The Rockin' Vickers were an English

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

band from

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

, active from 1963 to 1968. They toured the UK and continental Europe and released four singles during their existence. The band is however best-remembered for launching the career of Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister of

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

, then known as Ian Willis. They were originally called Rev Black and the Rockin' Vicars, then abbreviated it to the Rockin' Vicars, but to get more gigs or even a chance at a record contract, they changed their name to "Rockin' Vickers". Their last single "

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", a cover of

the Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

song, was produced by

Shel Talmy Sheldon Talmy (born August 11, 1937) is an American record producer, songwriter and arranger, best known for his work in the UK in the 1960s with the Who, the Kinks and many others. Talmy arranged and produced hits such as "You Really Got Me" ...

History

Formed in 1963, the band built their reputation as did many other beat groups of the era, by covering R&B and beat standards, but soon became known for their unusually intense live shows and outlandish stage costumes, dressing as

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

s and

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. Although mainly popular as a local act around

, England, the Vicars also toured mainland Europe, being one of the earliest British rock bands to perform in a

communist state A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Comint ...

, when they played in

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

in the summer of 1965. They were particularly popular in Finland, where they recorded a single, a rocked up version of

Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" is a 1935 popular song with words and music by James F. Hanley. It was introduced by Hal Le Roy and Eunice Healey in the Broadway revue '' Thumbs Up!'' The most notable recordings were made by Judy Garland ...

. They released four singles. The band split in 1968. rOCKIN' vICKERS DISCOGRAPHY ON DISCOGS.COM
/ref> Lemmy played guitar with the band (as he would with the next group that he joined,

Sam Gopal Sam Gopal (originally known as Sam Gopal's Dream) were an underground British psychedelic rock band who formed in 1966 and released their first album, Escalator, in 1969. History Original line-up (Sam Gopal's Dream) The band was formed un ...

) and did not take up the bass guitar until he joined

Hawkwind Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...

in 1971. In 1967, expatriate Blackpool musician Dave Rossall (ex-Bruce & the Spiders), carrying on the tradition of the English band, formed his own Australian band called Rev Black and the Rockin' Vicars (1967–1969). The Australian band went on to release four singles in its own right, toured extensively around Australia and made the Brisbane Top 40.

Members

Discography

Singles

*"I Go Ape" b/w "Someone Like You",

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F 11993, 1964, UK *"Stella" b/w "

SD5662, 1965, Finland *"Stella" b/w "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart", 1966, Ireland *"It's Alright ( Townshend)" b/w "Stay By Me",

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

202051, March 1966, UK *"

(

Davies Davies is a patronymic surname of English or Welsh origin. There are two main theories concerning its beginnings, neither of which has been definitively proven. The first theory contends that it may be a corruption of "Dyfed", the name of a medie ...

)" b/w "I Don't Need Your Kind",

202241, October 1966, UK *"Dandy (Davies)" b/w "I Don't Need Your Kind", Columbia 4-43818 1966,

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Compilation album

*''Its Alright: The Complete Rockin' Vickers'',

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

CD196 1995, UK I Go Ape/ Someone Like Me/ Zing Went The Strings Of My Heart/ Stella/ It's Alright/ Stay By Me/ Dandy/ I Don't Need Your Kind Of Love/ Baby Never Say Goodbye/ I Just Stand There/ Say Mama/ Shake Rattle & Roll/ What's the Matter Jane?/ Little Rosy (

Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main songwriter for the rock band the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother Dave on lead guitar and backing voca ...

) (+ rehearsal extract)

References

External links

The Australian Rev Black & The Rockin' Vicars website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rockin Vickers, The English pop music groups English rock music groups Beat groups Musical groups established in 1963