The Gorillas (originally named The Hammersmith Gorillas) were an English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

group from Hammersmith, London, formed in 1972 and fronted by Jesse Hector, that played high energy rock music.

History

Jesse Hector (born in 1947, in Kilburn, northwest London) played in bands from the age of 11, first the Rock and Roll Trio, and then the R&B-influenced band the Cravats.Ankeny, Jason " Jesse Hector Biography, ''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

'', Macrovision Corporation Cravats bassist Adrian Stambach joined mod outfit the Clique in 1963. Hector reformed the Rock and Roll Trio before starting two more short-lived bands, the Way of Life and the Mod Section, and went on to form the proto-punk band Crushed Butler in 1969 with drummer

Darryl Read Darryl Michael Roy Read (19 September 1951 – 23 June 2013) was a British singer, guitarist, drummer, actor, poet and writer. In the late 1960s, Read was a member of Crushed Butler, considered by some to be amongst the forerunners of proto punk ...

and bassist Alan Butler. After a brief flirtation with EMI Records, the band was renamed Tiger, until Darryl left to join the glam rock group Dizzy, then they changed name again to Helter-Skelter. With the addition of drummer Gary Anderson, the band became the Hammersmith Gorillas, taking their name from London's pro- Castro activist group the Hammersmith Guerillas. The band's debut release was a cover version 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 rhyt ...

' "

You Really Got Me "You Really Got Me" is a song written by Ray Davies for English rock band the Kinks. The song, originally performed in a more blues-oriented style, was inspired by artists such as Lead Belly and Big Bill Broonzy. Two versions of the song were ...

" on the Penny Farthing label, produced by

Larry Page Lawrence Edward Page (born March 26, 1973) is an American business magnate, computer scientist and internet entrepreneur. He is best known for co-founding Google with Sergey Brin. Page was the chief executive officer of Google from 1997 unti ...

, and timed to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the original release.Korpar-Migrenne, Philippe (1998)
JESSE HECTOR & THE GORILLAS – The Story
, Damaged Goods Records They then signed to

Chiswick Records Chiswick Records was a British independent record label. Established in 1975, Chiswick was the "first true ' indie' label to be established in Britain for nearly a decade". The label has been described as "significant" in the " punk era". It re ...

, recording two singles for the label, and building a loyal fanbase, before moving on to Raw Records.Larkin, Colin (1992) "Gorillas", in ''The Guinness Who's Who of Indie and New Wave Music'', Guinness Publishing, In 1976, they played at the

Mont-de-Marsan Mont-de-Marsan (; Occitan: ''Lo Mont de Marçan'') is a commune and capital of the Landes department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Population Military installations The French Air and Space Force operates the '' Constantin Roza ...

Punk Festival in the south of France along with the Damned and Eddie and the Hot Rods. After two more singles in 1978, the band's debut (and only) studio album was issued, ''Message to the World''.Strong, Martin C. (2003) "Gorillas", in ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, Hector was noted for his extravagant

sideburns Sideburns, sideboards, or side whiskers are facial hair grown on the sides of the face, extending from the hairline to run parallel to or beyond the ears. The term ''sideburns'' is a 19th-century corruption of the original ''burnsides'', named ...

, and was a keen self-publicist, declaring the Gorillas to be "the future of rock music". He was influenced by several dead rock stars, and several tracks on the band's album were performed in the style of his heroes, including a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Foxy Lady" and "Going Fishing" performed in the style of

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted in ...

. They returned to Chiswick in the early 1980s for the "Move It" single, before splitting up after Butler died from injuries sustained in a horse riding accident. Hector continued to regularly perform live around London, working with a new band, Jesse Hector & The Sound, in the early 1990s, with bassist Kevin White and drummer Gilles Baillarguet. The band issued a single in 1991, "Leavin' Town" on the Clawfist label. When the group split in 1993, Hector assembled a new band, the Gatecrashers, named after a Gorillas single, contributing to several retro-garage rock compilations and releasing an EP in 2000, ''Keep on Moving''. Later Hector worked as a cleaner at the Royal Geographical Society, and was the subject of a documentary film in 2008, ''A Message To The World'', directed by Caroline Catz, which was shown as part of the Raindance festival, and at the Barbican as part of its "Pop Mavericks" season.

Discography

Singles

*"You Really Got Me" (1974) Penny Farthing (as the Hammersmith Gorillas) *"She's My Gal" (1976) Chiswick *"Gatecrasher" (1976) Chiswick *"You Really Got Me" (1977) Raw *"It's My Life" (1978) Raw *"Message to the World" (1978) Raw *"Move It" (1981) Chiswick

Albums

*''Message to the World'' (1978) Raw (reissued with bonus tracks, 1998,

Damaged Goods Damaged goods or Damaged Goods may refer to: * Goods that have been damaged, where goods are items that satisfy human wants and provide utility * A person considered to be less than perfect psychologically, as a result of a traumatic experience ...

) *''Gorilla Got Me'' (1999)

Big Beat Big beat is an electronic music genre that usually uses heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns – common to acid house/techno. The term has been used by the British music industry to describe music by artists such as th ...

(credited to the Hammersmith Gorillas) Gorillas tracks are also included on the Jesse Hector retrospective collection ''Gorilla Garage: The Jesse Hector Story'' (2005) RPM Records. Crushed Butler's recordings were compiled by

on the ''Uncrushed'' album in 2005 by RPM Records.

References

External links

*Lamey, Charles P.
The Gorillas
, ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'' *Gottschalk, Alex
Hammersmith Gorillas
, ''Punk77'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Gorillas, The English rock music groups Musical groups established in 1974 Protopunk groups British pub rock music groups Chiswick Records artists