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Members
4 Male
Origin
Essex, England
Genre
Pop
Style
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Mood
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Born
4 MaleOrigin
Essex, EnglandGenre
PopStyle
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Mood
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Born
1959
Active
1959 to Present...
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Alternate Name
Liquorice John Death
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The Paramounts were an English beat group, based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. They had one hit single with their cover version of "Poison Ivy", which reached No. 35 on the UK Singles Chart in 1964, but are primarily known as the forerunner to Procol Harum.
The origin of the Paramounts is unclear. They were either formed as "The Raiders" in 1959 when the members were at secondary school, or were one of the first "manufactured" bands, the organisers of a band competition at the Palace Hotel in Southend forming a group out of the best musicians in the contest. The Raiders had Robin Trower and Chris Copping (guitars), Mick Trower (lead vocals; older brother of Robin Trower) and Gary Nicholls (drums; born 1945 died April 2007). The initial line-up of the Paramounts from September 1960, was Gary Brooker (piano, ex-Johnny Short and the Coasters), Mick Brownlee (drums; born October 1943, Chiswick, West London died June 2017, ex-Mickey Law and the Outlaws), Chris Copping (bass), Bob Scott (vocals, ex-Bob Scott and the Clansmen) and Robin Trower (guitar). Scott soon left, and Brooker became the vocalist, but as he was only 14, this made playing in licensed premises difficult, so they started performing in Trower's father's cafe, which became The Shades Club. Copping left in December 1962 and Brownlee left in September 1963, and were replaced by Diz Derrick (bass; born Grahame Derrick, 11 December 1944, Upminster, Essex) and B J Wilson (drums). Their musical style evolved from their initial R&B towards soul and by 1963 they were regularly playing in London, and were signed by Parlophone. In late 1964 and early 1965 they had Phil Wainman on drums (born Philip Neil Wainman, 7 June 1946, Hampton Court), briefly replaced Wilson who went to Jimmy Powell and the Five Dimensions. Their first single, "Poison Ivy", produced by Ron Richards, was a cover of the Leiber and Stoller song, which had been a hit for The Coasters in 1959. It became a minor hit for the Paramounts, reaching No. 35 on the UK Singles Chart, which led to them appearing on TV shows such as Ready Steady Go!.
Their second and third singles "Bad Blood" and "I'm the One who Loves You" both failed to chart, but the B side of the third single "It Won't Be Long" was the first song written by Brooker and Trower to be released. In search of another hit, subsequent singles were in different styles, but none of them charted. They became backing musicians on European tours by Sandie Shaw and Chris Andrews and the Paramounts eventually disbanded in 1966.
Brooker concentrated on writing music, collaborating with Keith Reid, and Matthew Fisher (organ), and they recorded "A Whiter Shade of Pale". Needing a band to tour and promote the record, Brooker convinced Trower and Wilson to rejoin them, and augmented this with David Knights (bass). By 1969, Knights and Fisher had left and Chris Copping rejoined.
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