The Honeycombs were an English beat group, founded in 1963 in

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

, best known for their chart-topping 1964

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 ...

, the million selling "

Have I the Right? "Have I the Right?" was the debut single and biggest hit of British band The Honeycombs. It was composed by Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, who had made contact with The Honeycombs, a London-based group, then playing under the name of The Sheratons ...

" The band featured Honey Lantree on drums, one of the few female drummers in bands at that time. They were unable to replicate the success of the first single and had disbanded by 1967.

Personnel

The original group members were: *Denis D'Ell (born Denis James Dalziel, 10 October 1943,

Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the ...

; died of cancer 6 July 2005) – lead singer and harmonica player *Martin Murray (born 7 October 1941, 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 univ ...

) – rhythm guitar. He was replaced by Peter Pye (born 12 July 1946,

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London and the ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Charing Cross, the town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and Sout ...

, London) in November 1964 *Allan Ward (born 12 December 1945,

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

, Nottinghamshire) – lead guitar *John Lantree (born John David Lantree, 20 August 1941, Newbury, Berkshire) – bass guitar *Honey Lantree (born Anne Margot Lantree, 28 August 1943,

Hayes Hayes may refer to: * Hayes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States * Hayes (given name) Businesses * Hayes Brake, an American designer and manufacturer of disc brakes * Hay ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

, died 23 December 2018) – drums and singer

Career

The group was founded in November 1963 as an amateur band founded by Martin Murray. Its members were Murray (a hairdresser), his salon assistant Honey Lantree, her brother John, and two friends. Originally they called themselves the Sheratons. The group played dates in the

West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government build ...

, and at the Mildmay Tavern, a North London pub. Among those attending an appearance of the band in February 1964 were aspiring songwriters

Ken Howard Kenneth Joseph Howard Jr. (March 28, 1944 – March 23, 2016) was an American actor. He was known for his roles as Thomas Jefferson in '' 1776'' and as basketball coach and former Chicago Bulls player Ken Reeves in the television show '' The Wh ...

and

Alan Blaikley Alan Tudor Blaikley (23 March 1940 – 4 July 2022) was an English songwriter and composer, best known for writing a series of international hits in the 1960s and 1970s in collaboration with Ken Howard, including the UK number ones "Have I the ...

. Howard and Blaikley would become a prolific British songwriting team, but in 1964 they had just started their career. They got into conversation with the group, which appeared interested in a few songs the duo had just written. The group had already arranged an audition with indie record producer

Joe Meek Robert George "Joe" Meek (5 April 1929 – 3 February 1967) was an English record producer, sound engineer and songwriter who pioneered space age and experimental pop music. He also assisted in the development of recording practices like over ...

. The audition resulted in a recording of Howard and Blaikley's "

" Meek himself provided the B-side, "Please Don't Pretend Again". Meek used his apartment at 304 Holloway Road, Islington, as a recording studio. Three UK No. 1 hits were produced there: "

Johnny Remember Me "Johnny Remember Me" is a song which became a 1961 UK Singles Chart #1 hit single for John Leyton, backed by The Outlaws. It was producer Joe Meek's first #1 production. Recounting the haunting – real or imagined – of a young man by his dead ...

" by

John Leyton John Dudley Leyton (born 17 February 1936) is an English actor and singer. As a singer he is best known for his hit song " Johnny Remember Me" (written by Geoff Goddard and produced by Joe Meek), which reached number one in the UK Singles Cha ...

, " Telstar" by

The Tornados The Tornados (The Tornadoes in North America) were an English instrumental rock group of the 1960s that acted as backing group for many of record producer Joe Meek's productions and also for singer Billy Fury. They enjoyed several chart hi ...

and "Have I the Right?" Conspicuous in "Have I the Right?" is the prominence of the drums, whose effect was enhanced by members of the group stamping their feet on the wooden stairs to the studio. Meek recorded the effect with five microphones he had fixed to the banisters with bicycle clips. For the finishing touch someone beat a

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called " zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, tho ...

directly onto a microphone. The recording was also somewhat sped up. "

" was released on 26 June 1964 on the Pye record label. Louis Benjamin, Pye's later chairman, renamed the group as "The Honeycombs", a pun on the drummer's name and her job as a hairdresser's assistant. The sales started slowly, but by the end of July the record started to climb 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 ...

