Alphabet Beats #002: The Letter A is for....

THE ACTION

Reg King - Vocals
Alan 'Bam' King - Guitar and Vocals
Mike 'Ace' Evans - Bass and Vocals
Roger Powell - Drums
Peter Watson - Guitar and Vocals

One of the most underrated bands to come out of the 1960's in my honest opinion were The Action, hailing from Kentish Town, North West London.

 “We all tried our hand at getting that [Motown] sound you know... all the bands in the mid ‘60s.
The best ones at it were the Action... They were an amazing band.” (Steve Marriott, 1987)

"Of all the groups to emerge during the 1960s British beat explosion THE ACTION are most deserving of the epithet “unsung”." (Sir George Martin)

Prior to becoming The Action they had begun life in 1963 as The Boys and had recorded a couple of singles, firstly as Sandra Barry and The Boys:

Really Gonna Shake - Decca Records March 1964.

What was probably unusual for the time, both the A-side and B-side of the single were written by vocalist Reg King.

The Second single, released just as The Boys was 'It Ain't Fair' (November 1964 on Pye Records).

In 1965, with the addition of Peter Watson on guitar the band changed their name to The Action.

They also signed with Parlophone and released their debut single:

Land of One Thousand Dances / In My Lonely Room (October 1965).

Peter Watson left the band in 1966 and The Action were seemingly getting nowhere. The critics enjoyed their music but they just couldn't get a hit record. Even the February 1966 follow-up to the 'Land' single didn't even make a dent.

I'll Keep Holding On / Hey-Sah-Lo-ney.

A few more singles followed on Parlophone before they were let go by the company: 

Baby You've Got It/Since I've Lost My Baby - July 1966.

Never Ever /  Twenty Fourth Hour - February 1967.

Shadows and Reflections / Something Has Hit Me - June 1967.

Reg King would leave the band in 1967 with Alan King taking over on vocals and only one more single would see the light of day:

The Harlem Shuffle / Wasn't It You.

German only release in 1968.

In The Lap of The Mods DVD.

The Action: In The Lap of The Mods Book.

For a band who released so little during the sixties their sphere of influence is quite outstanding. During the Mod Revival of the late 70's and early 80's they were referenced by many of the bands. They got back together in 1998 for a show in the Isle of Wight and continued to perform up until 2004.