Unit 4+2
| Unit 4 + 2 | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Hertfordshire, England |
| Genres | Pop rock |
| Years active | 1963–1970 |
| Labels |
Decca Records Fontana Records |
| Past members | Brian Parker Tommy Moeller Buster Meikle Peter Moules Howard 'Lem' Lubin Rod 'Humble' Garwood Hugh Halliday Nigel Snook Russ Ballard Bob Henrit Glyn Havard Tony Duhig Allan Price Iain Hines |
Unit 4 + 2 were a British pop band, who had a number one hit in the UK Singles Chart in 1965 with the song "Concrete and Clay". The track topped the UK chart for one week.
In 1962, Brian Parker, then the guitar player and songwriter with The Hunters, decided to form his own vocal harmony group. He asked his friend David 'Buster' Meikle to join him. They asked singer Tommy Moeller and Peter Moules, who were at school together, to join their group which they called Unit 4.
Unit 4 was later joined by Russ Ballard on guitar and Robert 'Bob' Henrit on drums (forming the + 2) for a six piece, four-part vocal harmony group. Moeller was lead singer and frontman, from the first show as the Unit 4 vocal group to the last show as Unit 4 + 2 as vocal group with instruments. Due to ill-health and a dislike of performing live, Brian Parker left the band, but remained involved as co-songwriter with Tommy Moeller for all of the band's original recordings. His place at live performances was taken by Howard 'Lem' Lubin. In around 1967 when they recorded their second album, Rodney Garwood replaced Peter Moules on bass (who had taken up bass when the band changed from a vocal group to a pop band) and Hugh Halliday replaced Bob Henrit.
As Unit 4 + 2, they issued their debut single, on Decca Records called "The Green Fields" (which included the only performance with the band of banjo player Nigel Snook) which reached number 48 in the UK in 1964. Their second single release "Sorrow and Pain" was less successful.
Unit 4 + 2's song "Concrete and Clay" became a big hit the following year, reportedly thanks to exposure on pirate radio stations, most notably Wonderful Radio London. The radio station's music director, Tony Windsor, later recalled in an interview that he had initially rejected the song for the station's playlist, but was persuaded to change his mind by DJ Kenny Everett. The song was recorded with session musicians Russ Ballard and Bob Henrit (who had played with the Roulettes). As well as reaching the top of the UK chart, "Concrete and Clay" was popular worldwide. In America, a competing cover version by Eddie Rambeau (produced by Bob Crewe) split sales, with Rambeau reaching No.35 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Unit 4 + 2 peaking at No.28. Cashbox bracketed the two competing versions together on its chart, and they reached a combined peak of No.12.
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