The Action


The Action were an English band of the 1960s, formed as The Boys in August 1963, in Kentish Town, North West London. They were part of the mod subculture, and played soul music-influenced pop music.

Career

The band was formed as The Boys in August 1963, in Kentish Town, North West London. The original members were Reg King, Alan 'Bam' King, Mike "Ace" Evans and Roger Powell. They had a brief spell as a bar band in Germany, and then as a backing band for Sandra Barry, playing on her single "Really Gonna Shake" in 1964. After the stint with Barry, Pete Watson was recruited as lead guitarist, and in 1964 they changed their name to The Action.
Shortly after their name change, they signed to Parlophone with producer George Martin. "Land of a Thousand Dances" b/w "In My Lonely Room" was well received by critics, but sold poorly. None of The Action's singles achieved success in the UK Singles Chart.
Dissatisfied with the stewardship of their manager Rikki Farr, Pete Watson left the band in late 1966. The Action continued as a quartet but were dropped by Parlophone in mid-1967, by which time they had also parted ways with Rikki Farr. They then assumed control of their own affairs, and soon afterwards keyboardist Ian Whiteman joined the band in an effort to expand their sound in order to help secure a new recording contract. By November, guitarist Martin Stone had also joined the band.
The Action now set about gathering original new material for a projected LP, but recording demos in a radically different Byrds-influenced psychedelic style failed to secure them their hoped-for recording deal. With the band seemingly having reached an impasse vocalist Reg King's behaviour became increasing unpredictable, and he departed from the band in mid-1968. King's exit left Ian Whiteman and Alan King to share vocal duties, and at this point The Action decided on a brief change of name to Azoth. However the band soon reverted to their old name to record a new set of five demos, where they moved toward a more mid-tempo West Coast-influenced psychedelic ballad style and then into folk rock. By January 1969 however, upon signing to Head Records, The Action was finally and permanently re-christened Mighty Baby.
Alan King later went on to form Ace, who had a US hit in 1975 with “How Long”.
A 1980 compilation of the Action's Parlophone tracks came with sleeve notes by Paul Weller and did much for their profile, while the Rolled Gold album demos were hailed as lost classics when they were reissued in the 1990s. In 1998, the original lineup of The Action reformed for a concert on the Isle of Wight. The band then played regularly over the next six years.
They are one of the favourite bands of Phil Collins, who performed with the reunited band in June 2000. "For me it was like playing with the Beatles", he later commented on the experience.

Discography

Singles

;as Sandra Barry and The Boys:
;as The Boys:
;as The Action:
;The Ultimate! Action:
  1. "I'll Keep Holding On"
  2. "Harlem Shuffle"
  3. "Never Ever"
  4. "Twenty Fourth Hour"
  5. "Since I Lost My Baby"
  6. "In My Lonely Room"
  7. "Hey Sha-Lo-Ney"
  8. "Wasn't It You?"
  9. "Come On, Come With Me"
  10. "Just Once in My Life"
  11. "Shadows and Reflections"
  12. "Something Has Hit Me"
  13. "The Place"
  14. "The Cissy"
  15. "Baby You've Got It"
  16. "I Love You "
  17. "Land of a Thousand Dances"
;Brain/Rolled Gold: :
  1. "Come Around"
  2. "Something to Say"
  3. "Love is All"
  4. "Icarus"
  5. "Strange Roads"
  6. "Things You Cannot See"
  7. "Brain"
  8. "Look at the View"
  9. "Climbing Up the Wall"
  10. "Really Doesn't Matter"
  11. "I'm a Stranger"
  12. "Little Boy"
  13. "Follow Me"
  14. "In My Dream"
  15. "In My Dream"
;Action Speaks Louder Than : :
  1. "Only Dreaming"
  2. "Dustbin Full of Rubbish"
  3. "An Understanding Love"
  4. "My Favourite Day"
  5. "A Saying for Today"
;Uptight and Outasight: :
  1. "I'll Keep Holding On"
  2. "Land of 1000 Dances"/"Uptight"
  3. "Mine Exclusively"
  4. Reg King Interview
  5. "Baby You've Got It "
  6. "Take Me in Your Arms "
  7. "Going to a Go Go"
  8. "Never Ever"
  9. "Love Is All"
  10. "I See You"
  11. "India"
  12. "Shadows and Reflections"
  1. "Meeting Over Yonder"
  2. "The Monkey Time"
  3. "Baby Don't You Do It"
  4. 'In My Lonely Room"
  5. "I Love You "
  6. "Girl "
  7. "Ooo Baby Baby"
  8. "Crazy About You Baby"
  9. "Heatwave"
  10. "People Get Ready"
  11. "The Memphis Train"
  12. "Since I Lost My Baby"
  13. "Harlem Shuffle"
  14. "Baby You've Got It"
  15. "I'll Keep Holding On"
  16. "Land of 1000 Dances"
In addition to this in 1980, Edsel released a compilation of all The Action's original UK singles called The Ultimate Action and after that four singles using the same material: