Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders 1963/1968 beat group

Wayne Fontana

Wayne Fontana (born Glyn Geoffrey Ellis, 28 October 1945) is an English rock and pop singer, best known for the 1965 hit "Game of Love" with the Mindbenders.  

Biography

He [Jimmy Page]was doing a lot of studio work and one day I asked him if I could have a noodle on his black Les Paul. He said I could even play it on the record! And that was “Game of Love,” the first Wayne Fontana and The Mindbenders hit. Playing Jimmy’s guitar inspired me further to be experimental. I wish I had written that one!

– Eric Stewart

Fontana was born in Levenshulme, Manchester, Lancashire, and took his stage name from Elvis Presley's drummer, D. J. Fontana. In 1963 he formed his backing group, The Mindbenders, and secured a recording contract, coincidentally, with Fontana Records. He remained under contract to the label after parting with The Mindbenders. He soldiered on alone, using musicians working under the name of the Opposition, notably Frank Renshaw (lead guitar) (born 22 June 1943, Wythenshawe, Manchester); Bernie Burns (drums); Stuart Sirret (bass)k and Phil Keen (drums), among others. Sometimes the band was billed as The Mindbenders, sometimes just as the Wayne Fontana Band. Fontana's most successful solo single release was also his last to chart, "Pamela, Pamela" (written by Graham Gouldman), which reached No 5 in the Australia (Kent Music Report) and 11 in the UK Singles Chart early in 1967.
In 2005, he fought off bankruptcy but was arrested after police were called by bailiffs who went to his home in Glossop, Derbyshire. He poured petrol on the bonnet of a bailiff's car and set it alight with the bailiff still inside. Fontana was remanded in custody on 25 May 2007. He later appeared at Derby Crown Court dressed as Lady Justice, complete with a sword, scales, crown, cape and dark glasses, and claiming "justice is blind". He dismissed his lawyers. On 10 November 2007 he was sentenced to 11 months for setting fire to the car but was released because he had already served the equivalent of the term, having been held under the Mental Health Act 1983. After his release he settled in Spain.
In March 2011 Fontana was arrested at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, after failing to appear in court in Wakefield, over an unpaid speeding fine. When the matter was brought to court, it was found that the ticket had never been issued to him and he had returned home to Spain unaware that he had an outstanding ticket. It was also determined, at Wakefield Magistrates' Court, that points had been erroneously added to his licence and these were removed by the court. All outstanding fines were paid, including pending parking fines, and this cleared his record.^{[citation needed]}
Fontana continues to perform, notably in the Solid Silver 60s Shows.

Discography

Albums

• Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders (label has: Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um – It's Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders) – 1964 (UK Fontana TL5230)
• The Game of Love – 1965 (US Fontana MGF 27542 (Mono)/SRF 67542 (Stereo))
• Eric, Rick, Wayne and Bob – It's Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders – 1965 (UK Fontana TL5257)
• Wayne One – 1966 (UK Fontana TL5351 (Mono)/STL5351 (Stereo))
• Wayne Fontana – 1967 (US MGM E 4459 (Mono)/SE 4459 (Stereo))
• The Best of Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders – 1994 (US Fontana 314 522 666-2 )

Singles

Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders

Year	Single	Catalogue	Chart Positions			UK album	US album
			UK	AU	US
1963	"Hello Josephine" b/w "Road Runner"	UK Fontana TF404	46	—	—	Non-album tracks	Non-album tracks
	"For You, For You" b/w "Love Potion No. 9"	UK Fontana TF418	—	—	—
1964	"Little Darlin'" b/w "Come Dance With Me"	UK Fontana TF436	—	—	—
	"Stop Look and Listen" UK B: "Duke of Earl" US B: "Road Runner"	UK Fontana TF451 US Fontana 1917	37	—	—
	"Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um" b/w "First Taste of Love"	UK Fontana TF497	5	—	—
1965	"Game of Love" b/w "Since You've Been Gone"	UK Fontana TF535 US Fontana 1503	2	38	1		A: The Game of Love B: Non-album track
	"Game of Love" b/w "One More Time" Second US pressing	US Fontana 1509				A: Non-album track B: Wayne Fontana and The Mindbenders	The Game of Love
	"It's Just a Little Bit Too Late" b/w "Long Time Comin'"	UK Fontana TF579 US Fontana 1514	20	55	45	Eric, Rick, Wayne and Bob	Non-album tracks
	"She Needs Love" b/w "Like I Did"	UK Fontana TF611 US Fontana 1524	32	—	—	A: Non-album track B: Eric, Rick, Wayne and Bob

