The Smoke were an English
pop
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* ''Pop'' ( ...
group from
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
. They consisted of Mick Rowley (
lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, ...
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...
), Mal Luker (
lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, ...
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...
), John "Zeke" Lund (
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gui ...
) and Geoff Gill (
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...
and compositor).
The band originally performed around Yorkshire as The Moonshots, changing their name to The Shots when they moved to London.
There were two bands playing
R&B and other cover versions, one called Tony Adams and the Viceroys, which included John 'Zeke' Lund on bass, Mal Luker on lead guitar and Geoff Gill on drums. The other band was The Moonshots, which included Mick Rowley on lead vocals and Phil Peacock on rhythm guitar (born Philip Peacock, 7 June 1946,
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
,
Northumbria
la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria
, common_name = Northumbria
, status = State
, status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
). These bands then came together to form The Shots and made a single for Columbia, "Keep A Hold Of What You've Got", which flopped. At some point, Peacock left the band, and they then changed their name to The Smoke.
The Smoke's biggest hit was "
My Friend Jack
"My Friend Jack" is a psychedelic rock song released by the English freakbeat group The Smoke in 1967. It was included originally in their debut album '' It's Smoke Time'', and it was also included (among other compilation albums) in the collect ...
" (German Chart: No. 2,
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 ...
: No. 45); the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
banned airplay of the song over its then alleged, though highly apparent, drug references. Later singles released under the band name often had variations on the remaining trio of Lund, Luker and Gill, performing along with session musicians to pad out the sound. All failed to sell in any numbers.
".
;as ''The Shots''
* 1965: "Keep A Hold Of What You've Got" / "She's A Liar" (UK)
* 1965: "There She Goes" / "Walk Right Out The Door" (UK)
;as ''The Smoke''
* 1967: "
" / "We Can Take It" (D)
* 1967: "High In A Room" / "If The Weather's Sunny" (D)
* 1967: "If The Weather's Sunny" / "I Would If I Could, But I Can't" (UK)
* 1967: "Victor Henry's Cool Book" / "Have Some More Tea" (D)
* 1967: "It Could Be Wonderful" / "Have Some More Tea" (UK)
* 1968: "Utterly Simple" / "Sydney Gill" (UK)
* 1968: "Sydney Gill" / "It Could Be Wonderful" (D)
* 1971: "Ride, Ride, Ride" / "Guy Fawkes" (UK)
* 1972: "Sugar Man" / "That's What I Want" (D)
* 1972: "Jack is Back" / "That's What I Want" (F)
* 1974: "Shagalagalu" / "Gimme Good Loving" (D)
* 1974: "My Lullaby" / "Looking High" (UK)
* 1976: "My Friend Jack" (1976 version) / "Lady" (F)
* 2015: ''My Friend Jack Eats Sugar Lumps: An Anthology'' (Morgan Blue Town, UK)