Unit 4 2
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Unit 4 + 2 were a British pop band, who had a number one hit on the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in 1965 with the song "
Concrete and Clay "Concrete and Clay" is a 1965 hit single recorded by the UK pop group Unit 4 + 2. It reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1965. The song was written by group members Tommy Moeller and Brian Parker. It was also a top 40 hit for Edd ...
". The track topped the UK chart for one week.


Career


Early days

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, reportedly inspired by "Unit 4," the fourth and final segment of the BBC Radio show ''
Pick of the Pops ''Pick of the Pops'' is a long-running BBC Radio programme originally based on the Top 20 from the UK Singles Chart and first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme on 4 October 1955. It transferred to BBC Radio 1 (simulcast on BBC Radio 2) from 19 ...
'', which featured the Top 10. Unit 4 was later joined by
Russ Ballard Russell Glyn Ballard (born 31 October 1945) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Originally coming to prominence as the lead singer and guitarist for the band Argent, Ballard became a songwriter and producer by the late 1970s. His co ...
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 front man from the first show as the Unit 4 vocal group to the last show as Unit 4 + 2 as vocal group with instruments. Owing 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. Around 1967 when they recorded their second album, Rodney Garwood replaced Peter Moules (who had taken up bass when the band changed from a vocal group to a pop band) on bass and Hugh Halliday replaced Bob Henrit. As Unit 4 + 2, they issued their debut single on
Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...
titled "The Green Fields" (featuring 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.


Success

Unit 4 + 2's song "
Concrete and Clay "Concrete and Clay" is a 1965 hit single recorded by the UK pop group Unit 4 + 2. It reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1965. The song was written by group members Tommy Moeller and Brian Parker. It was also a top 40 hit for Edd ...
" became a big hit the following year, reportedly thanks to exposure on
pirate radio Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially w ...
stations, most notably
Wonderful Radio London Radio London, also known as Big L and Wonderful Radio London, was a top 40 (in London's case, the " Fab 40") offshore commercial station that operated from 23 December 1964 to 14 August 1967, from a ship anchored in the North Sea, off Frint ...
. Tony Windsor, the radio station's music director, later recalled in an interview that he initially rejected the song for the station's playlist, but was persuaded to change his mind by DJ
Kenny Everett Kenny Everett (born Maurice James Christopher Cole; 25 December 1944 – 4 April 1995) was an English comedian, radio disc jockey and television presenter. After spells on pirate radio and Radio Luxembourg in the mid-1960s, he was one of the fi ...
. The song was recorded with session musicians Russ Ballard and
Bob Henrit Robert John "Bob" Henrit (born 2 May 1944, in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England)Eder, Bruce " Robert Henrit Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 2010-02-13 is an English drummer who has been a member of several musical groups, including Buster Meikle ...
(who had played with the Roulettes). As well as reaching the top of the UK chart, "Concrete and Clay" was popular worldwide. In the United States, a competing cover version by
Eddie Rambeau Eddie Rambeau (born Edward Cletus Fluri; June 30, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. Career While performing in a high-school musical he had written, Rambeau met songwriter and musician Bud Rehak, who went on to become his ma ...
(produced by
Bob Crewe Robert Stanley Crewe (November 12, 1930 – September 11, 2014) was an American songwriter, dancer, singer, manager, and record producer. He was known for producing, and co-writing with Bob Gaudio, a string of Top 10 singles for the Four Season ...
) split sales, with Rambeau's reaching No. 35 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and Unit 4 + 2's peaking at No. 28. ''Cashbox'' bracketed the two competing versions together on its chart, and they reached a combined peak of No. 12. Decca released a hastily put together album, titled ''1st Album''. The next single release, "(You've) Never Been in Love Like This Before", reached the top 20 in the UK, and No. 95 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in America. In 1967, Russ Ballard (who, with Henrit, went on to form
Argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...
) joined the band full-time, having played some of the guitar work with Brian Parker on the original recording for "Concrete and Clay".


Later years

Unit 4 + 2 released 10 singles on Decca between 1964 and 1967, including one four-track EP, and many of the songs ended up on ''1st Album''. The album later changed in title, cover art and track listing and was re-released as ''#1 featuring Concrete and Clay''. Also, singles that became hits, such as the fifth single "(You've) Never Been in Love Like This Before", were not on the ''1st Album'' but were added on the re-released version. Hugh Halliday replaced Bob Henrit for the second and final album in 1967 on
Fontana Records Fontana Records is a record label that was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records. The independent label distributor Fontana Distribution takes its name from the label. History Fontana started in the 1950s as a subs ...
. With Ballard and Henrit on board as full-time members, the Unit 4 + 2 sound had gelled, but their cover of
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
's "
You Ain't Goin' Nowhere "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" is a song written by American musician Bob Dylan in 1967 in Woodstock, New York, during the self-imposed exile from public appearances that followed his July 29, 1966 motorcycle accident. A recording of Dylan performin ...
" was outsold by a cover version by
the Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...
. Their last single, "3.30", used electric piano and other orchestration. The song appears on the 1984 compilation album ''The 49 Minute Technicolor Dream''. "I Will", the B-side, appeared on the 1984 compilation album ''The Psychedelic Snarl''. "3.30" failed to chart, and with their next album, ''Unit 4 + 2'', also failing to chart, the group broke up in 1970. Unit 4 + 2 released six more singles on Fontana up to 1969, disbanding in 1970. One of the Fontana releases was for Spain and was a reissue of the four tracks from two previous singles as one EP. They briefly resurfaced for a tour of UK clubs during 1970 with Tommy Moeller remaining as the front man, but with an entirely new backing band. This was made up of Glyn Havard (bass and vocals), Allan Price (drums and vocals), Iain Hines (keyboards and vocals and Tony Duhig (guitar). The band existed for approximately two months and then disbanded again. Havard, Duhig and Price went on to play in avant-garde progressive group "Jade Warrior".


Cover versions

"Concrete and Clay" returned to the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart in 1976, courtesy of
Randy Edelman Randy Edelman (born June 10, 1947) is an American musician, producer, and composer for film and television. He began his career as a member of Broadway's pit orchestras, and later went on to produce solo albums for songs that were picked up by ...
's cover version. The song appeared on the
soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
to the 1999 film '' Rushmore''.
Martin Plaza Martin Edward Murphy (born 1 January 1956), commonly known by the pseudonym Martin Plaza, is an Australian singer-songwriter, musician and visual artist who is a founding member and vocalist and guitarist of the new wave band Mental As Anything. ...
, co-lead vocalist of Australian band
Mental As Anything Mental As Anything are an Australian New wave music, new wave and pop rock musical ensemble, band that formed in Sydney in 1976. Its most popular line-up (which lasted from 1977 to 1999, and recorded all of their charting singles and albums) w ...
, released his version as his debut solo single in 1986, from his debut solo album ''Plaza Suite''. It reached number 2 on the Australian charts.


