The Moments were a

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

English group from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, formed in late 1963 by Steve Marriott at the age of 16, after giving up a promising early film acting career.

Career

The Moments started out being called the Frantiks or the Frantik Ones, later changed to Steve Marriott and the Moonlights, and finally becoming the Moments. Due to Marriott's hyperactive nature, he had a habit of changing the group's name at this early time, until the success of later band Small Faces made it commercially unviable to do so any more. The original Frantiks line-up included Marriott, Johnny Herve, Tony McIntyre, Colin Green and Dennis Thompson. Marriott would sometimes have his girlfriend, English actress Adrienne Posta (whom he had met when they were pupils at the

Italia Conti Academy The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts is a performing arts conservatoire based in Woking, England. It was founded in 1911 by Italia Conti, an actress. The first production at Italia Conti Academy was the play ''Where the Rainbow Ends''. For ...

), share vocals with him on duets.The Moments- Room for Ravers
/ref> Their early musical style was heavily influenced by

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

, of whom Marriott was a big fan. The Frantiks recorded a cover version of

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

's song " Move It" with former Shadows drummer

Tony Meehan Daniel Joseph Anthony Meehan (2 March 1943 – 28 November 2005), professionally known as Tony Meehan, was a founder member of the British group the Drifters, with Jet Harris, Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch, which would evolve into the Shadows. ...

who was brought in to help with production. Despite the single being hawked around the major record companies no one was interested and the song was consequently never released. It was at this point that original members Dennis Thompson and Johnny Herve quit the group and Marriott changed the bands' name to Steve Marriott and The Moments. The new line-up now had Barry Hewitt on bass, Tony McIntyre on drums, Steve Marriott on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Johnny Weider (ex Johnny Kidd and the Pirates) on lead guitar and Allen Ellett on keyboards and vocals. They soon became more R&B influenced and found a manager,

Tony Calder Tony Calder (27 June 1943 – 2 January 2018) was an English record manager, impresario, talent-spotter, promoter and public relations agent. He was Andrew Loog Oldham's business partner from 1963 to December 1969. During a career spanning o ...

(who several years later established the Immediate label with Andrew Loog Oldham. The band were each earning a wage of £30 a week (£10 more than Marriott would later be paid by Don Arden in Small Faces). The band performed concerts as often as six nights a week, including spots at the Flamingo and London's

100 Club The 100 Club is a music venue located at 100 Oxford Street, London, England, where it has been hosting live music since 24 October 1942. It was originally called the Feldman Swing Club, but changed its name when the father of the current owner ...

. As a result, they achieved a loyal

mod Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...

following; particularly around their hometown the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

and

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. The band started to write their own material, a blend of

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

with fast and furious R&B. Their next recording endeavour was called "A Touch of the Blues", written jointly by Marriott and Ellet, the song was in the same vein as

the Dave Clark Five The Dave Clark Five, also known as the DC5, were an English rock and roll band formed in 1958 in Tottenham, London. Drummer Dave Clark served as the group's leader, producer and co-songwriter. In January 1964 they had their first UK top ten sin ...

's hit at that time "

Glad All Over "Glad All Over" is a song written by Dave Clark and Mike Smith and recorded by The Dave Clark Five. Overview "Glad All Over" featured Smith leading unison group vocals, often in call and response style, a saxophone line used not for solo decor ...

" in that it had a heavy distinctive drum beat. Andrew Loog Oldham (ex

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

manager) who had seen the band play was impressed with Marriott's strong vocal performances, and produced the record, but for reasons unknown the recording has never seen the light of day. For a short period in March 1964 Marriott briefly changed the name of the band again, this time to the Wondering Ones, a month later he changed it back to The Moments this is noted by Mark Lewisohn who was

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' chronicler. At a gig at the Albion in Rainham, Marriott first viewed his future Small Faces songwriting partner

Ronnie Lane Ronald Frederick Lane (1 April 1946 – 4 June 1997) was an English musician and songwriter who is best known as the bass guitarist and founding member of Small Faces (1965–69) and subsequently Faces (1969–73). Lane formed Small Faces in ...

who was appearing with his band the Outcasts. In 1964 the Moments were asked by the World Artists label to provide a cover of the Kinks hit " You Really Got Me" for American release only, with a B-side "Money Money", but the song bombed and Marriott's fellow songwriter Ellet left the band. In October 1964 the Moments told Marriott he was no longer wanted in the group, they wanted someone older to represent the band, and so Marriott was given his marching orders. Former member Ellet pointed out that the group were often called Steve Marriott's Moments making them appear as if they were just a backing band and this had started to grate on the other members and may have been a contributing factor in their decision. Steve Marriott - All Too Beautiful... p.69-70 The Moments never hit the big time, though original founding member Steve Marriott did, early the next year, 1965, with Small Faces.

References

External links

Information on The Moments
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moments, The English rock music groups Musical groups established in 1963 Musical groups from London British rhythm and blues musical groups