The band was formed as the Boys in August 1963, in Kentish Town, North West London. The original members were Reg King (lead vocals), Alan "Bam" King (rhythm guitar, vocals), Mike "Ace" Evans (bass guitar) and Roger Powell (drums).[1] Members Reg King and Powell had known each other since their schooldays,[3] and were involved in the early days of the Scene Club in Soho, London, becoming pioneers in mod subculture and fashion. Alan King became the third band member, and brought Evans into the band. The Boys were then approached by Mike Court from Juke Box Jury, who referred them to band management, and asked them to venture forth into song-writing.[4]
The Boys originated as a backing band for Sandra Barry, (sometimes referred to as Sandra Barry and the Boyfriends), and played on her single "Really Gonna Shake", written by Reg King and released in March 1964 on Decca.[5] After the stint with Barry, Pete Watson was recruited as lead guitarist, and the Boys had a brief period as a bar band in Brunswick, Germany.[3] On returning to the United Kingdom, the band played a gig at The Birdcage Club in Portsmouth, Hampshire, and were recruited by manager Rikki Farr.[4] In November 1964, the Boys released their first single "It Ain't Fair" b/w "I Want You" on Pye. By early 1965, the band had changed their name to The Action.[1][6]
1965–1968: The Action
The Action first auditioned for Decca on May 31, 1965, with an assortment of demos such as "In My Lonely Room", "You'll Want Me Back", "Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)", and "Fine Looking Girl".[7] However, the band were unsuccessful in securing a recording contract.[8]
The Action began as a supporting act for The Who at the Marquee Club, in late 1965.[6] The Who's manager Kit Lambert felt the Action were too good to be a support act and that they sabotaged the Who's constructed image. As a result, The Action were dropped as the support act. However, in no time at all, from December 1965, the Action had taken on a residency at the Marquee and regularly performed there throughout 1966, developing a mod following.[10][4]Phil Collins was a regular attendee.[11]
In 1966, the band released two more singles "I'll Keep Holding On" and "Baby, You've Got It".[12][13] "I'll Keep Holding On" was not only the most highly regarded Action 45, but also one of the few Motown covers that is markedly superior to the original.[6] The single was released in February 1966, and entered the Melody Maker single charts. It managed to reach No.42 (on March 5, 1966),[14] and even as high as No.39, but soon faltered.[15] On June 3, 1966, the band made an appearance on the Dick Clark show Where the Action Is, performing their single "I'll Keep Holding On", while being filmed outside the Royal Albert Hall, in South Kensington, London.[16][17]
In mid-1966, there were plans for a 1966 Action LP, but it was eventually dismissed.[3][19] In August 1966, the band recorded an obscure composition by American writing team, Gerry Goffin and Carole King, "Wasn't It You" – a highlight in their studio career. It would have stood a chance of becoming a hit, but for unknown reasons, the song was shelved. Eventually, it was released in 1969 with "Harlem Shuffle" b/w "Wasn't It You" as a German B-side on Hansa, in the years following post-Action. Powell: "I loved 'Wasn't It You'. It was a shame it never came out at the time, as I thought that it was the best song we did for a hit."[6] Reg King had regarded it as one of his top three Action songs.[4]
The Action made regular television appearances, despite not having any associated chart hit singles. They were on Ready Steady Go! (RSG), at least twice, most notably for their singles "I'll Keep Holding On" and "Land of a Thousand Dances".[20][15][4] There was even a short documentary episode made on the band for the American television show The Twentieth Century, where the Action performed at Durham University in October 1966.[21] Relying solely on a few singles for material, the Action were known to perform The Ronettes songs "Do I Love You?" and "You Baby" in their live sets; as George Martin was preoccupied with the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's recording sessions.[21][4] The Action were noted for their three-part harmonies. Led by Reg King's soulful vocals, Alan King and Pete Watson were very good harmony singers.[4] However, dissatisfied with the stewardship of their manager Rikki Farr, Pete Watson left the band in late 1966.[1]
In 1967, the Action continued as a quartet. They released their last two singles "Never Ever", an original composition,[22] and "Shadows and Reflections" with the B-side, "Something Has Hit Me", co-written by Reg King with Melody Maker journalist and flatmate Nick Jones.[6][4] The band was dropped by Parlophone in mid-1967, after their last single "Shadows and Reflections" failed to chart,[4] by which time they had also parted ways with their manager Rikki Farr. George Martin's company AIR had financed all of the Action's recordings up to this point in their career, and the band had yet to experience any hits.[23]
This is a new venture sound-wise for us [Shadows and Reflections]. In the past we have concentrated more on the bass sound, but this time we are playing flower music. Flower music is soft, happy, gentle, full-of-life sunshine sounds. This new sound is what we've been trying for a long time. I hope everyone would buy it and learn what it's all about.
