The Magic Lanterns were an English

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...

group formed in

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

, Lancashire.

Career

They formed in 1962 as The Sabres, playing locally in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and changing their name a few years later. They signed to

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company * CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990 * CBS Records (2006), founde ...

after releasing the single, "Excuse Me Baby", which charted at No. 44 in the UK in 1966, and a few singles later they put out an album, ''Lit Up''. In 1968 they switched to

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

and released their first US

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

, "Shame, Shame", which peaked at No. 29 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

, No. 5 on WLS, and No. 3 on Canada's RPM Charts. "Shame, Shame" was also released in the UK, on the short lived 'Camp' record label, as was "Melt All Your Troubles Away" the following year, but neither enjoyed any chart success. The single "Give Me Love" followed, as did a Stateside album. Changing record labels again in 1970 to

Big Tree Records Big Tree Records was a record label founded by Doug Morris in 1970. It was best known for releases by Lobo, England Dan & John Ford Coley, Brownsville Station, Johnny Rivers, Dave and Ansel Collins, Canadian band April Wine, and British R&B ...

, a second album followed, but it would be their last. In early 1970 lead singer-songwriter

Jimmy Bilsbury James Robert Bilsbury (2 November 1942 – 10 March 2003) was an English pop singer and songwriter, most famous for co-writing the Boney M hit, "Belfast", and as a member of the Magic Lanterns and the Les Humphries Singers. He was born in Li ...

quit the group to co-found the

Les Humphries Singers The Les Humphries Singers was a 1970s pop group formed in Hamburg, Germany in 1969 by the English-born Les Humphries. The group had several chart hits in Germany and in other European countries. The Les Humphries Singers dissolved at the end ...

with bandleader/songwriter

Les Humphries The Les Humphries Singers was a 1970s pop group formed in Hamburg, Germany in 1969 by the English-born Les Humphries. The group had several chart hits in Germany and in other European countries. The Les Humphries Singers dissolved at the end ...

. Most of the other members left soon after Bilsbury's departure for careers in other fields. Songwriter

Albert Hammond Albert Louis Hammond OBE (born 18 May 1944) is a British-Gibraltarian singer, songwriter, and record producer. A prolific songwriter, he also collaborated with other songwriters such as Mike Hazlewood, John Bettis, Diane Warren, Holly Knight ...

, however, went on to further renown, and bassist Mike "Oz" Osborne would spend several decades fighting the mistaken impression that

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

had actually played in his early career with the Lanterns. The group had two more minor hits in the US, "One Night Stand" (#74, 1971) and "Country Woman" (#88, 1972). In 1972 the band released further singles on Polydor label in the UK, none of which met with chart success.

Members

;Early members *

/Pilsbury – vocals, guitar *Peter Shoesmith – guitar *Ian Moncur – bass guitar *Allan Wilson – drums ;Later members *Jimmy Bilsbury/Pilsbury *Alistair/Les Beveridge – vocals, guitar *Peter Garner – vocals, guitar *Mike "Oz" Osborne – vocals, bass *Henry Paul Ward – vocals, drums *

Kevin Godley Kevin Michael Godley (born 7 October 1945) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and music video director. He is known as the singer and drummer of the art rock band 10cc and later as part of collaboration duo Godley & Creme with Lol Creme ...

(of

Godley & Creme Godley & Creme were an English rock duo formally established in Manchester in 1977 by Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. The pair began releasing music as a duo after their departure from the rock band 10cc. In 1979, they directed their first music vi ...

) *

Lol Creme Laurence Neil "Lol" Creme (born 19 September 1947) is an English musician and music video director, best known for his work in 10cc. He sings and plays guitar, bass and keyboards. Biography Creme was born in Prestwich, Lancashire, England. ...

(of Godley & Creme) * Steve Rowland – songwriter (of

The Family Dogg The Family Dogg were a British vocal group, noted for their harmony vocals. They are best known for their debut album, '' A Way of Life'', and the subsequent single of the same name. Career The idea was born when the Anglo-American singers of t ...

) *

– songwriter *Christopher Wren – Vocals *Mitch Mitchinson – Guitar

Discography

Albums

*''Lit Up – With the Magic Lanterns'' (UK only,

1968) *''Shame, Shame'' (U.S. only,

, 1969) *''One Night Stand'' (

, 1970)

UK singles

*"Excuse Me Baby / Greedy Girl" (CBS 1966) *"Rumplestiltskin / I Stumbled" (CBS 1966) *"Knight in Rusty Armour / Simple Things" (CBS 1966) *"Auntie Grizelda / Time Will Tell (If I'm a Loser)" (CBS 1967) *"We'll Meet Again / What Else Can It Be But Love" (CBS 1967) *"Shame, Shame / Baby I Gotta Go Now" (Camp 1968) *"Melt All Your Troubles Away / Bossa Nova 1940 – Hello You Lovers" (Camp 1969) *"One Night Stand / Frisco Annie" (Polydor 1970) *"Stand for Our Rights / Pa Bradley" (Polydor 1973)

References

External links

The Magic Lanterns The Magic Lanterns were an English pop rock/ soft rock group formed in Warrington, Lancashire. Career They formed in 1962 as The Sabres, playing locally in Manchester and changing their name a few years later. They signed to CBS Records aft ...

at Allmusic.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Magic Lanterns, The British soft rock music groups English rock music groups Atlantic Records artists Big Tree Records artists CBS Records artists Charisma Records artists