Biography
Formed in Worcester and later based in Leeds, the five-piece lineup of vocalist John Kirby Wollard, rhythm guitarist David Bower, lead guitarist Terry Stokes, bassist Mick Sweeney and drummer Jim Green launched their live career at the outset of the 1960s. Their brief spell of prominence arrived in autumn 1964 when a revival of the trudging b-side ‘Seven Daffodils’, originally cut by Lonnie Donegan, lodged itself in the UK Top 40 for five weeks and came close to eclipsing a rival recording by the better-known Mojos. Much of the single’s traction stemmed from heavy pirate-radio rotation and from the freshly minted production touch of Mickie Most, who had just steered the Animals to a chart-topper on EMI Records, the same label that housed the Cherokees. Momentum evaporated, however, when the follow-up ‘A Wondrous Place’ failed to register, and further ground was surrendered by an ill-timed rechristening as New York Public Library (NYPL) together with an extended delay before the next release. That 1966 single, a Chris Kenner opus titled ‘Land Of 1,000 Dances’ and featuring replacement drummer Mick Ibbotson, found itself outflanked by a larger cluster of concurrent covers than had ever challenged ‘Seven Daffodils’. Wollard and Ibbotson departed NYPL in 1967, although assorted configurations of the original members continued to perform together in subsequent decades.