The Gorillas

The Gorillas
Also known as	The Hammersmith Gorillas
Origin	Hammersmith, London, England
Genres	R&B, punk rock, hard rock
Years active	1974 – early 1980s
Labels	Penny Farthing, Chiswick, Raw
Associated acts	The Cravattes, The Rock and Roll Trio, The Way of Life, The Mod Section, Crushed Butler, Helter-Skelter, The Jesse Hector Sound, The Gatecrashers
Members	Jesse Hector Alan Butler Gary Anderson Matt McIntyre

The Gorillas (originally named The Hammersmith Gorillas) were a rock group from Hammersmith, London, England formed in 1974, and fronted by Jesse Hector, who played high energy rock music.

Jesse Hector (born in 1947, in Kilburn, northwest London, England) played in bands from the age of 11, first the Rock and Roll Trio, and then the R&B-influenced band the Cravats. Cravats bassist Adrian Stambach joined mod outfit The Clique in 1963. Hector reformed the Rock and Roll Trio before starting two more short-lived bands, the Way of Life and the Mod Section, and went on to form the proto-punk band Crushed Butler in 1969 with drummer Darryl Read and bassist Alan Butler. After a brief flirtation with EMI Records, the band was renamed Tiger, until Darryl left to join the glam rock group Dizzy, then they changed name again to Helter-Skelter. With the addition of drummer Gary Anderson, the band became the Hammersmith Gorillas, taking their name from London's pro-Castro activist group the Hammersmith Guerillas.

The band's debut release was a cover version of the Kinks' "You Really Got Me" on the Penny Farthing label, produced by Larry Page, and timed to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the original release. They then signed to Chiswick Records, recording two singles for the label, and building a loyal fanbase, before moving on to Raw Records. In 1976, they played at the Mont-de-Marsan Punk Festival in the south of France along with the Damned and Eddie and the Hot Rods. After two more singles in 1978, the band's debut (and only) studio album was issued, Message to the World.

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