— Reg King, Rave magazine (July 1967)
For the second half of 1967, the Action assumed control of their own affairs. Keyboardist Ian Whiteman briefly joined, in an effort to expand their sound and to help secure the band with a new recording contract by November 1967. However, Whiteman had since left the band, and was driven out by Reg King's increasingly unpredictable behaviour. Guitarist Martin Stone was soon recruited to fill his place.[1][24]
The Action were now set about gathering original material for a new projected LP. The beginning of Rolled Gold was initially recorded with George Martin in mind as head producer, but no one at Parlophone was interested in the demo recordings at the time.[23] Their demo recordings were in a radically different, Byrds-influenced psychedelic style, and it failed to secure the band with a long hoped-for record deal. During this time, the band temporarily worked with Georgio Gomelsky and engineer Carlos Olmes of Marmalade Records.[4] (These 1967/68 demos were eventually released in the 1990s, under the title Rolled Gold).[25] The Action's profound and experimental masterpiece, "Brain" was recorded in these sessions, with its phasing, chord-driven guitars, rolling drums, dreamy bass, and Reg's voice shouting and pleading the listeners to "remember me".[26][27] Yet such ventures risked confusing and alienating the band's hardcore mod following.[6] With the Action seemingly having reached an impasse, the demos were shelved for 30 years, and vocalist Reg King departed from the band in mid-1968.[1][25] King was hired by Gomelsky to produce Gary Farr, and eventually pursued a solo career.[4]
Following Reg King's exit, Ian Whiteman returned and shared vocal duties with Alan King.[24] It was at this point, that the band decided on a brief name change from the Action to Azoth. However, the band soon reverted to their old name, in order to record a new set of five demos. The demos captured the band's transition into more of a mid-tempo, West Coast-influenced, psychedelic ballad style and early folk rock.[6] (These demos were eventually released in 1985, under the title The Action Speaks Louder Than Words).
By January 1969, upon signing to Head Records (a fledgling independent label run by their former roadie John Curd), the Action were finally and permanently re-christened Mighty Baby – under the name in which they released two albums: Mighty Baby (1969) and A Jug Of Love (1971). In 1971, the band featured and played on former band member Reg King's solo album. Mighty Baby were practicing Muslims and disbanded at the end of the year, in 1971.[1][24]
In the years immediately following the band's breakup at the end of 1971, Martin Stone was a founding member of Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers, Alan King was a founding member of Ace and had a US hit with "How Long" in 1975. Roger Powell, Mike Evans and Ian Whiteman formed the Habibiyya.[24]
In Mighty Baby we were analysing life, who we were. In The Action we weren't, we were just being the life.
— Roger Powell, Mark Raison (2012)
Legacy and reunion
In 1980, The Ultimate Action, a compilation album of the Action's Parlophone tracks was released, with sleeve notes written by Paul Weller ("The Action had it in their soul"). It did much for the creditability of the band and their profile. Weller: "I reckon Reggie King stands as one of the best of the white soul singers. In some ways his rich, smooth voice sounds a lot more natural than [Steve] Marriott's."[28] The Action's Reg King was the singer for whom the term "blue-eyed soul" could have been invented—and he made the term a capability rather than a limitation.[29] The term blue-eyed soul was originally coined for The Righteous Brothers by black DJs, and it became a general term for all white singers who sang what was then considered "black music".[30] According to King himself, the Action never played any songs by white artists.[4]
The Rolled Gold album of demos were hailed by critics as lost classics, when they were reissued in the 1990s (formally released in 2002).[27][31] In 1998, the original line-up of the Action reformed for a concert in the Isle of Wight. They headlined and played two shows at the Ryde Theatre for the New Untouchables August Bank Holiday Mod Rally.[32] They also played at the Tufnell Park Dome[33] and Boston Arms in London,1998 (Uptight and Outasight).[34]
They are one of the favourite bands of Phil Collins, who performed with the reunited band at the 100 Club in June 2000.[35] "For me it was like playing with the Beatles", he later commented on the experience in 2002.[36] Collins financed the documentary film In The Lap Of The Mods (2000), which contained footage from both reunion gigs, 100 Club and Tufnell Park Dome, as well as some archive material.[33] In 2012, a biographical book titled The Action: In The Lap Of The Mods by Ian Hebditch and Jane Shepard, was released and forwarded by Sir George Martin.[37][38]
Since their reunion in 1998, the Action played semi-regularly over the next six years. They made their final appearance at Modstock 2004,[39] a three-day event organized by the New Untouchables to commemorate 40 years of Mod Subculture, on May 30, 2004.[40]
During an interview in September 1986, Steve Marriott regarded the Action as a "legitimate band" and compared them to the likes of the Small Faces, in terms of street origins and authenticity in the 1960s Mod scene.[41] Marriott: "We all tried our hand at getting that [Motown] sound you know ... all the bands in the mid '60s. The best ones at it were the Action ... They were an amazing band."[38]
Band members
Classic line-up:
Reg King – lead vocals (1963–1968, 1998–2004; died 2010)
Alan "Bam" King – rhythm guitar, vocals (1963–1971, 1998–2004)
Pete Watson – lead guitar, vocals (1964–1966, 1998–2004)
Mike "Ace" Evans – bass guitar (1963–1971, 1998–2004; died 2010)
Roger Powell – drums (1963–1971, 1998–2004)
Additional members:
Ian Whiteman – keyboards, vocals, saxophone, flute (1967, 1968–1971)
^Raison, Mark (November 22, 2012). THE ACTION – IN THE LAP OF THE MODS by IAN HEBDITCH and JANE SHEPHERD (2012) BOOK LAUNCH & REVIEW. Monkey Picks. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
Ian Hebditch, Jane Shepherd: The Action – In the Lap of the Mods (2012, with Mike Evans and Roger Powell, foreword by George Martin); ISBN978-0957345706