. Honey Lantree's status as a female drummer in a top band was as unusual then as it is now, and some questioned whether she was just a visual novelty, despite her genuine drumming ability. At the end of August the record reached No. 1. "Have I the Right?" was also a big success outside the UK, hitting No. 1 in Australia and Canada, No. 3 in Ireland, No. 5 in the US, and No. 2 in the

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. Overall sales of the record reached a million. The Honeycombs also recorded a German version of the song: "Hab ich das Recht?" Both the English and the German versions reached No 21 in the German charts: the English one in October, the German one in November 1964. From then on Howard and Blaikley acted as the group's managers and also wrote their next

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

, "Is It Because" and "Eyes". These records did not sell well. This also applied to their fourth single, " Something Better Beginning", written by

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 voc ...

from

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 ...

. Soon after their first record had become a hit, the Honeycombs went on tour to the Far East and Australia, and were not able to promote their new records at home. The tour gained them a long-lasting popularity in Japan, however. Especially for the Japanese market the group produced a live album and a single, "Love in Tokyo". The group also made a lasting impression in

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, where they scored two No. 1 singles. The Honeycombs made many appearances on music television shows such as ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'', ''

Ready Steady Go! ''Ready Steady Go!'' (or ''RSG!'') was a British rock/pop music television programme broadcast every Friday evening from 9 August 1963 until 23 December 1966. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan wanted a light ente ...

'' (UK), ''

Shindig! ''Shindig!'' is an American musical variety series which aired on ABC from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966. The show was hosted by Jimmy O'Neill, a disc jockey in Los Angeles,Beat-Club'' (Germany). The group also appeared in the 1965 film ''

Pop Gear ''Pop Gear'' (U.S. title: ''Go Go Mania'') is a British music revue film, directed by Frederic Goode, which was released in 1965. It contains live concert footage of the Beatles, and lip-synched performances of some of the British Invasion bands ...

'', miming "Have I the Right?" and "Eyes". In July 1965, British music magazine '' NME'' reported that it had been agreed in the London High Court that "Have I The Right?" was the work of Howard and Blaikley. Composer

Geoff Goddard Geoffrey Goddard (19 November 1937 – 15 May 2000) was an English songwriter, singer and instrumentalist. Working for Joe Meek in the early 1960s, he wrote songs for Heinz, Mike Berry, Gerry Temple, The Tornados, Kenny Hollywood, The Outlaws ...

agreed to drop allegations that he, not they, had written the song. In August 1965 the group released "That's the Way", with Honey Lantree sharing vocals with D'Ell (when on

tour Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...

Viv Prince Vivian Martin Prince (born 9 August 1941) is an English drummer. He played in a variety of bands during the 1960s, including Pretty Things. He was noted for his wild and eccentric behaviour, which garnered a lot of publicity for the group and i ...

The Pretty Things ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

took over the drumming). This record became their fourth British hit and reached No. 12. Its successor, "This Year Next Year", again with Lantree and D'Ell sharing vocals, did not reach the UK chart. D'Ell sang on all but the last single the group recorded. "Who Is Sylvia?" was an adaptation of

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wo ...

's song "

An Sylvia "An Sylvia", D 891; Op. 106, No. 4, is a Lied for voice and piano composed by Franz Schubert in 1826 and published in 1828. Its text is a German translation by Eduard von Bauernfeld of "Who is Silvia?" from act 4, scene 2, of ''The Two Gentlemen ...

