The Idle Race

The Idle Race were a British rock group from Birmingham who in the late 1960s and early 1970s had a cult following but never enjoyed mass commercial success. In addition to being the springboard for Jeff Lynne, the band holds a place of significance in British Midlands' pop-rock history as a link between the Move, Electric Light Orchestra, the Steve Gibbons Band and Mike Sheridan & The Nightriders. The group has been retrospectively described as freakbeat.The band was initially formed in 1959, under the name Billy King and the Nightriders, and consisted of the core members Dave Pritchard on rhythm guitar and Roger Spencer on drums, along with vocalist Billy King, bass guitarist Brian Cope, and lead guitarist Al Johnson. In 1962, King departed the band and was replaced by Mike Tyler, who changed his surname to Sheridan for performance purposes. This change coincided with the band's rise (as Mike Sheridan and the Nightriders), culminating with a record deal with EMI in 1964. By this time Cope had been replaced by Greg Masters, and Johnson by lead guitarist and composer Roy Wood, in 1963 and 1964, respectively. Wood, who went on to find greater success in his subsequent bands, had his first commercially released composition with The Nightriders, "Make Them Understand", which appeared as the B-side of a 1965 single.By December 1965, Wood had joined forces with other musicians to form the Move, leading to his departure from the Nightriders in January 1966, when the Move started touring. Wood's place in the Nightriders was filled by Johnny Mann, who had previously performed with Wood's new bandmate in the Move, Carl Wayne, in Wayne's previous band the Vikings. Sheridan, feeling that the band had come full circle, decided to depart the group shortly thereafter—although Sheridan later toured with various musicians using the Nightriders' moniker. The losses of Sheridan and Wood led the band to change direction. The band shortened their name to the Nightriders (dropping Sheridan's name), reflecting the fact that the band was now going to lack a dedicated frontman and would feature various members performing lead vocals. Shortly after signing a new recording contract with Polydor Records, Mann departed and was replaced by Jeff Lynne, who at the time was an unknown guitar prodigy from the Birmingham district of Shard End. Their time at Polydor was short, and they recorded only one single, "It's Only The Dog"/"Your Friend", released in November 1966, with Lynne on lead guitar. Spencer sang lead on the A-side while the B-side was written and sung by Pritchard.Eager to showcase Lynne's vocal and guitar skills as well as his growing cache of catchy Beatlesque songs, and wishing to embrace the new psychedelic movement, the group changed its name again, first to the Idyll Race and then to the Idle Race. Wood, now a major star as the Move became a successful chart act, helped arrange a partnership with pop producers Eddie Offord and Gerald Chevin for the Idle Race. In 1967, the band were the first major signing by the new British arm of Liberty Records. Only their first single (not issued in the UK) and their first album got released in the US on Liberty.The group were well received by the music press for their melodies, whimsical lyrics, and inventive production. They often appeared on the same bill with such bands as the Spencer Davis Group, the Who, Small Faces, Pink Floyd, the Moody Blues, Status Quo, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Yes, Free, and the Move. In addition to original material, their set list included extended covers of Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild", the Jimi Hendrix Experience's "Purple Haze", Moby Grape's "Hey Grandma," The Lemon Pipers' "Blueberry Blue," The Doors' "Love Me Two Times", and an electric version of "Debora" by Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.