The Attack

The Attack now command a considerably wider audience than at any point in their brief career, thanks to the swelling ranks of enthusiasts drawn to the distinctive mid- to late-’60s Swinging London sound. Their distinctive fusion of guitar-driven mod-rock marks them as one of the strongest exemplars of the frequently misapplied label freakbeat, which explains why the past fifteen years have seen a steady stream of unauthorized vinyl pressings alongside tracks on various psychedelic and freakbeat anthologies such as Rubble! Co-founders Richard Shirman, the sole constant member across every personnel shift, and Gerry Henderson had previously played together in the Soul System, a band whose roster remained in flux for nearly a year. In early 1966 the surviving core was augmented by Bob Hodges on organ, David John—actually Davy O’List performing under a pseudonym and distinct from the David John of David John & the Mood—on guitar, and Alan Whitehead, borrowed from Marmalade, behind the drums. Entrepreneur and reputed underworld figure Don Arden soon noticed them, secured a Decca contract, and renamed the group the Attack. Their first single, issued in January 1967, offered a distinctly British reinterpretation of “Try It,” the American garage-rock staple already popularized by both the Standells and Ohio Express. The Attack’s rendering, however, relied on forceful vocals, pop-art guitar lines, and the rich foundation of a warm Hammond to conjure an atmosphere comparable to that of the Small Faces—likewise under Arden’s management—the Birds, and the Creation. Not long after the record’s appearance, Davy O’List was personally selected by Andrew Loog Oldham to join the Nice, the band assembled to back the newly signed American soul singer P.P. Arnold, and departed in late February. Meanwhile Shirman, a frequent presence on the London club circuit, had been observing a young guitarist who occasionally jammed with Jimmy Page; that musician, John Du Cann—later the band’s principal songwriter and mainstay—was promptly brought into the lineup. A cover of “Hi-Ho Silver Lining” followed “Try It” but was eclipsed when Jeff Beck’s version became the British hit of 1967. The third single, “Created By Clive” backed with “Colour of My Mind,” paired a foppish, sub-Kinks-styled A-side with a more propulsive mod-psych B-side written by Du Cann. Kenny Harold on bass and Geoff Richardson on guitar departed soon after the disappointing commercial response, leaving Du Cann as sole guitarist. Jim Avery, who would later join the politically charged Third World War, was recruited on bass, while Plug, subsequently a member of the Welsh acid-rock band Man, remained on drums. Further frustration arose when Decca declined to release the next proposed single, “Magic in the Air,” deeming it excessively heavy; Plug and Avery then exited, replaced by Roger Deane on bass and Keith Hodge on drums. The group’s final Decca single, issued in early 1968, was the whimsical mod-pop number “Neville Thumbcatch,” complete with spoken narration and reminiscent in tone, though on a smaller scale, of Cream’s “Pressed Rat and Warthog.” Once the Decca agreement concluded, a projected fifth single, “Freedom for You” / “Feel Like Flying,” stayed unreleased. Both tracks, together with seven demos cut around the same period, appear on Angel Air’s CD reissue of the rare 1968 album by the Five Day Week Straw People, a studio-only project fronted by Du Cann. A separate Angel Air compilation, Final Dayze, gathers the Attack’s post-Decca recordings along with additional unreleased material. Before the label dropped the band over its increasingly heavy direction, the musicians had already begun recording the projected Roman Gods of War album, for which artwork and several songs were finished; the tapes were subsequently overwritten and the photographs lost. By the time of the 1968 breakup Du Cann had assumed creative leadership, and unreleased numbers such as “Mr. Pinnodmy’s Dilemma” and “Strange House” illustrated the group’s movement toward a heavier rock approach while retaining traces of British mod-psych playfulness. He pursued that heavier trajectory further with Andromeda and, in the ’70s, with Atomic Rooster.