". "It's So Hard" was also recorded by

Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich were an English rock band active during the 1960s. Formed in Salisbury in 1964, the band consisted of David John Harman (Dave Dee), Trevor Leonard Ward-Davies (Dozy), John Dymond (Beaky), Michael Wilson (Mick ...

as " Hard to Love You". In April 1966 Denis D'Ell, Allan Ward and Peter Pye left the group. In 1999 the whole original line up of the Honeycombs (except Martin Murray) reformed to work with cult record producer Russell C. Brennan, who they likened to Joe Meek. He produced a new version of " Live and Let Die" for the band which featured on the Future Legend Records release ''Cult Themes From the 70s Vol.2'' album. They also did their first live gig together in 30 years at Madame Jo Jo's in London to promote it before disbanding once more. This stands as the original lineup's last recording. Latterly the track was also featured on a special

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors hav ...

compilation, ''The Themes Bond...James Bond (The Alternative James Bond Themes)''.

The (new) Honeycombs and afterwards

The group went on, with new lead singer, guitarist and keyboardist: *Colin Boyd (born Colin Nicholas Nicol, 4 June 1946,

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, near

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, Somerset) – Guitar and vocals. Later he formed

Honeybus Honeybus were a 1960s pop group formed in April 1967, in London. They are best known for their 1968 UK Top 10 hit single, "I Can't Let Maggie Go", written by group member Pete Dello who also composed their previous single "(Do I Figure) In Y ...

and changed his name to Colin Hare. *Rod Butler (born Rodney Butler, 27 May 1944,

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it became part of Greater London. Its population counted 18,4 ...

, London) – Lead guitar and vocals. Later he played with the Lemmings and subsequently the College Boys, formed by ex-Honeycomb Martin Murray. Butler later joined forces with D'Ell and formed Zarabanda and later still played in Violinski, with

Mik Kaminski Michael Kaminski (born 2 September 1951) is an English musician. He is best known for playing violin in the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) between 1973 and 1979 and touring from 1981 to 1986, as well as being a member of Electric Ligh ...

of the

ELO Elo or ELO may refer to: Music * Electric Light Orchestra, a British rock music group ** ''The Electric Light Orchestra'' (album), the group's debut album ** ''ELO 2'', the group's second album * ELO Part II, an offshoot band of Electric Light ...

*Eddy Spence – Keyboards and vocals *John Lantree – Bass guitar *Honey Lantree – Drums and vocals This line-up released the group's last single, "That Loving Feeling", a group original penned by the new lead singer Colin Boyd. It failed to chart. Late in the year the Honeycombs toured Japan where a live LP was recorded in Tokyo. The original vinyl LP is hard to locate these days, as is the CD re-issue by Repertiore Records in the 1990s (Rep 4180-WZ). The full tracklist is - 1. Colour Slide, 2. I'll Go Crazy, 3. She's About A Mover, 4. There's Always Me, 5. Wipe Out, 6. Lucille, 7. If You Should, 8. Have I The Right, 9. Goldfinger, 10. Kansas City, 11. My Prayer, 12. What'd I Say. A few of these tracks have made their way onto video streaming sites, including an extremely rare Japanese-only "Christmas" single recorded during their tour of that country, coupling "Santa Clause Is Back In Town" with "Silent Night". On 3 February 1967, the Honeycombs record producer Joe Meek committed suicide at his recording studios / flat on the Holloway Road after an altercation with his landlady who also died. After this, the Honeycombs had no more records issued and the band broke up. In 1972 Peter Pye, using a little alteration of his middlename Frank, started a brief solo career as Peter Franc with a single for Blue Mountain label, both compositions were actually credited to Peter F. Pye. It was followed by two albums and three singles for the Dawn label, the latest being a 1975 single not available on his albums. In the 1990s founding member Martin Murray toured the cabaret circuit with a group called 'Martin Murray's Honeycombs'. Another line-up including Honey Lantree, Peter Pye and Denis D'Ell also successfully toured from 1991 onwards. John Lantree later rejoined this line-up. In 1999 record producer Russell C. Brennan asked D'Ell, Honey and John Lantree and Pye to record "Live and Let Die", on the Future Legend Records compilation, ''Cult Themes from the '70s Vol. 2.'' This compilation also featured Glenda Collins, another Joe Meek artist. Singer Dennis D’Ell died on 6 July 2005 at the age of 61 and drummer Honey Lantree died on 23 December 2018, aged 75.

