Biography
The Honeycombs stood out within the British Invasion for their fervent intensity, most visible in the worldwide Top Five success of their 1964 single "Have I the Right." Their distinctive approach fused Alan Ward's ringing, stinging lead guitar lines, Honey Lantree's outsized drumming, Dennis D'Ell's trembling vocals, Martin Murray's rhythm guitar, and John Lantree's bass into a hypnotic whole. Legendary producer Joe Meek oversaw all of their recordings, deploying his full arsenal of studio effects—among them spectral organ tones and chest-thumping compression—to craft an immediately recognizable sonic signature. Although nothing else matched the commercial reach of that breakthrough, tracks such as "Color Slide" and "That's the Way," along with the LPs The Honeycombs (1964) and All Systems Go! (1965), moved across bouncy pop, Roy Orbison-style balladry, and proto-garage rock, revealing greater depth than the hit alone suggested.
Originally known as the Sheratons, the group came together in Hackney during 1963 when rhythm guitarist Martin Murray, who had launched his first band the Black Rebels in the mid-1950s amid the U.K. skiffle boom, began assembling players. Murray recruited vocalist Dennis D'Ell (born Dennis Dalziel) after hearing his audition tapes at the bowling alley where Murray was employed. Guitarist Allan Ward arrived via an introduction from mutual acquaintance John Lantree, while original drummer Chris Chaplin answered a notice posted in a neighborhood music shop. John Lantree himself soon joined on bass. This configuration cut the unsuccessful single "Do the Blues" at Pye Studios under pop entrepreneur Les Conn.
Chaplin departed in October of that year to pursue architecture. While storing the drummer's kit in the rehearsal space above the salon Murray managed, his assistant Anne Margot "Honey" Lantree—John Lantree's sister—became captivated by the drums and played them with such force that Murray invited her into the band. Her presence behind the kit, unusual for the era and accentuated by her beehive hairstyle, supplied a striking visual identity. The group performed regularly at the Mildmay Tavern on Balls Pond Road in London's East End. In February 1964 songwriters Alan Blaikley and Ken Howard discovered them there, drawn by the teenage crowds; impressed by their blend of R&B, rock & roll standards, and instrumentals, the pair offered "Have I the Right?" and soon took on management and songwriting duties.
The newly renamed Honeycombs auditioned for visionary producer Joe Meek, with whom Murray had previously worked as a session guitarist, in March 1964; the session yielded "Have I the Right?" Meek's unorthodox methods shaped the track, featuring Ward's bee-sting leads, D'Ell's wavering delivery, and Lantree's massive drums augmented by band members stomping on the staircase at 304 Holloway Road, Islington. Pye Records issued the single in June 1964 after managing director Louis Benjamin prompted the name change to the Honeycombs. Following a mid-chart stall, Radio Caroline championed the record, which climbed to number one in Britain by late August and also topped charts in Australia, South Africa, and Japan while reaching number five in the United States. The band subsequently toured the Far East and Australia, building particular popularity in Japan.
Their self-titled debut album, issued in September 1964 and released in America on Vee-Jay's Interphon imprint as Here Are the Honeycombs, was completed in a single month. It spotlighted Murray's guitar work and Ward's singular lead tone while showcasing Honey Lantree's vocals on "That's the Way," yet momentum faltered when Murray broke his right arm and leg the week of release; session guitarist Peter Pye filled in during recovery. Follow-up singles "Is It Because" (October) and "Eyes" (November) stalled at number 38 and failed to chart in the U.K., respectively. In the States, the album reached number 147 on the Billboard 200 and "I Can't Stop" peaked at number 48 on the Hot 100. Internal strains prompted Murray's exit in December 1964; he formed the short-lived Lemmings for one Pye single, then issued a solo 45. Pye joined permanently in his stead.
By 1965 shifting tastes in Britain and America left the Honeycombs' style behind. "That's the Way" still secured a U.K. number 12 placing, while the Ray Davies composition "Something Better Beginning" reached number 39; neither registered on American charts. Stronger reception persisted in northern Europe, Germany, Japan, and the Far East, prompting tours and market-specific releases. Managers Howard and Blaikley repositioned Honey Lantree as frontwoman, with the Pretty Things' Viv Prince handling live drumming. The November 1965 single "This Year Next Year," another Lantree–D'Ell duet, preceded the December album All Systems Go!, which included two Ray Davies covers—one of them, "Emptiness," apparently never recorded by another act. The same month the live set Honeycombs in Tokyo captured performances of "She's About a Mover," "Wipe Out," "Lucille," "Kansas City," "Goldfinger," and "What'd I Say," offering a truer snapshot of their early stage repertoire.
Howard and Blaikley subsequently concentrated on Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich. The Honeycombs shifted to cabaret work and continued issuing singles, among them the February 1966 Schubert adaptation "Who Is Sylvia." In April, D'Ell, Ward, and Pye exited; Colin Boyd (later of Honeybus) joined on vocals and guitar alongside lead guitarist/vocalist Rod Butler and keyboardist/vocalist Eddy Spence. "It's So Hard," also recorded by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, appeared in July, followed by Boyd's "That Loving Feeling" in September as the final release.