Wayne Fontana (solo)

Year	Single	Catalogue	Chart Positions			UK album	US album
			UK	AU	BR
1965	"It Was Easier To Hurt Her" b/w "You Made Me What I Am Today"	UK Fontana TF642 US MGM 13456	36	—	—	Wayne One	Wayne Fontana
1966	"Come on Home" b/w "My Eyes Break Out in Tears"	UK Fontana TF684 US MGM 13516	16	38	—		A: Non-album track B: Wayne Fontana
	"Goodbye Bluebird" b/w "The Sun's So Hot Today"	UK Fontana TF737	49	—	—	Non-album tracks	Non-album tracks
	"Pamela Pamela" b/w "Something Keeps Calling Me Back"	UK Fontana TF770 AU Fontana TF770 US MGM 13661	11	5	—		Wayne Fontana
1967	"24 Sycamore" b/w "From a Boy To a Man"	UK Fontana TF827 US MGM 13762	—	33	—		Non-album tracks
	"The Impossible Years" b/w "In My World"	UK Fontana TF866	—	72	—
	"Gina" b/w "We All Love the Human Race"	UK Fontana TF889	—	—	1
1968	"Storybook Children" b/w "I Need To Love You"	UK Fontana TF911	—	—	—
	"The Words of Bartholomew" b/w "Mind Excursion"	UK Fontana TF933	—	84	—
	"Never an Everyday Thing" b/w "Waiting For a Break in the Clouds"	UK Fontana TF976	—	—	—
1969	"Dayton Ohio 1903" b/w "Say Goodbye To Yesterday"	UK Fontana TF1008 US Metromedia 133	—	—	—
	"We're Building a Love" b/w "Charlie Cass"	UK Fontana TF1054	—	—	—
	"Charlie Cass" b/w "Linda"	UK Fontana TF1054	—	—	—
1973	"Together" b/w "One Man Woman"	UK Warner Bros. K 16269	—	—	—
1976	"The Last Bus Home" b/w "Give Me Just a Little Bit"	UK Polydor 2058 758	—	—	—

Trade ad for Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders's single "She Needs Love". To better adapt it to his respective Wikipedia article, the ad was cropped and cleaned in a graphics editing program. The original can be viewed at the source below.

Fontana Records - Billboard, page 25,18 September 1965

The Mindbenders

I The Mindbenders (inizialmente conosciuti come Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders) sono stati un gruppo musicale Beat inglese degli anni sessanta, proveniente da Manchester. Il gruppo fu una delle band che protagoniste della British Invasion, periodo in cui i gruppi inglesi scalavano le classifiche americane.  

Biografia

Wayne Fontana fondò il gruppo con Bob Lang, Ric Rothwell ed Eric Stewart nel 1963. Il nome della band è ispirato al titolo di un film con Dirk Bogarde dello stesso anno, chiamato appunto "The Mind Benders". Dopo una serie di singoli sfortunati, il successo arrivò nel 1964 con Um Um Um Um Um Um, che ottenne un ottimo riscontro di vendite in Gran Bretagna. Riuscirono anche a ottenere una hit da primo posto negli Stati Uniti d'America con The Game of Love nel 1965.
Dopo un tour negli Stati Uniti e alcuni altri singoli di scarso successo, Fontana lasciò improvvisamente la band durante un concerto nel 1965 e si dedicò in seguito alla carriera solista. Il gruppo cambiò immediatamente il nome in The Mindbenders e il chitarrista Eric Stewart divenne il nuovo cantante.
Nel 1967 comparvero (soltanto in tre) in un ruolo cammeo nel film To Sir, with Love, eseguendo la loro It's Getting Harder All the Time.

Componenti

• Wayne Fontana - Cantante - (vero nome Glyn Geoffrey Ellis, nato il 28 ottobre 1945, a Manchester).
• Bob Lang - Bassista - (nato il 10 gennaio 1946, a Manchester).
• Eric Stewart - Chitarrista / Cantante - (nato il 20 gennaio 1945 a Droylsden, Manchester).
• Ric Rothwell - Batterista - (nato l'11 marzo 1944, a Stockport).

The Mindbenders were an English beat group from Manchester, England. Originally the backing group for Wayne Fontana, they were one of several acts that were successful in the mid-1960s British Invasion of the US charts, achieving major chart hits with "Game of Love" (a number-one single with Fontana) in 1965 and "A Groovy Kind of Love" in 1966. 

