The Honeycombs

The Honeycombs were an English group founded in 1963 in north London. They had a chart-topping, million-selling 1964 hit, "Have I the Right?". The band featured Honey Lantree on drums, one of the few high-profile female drummers at that time. They were unable to replicate the success of their first single and disbanded by 1967.The group was founded as an amateur band by Martin Murray in November 1963. Its members were Murray (a hairdresser), his salon assistant Anne "Honey" Lantree, her brother John, and two friends. Originally, they called themselves the Sheratons.The group played dates in the West End of London, and at the Mildmay Tavern, a north London pub. Among those attending a February 1964 performance by the band were aspiring songwriters Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley. Howard and Blaikley would become a prolific British songwriting team, but in 1964, they had just started their career. They got into conversation with the group, who appeared interested in a few songs the duo had just written. The group had already arranged an audition with indie record producer Joe Meek, which resulted in a recording of Howard and Blaikley's "Have I the Right?" Meek himself provided the B-side, "Please Don't Pretend Again".Meek used his apartment, at 304 Holloway Road, Islington, as a recording studio. Three UK No. 1 hits were produced there: "Johnny Remember Me" by John Leyton, "Telstar" by The Tornados, and "Have I the Right?"Conspicuous in "Have I the Right?" is the prominence of the drums, whose effect was enhanced by members of the group stamping their feet on the wooden stairs to the studio. Meek recorded the effect with five microphones fixed to the banisters with bicycle clips. For the finishing touch, someone beat a tambourine directly onto a microphone. The recording was also somewhat sped up.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.