During his interview on April 18, 2009, Mark Simone (WABC Radio 770AM, New York) asked Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits’ to name some of the many good quality singers and groups who can often go unnoticed due to poor marketing, bad management or just not being in the right place at the right time.  He mentioned as a case in point, the British band, The Undertakers, in the 1960s, who were from Liverpool.

They toured extensively in northwest England and were known for their dark humor.  This was largely due to the origin of the band’s name, The Undertakers.  At a point when the Vegas Five had been asked to play a gig, a local newspaper advertising their show had  mistakenly replaced their name with the word “Undertakers” from the an adjacent news column. Their original promoter suggested that they use this as a gimmick and in fact they started each show by playing the “Death March” (i.e. Chopin’s “Funeral March”) and changed their name to The Undertakers. They even used a hearse as the band vehicle and appeared on tv with a coffin at one point.  Due largely to Lomax’s quality singing as well as Huston’s customization and amplification of the Undertaker’s instruments, the band did draw a local popular following.  Using a strong saxophone influence also allowed the band to pursue some lesser known R&B material setting them apart from other local Liverpool groups.  They were a very popular live rambunctious act.

More than once, the worlds of The Undertakers and the Beatles collided.  In July 1962, they flew to Germany to play at the famous German Beatles haunt, The Star Club in Hamburg.  While there, the band had been approached by Beatles manager, Brian Epstein to be taken under his management.  Upon returning to Liverpool however, they rejected Epstein and instead first signed with Ralph Webster, who they thought with his local connections would guarantee them constant live work.  Their first gig at the famous cavern was Tuesday, October 9, 1962.  Then, in early 1963, they signed to signed on with Tony Hatch as their producer and Pye Records.  The rest as they say is history.

In spite of the fact that “(Do The) Mashed Potatoes” was the group’s and the fans’ favorite track, it was pushed to the B-side of their first single “Everybody Loves A Lover” and the record failed to sell. The Undertakers then wanted to issue “Money” as their next release, but their record company pushed ”What About Us?” which also did not sell well.  Finally being allowed to choose their third single with “Just A Little Bit”, it  became their only hit when it reached no. 49 in the UK charts. In September, 1964, the released their fourth and last single for Pye, “If You Don’t Come Back”  (b/w “Think”).  It also was produced in insufficient quantities and also did not do well commercially as a result.   For that record, they had been asked by Pye to shorten their name to the less offensive “Takers”. 

While the band did tour North America in 1965, their manager abandoned the band in Ontario, Canada, and left them without money or a manager. After two months of hardship in Ontario they surreptitiously returned to New York. The band essentially broke up when one of the members contracted bronchitis and went home that Christmas.  

The rest of the band’s recordings would have to wait thirty years but thanks to Amazon, all of the Undertakers songs are available in a great compilation from Big Beat records called, The Undertakers Unearthed.  Enjoy the music!