The Wackers & Persuasions - Singles 1964-66

Short-lived, modestly popular band that played in the Liverpool style, although they weren't from Liverpool or the surrounding area. They cut a total of three singles, one for Oriole and two for Pye's Piccadilly subsidiary, of which the best was the second, a cover of "Love Or Money." 

Terry Anton - vocals

Bernard "Bernie" Lee - lead guitar, vocals

Eurwyn Pierce (aka Dino Grant) - rhythm guitar, piano, vocals

Julian Johnson - bass

John G. Foster - drums

All five members also recorded and performed as The Persuasions [UK].

The Wackers were originally from Porthmadog, Gwynedd, Wales and formed in 1961 as Dino And The Wildfires. Moving to London, the group also performed as Terry Anton And The Rhythm Rockers for a period of time. There was speculation that the group were from Liverpool since they appeared regularly in and around Merseyside, and the members were quite happy to give this impression since it helped to increase their image. The group established themselves as a typical Merseybeat group on the London scene where they became quite successful. Deciding to turn professional, their original drummer Bobby Williams quit the group in order to keep his regular job. Bobby had felt that the future of a professional musician was too uncertain. With John Foster as drummer the group became The Wackers.

At the beginning of 1964 the group was signed to Oriole, releasing "I Wonder Why" b/w "Why Can't It Happen To Me" in January of that year. The single also had a release in Sweden on the SweDisc label. John Schroeder, who had been A&R chief at Oriole, moved to Pye with The Wackers following him. Two singles by The Wackers were released on the subsidiary Piccadilly label. "Love Or Money" b/w "Hooka Tooka" was released on 28 August 1964 but it failed to enter the charts even though it sold quite well.

The Wackers performed "Love Or Money" in the December 31st 26 minute long theatrical release of Swinging UK directed by Frank Gilpin. The group were credited as The Whackers in the film where artists lip-synched and mimed to their current singles. Also included in the short film were The Cockneys, The Four Pennies [UK], The Merseybeats, Migil 5, Brian Poole And The Tremeloes and Millie (also known as Millie Small).

Swingin UK was released in the cinemas in 1965 as part of a full length feature film, titled Go-Go Big Beat, that included three shorts, Swinging UK along with the 26 minute Frank Gilpin directed UK Swings Again and the 25 minute Kenneth Hume directed Mods And Rockers. The Mods And Rockers segment featured the Western Theatre Ballet Company performing a West Side Story dance interpretation to Beatles compositions with The Cheynes playing the songs. Original print media ads included the wording: IT'S THE BIGGEST BEAT IN BEATLE-LAND! as well as Hear These Beatles Greats! "Please Please Me" "From Me To You" "Bad To Me" "I Want To Be Your Man" "This Boy" "She Loves You" "Don't Bother Me". Brian Epstein instituted legal action and the film disappeared from the cinemas soon after its release.

On September 21 1964 The Wackers, again credited as The Whackers, performed on Episode 12 of the BBC2 30 minute television series Beat Room, a beat, rhythm and blues and other pop music programme. Also included in this episode were The Animals, Cliff Bennett And The Rebel Rousers, Lulu And The Luvers and resident group Wayne Gibson And The Dynamic Sounds. The third and final release of The Wackers featured the folk-rock oriented "The Girl Who Wanted Fame" b/w "You're Forgetting" released on January 22 1965.

Deciding to no longer call themselves The Wackers, all five members renamed themselves as The Persuasions [UK] and released three singles on the UK Columbia label. On February 27 1965 the group were performing in Aylesbury at the Borough Town Hall as The Wackers With Terry Anton. Their second act at the time was The Mantas With Carol Hanson. Later, on June 26th, they again appeared in Aylesbury at the Borough Town Hall but this time were billed as The Persuasions With Terry Anton and second act playing were The Vibratones. The Whackers alongside Roger And The Rallies performed a Big Beat Night gig at the Pavilion Ballroom in Bournemouth on Tuesday May 18 1965. As The Persuasions, the group performed with The Indigoes and Roger And The Rallies during a Big Beat Night gig at the Pavilion Ballroom in Bournemouth on Tuesday the 13th of July. On Wednesday 1st of September The Persuasions gigged at Le Disque A Go Go in Bournemouth without a secondary act.

In April 1965, The Persuasions released two James Brown compositions "I'll Go Crazy" b/w "Try Me" as their first Columbia single. The single also saw a release in the US on Tower records in June of that year. Pye records released a solo single by lead singer Terry Anton on 28 May 1965 that included "Leave A Little Love" b/w "Don't Say Goodbye". The Terry Anton version of "Leave A Little Love", composed by Robin Conrad and Les Reed, was in direct competition with Lulu who had won the 1965 Brighton Song Festival with this very number. Lulu's version, also released on May 28th, peaked at number 8 on the British charts while Terry Anton's version did not chart at all. This was followed by The Persuasions recording a Randy Newman song "Big Brother" b/w Deep Down Love" released on 24 September 1965. It was also released on the US Tower label in January 1966. The group's recording career came to an end with the 11 March 1966 release of "La, La, La, La, La" b/w "Opportunity" on UK Columbia. The single also saw a release on Italian Columbia that same year.

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 1. The Wackers - Love Or Money  (2:35)

 2. The Wackers - Hooka Tooka  (2:53)

 3. The Wackers - I Wonder Why  (2:29)

 4. The Wackers - Why Can't It Happen To Me  (1:46)

 5. The Wackers - The Girl Who Wanted Fame (1965)  (3:19)

 6. The Wackers - You're Forgetting  (2:10)

 7. The Persuasions - I'll Go Crazy  (1:58)

 8. The Persuasions - Try Me  (2:28)

 9. The Persuasions - Big Brother  (2:34)

 10. The Persuasions - Deep Down Love  (1:56)

 11. The Persuasions - La La La La La  (3:02)

 12. The Persuasions - Opportunity  (2:26)

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