Band member details

* Brian William Parker (born 7 December 1939, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, died 17 February 2001): vocals, guitar; later taught guitar playing in his local area, but died while playing tennis in 2001. Co-writer of "Concrete and Clay". * Thomas John George 'Tommy' Moeller (born 23 February 1945, Liverpool): lead vocalist, guitar, piano; was the brother of Billy Moeller, who became public face of
Whistling Jack Smith John O'Neill (1926–1999) was a British musician, known as a singer, whistler, and trumpeter. Biography Born in Stanley, County Durham, England, to Northern Irish parents from County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, O'Neill was largely self-taught a ...
, and took "I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman" to number five in 1967. Tommy Moeller was lead singer, frontman and main songwriter in Unit 4 + 2 with Brian Parker, with their biggest hit being "Concrete and Clay". * David Ian 'Buster' Meikle (born 1 March 1942,
Goff's Oak Goffs Oak (Goff's Oak on Ordnance Survey maps) is a large village in the borough of Broxbourne in Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. It lies between Cuffley and Cheshunt, just north of the M25 motorway in a slightly more rural section of the ...
, Hertfordshire): vocals, guitar; former lead singer of Buster Meikle & the Day Breakers (which included
Russ Ballard Russell Glyn Ballard (born 31 October 1945) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Originally coming to prominence as the lead singer and guitarist for the band Argent, Ballard became a songwriter and producer by the late 1970s. His co ...
, Roy Ballard, Russ's older brother on keyboards and Bob Henrit) and a founding member of Unit 4 + 2. Left in 1967 and had chart success overseas as half of Bill & Buster, along with Billy Moeller. Now living in Norfolk. * Peter Charles Moules (born 14 October 1944, Barnet, Hertfordshire): original member and bass vocalist and later bass guitarist. He was replaced by Rodney Garwood on bass for the second Unit 4 + 2 album on Fontana. * Rodney 'Humble' Garwood (born 27 March 1944, Diss, Norfolk): bass guitar; joined in 1967. * Howard 'Lem' Lubin (born 20 January 1944, Hampton Court, Middlesex): replaced Parker (above) for live performances in the group's early days. Was a member of Satisfaction and then Christie, before becoming a record producer. * Hugh Maitland Halliday (born 29 December 1944): drums; joined in 1965, replacing original drummer Bob Henrit. He subsequently became a dancer, and then an opera director with
English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...
,
Victoria State Opera The Victoria State Opera (VSO), based in Melbourne, Australia, was founded in Melbourne in 1962. The company, founded by Leonard Spira, was a move into grand opera by the then amateur Gilbert and Sullivan-oriented Victorian Light Opera Co. The n ...
,
Melbourne Opera Melbourne Opera was founded in 2002 as a charitable not-for-profit company dedicated to producing opera and associated art forms in Melbourne, Victoria. With philanthropic assistance it has also toured to outer-suburban and regional Victorian thea ...
, and other Asian, Australian and New Zealand opera companies. * Nigel Ian Norman Snook (born 26 February 1944, Poole, Dorset; died 5 November 2007): played banjo on the first single "The Green Fields". *
Russ Ballard Russell Glyn Ballard (born 31 October 1945) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Originally coming to prominence as the lead singer and guitarist for the band Argent, Ballard became a songwriter and producer by the late 1970s. His co ...
(Russell Glyn Ballard), who came from Waltham Cross, joined in 1967 from Adam Faith's one-time backing ensemble
the Roulettes The Roulettes were a British rock and roll and beat group formed in London in 1961. They were recruited to play as the backing group to singer Adam Faith the following year, and continued to perform and record until the late 1960s. History The ...
. He later joined
Argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...
and became and remains a successful songwriter and performer. *
Bob Henrit Robert John "Bob" Henrit (born 2 May 1944, in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England)Eder, Bruce " Robert Henrit Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 2010-02-13 is an English drummer who has been a member of several musical groups, including Buster Meikle ...
(Robert John Henrit) performed as a session drummer on "Concrete and Clay". He joined as a regular member in 1967, also from the Roulettes. He replaced the long-serving drummer 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 ...
,
Mick Avory Michael Charles Avory (born 15 February 1944) is an English musician, best known as the longtime drummer and percussionist for the English rock band the Kinks. He joined them shortly after their formation in 1964 and remained with them until 1984, ...
, after Avory's departure in 1984. He worked with the act until their seemingly final demise in 1996.


Discography


Albums

*''1st Album'' (1965),
Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...
(LK 4697) (later re-released on London label with new artwork as album title ''#1 featuring Concrete and Clay'', with "500 Miles", "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" and "Swing Down Chariot" being replaced by "Tell Somebody You Know", "(You've) Never Been in Love Like This Before" and "Woman from Liberia") *''Unit 4 + 2'' (1969)


Singles


See also

*
List of artists under the Decca Records label Decca Records is a recording label. A division of Universal Classics, it is also known as ''Decca Music Group''. Classical Vocal artists * Roberto Alagna * Ada Alsop * Elly Ameling * Arleen Auger * Janet Baker * Cecilia Bartoli * Teresa Berga ...
*
List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart This is a list of artists who have reached number one on the UK Singles Chart as recorded by the Official Charts Company. Artists are listed alphabetically, solo artists are listed by surname and groups are listed by full names excluding "the" o ...
*
List of 1960s one-hit wonders in the United States A one-hit wonder is a musical artist who is successful with one hit song, but without a comparable subsequent hit. The term may also be applied to an artist who is remembered for only one hit despite other successes (such as " Take on Me" by A-ha ...
*
List of performers on Top of the Pops __NOTOC__ This list of performers on ''Top of the Pops'' includes popular music recording artists and musical ensembles who have performed on ''Top of the Pops'', a weekly BBC television programme that featured artists from the UK Singles Ch ...


References


Bibliography

*''40 Years of NME Charts'', by Roger Osborne, Dafydd Rees and Barry Lazell, Boxtree Limited, First Edition. 1992 -


External links


Unit Four Plus Two official siteUnit Four Plus Two Discography at Discogs
{{Authority control English pop music groups English rock music groups British Invasion artists Decca Records artists Fontana Records artists London Records artists Musical groups established in 1963 Musical groups disestablished in 1970 Musical groups from Hertfordshire