was released the same week as Millie Small's ska hit "My Boy Lollipop
My Boy Lollipop
"My Boy Lollipop" is a song written in the mid-1950s by Robert Spencer of the doo-wop group The Cadillacs, and usually credited to Spencer, Morris Levy, and Johnny Roberts. It was first recorded in New York in 1956 by Barbie Gaye...
", and entered 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 ...
in March 1964, rising to #10. It also reached number one in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
According to Bruce Eder at Allmusic:
"The Migil Five were an improbable outfit on the early-'60s London rock music scene. Five guys who were already in their late '20s and skilled in jazz, R&B, blues, folk, and pop, Lambert was balding and sported a beard and the others looked more like veterans of the '50s trad jazz scene. Watson brought a harder R&B sound that made them more appealing to teenagers, but they all looked more like music teachers than rock & rollers."
Their follow-up single, "Near You", reached #31 on the UK chart, and the band released an album in 1964, Mockin' Bird Hill. They appeared on television, and in two movie features, Swinging U.K. and U.K. Swings Again, later put together as Go Go Big Beat. Subsequent singles and an EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, Meet the Migil Five, failed to make the British charts, although the group remained popular in Ireland. By 1965 they had become the house band on the BBC radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
show Easy Beat
Easy Beat (BBC radio)
Easy Beat was a BBC radio programme broadcast nationally in the UK on the Light Programme on Sunday mornings, between 1960 and 1967. It was one of the earliest BBC programmes to broadcast pop music...
. They continued to record singles, with little success, and Felix left the group to go solo in 1966, with Watson taking over as singer. Watson in turn left in 1969, being replaced by Norman Langford, and the group finally broke up in 1971.
Mike Felix later worked as a comedian, after dinner speaker and actor, appearing in the TV series Widows
Widows (TV series)
Widows was a British primetime television serial aired in 1983, produced by Euston Films for Thames Television and aired on the ITV network....
and The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
. Lucas moved into pub management and continued to play in local London bands until his death in the 1990s. Watson and Blanche also moved into the pub and restaurant business.
A CD compilation of The Migil Five was issued on Sequel Records in 1998.