The origin of the Paramounts is unclear. They were either formed as "The Raiders" in 1959 when the members were at secondary school, or were one of the first "manufactured" bands created by the organisers of a band competition at the Palace Hotel in Southend out of the best musicians in the contest. The initial line-up of the Paramounts, from September 1960, was
Gary Brooker (piano, ex-Johnny Short and the Coasters), Mick Brownlee (drums; born 13 October 1943, Chiswick, West London, died 17 June 2017, ex-Mickey Law and the Outlaws),
Chris Copping (bass), Bob Scott (vocals, ex-Bob Scott and the Clansmen) and
Robin Trower (guitar). Scott soon left, and Brooker became the vocalist, but as he was only 14, which made playing in licensed premises difficult, so they started performing in Trower's father's cafe, which became The Shades Club. Copping left in December 1962 and Brownlee left in September 1963. They were replaced by Diz Derrick (bass; born Grahame Derrick, 11 December 1944, Upminster, Essex) and
B. J. Wilson (drums). Their musical style evolved from their initial
R&B towards
soul and, by 1963, they were regularly playing in London, and were signed by
Parlophone. In late 1964 and early 1965, they had
Phil Wainman on drums (born Philip Neil Wainman, 7 June 1946, Hampton Court), briefly replaced Wilson, who went to Jimmy Powell and the Five Dimensions. The Paramounts' first single, "
Poison Ivy", produced by
Ron Richards, was a cover of the
Leiber and Stoller song, which had been a hit for
The Coasters in 1959. It became a minor hit for the Paramounts, reaching No. 35 on the
UK Singles Chart, and led to them appearing on TV shows such as
Ready Steady Go! Their second and third singles, "Bad Blood" and "I'm the One who Loves You", both failed to chart, but the
B-side of the third single, "It Won't Be Long", was the first song written by Brooker and Trower to be released. In search of another hit, subsequent singles were in different styles, but none of them charted. The group became backing musicians on European tours by
Sandie Shaw and
Chris Andrews and disbanded in 1966. Brooker concentrated on writing music, collaborating with
Keith Reid, and
Matthew Fisher (organ), and they recorded "
A Whiter Shade of Pale". To support the record with a tour, Brooker persuaded Trower and Wilson to rejoin the band and augmented them with David Knights (bass). By 1969, Knights and Fisher had left and Chris Copping had rejoined. == Liquorice John Death ==