The Hullaballoos

Originating from Hull, England, the Hullaballoos earned their name through that geographic tie and stood out as perhaps the most commercially calculated band among the initial wave of the British Invasion. Their look featured helmet-style wigs of bleached blond hair whose length rivaled that of the Pretty Things and the Stones, creating an arresting visual impact from the outset. On record, however, the group offered far less substance, having never achieved prominence even on home soil before being assembled expressly for American audiences by Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore, the well-known vice presidents and A&R directors at Roulette Records. Brill Building songwriters of limited reputation supplied most of the material, apparently with the goal of aligning the Hullaballoos as closely as possible with Buddy Holly’s style. One modest American success came via a version of Holly’s “I’m Gonna Love You Too,” while the follow-up, “Did You Ever,” mirrored Holly right down to its stuttering vocal delivery. Although New York songwriters assembled this Buddy Holly-inflected Merseybeat approach—built around insistent, basic guitar chords and drums—in a calculated way, the result remained melodic and notably energetic. After only a brief moment of attention in 1965 the Hullaballoos quickly receded, an outcome that appears to have been anticipated from the project’s inception.