Coventry Evening Telegraph features a strange story about the Mighty Avengers local group and the Stones in the early sixties. Jagger and Richards are said to have written for the band. Did you know that? Is it a famous story?




BACKBEAT: Mighty Avengers could have been as big as Rolling Stones; 1964: BECAUSE THEY DON'T MAKE MUSIC LIKE THEY USED TO!(Features)
Coventry Evening Telegraph (England); 1/11/2005



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Byline: PETER CHAMBERS

IMAGINE you were a struggling beat band from Rugby in the early part of the 60s, then imagine being fortunate enough to become part of the legendary Rolling Stones "inner sanctum".

A future secured you might think, PETER CHAMBERS investigates.

RUGBY'S Mighty Avengers were riding high on the crest of the beat boom in 1964.

Their brand of 'twang' pop saw them become the first local band to make an impact on the charts with the Decca single So Much in Love, a song written by the scene leaders Mick Jagger and Keith Richard of the Rolling Stones!

Our story, however, begins two years earlier.

In 1962 Tony Campbell (lead guitar, vocals), Dave 'Biffo' Beech (drums and vocals), Mike Linnell (bass and lead vocal) and Kevin 'Bep' Mahon (guitar and harmonica) came together from various Warwickshire bands to form The Avengers.

Playing the likes of The Pilot and The Parkstone Club, they built up a class act and a class reputation.

This would see them become part of the Friars Agency playing alongside acts from the legendary Reg Calvert Clifton Hall stable such as Danny Storm and the Strollers and Buddy Britten and the Regents.

Early 1963 saw them become Dean Law and The Avengers for a short stint. Dean was soon to leave and they eventually settled for the name The Mighty Avengers (mainly because a band in Birmingham was also called The Avengers).

They continued to support the likes of Joe Brown - even playing with The Beatles at Nuneaton's Co-op Hall the night Love Me Do was released.

Their strong reputation as part of the Coventry "twang scene" enabled them to sign a deal with Manchester-based Kennedy Street Artistes Agency.

With stable-mates such as Herman's Hermits, Freddie and the Dreamers and Wayne Fontana, things were looking up for them.

Manager Danny Betesh negotiated a deal with the famous Decca record label and in the early part of 1964 they released their first single Hide Your Pride.

But despite their popularity with sell-out concerts at the Coventry Theatre and The Matrix Ballroom on Fletchamstead Highway (where the Coventry sound took on the might of Merseybeat in the form of Sonny Webb and the Cascades and Johnny Wells and the Classics), their debut single proved to be a non-starter and it was back to the musical drawing board.

Their luck was about to change though, when the enigmatic Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham took the band under his wing and became their recording manager.

Their second single So Much in Love was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richard, produced by Loog Oldham with musical direction by John Paul Jones (who would eventually be part of Led Zeppelin).

Contrary to popular belief I can confirm Mick Jagger did not provide backing vocals on any of the Avengers songs, I'm sorry to say.

This time the Rugby quartet made the charts, albeit at the lowly number 46 position. Nevertheless they had made history to be the first 'local' band to chart (Frank Ifield had already clocked up 13 hits in the hit parade, but he was classed as a solo artist).

The song also found itself at number 79 as the Single of the Year for 1964.

Being in the same camp as The Stones meant they had the pick of any song the Glimmer twins decided they didn't want to use themselves.

As was the case for their next two singles, the great Blue Turns to Grey, though sadly not to be a hit for The Mighty Avengers, but a certain Cliff Richard would chart with it a year later.

Another country that was going crazy for our local lads was Australia. When Loog Oldham was visiting the country with the Stones, he was constantly asked questions from the press about The Mighty Avengers rather than Jagger & Co, mainly because the Stones had not had an antipodean hit.

Even the late lamented John Peel was actively playing their records during his early days on "Kat's Karavan" on WRR in Dallas.

Their last UK offering in 1965 was the magnificent (Walkin' Thru The) Sleepy City. If we lived in a fair and just world this catchy slice of Phil Spector-sounding pop would have taken residence at the No 1 spot for several weeks.

As former Avengers guitarist Tony Campbell puts it: "We recorded it in one take with at least 40 session musos and everything but the kitchen sink!"

As it happens it didn't chart for the guys and this Jagger/Richards gem lies mainly unheard.

By 1966 the band were looking at pastures (or at least careers) new. Campbell recalls the many happy memories of the Mighty Avengers time: "Not least the great early days around Coventry, the midnight band bowling league, late-night meals at Gregs on Ball Hill. The good friends we made in other bands such as the Hinckley Matadors, Tony Martin, Pip Witcher, Don Fardon and a lot more. Happy times in Manchester with Jimmy Saville, Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Hollies, Fourmost, Blue Jeans, Freddie and Herman (affectionately referred to as Gap Gob)." Tony, Kevin and Dave would eventually form the nucleus of a band who would be called Jigsaw, but that as they say, is another story.

As an end note I recently managed to track down the legendary and very elusive Andrew Loog Oldham, and asked him if he remembered the Mighty Avengers?

He replied: "Of course, often and fondly."

I asked him if he felt they could have been bigger than they actually were? He replied in his usual Delphian way: "We had good songs and, as I recall, had a nice time getting them done, and you can still hear it - it doesn't get much better than that."

THE MIGHTY AVENGERS TRIVIA

THEIR Decca single So Much in Love would now set you back pounds 25 in good condition.

THE original (Walkin' Thru the) Sleepy City demo can be found on the Rolling Stones's Decca album Metamorphosis, the Stones disapproved of this 'cash-in' release.

LEGENDARY session guitarist 'Big Jim' Sullivan can be heard playing on So Much in Love.

THE MIGHTY AVENGERS were erroneously referred to as 'a Liverpool band' in the Andrew Loog Oldham book Stoned. It also suggests one of the band was sick on Oldham's desk, though Tony Campbell has no recollection of any such incident.

CAPTION(S):

HEYDAY: The Mighty Avengers looking mean and moody (above), in Broadgate in the early 60s (far left) and a poster with The Avengers featuring on the bill (left)



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