Career

Wayne Fontana founded the band in 1963 with Bob Lang, Ric Rothwell, and Eric Stewart. The group was later joined by Grahame Foote. The name of the group was inspired by the title of a 1963 UK feature film, starring the British actor Dirk Bogarde, called The Mind Benders. Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders released a number of singles before recording "Um Um Um Um Um Um" in 1964, which was to be their first major hit in Britain and led to a tour with Brenda Lee. They also had a No.1 hit in the United States with "Game of Love" in 1965 (which also reached No.2 on the UK singles chart).
After a tour of America and some more singles that were less successful than "Game of Love", Fontana left the band in the middle of a concert in 1965. Stewart became the lead singer of the band, which henceforward was known simply as the Mindbenders.
The Mindbenders' first single without Fontana was the hit "A Groovy Kind of Love" (a Carole Bayer Sager / Toni Wine composition). The song reached No. 2 in the US (No. 1 on the Cashbox singles chart) and No. 2 in the UK in 1966. It sold one million copies globally. The Mindbenders' 1966 album of the same name, however, was a failure.
A second song by Bayer and Wine, "Ashes to Ashes," took the Mindbenders to No. 14 in the UK Singles Chart in the autumn of 1966, after an earlier effort in 1966, "Can't Live With You (Can't Live Without You)" had struggled to break the UK Top 30.
On 4 July 1966, the Mindbenders began their last US tour in Atlanta, Georgia in front of a capacity 25,000 crowd as the support act for James Brown. Stewart recalled that "we went down quite well" but that later shows at the Fillmore West Auditorium on Friday 8 July and Saturday 9 July 1966 were more memorable. "The liquid light show was great and really worked with our act, which was a lot heavier than on our records."
Stewart had become a songwriter, and wrote "My New Day and Age" for Family. However, the Mindbenders sought material from outside the band. Their next project was a concept album, several months before Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, S.F. Sorrow and Tommy were issued. The Mindbenders release, With Woman in Mind, contained "I Want Her, She Wants Me" (written by Rod Argent of The Zombies), "Ashes to Ashes", and the lascivious "Schoolgirl". The album did not sell well and was not even released in the US. The accompanying single, another Bayer/Wine composition, "We'll Talk About It Tomorrow" also flopped.
The Mindbenders appeared in the 1967 Sidney Poitier movie, To Sir, with Love and were also on the soundtrack with the songs "Off and Running" and "It's Getting Harder All the Time". Rothwell quit the band and was replaced by Paul Hancox. The Mindbenders released their cover version of "The Letter" which fell short at No. 42 in the UK singles chart (the last time The Mindbenders registered a single in the UK charts), whilst The Box Tops original reached the UK Top 10. A couple more flops followed and in March 1968, Lang quit and was replaced by Graham Gouldman; with him the band recorded a final single "Uncle Joe, the Ice Cream Man".
On 20 November 1968, they broke up at the final concert of a UK tour with The Who, Arthur Brown and Joe Cocker. Stewart and Gouldman went on to form Hotlegs and, much more significantly, the band 10cc.
Lang later joined another rock music outfit, Racing Cars. They had one hit single, "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?", which reached No. 14 in the UK Singles Chart in 1977.
In the 1970s, Grahame Foote joined with original members Lek Leckenby and Barry Whitwam of Herman's Hermits after the exit of Peter Noone. Although Leckenby died in 1994, Foote has continued with the Hermits through to the present.

Personnel

• Wayne Fontana (born Glyn Geoffrey Ellis, 28 October 1945, Droylsden, Lancashire) – vocals (1963-1965)
• Bob Lang (born Robert F Lang, 10 January 1946, Manchester, Lancashire) – bass (1963-1968)
• Ric Rothwell (born Eric Rothwell, 11 March 1944, Stockport, Cheshire) – drums (1963-1967)
• Eric Stewart (born Eric Michael Stewart, 20 January 1945, Levenshulme, Lancashire) – guitars, vocals (1963-1968)
• Graham Foote (born 26 November 1946, Manchester, Lancashire) – guitars (1963-1968)
• Paul Hancox (born 25 October 1950, Birmingham, Warwickshire) – drums (1967-1968)
• Graham Gouldman (born Graham Keith Gouldman, 10 May 1946, Broughton, Salford, Lancashire) – bass (1968)
• Jimmy O'Neil (born James Andrew O'Neil, 6 July 1945, Birmingham, Warwickshire) – organ (1968)

