The Viscounts | |
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Origin | London, England |
Genres | vocal pop group |
Years active | 1958 | –1965
Labels | Pye Records |
Members | Don Paul Ronnie Wells Gordon Mills |
The Viscounts were a British pop group from London, England. [1] Its members had formerly been part of a TV ensemble called Morton Fraser's Harmonica Gang. [1] They quit the group and formed The Viscounts in late April 1958, playing local shows and eventually attracting the attention of manager Larry Parnes. [1] He got them billed at better venues and signed them to Pye Records in 1960.
Their cover version of Ray Smith's hit single "Rockin' Little Angel" became a hit in Australia, and their cover of "Shortnin' Bread" hit number 16 in November that year in the UK Singles Chart. [2] In addition to recording rock/pop numbers, they also did some trad jazz, covering Paul Whiteman for a compilation album. In 1961, their single cover version of " Who Put the Bomp (in the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)" reached number 21 in the UK chart, spending ten weeks in the listings. [3] The group toured with Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran, as well as sharing a stage with The Beatles in 1963 opening for Chris Montez. In 1964, they moved to Columbia Records, but none of their three following singles charted. [1]
Band member Gordon Mills' success as a songwriter soon convinced him to move on, and the group broke up in 1965; [1] soon after, Mills wrote " It's Not Unusual" for Tom Jones. Don Paul became a record producer, and Ronnie Wells went into the restaurant business. Wells died in 2013. Their complete recorded output on Pye Records was reissued on CD in 2001 on Castle Records.