Simon Dupree and the Big Sound

They started as The Howling Wolves and then became The Road Runners, playing R&B around the Portsmouth area, home of the Shulman brothers, becoming Simon Dupree and the Big Sound in early 1966.[1] Making up the rest of the group were Peter O'Flaherty (bass guitar) (born 8 May 1944, in Gosport, Hampshire), Eric Hine (keyboards) (born Eric Raymond Lewis Hines, 4 September 1944, in Portsmouth, Hampshire), and Tony Ransley (drums) (born Anthony John Ransley, 17 May 1944, in Portsmouth, Hampshire).[1] Those early group names aside, their repertory was focused a lot more on the songs of Wilson Pickett, Don Covay, and Otis Redding, than on Howlin' Wolf or Bo Diddley.[1] 'Simon Dupree and the Big Sound' came about in the course of their search for a flashy name.[1]

The group were signed to EMI's Parlophone label, under producer Dave Paramor.[1] Their first few singles, notably "I See The Light" (1966), failed to chart, then in October 1967, the group's management and their record label decided to try moving Simon Dupree and the Big Sound in the direction of psychedelia.

They broke through at the end of 1967 with the psychedelic "Kites", a Top 10 hit in the UK Singles Chart.[2] Regarding themselves as blue-eyed soul brothers, they hated it as it was so unrepresentative of their usual style.[1] The follow-up, "For Whom The Bell Tolls", was only a minor hit, and a subsequent single "Broken Hearted Pirates", featuring an uncredited Dudley Moore on piano, made no headway at all.[3]

A then unknown keyboard player by the name of Reginald Dwight was hired to fill in for an ill Eric Hine and he joined them on a 1967 tour in Scotland. They were asked to allow him to stay on, and he was almost recruited as a permanent member. They politely rejected the chance to record any of his compositions (although they did ultimately record "I'm Going Home" as the B-side of their final (contractually obligated) single, and laughed when he told them he was adopting the stage name of Elton John.[4] On 5 April 1968, Simon Dupree and the Big Sound appeared alongside Amen Corner, Gene Pitney, Don Partridge and Status Quo at The Odeon Theatre, Lewisham, London, on the first night as part of a twice nightly UK tour. In early 1969 they were booked to appear at the Lanchester Polytechnic in Coventry, but did not turn up. Their support act Raymond Froggatt played the entire evening.[5]

The group released one studio album; Without Reservations, on Parlophone Records (1967), and a compilation Amen (1980). A more recent set, Part of My Past (2004), includes all their singles, album tracks and previously unreleased material prepared for their second album, release of which was cancelled at the time.

In late 1968, they released a single "We Are The Moles (Part 1)/(Part 2)" under the moniker The Moles. Released on the Parlophone label, the single did not give any hint of the identity of the artists, with both songs credited as written, performed and produced by The Moles. Rumours spread that it was an obscure release by The Beatles, who also were under contract at Parlophone, with Ringo Starr on lead vocals.

Frustrated as being seen as one-hit wonders being pushed by their record label as a pop group rather than the soul band they had always intended to be, they disbanded in 1969 and the Shulman brothers went on to form the progressive rock group Gentle Giant.[1]

• List of performances on Top of the Pops

• Portsmouth Music Scene
• AllMusic