The Mojos
Billed as "The Liverpool Yardbirds", The Mojos had in
Stu James (real name Stuart Slater) a rich stockpile of original
songs into which other acts, such as Faron's
Flamingos, dipped.
Stu was also an exceptional lead vocalist, and good-looking too.
The band were also blessed with the superb barrelhouse piano of
Terence O'Toole.
A group collaboration, Everything's All Right hit the
Top 10 in the UK and did well on the Continent, with The Mojos
even making a promotional film for the new video juke
boxes.
But their next single, James and O'Toole's Why
Not Tonight? only reached a disappointing Number 25. The song
was perhaps too obviously derived from Everything's All Right
- the intro was simply transposed with the hi-hat fill copied
exactly and the "no no no no no" catch phrase was
irritating, although they had subtracted the piano solo for a
guitar break . . .
Then came a change of style with a revival of Lonnie
Donegan's
trudging Seven Daffodils, which was humiliatingly
out-performed by The Cherokees - a hitherto unknown Yorkshire
group whose less fussy version was produced by one Mickie
Most.
 In their defence, The Mojos did suffer at the hands of
Decca, who tended to let all but their most reliable sources of
profit fend for themselves.
The Mojos were robbed of their inheritance by a botched plan
for a tour of America where they had been seen in a cameo role
alongside John Leyton and Freddie & The Dreamers in the movie Every
Day's A Holiday (known as Seaside Swingers in
the US).
Another more insidious factor was the gaunt, bespectacled
appearance of bass player Keith Alcock. Undoubtedly a lovely
bloke, his ruminant, unsmiling stare pervaded otherwise cheery
publicity shots - at a time when groups had to be liked for their
appearance as well as their music.
When the group split up, Nicky Crouch and Stu James kept
the name, and Lewis Collins - the son of their road manager -
joined the group as bass guitarist.
Collins has become the
best-known ex-Mojo, as TV tough guy Bodie in The
Professionals (1977 - 1983).
|
