The Honeycombs

The Honeycombs
The Honeycombs in Rotterdam, 1964. Left to right: John Lantree, Martin Murray, Honey Lantree, Denis D'Eli and Alan Ward.
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	Beat music, pop
Years active	1963–1967 / 2004–present
Labels	Pye (UK) Interphon, Warner (US)
Associated acts	Joe Meek
Website	www.thehoneycombs.biz
Past members	Denis D'Ell (deceased) Alan Ward John Lantree Honey Lantree Peter Pye Colin Boyd Rod Butler Eddy Spence

The Honeycombs were an English beat/pop group, founded in 1963 in North London, best known for their chart-topping 1964 hit, the million selling "Have I the Right?" The band was also notable for having Honey Lantree on drums, one of the few female drummers in bands at that time.

The original group members were:

The group started in November 1963 as an amateur band founded by Martin Murray. Its members were Murray, a hairdresser, his salon assistant 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 an appearance of the band in February 1964 were aspiring songwriters Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley. Howard and Blaikley would become a prolific British songwriting team, writing songs recorded by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich, the Herd, Lulu and even Elvis Presley, but in 1964 they had just started their career. They got into conversation with the group, which appeared interested in a few songs the duo had just written. The group had already arranged an audition with indie record producer Joe Meek. The audition 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?".