Discography

Singles

Albums

*''The Honeycombs'' (Released in the US as ''Here Are the Honeycombs'') (UK Pye NPL 18097 / US Interphon IN-88001, 25 September 1964) – US No. 147 **"Colour Slide" / "Once You Know" / "Without You It Is Night" / "That's the Way" / "I Want to Be Free" / "How the Mighty Have Fallen" / "Have I the Right?" / "Just a Face in the Crowd" / "Nice While It Lasted" / "Me from You" / "Leslie Anne" / "She's Too Way Out" / "

It Ain't Necessarily So "It Ain't Necessarily So" is a popular song with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by his brother Ira Gershwin. The song comes from the Gershwins' opera ''Porgy and Bess'' (1935) where it is sung by the character Sportin' Life, a drug dealer, wh ...

" / "This Too Shall Pass Away" *''All Systems Go!'' (Pye NPL 18132, 17 December 1965) **"I Can't Stop"This version is different from the US single. / "Don't Love Her No More" / "All Systems Go" / "Totem Pole" / "Emptiness"This song was written by

, but never recorded by

. / "Ooee Train" / "She Ain't Coming Back" / "Something I Gotta Tell You" / "Our Day Will Come" / "Nobody But Me" / "There's Always Me" / "Love in Tokyo" / "If You Should" / "My Prayer" *''In Tokyo'' (Nippon Columbia PS-1277, 17 November 1965) (Live album, Japan only) **"Colour Slide" / "I'll Go Crazy" / "She's About a Mover" / "There's Always Me" / " Wipe Out" / " Lucille" / "If You Should" / "Have I the Right?" / " Goldfinger" / "Kansas City" / "My Prayer" / "

What'd I Say "What'd I Say" (or "What I Say") is an American rhythm and blues song by Ray Charles, released in 1959. As a single divided into two parts, it was one of the first soul songs. The composition was improvised one evening late in 1958 when Charl ...

" In Germany all three Honeycombs albums have been reissued on compact disc, two with bonus tracks: *''The Honeycombs'' (Repertoire Records RR 4098-WZ, 1990) **Bonus tracks: "Please Don't Pretend Again" / "I'll Cry Tomorrow" / "If You've Got to Pick a Baby" / "I'll See You Tomorrow" / "I Can't Stop" / "Hab ich das Recht" / "Du Sollst Nicht Traurig Sein" *''All Systems – Go!'' (Repertoire Records, RR 4121-WZ, 1990) **Bonus tracks: "Not Sleeping Too Well Lately" / "How Will I Know?" / "I Fell in Love" / " Something Better Beginning" / "Should a Man Cry?" / "Can't Get Through to You" *''In Tokyo'' (Repertoire Records, REP 4180-WZ, 1991)

Compilation albums

*''The Best of the Honeycombs'' (PRT Records PYC 4009, 1989): **"Have I the Right?" / "Is It Because?" / "Eyes" / "I Don't Love Her No More" / "Something Better Beginning" / "That's the Way" / "This Year Next Year" / "Who Is Sylvia?" / "It's So Hard" / "That Loving Feeling" / "How the Mighty Have Fallen" / "I Want to Be Free" / "I Can't Stop" / "Love in Tokyo" *''Honeycombs (All Systems Go and It's the Honeycombs)'' (Sequel Records NEX CD 125, 1990):This is a reissue on one CD of the two Honeycombs albums, but on the back cover of the CD the contents of the two albums have been reversed. Moreover, the debut album, simply called ''The Honeycombs'', has been rechristened ''It's the Honeycombs'' here. **"Colour Slide" / "Once You Know" / "Without You It Is Night" / "That's the Way" / "I Want to Be Free" / "How the Mighty Have Fallen" / "Have I the Right?" / "Just a Face in the Crowd" / "Nice While It Lasted" / "Me from You" / "Leslie Anne" / "She's Too Way Out" / "

