- Genres: Rock
Biography
No more than a footnote in the history of British bands, Group 5 was a quartet of Londoners who managed to cut an entire album for the French Barclay label during the British beat boom-thus making them the Gallic equivalent of any number of British acts (including "The You Know Who Group") that only got their work recorded in the USA because they were British.The funny thing is, Anthony Stephen Judd (b. Jan. 30, 1943, guitar, keyboards), Tony Atkins (b. Jun. 8, 1947, guitar), Brian Norman (Sep. 9, 1941, drums), and Colin John Fortey (Jun. 19, 1942, guitar) were pretty good at rock 'n roll and blues, based on the evidence of their one album. Their sound, though a bit ragged, was a lot like the Beatles when they covered Motown ("Please Mr. Postman," "You've Really Got A Hold On Me"), but they also crossed paths with the early Moody Blues ("Bye Bye Bird") and played a mean Bo Diddley beat ("What's That")--they were roughly on a par with the Nashville Teens, though not as tight as the latter. Their producer, Bobbie Graham, may have been the drummer of the same name who played with the Outlaws backing Mike Berry, and behind Big Jim Sullivan on some Dave Berry records-regardless, they got a good sound. How the French reacted is a mystery, and with the conceivable exception of Tony Atkins, none of them seem ever to have been heard from again in music. The Barclay label later got access to some major British rock of this era when they reissued the Rolling Stones' classic '60s catalog with new covers and art work during the late 1970's. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
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