Biography
In 1964 outsiders might have pictured London and the rest of Britain as streets lined with opportunity, yet thousands of bands were already jostling for slots with club bookers and label scouts. Several British groups therefore looked overseas for steadier work, among them the Rokes, who relocated to Italy, the Liverpool Five, who tried Asia before the United States, and the Red Squares, who chose Denmark.
The Red Squares had formed that same year in Boston, England. Their sound harked back to an earlier era, centering on vocal harmonies modeled on those of the early Beach Boys, the Four Seasons, and the Tokens, complete with falsetto leads and a repertoire drawn chiefly from early-sixties American hits. Lead vocals fell to Dave “Geordie” Garriock, while lead guitarist Ronnie Martin and bassist Pete Mason supplied additional harmonies; Mick Rothwell on guitar and drummer Michael “Rik” Maloney completed the lineup as the non-singing members.
Domestic competition proved too intense, especially once groups such as the Fortunes had secured much of the available audience for harmony-driven pop and rock, so in early 1966 the Red Squares moved to Denmark. There British bands were still in demand and the early-sixties American style had not yet fallen out of favor. The move proved immediately successful: their cover of the Four Seasons’ “Sherry” reached number one, and the group recorded a full album. By mid-1966 they had also begun introducing tougher instrumental textures.
Casting their attention once more toward London, they produced the single “You Can Be My Baby,” co-written by Ronnie Martin. The track matched the Who’s trademark combination of thunderous volume and raw, chaotic energy associated with Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, Roger Daltrey, and Keith Moon. Given that the Who, and Moon in particular, counted the Beach Boys and Jan & Dean among their own favorites, the stylistic leap was less abrupt than it first appeared. That lone proto-psychedelic garage-punk release later earned the Red Squares a place on Rhino Records’ Nuggets II compilation in the summer of 2001, granting them their widest exposure anywhere outside Denmark.
The Red Squares had formed that same year in Boston, England. Their sound harked back to an earlier era, centering on vocal harmonies modeled on those of the early Beach Boys, the Four Seasons, and the Tokens, complete with falsetto leads and a repertoire drawn chiefly from early-sixties American hits. Lead vocals fell to Dave “Geordie” Garriock, while lead guitarist Ronnie Martin and bassist Pete Mason supplied additional harmonies; Mick Rothwell on guitar and drummer Michael “Rik” Maloney completed the lineup as the non-singing members.
Domestic competition proved too intense, especially once groups such as the Fortunes had secured much of the available audience for harmony-driven pop and rock, so in early 1966 the Red Squares moved to Denmark. There British bands were still in demand and the early-sixties American style had not yet fallen out of favor. The move proved immediately successful: their cover of the Four Seasons’ “Sherry” reached number one, and the group recorded a full album. By mid-1966 they had also begun introducing tougher instrumental textures.
Casting their attention once more toward London, they produced the single “You Can Be My Baby,” co-written by Ronnie Martin. The track matched the Who’s trademark combination of thunderous volume and raw, chaotic energy associated with Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, Roger Daltrey, and Keith Moon. Given that the Who, and Moon in particular, counted the Beach Boys and Jan & Dean among their own favorites, the stylistic leap was less abrupt than it first appeared. That lone proto-psychedelic garage-punk release later earned the Red Squares a place on Rhino Records’ Nuggets II compilation in the summer of 2001, granting them their widest exposure anywhere outside Denmark.
Albums