" / "This Too Shall Pass Away" / "I Can't Stop" / "Don't Love Her No More" / "All Systems Go" / "Totem Pole" / "Emptiness" / "Ooee Train" / "She Ain't Coming Back" / "Something I Gotta Tell You" / "Our Day Will Come" / "Nobody But Me" / "There's Always Me" / "Love in Tokyo" / "If You Should" / "My Prayer" *''The Best of the Honeycombs'' (Marble Arch CMA CD 146, 1991): **"Have I the Right?" / "Leslie Anne" / "Once You Know" / "That's the Way" / "Colour Slide" / "Without You It Is Night" / "Something Better Beginning" / "I Want to Be Free" / "Just a Face in the Crowd" / "How the Mighty Have Fallen" / "Nice While It Lasted" / "She's Too Way Out" *''The Best of the Honeycombs, produced by Joe Meek'' (EMI EMI CDEMS 1475, 1993) **"Have I the Right?" / "Can't Get Through to You" / "I Want to Be Free" / "Leslie Anne" / "Colour Slide" / "This Year Next Year" / "That Lovin' Feeling" / "That's the Way" / "It Ain't Necessarily So" / "How the Mighty Have Fallen" / "I'll Cry Tomorrow" / "I'll See You Tomorrow" / "Is It Because" / "She's Too Way Out" / "Something Better Beginning" / "Eyes" / "Just a Face in the Crowd" / "Nice While It Lasted" / "It's So Hard" / "I Can't Stop" / "I Don't Love Her No More" / "All Systems Go" / "Totem Pole" / "Emptiness" / "Ooee Train" / "She Ain't Coming Back" / "Something I Gotta Tell You" / "Nobody But Me" / "There's Always Me" / "Love in Tokyo" *''Have I the Right?: The Very Best of the Honeycombs'' (EMI 7243 5 38312 2 6, 2002): **"Have I The Right?" / "That's the Way" / "Is it Because" / "Something Better Beginning" / "Colour Slide" / "Once You Know" / "Without You It Is Night" / "I Want to Be Free" / "It Ain't Necessarily So" / "Our Day Will Come" / "I'll See You Tomorrow" / "Eyes" / "Can't Get Through to You" / "It's So Hard" / "She's Too Way Out" / "I Can't Stop" / "Ooee Train" / "Love in Tokyo" / "Totem Pole" / "My Prayer" *''304 Holloway Road Revisited'' (2016): **Musicians: Martin Murray, Mik West, Zak Skjerdal, Ant Atkins, Allan Gifford, Linda Hall **CD track listing # Leslie Anne # Mary Jo # Bring Your Heart With You # Please Don’t Pretend Again # It’s Crazy But I Can’t Stop # That’s The Way # Love In Tokyo # Have I The Right? # Colour Slide # Without You It’s Night # It’s So hard To Love You # Something I Got To Tell You # Totem Pole 9 (theme from Howards Way) # Too Way Out

Bibliography

*Chris May and Tim Phillips, ''British Beat'', Sociopack Publications, London, 974 p. 75.

References and notes

External links

* Biography of The Honeycombs at Allmusic.com*http://rokpool.com/node/3400 Extensive discography * *
The Honeycombs fan site
Future Legend Records {{DEFAULTSORT:Honeycombs, The English pop music groups Beat groups British Invasion artists Musical groups established in 1963 Musical groups from London Pye Records artists 1963 establishments in England 1967 disestablishments in England Musical groups disestablished in 1967 Musical quintets