Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders
Wayne Fontana was born Glynn Ellis in Manchester, England, on
28 October 1945. He started his musical career at school with a
skiffle group called The Velfins, and later formed a Rock &
Roll outfit called The Jets, with whom he worked the pubs and
clubs of Greater Manchester.
In 1963 the group was spotted playing in Manchester's Oasis
Club and asked to undertake an audition for Philips/Fontana
Records at the same venue on the following evening in front of a
live audience. The chance was too good to turn down but the next
evening only Wayne (who took his surname from the Fontana Records
label) and the bass player (Bob Lang) turned up.
Faced with an extreme dilemma - and in sheer desperation -
Wayne turned to two of his musician friends in the audience who
had turned up to lend moral support.
So with Eric Stewart on guitar and Ric Rothwell on drums they
managed to weave together enough material to pass the audition,
impress the record company and land the lucrative contract. The
band now needed a name, so - stimulated by a recent movie at the
local cinema - the group became known as The Mindbenders.
 Their debut Fontana single - released a few months later - was
a cover version of Bo Diddley's Roadrunner, which enjoyed
moderate success.
A year and two more singles later though, they
finally hit the chart jackpot with a cover of Major Lance's
American hit Um Um Um Um Um Um which reached Number 2 in
Britain, and in 1965 their single Game Of Love topped the British
and American charts.
During the same year, Wayne's 'backing band' (The Mindbenders)
cut a single of their own - called Groovy Kind Of Love -
and when the single reached the Top 3 they decided to branch out
on their own, leaving Wayne to concentrate on a solo career.
While Wayne moved into cabaret, the band enjoyed considerable
success over the following months - including two more hit singles
and an appearance in the movie To Sir With Love - before
finally retiring to the climes of Northern Variety clubs.
Wayne Fontana made the chart again with four singles from 1965
to 1966, the most successful of which was Pamela Pamela which
reached Number 11 in 1966. Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman
returned in the 1970s with 10cc while Wayne spent his time touring
the British cabaret circuit (and frequently touring America with
Rock & Roll revival shows).
He was remanded in custody in 2007 after admitting setting fire
to a debt collector's car. The judge criticised Fontana for
arriving at Derby Crown Court dressed as the Lady of Justice. He
had to hand a sword and scales to guards but kept on a crown, cape
and dark glasses, claiming "justice is blind".
Fontana denied 'arson with intent to endanger life', claiming
the bailiff had escaped the vehicle before it set alight. But he
admitted 'arson being reckless to whether life is endangered',
saying he did in fact ignite the fuel and set the car on fire. He
now lives in Spain.
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