Following Joe Meek's February 1967 suicide the band dissolved. D'Ell issued two 1967 singles on British CBS and Decca, later moving through blues-oriented groups before fronting various reunion lineups of the Honeycombs from the 1980s onward. Honey Lantree pursued a brief solo career immediately after the split, frequently performed with D'Ell thereafter, and ceased playing after his 2005 death at age 61; she died in 2018 at age 75. Murray worked as a producer, reconstituted the Honeycombs with new members in 2004, and re-recorded the catalog for the 2016 collection 304 Holloway Road Revisited. Numerous reissues and compilations have followed, culminating in 2020's Have I the Right? The Complete '60s Albums and Singles.
Originally known as the Sheratons, the group came together in Hackney during 1963 when rhythm guitarist Martin Murray, who had launched his first band the Black Rebels in the mid-1950s amid the U.K. skiffle boom, began assembling players. Murray recruited vocalist Dennis D'Ell (born Dennis Dalziel) after hearing his audition tapes at the bowling alley where Murray was employed. Guitarist Allan Ward arrived via an introduction from mutual acquaintance John Lantree, while original drummer Chris Chaplin answered a notice posted in a neighborhood music shop. John Lantree himself soon joined on bass. This configuration cut the unsuccessful single "Do the Blues" at Pye Studios under pop entrepreneur Les Conn.
Chaplin departed in October of that year to pursue architecture. While storing the drummer's kit in the rehearsal space above the salon Murray managed, his assistant Anne Margot "Honey" Lantree—John Lantree's sister—became captivated by the drums and played them with such force that Murray invited her into the band. Her presence behind the kit, unusual for the era and accentuated by her beehive hairstyle, supplied a striking visual identity. The group performed regularly at the Mildmay Tavern on Balls Pond Road in London's East End. In February 1964 songwriters Alan Blaikley and Ken Howard discovered them there, drawn by the teenage crowds; impressed by their blend of R&B, rock & roll standards, and instrumentals, the pair offered "Have I the Right?" and soon took on management and songwriting duties.
The newly renamed Honeycombs auditioned for visionary producer Joe Meek, with whom Murray had previously worked as a session guitarist, in March 1964; the session yielded "Have I the Right?" Meek's unorthodox methods shaped the track, featuring Ward's bee-sting leads, D'Ell's wavering delivery, and Lantree's massive drums augmented by band members stomping on the staircase at 304 Holloway Road, Islington. Pye Records issued the single in June 1964 after managing director Louis Benjamin prompted the name change to the Honeycombs. Following a mid-chart stall, Radio Caroline championed the record, which climbed to number one in Britain by late August and also topped charts in Australia, South Africa, and Japan while reaching number five in the United States. The band subsequently toured the Far East and Australia, building particular popularity in Japan.
Their self-titled debut album, issued in September 1964 and released in America on Vee-Jay's Interphon imprint as Here Are the Honeycombs, was completed in a single month. It spotlighted Murray's guitar work and Ward's singular lead tone while showcasing Honey Lantree's vocals on "That's the Way," yet momentum faltered when Murray broke his right arm and leg the week of release; session guitarist Peter Pye filled in during recovery. Follow-up singles "Is It Because" (October) and "Eyes" (November) stalled at number 38 and failed to chart in the U.K., respectively. In the States, the album reached number 147 on the Billboard 200 and "I Can't Stop" peaked at number 48 on the Hot 100. Internal strains prompted Murray's exit in December 1964; he formed the short-lived Lemmings for one Pye single, then issued a solo 45. Pye joined permanently in his stead.
By 1965 shifting tastes in Britain and America left the Honeycombs' style behind. "That's the Way" still secured a U.K. number 12 placing, while the Ray Davies composition "Something Better Beginning" reached number 39; neither registered on American charts. Stronger reception persisted in northern Europe, Germany, Japan, and the Far East, prompting tours and market-specific releases. Managers Howard and Blaikley repositioned Honey Lantree as frontwoman, with the Pretty Things' Viv Prince handling live drumming. The November 1965 single "This Year Next Year," another Lantree–D'Ell duet, preceded the December album All Systems Go!, which included two Ray Davies covers—one of them, "Emptiness," apparently never recorded by another act. The same month the live set Honeycombs in Tokyo captured performances of "She's About a Mover," "Wipe Out," "Lucille," "Kansas City," "Goldfinger," and "What'd I Say," offering a truer snapshot of their early stage repertoire.
Howard and Blaikley subsequently concentrated on Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich. The Honeycombs shifted to cabaret work and continued issuing singles, among them the February 1966 Schubert adaptation "Who Is Sylvia." In April, D'Ell, Ward, and Pye exited; Colin Boyd (later of Honeybus) joined on vocals and guitar alongside lead guitarist/vocalist Rod Butler and keyboardist/vocalist Eddy Spence. "It's So Hard," also recorded by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, appeared in July, followed by Boyd's "That Loving Feeling" in September as the final release.
Following Joe Meek's February 1967 suicide the band dissolved. D'Ell issued two 1967 singles on British CBS and Decca, later moving through blues-oriented groups before fronting various reunion lineups of the Honeycombs from the 1980s onward. Honey Lantree pursued a brief solo career immediately after the split, frequently performed with D'Ell thereafter, and ceased playing after his 2005 death at age 61; she died in 2018 at age 75. Murray worked as a producer, reconstituted the Honeycombs with new members in 2004, and re-recorded the catalog for the 2016 collection 304 Holloway Road Revisited. Numerous reissues and compilations have followed, culminating in 2020's Have I the Right? The Complete '60s Albums and Singles.
Albums
