The Honeycombs were an English beat group, founded in 1963 in North London, best known for their chart-topping, million-selling 1964 hit, "Have I the Right?" The band featured Honey Lantree on drums, one of the few high-profile female drummers at that time. They were unable to replicate the success of their first single and disbanded by 1967.
Personnel
The original group members were: Denis D'Ell (born Denis James Dalziel, 10 October 1943, Whitechapel, East London; died of cancer 6 July 2005) – lead vocals and harmonica player. Martin Murray (born 7 October 1941, the East End of London) – rhythm guitar. He was replaced by Peter Pye (born 12 July 1946, Walthamstow, London) in November 1964. Allan Ward (born 12 December 1945, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire) – lead guitar. John Lantree (born John David Lantree, 20 August 1941, Newbury, Berkshire) – bass guitar. Honey Lantree (born Anne Margot Lantree, 28 August 1943, Hayes, Middlesex; died 23 December 2018) – drums and vocals.
Career
The group was founded as an amateur band by Martin Murray in November 1963. Its members were Murray (a hairdresser), his salon assistant Anne "Honey" Lantree, her brother John, and two friends. Originally, they called themselves the Sheratons.
The group played dates in the West End of London, and at the Mildmay Tavern, a North London pub. Among those attending a February 1964 performance by the band were aspiring songwriters Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley. Howard and Blaikley would become a prolific British songwriting team, but in 1964, they had just started their career. They got into conversation with the group, who appeared interested in a few songs the duo had just written. The group had already arranged an audition with indie record producer Joe Meek, which resulted in a recording of Howard and Blaikley's "Have I the Right?" Meek himself provided the B-side, "Please Don't Pretend Again".
Meek used his apartment, at 304 Holloway Road, Islington, as a recording studio. Three UK No. 1 hits were produced there: "Johnny Remember Me" by John Leyton, "Telstar" by The Tornados, and "Have I the Right?"
Conspicuous in "Have I the Right?" is the prominence of the drums, whose effect was enhanced by members of the group stamping their feet on the wooden stairs to the studio. Meek recorded the effect with five microphones fixed to the banisters with bicycle clips. For the finishing touch, someone beat a tambourine directly onto a microphone. The recording was also somewhat sped up.
"Have I the Right?" was released on 26 June 1964 on the Pye record label. Louis Benjamin, later Pye's chairman, renamed the group as "The Honeycombs", a pun on the drummer's name and her job as a hairdresser's assistant. The sales started slowly, but by the end of July, the record started to climb the UK Singles Chart. Honey Lantree's status as a female drummer in a top band was as unusual then as it is now, and some questioned whether she was just a visual novelty, despite her genuine drumming ability. At the end of August, the record reached No. 1. "Have I the Right?" was also a big success outside the UK, hitting No. 1 in Australia and Canada, No. 3 in Ireland, No. 5 in the US, and No. 2 in the Netherlands. Overall sales of the record reached a million. The Honeycombs also recorded a German version of the song: "Hab ich das Recht?" Both the English and the German versions reached No. 21 in the German charts: the English one in October, the German one in November 1964.
From then on, Howard and Blaikley acted as the group's managers and also wrote their next singles, "Is It Because" and "Eyes", which did not sell well. This also applied to their fourth single, "Something Better Beginning", written by Ray Davies from the Kinks.
Soon after their first record had become a hit, the Honeycombs went on tour to the Far East and Australia, and were not able to promote their new records at home. The tour gained them a long-lasting popularity in Japan, however. Especially for the Japanese market, the group produced a live album and a single, "Love in Tokyo". The group also made a lasting impression in Sweden, where they scored two No. 1 singles.
The Honeycombs made many appearances on music television shows such as Top of the Pops, Ready Steady Go! (UK), Shindig! (US), and Beat-Club (Germany). The group also appeared in the 1965 film Pop Gear, miming "Have I the Right?" and "Eyes".
In July 1965, British music magazine NME reported that it had been agreed in the London High Court that "Have I the Right?" was the work of Howard and Blaikley. Composer Geoff Goddard agreed to drop allegations that he, not they, had written the song.