THE years changed and so did a lot of names and personnel in the groups of the fifties and sixties as they swapped from one group to another. One such amalgam was The Wheels.

The Wheels

The Wheels were an exception for groups of that period, in so much as they wrote their own songs. According to a Liverpool Echo article in 1964, the group had three and a half hours of their own material to entertain with; a truly remarkable feat.

Once Lee Paul and the Boys, they changed their name to the Wheels after Dave Hill and Pete Kay left to start the Rainmakers. The new members were Phil Carney on bass and a very young but talented drummer named John Theaker, from Alkrington.

Lead singers in groups at that time had the habit of adopting stage names in an effort to make a bigger impact in the newspaper listings - Rory Storm and Billy Fury to name but two. In the mid-sixties individual band members keen to make there own impression decided to jump on the bandwagon. Many of the (mostly) ridiculous names fell by the wayside within weeks, but an exception to the rule was the Wheel’s drummer who took the name Drachen. It was a name that stayed with him for the rest of his life.

The main creative juices in the Wheels flowed from the pens of Lee Paul and Les Hall. An early success for the budding young writers was the song Foolin’ released on the flip side of a Lee Castle and the Barons single in 1964.

The repertoire of original songs played by the boys brought them recognition and an offer of work in Germany in 1965. The group turned professional but the downside to all this good fortune was the loss of their 16-year-old drummer, who could not get a work permit. Happily for Drachen fate had bigger plans in store.

Life in Germany’s beat clubs in the sixties was hard work with long sets stretching in to the early hours of the morning. The long nights of dancing attracted the big crowds and the big crowds attracted the racketeers and extortionists.

After a few months at the New York City Club in Duisburg an incident in the middle of one of their sets convinced the group it was time to move on before things closer to home, than the clubs glass door, were targeted. The Wheels moved to the Star Club in Gelsenkirchen Buer for a long and uneventful stretch before returning home to Manchester.

Lee Paul and Les Hall were eager to concentrate on their song writing and moved to London where they approached managers and producers including, Shel Talmy and Andrew Loog Oldham before signing with the eccentric Joe Meek. Joe had an international hit in 1962 with Telstar recorded by the Tornadoes. They were the first British band to have a number one hit on both sides of the Atlantic - 12 months before The Beatles.

Lee and Les worked on their writing while supplementing their income as session men at the RGM studios at 304 Holloway Road, North London. Other session men included members of the Tornadoes and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore.

The work at RGM finished on February 3 1967. They rang the studio to organise their next session and an unknown male (probably a Scotland Yard detective) told them Joe was not available and not to ring again.

Joe Meek was a very troubled man. Suffering depression due to his sexual orientation and increasing doses of barbiturates, add to that a lawsuit for plagiarism and bouts of paranoia, he finally snapped killing his landlady, then himself.

Les returned home after the death of Joe Meek and joined Tamla Express with Phil Carney, Derek Foley, Tommy Rigby and a drummer – strange how drummers seem to be the first names to fall from rock's family tree.

Lee stayed on in London and continued with his writing and recording. He released a single under the name of Steven Lancaster which failed to chart.

The Measles

Stan Dulson was a founder member of Middleton’s 1950s skiffle fraternity - the washboard he played is still in his possession to this day. His first group was the esoterically named Bonfire Night followed by The Denims. The latter had more pyrotechnics than the first and ended with an explosion of temperaments leaving one bright spark on his own.

The young, gregarious Stan wasted no time in forming a new group, the Measles, with friends off Langley estate. He took up the harmonica and a few of Mick Jagger’s moves along with the stage name Red Hoffman and the band hit the clubs around Manchester, becoming big favourites at the Oasis on Lloyd Street. Their talent was quickly recognised by Kennedy Street Enterprises who had no trouble filling their diary with work.

The Measles were a beat group of considerable talent whose naturally exuberant front man was the consummate entertainer.

Everyone in the band had a natural sense of humour that surfaced effortlessly and often in their songs and on-stage banter.

Some bands were listened to and others were danced to. The Measles came into both these categories but they were also a band that were watched due to the unpredictability of its members.

Jomo Smith, Ray Mondell, Wyn Davis and Dave Earl (stage names) were Red Hoffman’s foil in his on stage antics. The band could turn out a Beatles song or current hit (note perfect to the admiration of the crowd) before drifting into a George Formby number, Popeye The Sailor Man or even Dog Rough Dan. Entertainment was always their goal and they never failed to achieve it.

Graham Nash got the boys their recording contract through the Hollies A&R man, Ron Richardson. Ron auditioned them at the Abbey Road recording studios in London and although the audition was a success they had no original material to offer.

On their return to Manchester Stan quickly set about writing songs in an effort to reverse the decision, but by this time Ron had already found another group. But as a favour to Graham Nash, Ron arranged a meeting for the Measles with Mickey Most, who signed them up immediately.

The Measles released four records, the first of these being Casting My Spell On You which came out in March '65. It was a catchy chant on a Bo Diddley beat with top session man, Big Jim Sullivan playing lead guitar. On the B-side was Bye Bye Birdie Fly, a song with a strong jazz feel to it, and a showcase for Stan’s talent on the harmonica. Written by Stan and the group's manager, Tony Stewart, the record didn’t chart but they did get some television coverage, in Britain and American.

Their follow up was the much more laid back Night People sung by Wyn Davis. The song was very distinctive with an anvil sounding beat and the rest of the band humming harmony in support of the verse. The flipside was a song called Dog Rough Dan, written by Stan and Peter Cowap – good friends and devotees of the ridiculous. It is a jolly ditty about a heavy drinking navvy, sung in a Lancashire dialect by Stan with Peter on guitar. One of many songs written by the pair.

Their third release was Kicks, an obviously commercial attempt to make their mark on the charts. The close harmonies and the driving brass section enhanced an already good song, but not for the Measles.

The song - also released by Paul Revere and the Raiders – suffered as a consequence of divided sales and failed to make an impact. The B-side No Baby At All, had harmonica as a part of the rhythm section rather than just a solo instrument giving Stan Dulson a chance to show his virtuosity with an Echo Super Vamp.

Peter Cowap penned their last single Walkin’ In. The song mirrored the sixties creed of self belief and that belief was evident in the way teenagers walked, talked and dressed. The song embodied the swinging sixties with sentiments that would have been self-explanatory to any young mod at the time. Regrettably Peter’s guitar playing on this recording lacks his usual brilliance and is laid back almost to the point of none participation.

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