Jay-Jays

Only the most dedicated enthusiasts of 1960s rock, particularly its Eurobeat variant, have any knowledge of the Dutch group the Jay-Jays. Between 1966 and 1968 the band issued seven singles and one LP on Philips in Holland. Their earliest work showed heavy reliance on the Kinks, with three of the four songs across their first two singles drawing directly from early Kinks recordings. Subsequent efforts explored soul, soul-pop, folky pop/rock, and aggressive pseudo-garage-punk. Like numerous other mid-tier Continental acts of the era, however, the Jay-Jays never fully mastered a single approach; their original material lacked strong songwriting, and while the musicians proved competent and occasionally energetic, their vocals and playing rarely rose above average, sometimes revealing awkward attempts to mimic Anglo-mod mannerisms. Every track the group cut later appeared on the 1995 Mercury compilation The Complete Story, released in Holland.