The group's origins were in
North London in 1960, as a backing group for club singer
Lennie Peters. Its members at that time included pianist Gil Lucas (born Gilbert James Lucas, 20 September 1936, Kensington, South West London) and bass player Lenny Blanche (born Leonard Frederick Arthur Blanche, 1 June 1936, Woolwich, South East London). Various people - including, on occasions, Peters' nephew
Charlie Watts, later of the
Rolling Stones - stood in as drummer, until the position was filled more permanently by Mike Felix (born Michael Felix Staples, 18 February 1940, London). After Peters left for a solo career - going on to chart success in the 1970s as one half of
Peters and Lee - Felix became the lead singer, and the group recruited guitarist Stan "Red" Lambert (born Stanley Frank Lambert, September 24, 1937?, London). They named themselves
The Migil Four, drawing on the names of
Mike Felix and
Gilbert Lucas. The group played a mixture of pop, R&B and jazz music on the cabaret circuit until they were seen by
trad jazz bandleader
Kenny Ball. He performed onstage with them, and recommended them to his record label,
Pye Records. Their first single, "Maybe", was released in 1963. They then added
tenor saxophonist Alan "Earl" Watson (born Alan Michael Watson, 8 July 1940, Forest Gate, East London), formerly a member of
Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, so becoming The Migil 5, and won a residency at the
Tottenham Royal dance hall, replacing
the Dave Clark Five. Expanding their repertoire to cater for a younger audience, they recorded their second single, "Mockin' Bird Hill" - a
country song which had been a US hit for
Les Paul and
Mary Ford - in a style then known as "bluebeat" and later as
ska. Mike Felix later worked as a comedian, after dinner speaker and actor, appearing in the TV series
Widows and
The Bill. Lucas moved into pub management and continued to play in local London bands until his death in the 1990s. Watson and Blanche also moved into the pub and restaurant business. A CD compilation of The Migil Five was issued on Sequel Records in 1998. ==References==