The Honeycombs: "Have I the Right?"

November 2, 1964 (2 weeks)

As we've all been repeatedly told, The Beatles changed everything the moment they arrived in New York and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. It's something I've already gone into in this space so there's no need to re-litigate that one. What isn't typically mentioned is how they completely altered British pop as well. Performers who had been groomed for the spotlight like Adam Faith, Billy Fury and Helen Shapiro suddenly became passe. While Cliff Richard and The Shadows continued to have hits, it was clear that their Imperial Period had ended. Meanwhile, visionary producer Joe Meek began to struggle just as his American equivalent, Phil Spector, started to lose his grip as well.

Meek had been behind The Tornados' remarkable 1962 smash "Telstar" but the hits were beginning to slow down by the time The Beatles took over. "Have I the Right?" returned the troubled boffin to the top of the charts in both the UK and Canada even though his fingerprints weren't all over his latest offering compared to earlier singles. Where it had once been unclear as to how much the members of The Tornados actually contributed to their signature number (it's safe to say that Meek did the heavy lifting), there was no such similar trouble giving the Honeycombs the credit they deserved.

Well, actually...

London/Home Counties quintet The Honeycombs have two notable features: they had one very memorable hit single and they had a woman on drums. Honey Lantree had been a trainee hairdresser who discovered she had an aptitude for percussion. She promptly joined up with older brother bassist John along with Dennis D'Ell, Martin Murray and the very youthful Alan Ward to form The Sheratons. Realizing that having a girl on drums was something no one else had ever done, they were renamed The Honeycombs which combined her nickname and her background in hair styling. A feeble pun but a good name for a band in the early sixties (not unlike The Beatles as a matter of fact).

Lantree's position behind the drum kit was so unusual that a backlash developed as the group found some success. Accusations were made that she was simply there for show and that someone else (hint: someone with a Y chromosome) was playing on their records. Naturally, no proof was given and I have no idea how the naysayers explained how she managed to bluff her way through their live shows. It's rather depressing to consider that her skeptics must have used the very fact that her drumming was so accomplished as a point against her.

And make no mistake: her drum part is one of the reasons "Have I the Right?" is as outstanding as it is. She plays with a forcefulness in the chorus (backed up by the other Honeycombs stomping their feet) while maintaining a solid rhythm during the verses. There are other factors too: Ward's spidery guitar solo is the sort of thing that indie ax players like Suede's Bernard Butler and Radiohead's Johnny Greenwood made entire careers out of, Meek's production tricks aren't all over the place but the echo and trippy organ set it apart from your average pre-Beatlemania pop song and there's loads of energy to spare. It's worth pointing out that deep down this is very much a pre-Fab Four concoction: Dennis D'Ell has that blend of cockiness and 'awe, shucks' humbleness in his voice that makes it a such a throwback to the innocence of 1960 while the band play in a tight, disciplined style not unlike The Shadows which was no longer in vogue with the rise of Merseybeat (not to mention up and coming rough house acts like The Rolling Stones).

Meek's production style was becoming outdated by the time The Honeycombs had hit the top of the charts. Similar to Phil Spector (they didn't just have murdering in common), he had a tendency to make his contributions the focal point which contrasted with the way George Martin used production as a means to get the best out of the artists he worked with. It's to his credit that Meek backed off considerably on "Have I the Right?"

But it wasn't just Meek who was finished once "Have I the Right?" had become a worldwide smash. While not strictly speaking a one-hit wonder, very few people could name as many as two Honeycombs' songs, possibly even back in their heyday — and, frankly, this is with good reason. They couldn't recapture that magic perhaps because they were operating using a dying sound with a producer who had peaked creatively. The fact that they were able to get one brilliant hit out of this arrangement is a tribute to everyone involved. Competing with The Beatles would be out of the question in the longterm but they did okay in that regard for a few weeks in the second half of 1964.

Score: 8

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Can Con

It wasn't just British and American acts who had to deal with the overwhelming popularity of The Beatles, Canadian groups and solo artists reacted in their own way. "Unless You Care" by Vancouver's Terry Black is among the first credible attempts at a CanRock Merseybeat. Having studio pros like Glen Campbell and Leon Russell doing some jangle pop is never a bad thing especially when you're a teenage idol in need of a hit. Black's voice is deeper and sounds more mature than your average pretty boy and the result is something that isn't close to as throwaway as one might assume. A pretty good first stab though, not unlike The Honeycombs, it would end up being the biggest hit of Black's career. Yet he managed to have a respectable career; I'll have to see if he managed to live up to the early promise.