There is some dispute regarding the band's origin. According to encyclopedia author
Colin Larkin, the
AllMusic website, and a number of other sources, the band's origin can be traced back to a late 1950s
skiffle group named the Playboys, which later transitioned into a
rhythm and blues band and changed their name to The Thoughts, before finally becoming The Tomcats. However, in a 2009
podcast interview the band members themselves disputed this history, calling it "a misunderstanding". According to the band, they initially formed in the early 1960s as The Dreamers and began playing music that was influenced by
The Shadows and the
Everly Brothers amongst others. The Dreamers soon changed their name to The Tomcats, however, due to the national success that
Freddie and the Dreamers were enjoying at the time, and they also transitioned into playing harder
rhythm and blues music, influenced by the likes of
Chuck Berry and
Bo Diddley. The original Tomcats' line-up included
guitarist and
singer Tom Newman,
bassist Alan James,
lead guitarist Peter Cook, and
drummer Chris Jackson, but this incarnation of the band broke up in 1965. Alan James has stated that it was Newman's father who suggested The Tomcats as a new name, which the group then used. Meanwhile, another London based
R&B group, named Second Thoughts, came together in 1965. Second Thoughts included
conga player,
flautist and
keyboardist Jon Field,
guitarist Tony Duhig,
lead singer Patrick Campbell-Lyons, and future member of Thunderclap Newman
John "Speedy" Keen among its members. Like The Tomcats, Second Thoughts also broke up in 1965, with singer Patrick Campbell-Lyons departing to form the
psychedelic rock band
Nirvana with Alex Spyropoulos. Soon after, a new line-up of The Tomcats came together, featuring members of the original band and ex-members of Second Thoughts: Newman on vocals, Duhig on
guitar, Field on
flute/
keyboards, James on
bass, and Jackson on
drums. The Tomcats then relocated to Spain and enjoyed success there during 1966 as "Los Tomcats", playing gigs in Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands, as well as reaching the Spanish charts with a string of
EPs. After returning to London, Newman and his friend Pete Cook (who had been in the first line-up of The Tomcats) began writing new material for the group that was less R&B influenced and more
psychedelic in nature. Cook was not a member of the group at this time, however. The band changed their name to July in 1968 and secured a
recording contract with
Major Minor Records soon after. The band (still a qunitet of Newman, Duhig, Field, James, and Jackson). who were by now
managed by
Spencer Davis, released "My Clown" b/w "Dandelion Seeds" as their first single in 1968, but it failed to reach the
UK Singles Chart. The band also issued a self-titled album in 1968, but this too failed to reach the charts. Newman wrote the vast majority of the band's songs, with Jackson contributing one LP track. Newman was later (according to a 1975 interview) to recall the description by one reviewer who said that "it was the worst album they'd ever heard and a complete waste of plastic". In the years since its release, the
July album has become a much sought after rarity among collectors of British psychedelia. A second single was released, coupling the non-album song "Hello, Who's There?" with "The Way" but again, this release was a commercial failure. July disbanded in 1969, with Duhig going on to play in the band
Unit 4 + 2, before hooking up with Field and
vocalist Glyn Havard to form
Jade Warrior. Newman released a number of
solo albums and also produced several albums for other artists, including
Mike Oldfield (
Tubular Bells,
Tubular Bells II, and ''
Heaven's Open''). In the years since the band's demise, the
July album has been reissued a number of times by different
record labels. There have also been two compilations released by the band: the 1987
LP Dandelion Seeds, which features all of the tracks from the
July album and both sides of the "Hello, Who's There?" single; and 1995's
The Second of July, which contains previously unreleased alternate versions and
outtakes (including some material co-written by Cook with Newman). In addition, songs by July have appeared on a number of various artists compilations, including
The British Psychedelic Trip, Vol. 2, ''It's Only a Passing Phase
, Electric Psychedelic Sitar Headswirlers, Vol. 1
, The Great British Psychedelic Trip Vol 3: 1965–1970
, Acid Drops, Spacedust, & Flying Saucers: Psychedelic Confectionery
, and Insane Times: 25 British Psychedelic Artefacts from the EMI Vaults''. Duhig died in 1990. In 2009, Tom Newman, Pete Cook, Chris Jackson, and Alan James reformed July. For 2013's
Resurrection, Cook and Newman were the only credited band members. Cook was the main songwriter, with one track written by Newman. ==Band members==