The Toggery Five
| The Toggery Five | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Manchester, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1963 - 1966 |
| Labels | |
| Past members | Bob Smith Frank Renshaw Keith Meredith Ken Mills Graham Smith Paul Young Mick Abrahams Clive Bunker |
The Toggery Five were an English freakbeat band from Manchester, England that was formed in the midst of the Manchester Beat scene. The band emerged as other popular British acts like The Hollies and The Dakotas were also coming to prominence in Manchester. They were the first band to record "I'm Alive, which inspired The Hollies to also record the song. The band released two singles, but never were able to achieve success outside of the local scene or in the United States. Still, the band members went on to perform in more prominent musical acts.
In 1963, the band's original lineup of Bob Smith on lead vocals, Frank Renshaw on lead guitar, Keith Meredith on rhythm guitar, Ken Mills on bass guitar, and Graham Smith on drums. The band formed out of the remains of their past bands, Lee Shondell and the Premiers of Beat and Gaye and the Guys. Renshaw was appointed as the band's leader, as he had the lengthiest musical career, thus far. Mike Cohen, the manager of The Hollies, was impressed by the band's first rehearsal in a pub called the "The Thatchers Arms", so he agreed to manage them as well. Their namewas based on the clothing store, "The Toggery". The store became a place for groups to acquire clothes, like several other bands, including the Beatles.
The band began playing around Manchester, gaining a local following by playing R&B standards. Renshaw sang the majority of the vocals as Smith could not sing to the style of music, limiting his role to tambourine player. Smith became dissatisfied with losing his spot as lead vocalist and left. In 1964, the band replaced him with Paul Young, who was only 14 years old at the time. Still, with the lack of rehearsals, Young was also limited to tambourine playing, and would not sing on the band's first recording. In September 1964, the band performed on the television show, Ready, Steady, Win, which included judges like Brian Epstein. First prize was a recording contract with Decca Records. The band was able to reach the finals and played the song "Dance With You", but lost to The Bo Street Runners. Initially, the band won the contest, but through intervention by Decca Records, the judges were persuaded to vote them runner-up because the band had signed a contract with the Parlophone label earlier.
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