The Tomcats

The Tomcats originated as a five-piece outfit from London that had begun life under the name the Thoughts, itself assembled from what remained of the earlier skiffle group the Playboys. John “Speedy” Keen was among the musicians who passed through an early Tomcats configuration, handling drums during his stint. Although the ensemble achieved little notice at home, an invitation brought them to Spain in 1966, where the roster that would prove final—drawn wholesale from Second Thoughts—took shape. Live shows there quickly caught on, creating sudden demand that translated into four charting EPs mixing English-language covers of current hits such as “Paint It Black” with original Spanish-language material. In 1967 the musicians returned across the Channel, retained the identical personnel, shifted their musical direction, and adopted the name July. The Essex label’s 1997 anthology titled The Tomcats gathers standout tracks from those four Spanish EPs and appends the full contents of a 1964 EP recorded by Second Thoughts.