Biography
The Ferris Wheel ranked among England's most overlooked musical gems from the mid- to late 1960s. Although they built a devoted following in clubs, chart success eluded them, yet they produced several strong recordings during that period. The ensemble formed from the remains of two prior British acts, Emile Ford & the Checkmates and West Five. Dave Sweetman on saxophone, George Sweetman on bass and vocals, and Barry Reeves on drums had performed in the Checkmates, the support unit for Emile Ford, who was half-brother to Dave and George Sweetman, while Mike Liston on keyboards and vocals had belonged to West Five. Trinidad-born Diane Ferraz on vocals had released material as half of the duo Diane & Nicky with vocalist Nicky Scott, under Simon Napier-Bell, the second manager of the Yardbirds; guitarist Keith Anthony completed the lineup. Their initial moniker, Diane Ferraz & the Simon's Triangle, proved cumbersome because it framed the others strictly as Ferraz's backing musicians, an arrangement that quickly felt mismatched once the collective solidified and both Sweetman and Liston demonstrated their own vocal strengths. They adopted the name the Ferris Wheel by adapting Ferraz's surname.
The group soon emerged as one of England's most sought-after club attractions, blending soul with the psychedelic currents then spreading through pop. Their vocal approach drew primarily from Motown, while their instrumentation aligned with the contemporary London sound, featuring intricate guitar lines and extended, ornate organ passages rather than Mellotrons or sitars, all integrated cohesively with the soul foundation. Ferraz could trade phrases with Diana Ross or Martha Reeves, and the three vocalists together could evoke the polished harmonies of the Fifth Dimension. Producer John Schroeder signed them to Pye Records; Schroeder himself had played a significant role in English soul by arranging early Motown singles for release in Britain. He opted to launch the band with a full album, Can't Break the Habit, instead of a single. This choice suited their wide stylistic range, firm grasp of varied idioms, and polished club-honed repertoire after six months of performances, allowing them to deliver twelve substantial tracks. Influences from the Supremes and Carla Thomas surfaced yet received distinctive treatments. Three singles extracted from the album appeared afterward, though none reached the charts. The sextet persisted another year amid a label change and repeated personnel shifts, most prominently Ferraz's exit from music to raise a family, after which Marsha Hunt and then Linda Lewis joined. They released one further album, a self-titled set on Polydor in England and Uni, an MCA subsidiary, in America, though they made no impression in the United States. In later years George Sweetman passed through Medicine Head, Barry Reeves joined Blossom Toes and Brian Auger & the Trinity, and later drummer Dennis Elliott became a member of Foreigner.
During the later 1970s and 1980s the band largely faded from view, and Can't Break the Habit became one of the scarcest Pye LPs. Growing interest in mid-1960s mod and freakbeat recordings, together with the late-1990s Northern soul surge, prompted renewed attention. In 2000 Sequel Records released an expanded edition of Can't Break the Habit that included liner notes containing reminiscences from Diane Ferraz.
The group soon emerged as one of England's most sought-after club attractions, blending soul with the psychedelic currents then spreading through pop. Their vocal approach drew primarily from Motown, while their instrumentation aligned with the contemporary London sound, featuring intricate guitar lines and extended, ornate organ passages rather than Mellotrons or sitars, all integrated cohesively with the soul foundation. Ferraz could trade phrases with Diana Ross or Martha Reeves, and the three vocalists together could evoke the polished harmonies of the Fifth Dimension. Producer John Schroeder signed them to Pye Records; Schroeder himself had played a significant role in English soul by arranging early Motown singles for release in Britain. He opted to launch the band with a full album, Can't Break the Habit, instead of a single. This choice suited their wide stylistic range, firm grasp of varied idioms, and polished club-honed repertoire after six months of performances, allowing them to deliver twelve substantial tracks. Influences from the Supremes and Carla Thomas surfaced yet received distinctive treatments. Three singles extracted from the album appeared afterward, though none reached the charts. The sextet persisted another year amid a label change and repeated personnel shifts, most prominently Ferraz's exit from music to raise a family, after which Marsha Hunt and then Linda Lewis joined. They released one further album, a self-titled set on Polydor in England and Uni, an MCA subsidiary, in America, though they made no impression in the United States. In later years George Sweetman passed through Medicine Head, Barry Reeves joined Blossom Toes and Brian Auger & the Trinity, and later drummer Dennis Elliott became a member of Foreigner.
During the later 1970s and 1980s the band largely faded from view, and Can't Break the Habit became one of the scarcest Pye LPs. Growing interest in mid-1960s mod and freakbeat recordings, together with the late-1990s Northern soul surge, prompted renewed attention. In 2000 Sequel Records released an expanded edition of Can't Break the Habit that included liner notes containing reminiscences from Diane Ferraz.
Albums
