THE EYES

UK 60's Mod/Freakbeat band, The Eyes made one of the most collectable EPs of the sixties era. Today, 'The Arrival Of The Eyes EP' commands a price of over £200! The EP, released in 1966, contained both sides of their first two singles, 'When The Night Falls/I'm Rowed Out' and 'The Immediate Pleasure/My Degeneration'.

Thanks to the timeless quality of the tracks the band's legacy continues to grow as more and more people discover that long forgotten obscure under achievers could match heavyweights like The Who, Kinks and The Small Faces even if it was for just a fleeting three minutes of pure genius.

If you are looking for a record that captures the essence of Mod - then look no further than 'When The Night Falls' and 'I'm Rowed Out' - for two knockout punches of pure teen angst mixed with a smartly dressed cocksure swagger to strut yer stuff to.

This 1965 single alone should have made The Eyes into instant legends. Even today, the adrenaline pumped rush you feel is as fresh and valid as ever. What it sounded like back then is anybody's guess - the lack of success would suggest it was ahead of its time or simply to brash and raw. Ear piercing guitar feedback/distortion was probably too much too soon for sixties pop fans (the term 'Freakbeat' would not be invented until the 80's) but in retrospect not many bands can come up a solid debut like that these days. If they did, they would instantly blow you away.

The Eyes were hardly innovators. Their early slices of Mod cool borrowed heavily from the Who classic 60s sound but the Eyes finest cuts are equal in stature to 'I can't explain' and 'Substitute'. Their tongue-in-cheek homage to the Who, 'My Degeneration' is both funny and cool at the same time. Where other imitators would offer watered down inferior pap to cash in on the latest craze, the Eyes not just took the tunes but they bought the whole attitude too and it pours out of their first two singles.

The Eyes were Barry Allchin (bass), Brian Corcoran (drums), Phil Heatley (guitar), Chris Lovegrove (lead guitar) and Terry Nolder (vocals). The band evolved out of an outfit called The Renegades, an instrumental combo, who, when they added a vocalist, became known as Gerry Hart and The Hartbeats. The name change to The Eyes came during 1964.

Probably in spite of the lack of commercial success with their early singles record company pressure led meant their third single was a cover version, The Everly Brothers' Man With Money. The superior band original 'You're Too Much' was relegated to the flipside and the writing was well and truely on the wall for the Eyes. A band with an obvious raw talent for writing strong originals succumbed to releasing cover versions. Their next single was a cover of the Beatles 'Good Day Sunshine' and it would be their last.

In 1967 Phil Healey quit and was replaced by Steve Valentine. The band struggled on and making their final bow when, somewhat fittingly but entirely inappropiately were approached by Philips to record a Rolling Stones tribute album. It was released under a pseudonym The Pupils Tribute To The Rolling Stones.

Lack of immediate success and some bizarre career choices coupled with the fact that, quite frankly, the Eyes looked somewhat geeky and were never destined to be pin-up poster material led to a sad premature end for London outfit.

In the 80's innovative 60's re-issue label Bam Caruso coined the term 'Freakbeat' to describe a clutch of UK groups who had a hard edged pop sound with a bit of reverb and released a clutch of historical releases from relative unsung bands such as the Eyes. Since then their legend and hundreds of over also-rans have grown.

THE EYES GALLERY

THE EYES MOJO ARTICLE... click on pic to enlarge

THE EYES BAM CARUSO ADVERT... click on pic to enlarge