 

Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders : Um, Um, Um, Um, Um - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi3fp2-QYPM

Lyrics

Walking through the park, it wasn't quite dark
There was a man sitting on a bench
Out of the crowd as his head lowly bowed
He just moaned and he made no sense
He'd just go
Um, um, um, um, um, um
Um, um, um, um, um, um
Um, um, um, um, um, um
Um, um, um, um, um, um
I just couldn't help myself
Yes, I was born with a curious mind
I asked this man just what did he mean
When he moaned if he'd be so kind
And he'd just go
Um, um, um, um, um, um
Um, um, um, um, um, um
Um, um, um, um, um, um
Um, um, um, um, um, um
Now that I've grown up
And the woman I love she has gone
Now that I'm a man, I think I understand
Sometimes everyone must sing this song
Listen to me sing
Um, um, um, um, um, um
Um, um, um, um, um, um
Um, um, um, um, um, um
Um, um, um, um, um, um
Can't you hear me, now
Um, um, um, um, um, um
Um, um, um, um, um, um
Um, um, um, um, um, um
Um, um, um, um, um, um
Everybody now
Um, um, um, um, um, um
Um, um, um, um, um, um
Um, um, um, um, um, um
Um, um, um, um, um, um
Can't you hear me, now
Um, um, um, um, um, um
Um, um, um, um, um, um
Um, um, um, um, um, um
Um, um, um, um, um, um
One more time, now

Songwriters: Curtis Mayfield

Um, Um, Um, Um, Um lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc

Artist: Wayne Fontana

Released: 2003

TV Show: The Royal

Genres: Rock, Pop

The Game of Love - Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzVLQTovv_g

▶ 2:05

Dec 15, 2008 - Uploaded by hawkmoon03111951

6th single and second hit. Follow up to Um um um um um.

 

Wayne Fontana+the Mindbenders-PAMELA PAMELA - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7R_SX_BiBo

Lyrics

Pamela, Pamela
Remember the days
Of inkwells and apples
And books and school plays
Where little Brer Rabbit kissed Pooh in the wood
And Fluff was the cat that sat on the rug
Oh, Pamela
I remember so well

When Laurel and Hardy were shown at the flicks
With sticky red lollies on splintery sticks
Pigtails and ribbons and crushes on miss
Secret discussions about a first kiss
But you were young
And everything was new
Impatient to do things you couldn't do
Oh, Pamela, Pamela
You started to grow
Answers to questions you wanted to know

When the rest of your childhood
Forgets as a dream
And the harshness of life
Dims those peaches and cream

When Laurel and Hardy were shown at the flicks
With sticky red lollies on splintery sticks
Pigtails and ribbons and crushes on miss
Secret discussions about a first kiss
But you were young
And everything was new
Impatient to do things you couldn't do

Songwriters: Graham Gouldman

Pamela, Pamela lyrics © Schubert Music Publishing Inc.

Artist: Wayne Fontana

Album: Wayne One

Released: 1966

Genre: Pop

The Mindbenders - A Groovy Kind Of Love - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddcIunulJi4

▶ 1:58

Mar 29, 2012 - Uploaded by guido bernedo gómez

"A Groovy Kind of Love" is a pop song written by Toni Wine and Carole Bayer Sager for the Screen Gems music ...

 

Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders - A Groovy Kind of Love ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3kXqlJhGuE

Lyrics

When I'm feelin' blue, all I have to do is take a look at you
Then I'm not so blue
When you're close to me I can feel you heart beat
I can hear you breathing in my ear
Wouldn't you agree, baby, you and me got a groovy kind of love
We got a groovy kind of love
Any time you want to you can turn me on to anything you want to
Any time at all
When I taste your lips
Oh, I start to shiver can't control the quivering inside
Wouldn't you agree, baby, you and me got a groovy kind of love
We got a groovy kind of love
When I'm in your arms nothing seems to matter
If the world would shatter I don't care
Wouldn't you agree, baby, you and me got a groovy kind of love
We got a groovy kind of love
We got a groovy kind of love
We got a groovy kind of love

Songwriters: Carole Sager / Carole Bayer Sager / Toni Wine

A Groovy Kind of Love lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Artist: The Mindbenders

Album: The Mindbenders

Released: 1966

Genres: Alternative/Indie, Rock, Pop

 

The Mindbenders - It's Getting Harder - 1967 - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fk0LY1EcwCM

Artist: Wayne Fontana

Released: 2000